TRIP REPORT: How I Managed To Spend Only $228.33 on A Luxe Vacation in Anguilla Worth $8,000+

Simple explanation: travel hacking. I write up these trip reports to illustrate all of the strategies and techniques that I use to travel for cheaper, better and more often to show you exactly how I travel hack. I want to show you exactly what I have spent in cash, points, miles and where savings have come from to show you that these trips can be replicated with the caveat that there are a few ymmv. “Your mileage may vary” is an important concept to grasp in travel hacking meaning that our experiences often don’t align exactly (especially when we look at things like upgrades) but the fundamentals such as free flights and hotel stays can be something that you would be able to do ie book with points and miles.

Want to learn more about travel hacking? Read my how to/into to award travel. Need a refresher on credit cards? Check out this post that also covers basics and myths around credit.

TRIP OVERVIEW

Some reminders about how this is organized and where some of the numbers come from. Cash price is what the going rate was when I booked XX (ie: flights, hotel, etc). Take those numbers with a grain of salt because when it includes things like premium cabin flights or even the hotel, these are not things I would be choosing IF I had to pay cash. But they are included because they give you an idea of what travel hacking looks like in action.

Each category/section lists a total spend and then further is broken down as applicable ie what points/miles were used and how much actual cash I spent. There is also information about where the savings came from but note that these are savings beyond the cash price or value of the flights/hotels ie these numbers come from what an upgrade is worth or if I was able to use a credit card benefit to recoup costs. Detailed posts with more information will be linked as they are written (ie itinerary / flights + hotel reviews)

FLIGHTS

Total Spend: 24,000 AA Miles & $69.11 Savings from Main Cabin Extra seat fees waived + comp upgrades on three out of four flights (comp with AA elite status) + Inflight WiFi waived with T-Mobile plan

I love my American Airlines miles for trips exactly like this one. I would have never justified paying the going cash price for flights but it was a quick and easy decision once I saw that award flights were only 10K miles. Ha! IYKYK but no surprise that there were a number of changes to this trip as I originally was planning an add on trip to St Martin/Sint Maarten and had my outgoing flight there. Long story short is that pricing out using my Marriott free night certificate almost tripled my costs so I changed my flights and award pricing was a bit higher at 12K/each way.

HOTEL

Zemi Beach Hotel

Spend: Hilton Free Night Award (x2) + 110K Hilton Honor points +$34 (Housekeeping and Bell tips) Additional Savings:$144.27/night Upgrade to Ocean View Private Balcony room/Eiffel Tower View Deluxe room (Upgrade due to Hilton Honors Diamond status - also included in other sections for savings: Complimentary breakfast)

I did base my decision for this holiday on where I would be able to maximize my Hilton Honors Free Night Rewards and this showcases how they are one of the most valuable credit card perks out there (read more about these awards here). Because there was standard room availability at this lovely property, I was able to book a garden view room with the awards/points with a going room rate of $1,190.98 and did not have to pay the additional $321.56 taxes and fees associated with that rate!

FOOD

Spend: $10 cash tips for AA lounge visits Savings of $577.36 on meals + drinks from a variety of sources. American Airlines meals in first class and AA lounges (comp upgrades and lounge access with AA Executive Platinum elite status) Zemi Beach: Gratis Continental Breakfast $71.50: $55+13%taxes & 17%service fee /No fee for latte (which would have been comped for a second guest - HH Diamond Elite status) + Amex Hilton Business $60 quarterly credit card benefit + Amex Hilton Aspire $200 bi-annual credit card benefits

Note: what I ate will be covered in my itinerary and Zemi reviews – savings numbers do not include meals paid for by a friend. The Amex card benefits is a credit from Amex so it covered food and transportation costs

TRANSPORTATION

Spend: $47.27 Airport parking @ DEN + cash tips for airport transport Savings of $57.14 on private car/taxi from AXA to Zemi and Zemi to AXA: Amex Hilton Aspire $200 bi-annual credit card benefits

There was a 10% surcharge to add the private airport transportation onto my Hilton folio but paying $2.60/each way was worth it since I was able to use my AMEX Aspire credit.

ACTIVITIES

Spend: $14 cash tips Savings of $145 for complimentary on-site activities + gear availability

Costs were so low here as Zemi had many things available gratis such as sunrise yoga, (which I have paid $20-80/session), gear you could use/borrow for your stay ie I went out on a stand up paddle board and snorkeled

MISCELLANEOUS

Spend: $52.95 And the magnet collection is getting more expensive to add (with my travels to the Caribbean) as I paid almost $17 for the one from Anguilla! Also included is cost for bills/coins (for myself and my niece) Now that I am writing this out…not sure this is the appropriate place for this charge but there is a $28 Anguilla Departure Tax that is due and paid separately at airport upon departure

HELPFUL HINTS

Loyalty pays: Having elite status increased the value of my vacation tremendously from better seating to complimentary upgrades and airport lounge access due to American Airlines Executive Platinum and free breakfast and room upgrade with my HH Diamond status (which is a perk from having the Aspire credit card!)

SUMMARY

It seems unbelievable or that there must be some type of magic happening to have trips like this when I am paying so little but this is why I am so transparent about my costs (and anal about recording them) to literally show you the receipts for how I am doing all of this travel!

But that’s the beauty and power of travel hacking….are you starting to believe me now?