In today’s blog post, I’m doing something a little different: a travel Q&A! On Instagram and YouTube, I asked you what questions about travel you wanted answered. These are the top questions about travel that I get asked on a regular basis, so I’m excited to give you much-deserved answers.
Best travel credit cards?
First, what are the best travel credit cards? I get asked this question all the time. The truth is, the best travel credit card depends on the individual. This is because of different annual fees that travelers may or may not be able to afford, different travel goals that different travelers have, etc. But, here are my two personal favorite travel credit cards that I always recommend first: the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a significantly lower annual fee of $95 that pays for itself if you take advantage of all its credits and benefits. Plus, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Hyatt. With those Hyatt points, you can stay at some pretty luxurious hotels (like these) around the world for free.
The Capital One Venture X, on the other hand, has a much higher annual fee of $395 (so, I don’t necessarily recommend it for everyone). Although, this annual fee comes with an impressive 2x miles earned on every purchase, in addition to other major benefits like a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 mile yearly anniversary bonus, airport lounge access and more. If you want the easy 2x miles per dollar spent without the hefty annual fee, the cheaper Capital One Venture is also another great travel credit card option.
I personally own both of these cards and plan to keep them open for years to come. I do have an entire blog post with all of the best travel credit cards for beginners here. If you’re still unsure about which card is best for you, you can take this free quiz to help you decide.
How were you able to save up for all your trips before having credit card points?
Whether you’re debt prone or live in a country where credit card points and miles aren’t readily available, there are still ways to save up for your trips without having credit card points. To be fully transparent, as a pilot kid, I was privileged to have flight benefits (i.e. free standby flights) as long as I was a full-time student. After I graduated grad school, I had to find a new way to way to fly for free — enter credit card points and miles. But, even then, I had to find creative ways to save up for and save on travel expenses.
To save up for my trips before credit card points and miles, I followed a strict budget that prioritized travel. In order to prioritize travel into my monthly finances, I created a separate “travel” category in my monthly budget. Personally, I don’t think travel should fall under your “fun money” category because you’ll probably end up spending that money on a new T-shirt or weekly Starbucks instead.
Speaking of which, I rarely spent money on material items, like clothes or shoes, or food and drinks out. I always ate at home and re-wore clothes from years prior. Still to this day, I spend more on experiences, namely travel, than I do on material purchases. Most if not all of my clothing purchases are coming from a place of need, not want. Plus, I don’t like alcohol, so that easily saves me hundreds of dollars per month too.
Then, I automate the transfer of my allotted travel savings — usually 5-10% per month — into a high yield savings account for faster compounded growth. Check out my step-by-step guide to budget for travel here.
If you had to move to a country you have never lived in before, which would it be?
Norway. I fell in love with Norway during my first visit. I was genuinely so happy there. My ancestry is predominantly Norwegian, so between the foods, customs and even matching physical features, visiting Norway felt like I was right at home.
Or, maybe Italy. I’ve been to Italy a few times, but I still have so much more I want to explore there. From dreamy coastline towns to epic mountain ranges to rich historical monuments to the Tuscan countryside, you can’t really experience all of the Italy without being there for an extended amount of time. Although, I would probably still choose Norway.
I’ve lived in the United States, Ireland and France, so, even though I love those countries, those countries are off the table for this travel Q&A question.
What are some affordable accommodation hacks?
My favorite accommodation hack is to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book Hyatt hotels for free with points. But, I know not everyone travels on points and miles.
So, my second favorite accommodation hack is to use Hotwire for last-minute discounted luxury hotel stays. Before points and miles, I used Hotwire for basically every single one of my trips. I’ve stayed in some fabulous 5-star hotels — such as a variety of W hotels, Hilton hotels and InterContinental hotels — for less than $100 USD per night thanks to Hotwire. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve mastered Hotwire hotel booking. I have a few Hotwire tricks up my sleeve that you can download for free on this Hotwire cheatsheet.
What are the cheapest places to travel that are still cool?
