Is 旅游黑客 Really a 诈骗?

更新： 9/25/20 | 2020年9月25日

最近， 我写了一篇文章，介绍如何以$ 1,000美元的价格环游世界。虽然这对于大多数人来说是一笔巨款，但通过一些聪明的技巧节省下来的钱并不是一笔无法克服的数目（每天的费用仅为2.74美元）。

在本文中，我选择了昂贵的目的地作为示例，因为我不想被指责通过选择便宜的地方来应对。如果可以的话，我想互联网会崛起并说：“哦，确定，马特！任何人都可以去 泰国 on a budget. 那’s easy. What about (insert expensive destination)? 这个article is fake news!”

In picking expensive destinations, I used 点数 and 英里 to help mitigate the 成本s of transportation. After all, it’s one thing to pay $700 for a flight if the destination only 成本s a few dollars a day. It’s another thing to pay that much when you’re going to 澳大利亚！ 在澳大利亚仅需花费300澳元，您将走不远！

但是爆发了另一种（也是出乎意料的）强烈反对。

On the blog and social media, people kept commenting that 点数/miles 是 money, have a 成本, 是 n’t easy to get, only work in the States, and that, basically, the whole 文章 was BS. For example:

“Matt, like some people have mentioned before me in the comment section: not everyone has 英里 要么 bonus 点数. You know I’m a travel writer…and yet I have never joined a frequent flyer program. I don’t have 英里 要么 点数 to redeem, and likewise, there 是 also people who might not have saved up enough 点数 to fly entirely free.

“Between cheaper destinations and relying on bonus 点数, you chose the latter for your 文章 ’s premise, and it feels a bit like saying: I could be telling you to go camping, but hey, that would be too easy, so let’s talk cruising — now, redeem 100,000 Airmiles for this two-week cruise and you’ve got $1,000 to play with on board!

“这似乎并不完全公平。”

First, let me say you everyone is correct. From the outset, I should have factored in taxes and 费用 into the 成本 of the trips, and have since changed the expense chart on that post to reflect that. I apologize for the oversight.

But I don’t think using 点数 要么 英里 is in any way 作弊 要么 unfair. (I’d also like to say that while they were a big part of the 文章 , many of the other tips helped lower 成本s just as much!)

To me, 点数 and 英里 是 free money. They have no 成本 to me. I don’t give up anything to get them. I think of them as the perk for being smart about my spending. Sure, I know some of you view 点数 and 英里 as having a time related opportunity 成本 to them.

但我不这样认为。

当我花钱时，无论如何，它们只是我得到的东西。

Let me explain in more detail. A lot of people think 点数 and 英里 是 hard to get, that you have to do crazy stuff to get them, 要么 you have to spend lots of money to get there:

“累积里程需要花钱。要说一个人可以花1000美元去任何地方，然后以免费机票为条件就不值一提了。该建议针对可能会发现1,000美元的巨额资金的人们。假设您需要80,000英里的奖励里程，并且可以找到40,000的注册优惠。这意味着您可能必须花费40,000美元才能收集其他40,000英里。然后建议使用免费客房的酒店积分。假设您要进行7天的假期，而房间每晚只有15,000。这是另外105,000个酒店积分，以及另外105,000美元的支出。即使您的酒店卡获得两对一的积分，仍然要花费$ 52,500。因此，要我花1,000美元去度假，我需要收取92,500美元。令您感到惊讶的是，您错过了告诉我们只休息一天，而又避免了六天的酒店，餐饮和当地交通费用的机会。”

I hear you but true 旅游黑客 is never getting only one mile/point per dollar spent. 那里 是 pretty easy ways to earn multiple 点数/miles per dollar spent. It’s easy to get up to 10x 点数 for every dollar you spend.

I have a chart for which cards I use for which expenses, so I always get the most 英里 per dollar spent. Here it is:

（注意：我也拥有所有联合品牌的航空卡，但我很少使用它们。）

通过这一切， I earn a million 要么 more 英里 per year。如果实际上每美元花费仅1点/英里，那我每年就必须花费一百万美元，但事实并非如此。当我需要购买东西时，可以通过航空公司购物门户网站在线赚取积分（最近，在我的Macy信用卡上购物，我的Macy购物获得了6英里的美国航空里程）。在亚马逊上需要什么吗？我从Office Depot购买了5倍积分的礼品卡，然后通过JetBlue获得了3倍积分。购买新电脑？我打算去买张新卡，以达到最低消费要求。有几分钟吗？我回答一些调查要点。

I’m always earning multiple 点数 per dollar spent.

I don’t view collecting 点数/miles as having a “cost” because I don’t spend extra money to earn them. To me, something has a 成本 when I give up money to get it.

Sure, there 是 taxes and 费用 是 included in your ticket but those still 成本 less than the price of a full ticket. And hotels don’t charge these 费用, so the 成本 of them using 点数 is literally zero. (Also, some credit cards allow you to wipe charges off of them, making those expenses literally zero too.)

如果你 want to travel more, 点数 and 英里 have to be something you do (providing you live in a place where they 是 an option). Even if it takes you 是 year to accumulate them, they help you unlock your dreams by drastically reducing the 成本 of everything.

When I ask most people why they don’t travel 骇客, they just shrug their shoulders and go, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.” I think people believe because 旅游黑客 seems complicated, therefore it must be so.

In addition, 旅游黑客 seems to run counter to everything we have learned about finance. We’re taught to think of money and credit in one way:

信用卡不好。公司不好。永不支付费用。您的分数是神圣的，做这样的事情会很痛苦，而且您永远也不会得到贷款。”

但是那’只是胡说八道。这是一个永恒的神话….well，我不知道确切是谁，但是人们一直相信它。

You earn 点数 and 英里 for everyday purchases you would have bought anyways and the perks outweigh the credit card 费用. For example, with my $550 USD per year Chase card, I get:

• $ 300 USD的航空信贷
• 3x 点数 on travel and restaurants (so 我可以 earn 点数 faster)
• 全球入境（每五年$ 100 USD）
• Purchase protection so 我可以 get refunded if things I buy 是 lost, damaged, 要么 stolen
• 休息室使用的优先通行证（每年约100美元）
• 旅行保险

我每年49美元的IHG卡为我提供1-5类住宿的免费住宿（每晚约200美元），我的美国航空卡随附免费托运行李，每年为我节省数百美元！

另外，由于这个原因，我的信用评分仅上升了，因为现在我有了更多的信用，更少的债务，并且还拥有良好的付款历史。 （而且，正如我的朋友加里所说：“如果不使用信用评分，会有什么好处？”）

如果你 pay your bills off each month and 是 reasonable with your money, not collecting 点数 and 英里 is saying no to free money. It’s saying, “I don’t want to be rewarded for my good spending habits.”

免费是旅行中最好的词。

When you don’t travel 骇客, the only person you 是 hurting is yourself. You 是 n’t hurting the banks 要么 the airlines. They 是 in on the game.

在我看来， 旅游黑客 is something to be embraced。它降低了旅行成本。您可以在世界上许多国家/地区这样做！即使您花费一年时间来获得免费航班，为什么不乘坐飞机呢？一次免费飞行总比没有一次免费飞行好。

Anything that saves money and reduces the 成本 of travel is something every traveler should do.

Saying no to 旅游黑客 is saying yes to spending more money on travel — and why would you ever want to do that?