Team Member Joseph: The Spontaneous Solitary Traveler

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I was anti-travel for the first 20 years of my life.  The whole idea of travel seemed like such a hassle.  Lugging bags and leaving friends and sitting in a congested metal cylinder for hours, desperately trying to breathe around the Reuben-scented carbon dioxide emanating from the passenger beside me.

It wasn’t until my family dragged me to the Middle East, my first international trip, that I learned what I’d been missing all these years!

All the new experiences were so exciting!!  The quirks, “irregularities,” and practices I’d never seen before immediately transformed my thinking.

After that trip, I grew increasingly claustrophobic in the US, and I felt the urge to leave again.  I’d spent months and years adding destinations to my bucket list.  Fortunately, I was extremely poor, which caused me to tumble down the miles & points hole.

Since discovering this hobby, I’ve been able to hop all over the US to visit family and friends for practically free.  And explore faraway lands that I’d been romanticizing in my head for years.  Like Barbados, Dubai, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, and lots more!

I very much enjoy traveling for cheap.  I like staying in nice hotels when I’m with family or friends.  But if I’m on my own, I prefer hostels.  I’m willing to go wherever the deals dictate.  If there’s a cash or award sale to a place I’ve never heard of, I’m already packing my bag.

As much as I enjoy the company of others, I love traveling alone.  I like the anonymity of it.  And the ability to take a detour into whatever lonesome dive or alleyway is calling my name.

I really make an effort to learn ways to travel cheaply that are heavily complemented by miles & points.  Once per year I’ll throw a load of points on a more upscale trip, but I’m generally the tightwad traveler.  I’ll piece together a series of inconvenient cheap one-way flights to reach a destination if it will save me a few bucks and a bunch of miles.

I’m excited to share any tips I find along the way that can save you both points and money.  I generally gravitate toward the more nature-oriented activities, like climbing the Stairway to Heaven in Hawaii, hiking the Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu, and swimming in the most beautiful natural swimming pool on earth (IMO)!

Collecting and using miles & points to their full potential takes time.  It can be a very labor-intensive hobby when you’re just beginning.  But it’s a totally worthwhile endeavor.

Some folks craft furniture out of wood.  Some folks collect stamps.  Some folks quilt.  Our hobby is fulfilling our most outlandish travel desires while saving thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars.

I’m very glad to serve you all every day, and hear about your travel stories and aspirations!  If you have any tips and tricks for fusing cheap paid travel with miles & points, or if there are any off the beaten path adventures you’d like reviewed, leave a comment!

And feel free to follow me on Instagram for jaw-dropping scenery.