What are we doing?
We write about inexpensive ways for people to get to places they had only dreamed of going. We hope to inspire others to travel – to infect them with a serious case of “wanderlust.” Nothing pains us worse than hearing people say, “I’d love to travel, I just can’t afford it.”
We are arms-dealers in the war of monotony vs. adventure and excitement. It is a sad fact that most people simply raise their white flag in surrender to boredom and sameness. They’re overpowered by the battle-call of the humdrum, “we can’t afford to do things like that.” They cower from the challenge with phrases like “we can’t find a babysitter,” and “traveling to those places isn’t safe.”
We just won’t tolerate weakness like that. We won’t let them win. We soak in the refreshing springs of civilizations’ celebrations. We gorge on the sweet variety of global gluttony. We learn the intriguing history of local legends. We wanderlust.
The opportunities that are out there for absolutely free travel justify banishing that phrase forever. Come see what we’re doing, come do what we’re saying. Wanderlust with us.
Our Niche
We never expected to come into the credit-card-churning scene and take it by storm. We’ll probably never be as well-recognized as the many others who’ve encouraged us to take the plunge. We’ve got families and responsibilities and this is simply a hobby that we hope will inspire others to travel. If we have a niche in this world, it’s to show people what they can do with their easily-earned miles and points.
Sheldon
My love for traveling began in 2001 when I took a summer trip to Barcelona, Spain. I fell in love with other cultures, foods, people, and landscape. Since then I’ve visited over 20 countries and spent over two years outside of the US.
I really enjoy traveling to historical locations. As I travel I really enjoy learning about the people, their culture, their foods, and their landscape. I try to travel to new places often and return to places that I’ve loved.
When I got married in 2008 everyone told me that my traveling would have to slow down. I wasn’t discouraged by their comments, I was encouraged. After our honeymoon in Las Vegas we took a trip to Panama two weeks later. In 2009 we did a small tour of Southeast Asia. My wife was a trooper and fell in love with traveling as much as I did. In 2010 I went to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, BVI, Antigua, St. Lucia, and Barbados. Our most recent international trip was to Costa Rica in March of 2011. We keep our sites set high on visiting new countries, people, and places every year. Now we are doing it for free. (More on Sheldon)
- How I Became a Frequent Flier Pro
- My Boy Max
- Shae’s First International Trip
- How to Save $4000 on a Vacation in Europe
Brad
I read an article once that said that if money doesn’t make you happy, then you probably aren’t spending it the right way. The premise was that people ultimately gain very little satisfaction in life from buying things, yet they obtain the great pleasure from buying experiences.
I know that at the end of my life I won’t look back with regret at the things I didn’t buy, but at the things I didn’t do, the places I didn’t see, and the experiences I didn’t have. So I am bound and determined to do as much as my resources, and the many other obligations I have, will allow.
As much as I enjoy traveling myself, I also enjoy sharing stories with others, so I hope this blog will be a forum for all of us to discuss our adventures, to learn how to travel at drastically reduced prices (if not for free), and to inspire others to opt for experiences over frivolous things. (More on Brad)
Thank you for visiting. Wanderlust with us.
Do you have any ideas for last minute international travel?
Betty, where are you headed and when? Do you have any frequent flier miles?
i’m glad to have found your site! great ideas. my hubby & i have been married 6 years and looove to travel. we’ve been a decent number of places, and a lot of it is due to the fact that we know how to strategize travel- how, when, where, etc. we have 2-year-old, and still manage to travel (not AS much, but we still get out!)… although, we haven’t dared to bring her with us quite yet…
Amanda-
Thanks for your feedback. We hope to be a resource for you for all things travel. Life is too short and the world is too beautiful to miss out on the experiences and memories that travel brings.
Best wishes,
Brad
Love to travel, but haven’t due to financial issues. This site should help me overcome that little obstacle and let me resume my explorations!
I have been following your blog for few months and thanks for maintaining this website. My question is that I signed up for Chase Southwest card through your website and got approved after some back and forth with Lending services for reconsideration. I also plan on applying for business card and I am not sure if I am going to get approved. However, I did get approved for Hyatt, BA and Southwest all of them obviously chase. I am planning to travel to NY LGA from DFW(Dallas) sometime in September around Labor day weekend(so it is busy travel season). I already booked my onward leg from DFW – LGA using AA points. My choices for return leg are Avios points, Southwest points and Southwest credit(I have some from earlier cancelled flights).
One way cheapest ticket on Southwest – 180 $
Southwest points will cost me about close to 9500.
Avios one way is costing me around 10000 points.
So if I use southwest points to book, does that take away points credit towards companion ticket total miles(assuming I get approved for business card and build that other 10,000 credit later)? What are some of the things to consider?
@Krish- Thanks for being a worldwanderluster and for your nice comments. We’d love to help.
First, even if you spend your SW points, they still count toward the 110,000 points you’ll need because they’re counting how much you’ve earned, not how much you have. So don’t have any heartache about spending them.
Here are some other things to consider:
-What do you plan on using points for in the future? For example, I have 60k United miles in my account and myh wife’s account (the cost of a flight to Europe), so I wouldn’t use 25k of those to take a domestic flight.
-Will paying cash help you earn the 110,000 you need to get the companion pass? The last thing you’d want is to be a few points short at the end of the year that you could have had if you had paid for the flight.
-Do you have any mile programs which need activity in order to keep them from expiring?
-Which program provides for the more efficient flight routing?
Congrats on your success on all of these deals. It looks like it’s working for you in full force and we’re elated to have you wanderlusting with us.
Please let us know if there’s anything else we can help with.
Brad
Hey Sheldon. Long time no see.
Quick question, can I get 5 different chase cards and get their individual benefit simultaneously? Assuming I am fiscally responsible and qualify for the reward. It just seems too good to be able to have all of those cards, build the reward, cancel the card, then keep the reward. I still love my chase sapphire, but I need to expedite my point growth.
Let me know man. You guys are an inspiration!
– Casey D.
Hi Sheldon,
I live in Utah–we probably have something in common. I was born in Idaho and love to travel after a two year service in Argentina. I would love to talk over some strategies with you. Would you be interested in a phone conversation? If so, email me.
Brent-That sounds great. Give me a call sometime. I’ll email you.
Just an FYI. The Tax Court just decided that tickets received for opening a bank account are taxable, or in otherwords, you will get a 1099 for “Interest Income”.
I believe that Credit Cards rewards are exempt from this, because credit card miles will probably never be taxable.
Just a little nugget. The key distinction bank account vs credit card.
Nicely done Adam. Leave it to the tax man to hook us up with some nuggets of great information. Thank you for the heads up.
Sheldon and Brad,
My wife and I took a week trip to Cancun and the Mayan Rivera back in February of this year and wrote a blog about it. We used Frontier cards and IHG card and spent a grand total of $848.82 (plus the cost of passports for both of us). $848.82 included everything: the flight, credit card fee, taxes, hotels, food, entertainment, transportation, and souvenirs. Would you be interested in a guest post on your website?
Thanks,
David
David- awesome! Yes, we’d love to hear all about it. Would you send your story and some pictures to worldwanderlusting@gmail.com? Thanks!