WELCOME
Hi! I’m Austin. I have been a lifelong learner of personal finance. I went through an extreme Dave Ramsey phase in late 2019 cutting up credit cards and budgeting every single dollar every day for more than 8 months. I’m happy I did! I paid off $8.9K in those 8 months making $48.5K a year! That experience was pivotal because it showed me that I am in control of my money and no debt would hold me from my goals again.
After my DR phase, I heard another voice saying you don't need to sacrifice so much to hit your goals, you can breathe. That voice came from Shannon McLay at The Financial Gym. Her podcast Martinis and Your Money and Financially Naked helped me reset my extremist, scarce mindset on money and helped me take a more holistic, stress-free approach.
I knew I wanted to do something in personal finance but I wasn’t sure what until I caught the travel bug - more clearly, the travel hacking bug. I learned some unique ways to find cheap yet luxurious travel through podcasts (shout out to All The Hacks), Instagram, Reddit, and anything I could find online, including The Points Guy and The Freqent Miler. I absorbed as much content as I could before beginning my own credit card hacking journey in October 2022.
Since October 2022, I have not paid for a single flight outside of taxes/fees and that includes 5+ domestic trips and 3 trips abroad. Fast forward to now, I’m taking what I’ve learned to show you how to build your own strategy for award travel and helping people book individual flights through my Award Travel Booking Concierge service. Think of me as your Personal Trainer for cheap yet luxurious (award) travel.
Travel hacking is one’s ability to use credit card rewards to pay for travel including flights and hotels that you would’ve otherwise paid for with cash. It saves you money but also allows you to take trips you’ve always dreamed of for an affordable price.
Think a $30K biz class flight to Tokyo that you would never pay for but with Amex is available at 150K Amex Membership Rewards + $75 cash for you and your significant other. Think roundtrip anywhere in the states for less than $200 for 2, or even international flights like Dominican Republic, Portugal, Prague, Amsterdam, Australia, and more paying just the taxes and/or fees. Although the cash price of these airlines/hotels will vary depending on several factors outside of my control just as the award availability will vary, it is safe to say that there is a ton of opportunity for you to find cheap yet luxurious (award) travel here at Travel AF.
Personalized Points
Strategy Plan
Want a customized travel hacking plan based on your desired location or monthly spend? There are two versions of this one-off plan based on your goals.
- Version 1 - This is a credit card application strategy to maximize your earning potential while keeping you above 730+ credit, staying debt-free, and to continue to take advantage of your credit card rewards.
- Method 2 - This is a credit card optimization strategy based on your existing cards.
Award Travel Booking
Services
Let me take care of finding the award availability for your flights and help you book them from start to finish. Please note that award availability is controlled by airlines and your request for a specific date/time may not be available as an option.
Includes
- Domestic + International Economy Class flights
- Domestic Business + First Class flights
- International Business Class flights
- International First Class Flights
Ambitious
Travelers
Spending
Optimizers
Frequent
Flyers
Business
Owners