There are so many cheap places to travel that are still cool! To name a few examples: Bali, Greece, Egypt, South Africa and Costa Rica are all iconic travel destinations that are extremely affordable. You can download a free bucket list with all of the best places to travel on a budget here.
Ways to travel as a college student?
As a college student, there are a variety of unique and financially smart ways to travel. One, of course, you can save up for each trip and spend less on material items as I mentioned earlier in this travel Q&A. Two, you can enter the points and miles game like I mentioned, too, but error on the side of caution. Many college students do not have enough average monthly spend to earn travel credit card welcome offers. Additionally, I only recommend banking on points and miles (pun intended) if you are financially responsible, free from high-interest debt and not prone to overspending.
Or, three, you can take advantage of study abroad programs, which will lump partly into your student tuition. Four, you can take missions trips or other foreign aid trips, which are often fundraised. And, lastly, don’t sleep on hostel backpacking! I stayed in some pretty nice hostels during my college days. You can read my 5 best tips to get paid to travel as college student here in my article in Study Breaks Magazine.
Have you ever taken a Celebrity or Virgin cruise?
Sadly, I have not. Believe it or not, I have only ever been on two cruise sailings: one in the Caribbean and one in the Norwegian fjords. Both of these sailings were on Royal Caribbean. Although, I would happily consider both Celebrity and Virgin as future cruise lines.
What’s your biggest money maker within the travel blogging space?
My biggest money makers in travel blogging are ad revenue and content licensing.
As a travel blogger, I earn money through ads placed on my blog posts, webpages and YouTube videos. Most travel bloggers (myself included) work with an ad agency that serves as a mediator between the bloggers and advertising brands. Working with an ad agency is, by far, the easiest, fastest and most lucrative way to earn ad income passively. The agency I work with is Mediavine. However, they have a higher barrier to entry than some other agencies. If you’re just starting, I would recommend Ezoic, which is another high-paying ad agency that has a lower barrier to entry than Mediavine.
I also make a significant amount of money each month through content licensing. Basically, brands will pay me a to create content for them, whether that’s high-resolution photography, videography or casual UGC-style videos for their social media, websites and ad campaigns. For ad campaigns in particular, the brands also pay for the license to use that content, which I own as the creator, on a monthly or yearly basis.
Check out my full guide to making money as a travel blogger here.
How do you teach a husband to take good photos?
The secret to teaching your husband to take good photos of you is to take good photos of your husband first. Tell your husband to stand exactly where you want to stand in your own photo. Adjust the lighting for him. Frame the photo exactly how you want your photo to be framed. Take his photo. Then, show him the photo, specifying key features you want in your own photo, such as where your head is located, what’s in the background, where you want the top/bottom of the photo to be, etc. Make your photo essentially a copy and paste experience for him. If your husband doesn’t like being in photos, point to exactly where you’re going to stand and specify all the same features.
Also, have a lot of patience! If you don’t get the exact photo you want, give him a compliment before asking for another photo. Say, “I really like how you did [insert what you like]. Can you take another one just like that and also with [insert correction]?” If you’re kind and patient, he’s also more likely to be kind and patient!
How do you go through all of your travel content? I have 1000s of pictures. Where do you start?
I personally edit all of my travel content chronologically. This may or may not be the fastest way to sort through and edit travel photos, but I find it easier to organize all of my digital files in order of when I took them on the trip versus jumping around from trip activity photo to trip activity photo. I skip editing duplicates and near-duplicates. I also edit the photos I love most in both color and black and white so that I can easily find them in my location-separated external hard drive folders later.
Additionally, I usually dedicate 1-3 full work days to edit all of the photos from one trip, depending on how long the trip was and how much content I shot. Editing travel photos takes a long time, so organization and time management are key. Read all of my best travel photography tips here.
Have any more travel Q&A questions? Let me know in the comments!
More About These Travel Q&A Responses
Best Travel Credit Cards For Beginners
How To Budget For Travel In 9 Easy Steps
How To Choose The Best Travel Credit Card (Quiz)
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