Travel Hacking Genius: Fly Free to our Kaua'i or India Retreat!

Aloha!

You may or may not know that I'm a super nerdy travel hacking geek in addition to being a mantra nerd! My sister and I got smart about it earlier this year and we've gotten 1,000,000 bonus miles between us, just by spending what we normally would on our lives and businesses.

Maybe you've got money flowing in abundance (yay you!) but if you're like most people (like me anyway!) and want to do your favorite things but have to be careful about finances, I want to turn you onto the FIRE community and the concept of travel hacking.

I already feel like I'm winning at life because I get to help people every day with sound yoga therapy and teach mantra and nāda yoga for a living, but traveling for free definitely feels like winning too! Rainbows just might encircle you, too, like they did on a recent flight home to Kaua'i (in the video). Isn't that COOL?!?

What is travel hacking for chant lovers?

The basic travel hacking concept is simple:
Instead of getting 1:1 miles on a normal airline travel credit card, you apply for special credit cards that offer great signup bonuses.
One at a time.
While you're hitting the bonus on one, you put all of your bills and your daily expenses on that card.
After you hit the bonus, you switch to a new card and do the same thing.
That way you can get 10X the value (towards bonus points) out of every dollar you spend.

If you're a chant lover and want to join us on retreat, you could totally travel hack your way to getting your travel costs covered to our upcoming Kaua'i sound & mantra retreat, and/or our India panchakarma and chant retreat!

My current best cards for travel hacking, and why:

(If you click those links and sign up, instead of navigating away or searching on your own, I'll get a small miles bonus, too. Thanks for using the links! Every bit helps!)

#1
The Capital One Venture X is the best premium travel card with great travel perks including airport lounge access and amazing travel insurance protection.

#2
I love the Southwest Airlines because of their amazing Companion Pass, flexibility, and generally great prices.

#3
The business INK cards at Chase are really where the huge bonuses come in, since you can apply for them with your social security number AND with your EIN if you own a business. The best part is that the miles are ultra-flexible (and worth 1.25X when you spend them!). They'll transfer to almost any airline and hotel chain, making the game of travel hacking super fun since you can spend the miles in really fun and creative ways!

Playing the game of travel hacking right:

Ideally you plan it out before making a larger purchase so it's super easy and you can hit the bonus with just one or two purchases (like a home improvement, or a teacher training course, or the last trip you'll ever pay for with cash again ;) )

With several different companies offering great bonuses, you can alternate applications and not over-do it.
*The key is to NOT go crazy and get yourself into debt (obviously!) and just use the cards for all the things you'd need to buy anyway. Like your taxes (which can be put on a credit card in most places now!). Your bills, groceries, gym membership, etc. Or even your rent!

What does this have to do with chant lovers?
Our upcoming Kaua'i mantra and nada yoga retreat is already very affordable... family-style accommodation options, local rental cars from me & my friends, and simply delicious Ayurvedic food is included in the price.

Since I'm on the most remote landmass on Earth and tropical paradise is not cheap, getting to & from the island is also a significant expense. But I have good news for you!

Clever Chant Lovers could fly FREE + 1 AND get FREE Tuition

1. If you're clever about it, and willing to plan ahead, you could rock the travel hacking game and get your flight + a companion's flight FREE! (See Companion Pass below)
2. If you have a network of people who would also love our programs, you could get your tuition paid for by referring others to our sound & mantra trainings. It's not a pyramid scheme or anything - just a straight $ thank you for spreading the word! (Check our Affiliate Program or contact us)

How to become a total travel hacking geek (like me!)

• If you live in the US and you're a person who can pay their credit card bill on time and in full each month, signing up for credit card bonuses is a great way to rack up more than enough bonus points for a round trip to Hawai'i. (Travel hacking opportunities are less available outside of the US.)
• If you will be travelling from the United States, and can fly Southwest Airlines to Lihue, the Southwest Companion Pass is AMAZING! (I got it last year and my boyfriend and I have been travelling 2-for-1 all year. Yep. It sounds too good to be true but I am living proof. It was remarkably easy!)

Travel Hacking Companion Pass how to (if you and a friend want to fly to Kaua'i for free, here's what do to):

1. Apply for a Southwest Airlines Business Card to get the 80,000 bonus. (Sometimes it's even more!)
2. Apply for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards card to get the 50,000 bonus.
3. Meet your minimum spend for both cards by paying for things you're already planning to buy, such as the Kaua'i mantra and nada yoga retreat tuition, or the sound and mantra teacher training package deal (available for both the 500hr and the 200hr training).
4. You can also put the Kaua'i retreat lodging or rental car on your new Southwest airlines credit card if you're willing to pay the Paypal fees!

   

The trick to timing travel hacking is:

1. Apply for a new card with a great bonus a few weeks before a planned purchase.
2. Make the purchase to meet the minimum spend before the deadline (usually 3 months).
3. Use the bonus points you earned to get your flights, airbnb, rental car, etc.

My current best cards for travel hacking, and why:

(If you click those links and sign up, instead of navigating away or searching on your own, I'll get a small miles bonus, too. Thanks for using the links! Every bit helps!)

#1
The Capital One Venture X gives you airport lounge access, free TSA precheck / Global Entry, and amazing travel insurance protection. (If you're not a lounge lizard yet and don't enjoy breezing through TSA while other folks wait in long lines, welcome to my world!)

#2
I love the Southwest Airlines because of their amazing Companion Pass, 2 free checked bags, flexibility, and generally great prices.

#3
The business INK cards at Chase miles are ultra-flexible (and worth 1.25X when you spend them!). They'll transfer to almost any airline and hotel chain, making the game of travel hacking super fun since you can spend the miles in really fun and creative ways!

Travel Hacking Key Concept: don't spend more than you normally would!

Other ideas to meet your minimum spend without spending any extra money would be:

Signing up for new cards like the Southwest Airlines or my other favorite, the Capital One Venture X is a few weeks before an expenditure is coming up is just super smart! (But only if you're able to pay your cards on time and in full!)

Annual renewal fees for car insurance, subscription payments like Spotify, etc. You can often save 20-30% going from monthly to annual payments in advance, so it's worth doing an audit of your subscriptions to a) save that money and b) hit your minimum spend quickly!

Of course, putting your Heart of Sound Kauai Retreat + 200hr Teacher Training package deal (or 500hr Package Deal!) would be the best idea! ;) as you'll save $500 on both plus go a long way towards your minimum spend on the Southwest Business Rewards card!

If you took action soon, it's possible to get your bonuses posted to your account in plenty of time to use those miles to book your Southwest reward flight to Lihue, plus fly your companion with you for free! (As of posting, a round-trip flight LAX to LIH uses only about 50,000 points, so after getting 130,000 in bonus points from those two cards you'd have plenty left over for other adventures or our next Kaua'i mantra and nada yoga retreat!)

Companion Pass sample numbers for Kaua'i Chant Retreat

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Personal card = 50,000 miles bonus

Minimum spend is only $1000, which you'd meet by purchasing the $1095 Kaua'i mantra and nada yoga retreat OR the lodging + car (which you can share with a friend) on that card.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Business card = 80,000 miles bonus

Minimum spend is $5000, you'd hit by investing in the Kauai Retreat + 200hr Teacher Training package deal (or the 500hr Package Deal!)

That's 130,000 miles towards your 135,000 requirement to get the Companion Pass (which is good for the remainder of the year plus ALL OF NEXT YEAR!)

We hope to see you real soon on Kaua'i!