Welcome to the next interview in our interview series where travel bloggers share their insights on having Big Travel with Small Money!
Miles & Points Interview: MissVacation
Lisa started MissVacation share her stories and photography from her travels around the world.
How and when did you start collecting miles and points?
I am a travel addict so within 3 months after I returned from a trip, I started to think about the next destination. Bora Bora has always been on the top of my list, but I was scared to even think of it because it’s known to be very expensive.
I happened to land on a post by Million Mile Secrets about Bora Bora and I couldn’t believe how easy it is to get there with points and miles! That was how I started to collect points and miles for my upcoming trip to Bora Bora!!!
Why did you start your blog? What’s special about it?
I started my travel blog MissVacation back in 2012 to share my passion for travel and photography. I want to be as detailed as possible on how to get there and what to do to save on time and money so people can follow in my footsteps.
Often times people turn down the opportunity to travel because too much planning is involved. I want to show people the joy of planning and traveling. 🙂 Also, I recently started to share tips about photography since a lot of people ask me how I take such beautiful pictures.
What’s the one single thing people can do to get more miles?
Find the right credit cards and use them for all your expenses, it really adds up!
What’s your most memorable travel experience?
That’s a very tough one! All the trips I have taken were unique and memorable in their own way. I think what made my trips memorable was who I was with…my husband.
These are the memories we created and will share for the rest of our lives. When we are retired and sitting in our rocking chairs, we will look back at our travel photos and for sure we’ll have a debate about which trip was the best. Haha!
What do your family and friends think of your miles & points hobby?
They are shocked by how I travel for so much less, they really think it takes a genius, but I always reply that anyone can do it! It takes a little time and patience to understand how points and miles work but after that, the possibilities are limitless!
Is there any tool or trick which you’ve found especially useful in this hobby?
Reading what other people, such as Daraius from Million Mile Secrets, have done.
What was the least expected way you’ve earned miles or points?
Online searches. I do a lot of research online everyday for my upcoming trips and can earn miles at the same time!
What do you now know about collecting miles and points which you wish you knew when you started out?
I wish I knew that sign-up bonuses from credit cards could get me free airfare and free hotel nights. I could’ve saved a lot more on my travel! I wasn’t paying much attention since I thought it required a lot of effort, but I was so wrong!
What would your readers be surprised to know about you?
I have a big appetite! People get fooled by my skinny look, but I can eat a lot and I love to eat! That’s why I need to save on airfare and hotels…so I can spend more on food! LOL!
Any parting words?
The world is so big and life is too short, so don’t wait, travel!!! Don’t be afraid to navigate the world, you’ll be surprised how travel can change you and your view of this beautiful place called Earth.
One last thing, don’t leave your valuables inside the hotel room safe because it’s not safe at all!
I learned the hard way when my hotel room was broken into, all my valuables were stolen, and the hotel didn’t take any responsibility. If you have valuables, ask the front desk to keep them inside the hotel’s safe, that’s the only way the hotel will take responsibility for your property.
Life always has ups and downs and that’s how we grow so don’t be afraid and go explore!
Lisa – Thanks for sharing your thoughts on having Big Travel with Small Money!
If you’d like to be considered for our interview series, please send me a note!
@Jason, few I uses:
1. Google flights – give me flexibility to open search my home airport to any where in the world and calendar to see the prices up to 11 months. That was how I snapped my flight to Athens 9 months in advanced for $700ish for travel in June!
2. Kayak – sometimes it found lower prices and direct link to it. Recently I booked a ticket from Rome to Bari, Italy when the link directs me to the Italian Alitalia website, if I changed the home country to US, it’s higher price! I kept it Italy but language English to book and saved almost 50%! Note I have a no currency exchange fee credit card!
3. Yapta – company owned by kayak but it gives ability to track price changes and you can figure it to send auto email one price dropped to your set amount!
4. Hotwire hot rate but you don’t get miles for those super cheap fares and it won’t reveal the travel time and airline until after you booked! Same as hotel…I snapped a room at the Hilton Venice for $130 per night in summer, I don’t get points but saved over $200 per night!
5. Subscribe to million miles secret haha to get latest news like the new WOW Airline, I booked a trip to Iceland next year!
Hi Lisa, what airfare travel websites do you use to get good deals? What are your tips?
@Guy – Few rules we followed to minimized the chance of having people in the background of our photos:
1. Be there early – especially in popular landmarks – the trade off is might not get the optimal lighting condition but I rather be that than so crowded that I might not even have room for the tripod!
2. Be patient and be flexible – sometimes we have to wait for a tour group to finish off their photos and leave before our turn. That’s why I always planned plenty of time in case we need a few tries to get the photo in my mind.
3. Walk away from crowded spot – we discovered lots of as beautiful views off the beaten path. Sometimes it’s just a few feet away (the picture in Maui)!
Great photos. Love the composition of the Maui one especially. I’m assuming you use a tripod and a timer. But can you tell me how there’s no one else in your photos? When I’m on vacation with my girlfriend, there always seem to be dozens of people in the background of every photo we take. Thanks!
I use both Bing and Hawaiian Airlines search tool. I can earn up to 33 miles (99 searches) per day that’s up to 1000 miles per month. For my upcoming trip to Hawaii, inter-island flight starts at 7,500 miles so that covers my flight from Oahu to Big Island 🙂