Travel Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits
Just the meat, no filler. Don't want to read our life story? Get the info you need here, travel hacks and hiking facts.
*the following section may contain affiliate links, these may help us earn a small commission but these are products we really use while traveling. Thanks!
Airfare and Money Saving Tips
How do we purchase most of our long-haul flights?
With reward miles of course! This is how we fly around the world for literally dollars sometimes. We've flown to round trip from Seattle to Japan for $200USD per person and recently we flew one-way from Seattle to Tbilisi, Georgia for $25USD each! Amazing! The entry level Chase Explorer card comes has an annual fee of $95, but if you use your reward miles smartly, the savings are substantial. This has been our primary workhorse and personal card. Earn your own miles HERE or with the button below.
(please use credit cards wisely)
Chase United Credit Card
Chase Ink Business Preferred Card
This card isn't a universal fit for everyone but it was the secret sauce that enabled many of our international trips. The sign-up bonus with this card can be substantial and the Chase Ultimate Reward points earned through this card can be spent through the Chase travel portal and work just like cash, meaning if you use enough of them you can even earn elite status with these flights.
You need to have a small personal business to qualify but there are personal cards that participate in the same rewards program, such as the Sapphire Reserve.
This card also has a reasonable $95 annual fee and comes with some other perks we've used, such as cell phone insurance. So be sure to consider this one if you meet the criteria! Sign up HERE or click the Credit Card.
SIM Cards, eSIM's and Staying Connected
For many years Samantha and I preferred purchasing physical SIM cards locally when we arrived in different countries. This almost always ensured we got the best price and typically the best coverage. And it still is the best way to get plans with unlimited data.
But... All that said, as eSIM's have continued to improve and price more competitively, often times only one of will by a physical SIM and the other will set up an eSIM, guaranteeing that we'll have coverage on arrival. Then at our convenience we can purchase a physical SIM after arrival without any of the hassle of looking for Wi-Fi when you realize you forgot to drop a pin on that Cosmote store in Thessaloniki and now you don't know where you're going (or this same situation anywhere...) Then after buying a local SIM one of us can provide a hotspot so our eSIM data needs remain low, keeping the total cost down.
This provides a good balance of functionality and practicality, having coverage as soon you've entered the next country and the larger or unlimited data caps of a physical SIM. So far Samantha has used airalo (link here and below) or use code SAMANT0932 for a savings of $3 on your first eSIM! After a small learning curve of setting up the eSIM, the coverage has been great throughout Asia, from Korea to Malaysia. And the coverage has been impressive, even in the remote mountains in the interior of Taiwan we're spent almost a week backpacking through the Central Mountain Range! Happy Travels!