“Begpacking” — The Latest Shameful Travel Pandemic

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INSIDER SECRET: You can book a solid 4+ weeks at several hotels for free simply by earning the welcome bonus of a single credit card. I’ll show you.

Have you ever watched a movie or heard a song and immediately felt compelled to drop everything and go travel the world? Don’t do it.

The travel bug ambushes — its syrupy venom courses through your veins at the most unexpected moments. Harnessing that fever and emotion can motivate you to fulfill unforgettable bucket-list adventures. But there is a WRONG way to travel, and it stems from the same impassioned spontaneity of incurable wanderlust.

For the past couple of years, a new style of sightseeing has appeared on the travel scene: “begpacking.” It’s exactly what it sounds like — freeloader travel.

I’ll show you why this is a vile practice. You don’t need to be rich to travel the world, and you don’t need to begpack!

The defiant sniggering face on this shameless #begpacker's face when I report her to police here in Seoul's Jongno 3-ga. She obviously pretended not to speak a word of English. Such an old trick. And then police don't know what to do. Calling immigration would be a good start. pic.twitter.com/ilOjxHrRsk

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) June 26, 2019

Begpacking: The Latest Travel Pandemic

I always feel awful when I’m at a red light and spot a tattered cardboard sign of the less fortunate begging on the corner. I can’t imagine coming to the realization that the only way to survive is by asking strangers for money. It must be the most difficult thing in the world to choose between pride and food.

As it turns out, many engage in this practice recreationally on a regular basis and they call it begpacking. Some even bring their kids with them!

Begpacking is a disgraceful travel practice of begging locals for money. In whichever far-flung country you happen to run low on funds, just plop down on the sidewalk, unfold the paper sign you’ve been keeping in your backpack, and stay there until you’ve extorted enough money from kindhearted locals to continue your journey another day.

To the credit of many begpackers, the signs they carry are 100% shamelessly honest. One traveler holds a sign that says:

I am traveling around Asia without money. Please support my trip.

Another states:

I’m traveling across Asia for 5 months. Hong Kong is amazing, but very expensive so I have no money to continue my journey. PLEASE HELP!

The good folk @Adventurecom want to know, is #begpacking the worst travel trend of them all? We'd be inclined to say so. https://t.co/kgPwLyxQ8x pic.twitter.com/ahg5gV1uDF

— EuropeByRail (@EuropeByRail) October 11, 2018

Traveling Without Money the Responsible Way — With Travel Rewards!

When I see these pictures of broke millennial first-world travelers in a meditative Buddha pose on the sidewalk with a money jar in front of them, I suspect that Eat. Pray. Love. might be responsible for their life choices. Begpackers are found primarily in Southeast Asia in “find yourself” locations like Bali and Angkor.

I get it, some don’t think they can travel any other way. It’s neat to see people with such resolution to achieve their travel goals! But don’t set out on a journey with the intent to TAKE.

The below tweet roughly translates to: “Saw this foreigner begpacking to travel to Thailand next to an older woman collecting junk bottles for resale in order to survive.”

เห็นพวกฝรั่งขอทานเพื่อไปเที่ยวต่อในเมืองไทย (หรือพวก begpacker) แล้วมาเจออีกภาพติดๆกัน คือภาพลุงๆป้าๆที่เข็นรถขายไอติม หรือเก็บขวดเก็บขยะไปขายต่อเพื่อประทังชีวิตนี่มัน… pic.twitter.com/OHz3ip93Lq

— Tonno 🙋🏻‍♂️ (@TonsTweetings) September 16, 2018

Traveling for cheap is why most of us got into the miles and points hobby in the first place. We wanted to quell our itchy feet without breaking the bank.

As it happens, you can travel for LESS than a begpacker! Since I began the miles and points craze, I’ve done things like:

• Fly to the Philippines for $5.60
• Fly to South Africa for $5.60
• Fly to Switzerland for $34.20
• Free hotel in Barbados for four days
• Free hotel in Mexico for seven days
• Free hotel in Hawaii for seven days
• Free hotel in Dubai for three days
• Free hotel in Cusco for two days

That only scratches the surface.

Many of these experiences were in amazing hotels. If you’re a potential begpacker, you should seriously take a look at the miles and points hobby first. You’ll upgrade your standard of travel in a dramatic way. There’s a card for everyone’s travel style.

How to Travel on a Begpacker Budget Without Begging

There are an abundance of methods for traveling on the cheap. Putting myself in a begpacker mindset, here’s what I’d do.

Option 1

If you enjoy living like the locals, you can open a cash-back credit card like the Capital One® Savor® Cash Rewards Credit Card and earn the bonus before you go. It should be enough for a few weeks in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, etc. You’ll be booking low-rent accommodations and eating a lot of street food, but it’s totally possible!

You could also book free airfare by using bonus miles from the best airline credit cards and use the money you WOULD HAVE spent on a ticket to fund your food and lodging for a LONG time.

The information for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Option 2

You can earn a hotel credit card welcome bonus and stretch the points you earn by researching the best places to spend them. For example, the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card comes with 130,000 bonus points + a free weekend night after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first four months of account opening (that offer ends August 28, 2019). Here’s an example of what you could do with that bonus:

• The Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport costs only 5,000 points per night
• If you have a Hilton credit card, you’ll get every 5th consecutive award night for free. That means you could stay at this resort for free for 31 days

That’s right, opening one single card can give you a full month at a five-star hotel for zero dollars. If you and your travel buddy both opened a card, you could stay together for TWO MONTHS.

Note: There are even five-star resorts around Egypt that cost 5,000 Hilton points, like the Hilton Hurghada Resort and Hilton Sharm Waterfalls Resort. Imagine staying for two months in a five-star hotel…

The information for the Hilton Surpass card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Bottom Line

If you’re going to be a freeloader, do it with points, not the hard-earned money of impoverished locals. You can actually travel for less money than a begpacker by reading blogs that help you learn the key to free travel.

You can subscribe to the Million Mile Secrets newsletter to learn free tips for free trips! We’ll always let you know when a good deal pops up, honest.

Lead Image by @TonsTweetings