Since May I've been working on the ultimate travel hack. Next spring my husband and I are headed to Europe on an incredible backpacking trip through Europe for five weeks. And, we'll pay close to $0 for hotels and airfare. Yup. I still can't believe it either.
This past month things have been feeling more real. We're talking about renting out our home on Airbnb, what to do with our dog, what travel supplies should we ask for the holidays and how to finish out our cards needed. The dreaming talk has ended and the logistical conversations are happening... quickly. 😅
This month's Europe for Free update has a lot of great information about how we're paying close to nothing for our hotel stays. It's amazing to think that we'll be saving over $5,000 in hotel rooms by the end of the hack. 🤯
A lot of our savings has to do with us being rich in IHG points. My husband and I combined for 300,000 IHG points from our two IHG Premier Rewards card sign-up bonuses. Those 300,000 points gave us 17 free nights and a savings of over $2,800 in hotel rooms, including 4 nights in luxury accommodations at both the Intercontinental Budapest and Intercontinental Istanbul. Why not have a couple nights in luxury for free? 💆♀️
My favorite part of the IHG Premier Card is the 4th night free when using points. It means that while we were staying for 16 nights at 4 different locations (4 nights at each), we are only paying for 12 nights. This basically gives us a 25% discount. I don't think the IHG Premier has a great redemption value in the United States, but Eastern Europe is a sweet spot that has saved us thousands.
Explore on. -K