Looks like most of us now have a hacker tag!

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markis10

markis10

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THERE'S a secret group of people travelling the world for free. They're called 'travel hackers'. And they're laughing all the way to Timbuktu and back again. Chris Guillebeau could be called the king of travel hacking. Author of the $100 Startup, his travel hacking blog has 80,000 regular readers.
So what is travel hacking? Essentially, it involves finding ways to earn Frequent Flyer Points to either fly for free or at a heavily reduced price.
 
He's got a good blog I'll give him that but...

"Economy tickets were about $1,500, but I discovered I could buy Frequent Flyer Miles on eBay. I was able to purchase enough miles to fly Business Class both ways... for only $1,200.After that, I was hooked."

[FONT=LiberationSerifRegular, Times, serif]I don't call it hacking when friends ask how it's done.. I just say it's using the system to it's best abilities.[/FONT]

On that note... was just looking at Holiday Inn Old Sydney Jan 1st-2nd.. rates are $800+... hard to stomach compared to the previous 3 nights.. ;)
 
hummel said:
On that note... was just looking at Holiday Inn Old Sydney Jan 1st-2nd.. rates are $800+... hard to stomach compared to the previous 3 nights.. ;)
Click to expand...

LOL, for my booking:
Average Nightly Rate: $ 768.00 AUD
Rate Type: Best Flexible Rate
View Rate Description & Rules
Deposit Required:
A deposit for the entire stay is due on or before 12 November, 2013.

Estimated Total Price ‡ $ 3,897.6

Now IHG have to fund the hotel at best flex for rewards nights when hotel full, so the final bill to IHG for my points stay is $3800, 9% cash back means for my 25000 point spend I will get $350 cashback!
 
markis10 said:
THERE'S a secret group of people travelling the world for free. They're called 'travel hackers'. And they're laughing all the way to Timbuktu and back again. Chris Guillebeau could be called the king of travel hacking. Author of the $100 Startup, his travel hacking blog has 80,000 regular readers.
So what is travel hacking? Essentially, it involves finding ways to earn Frequent Flyer Points to either fly for free or at a heavily reduced price.
Click to expand...

"Travel Hackers" Typical no-News hyping up
 
markis10 said:
LOL, for my booking:
Average Nightly Rate: $ 768.00 AUD
Rate Type: Best Flexible Rate
View Rate Description & Rules
Deposit Required:
A deposit for the entire stay is due on or before 12 November, 2013.

Estimated Total Price ‡ $ 3,897.6

Now IHG have to fund the hotel at best flex for rewards nights when hotel full, so the final bill to IHG for my points stay is $3800, 9% cash back means for my 25000 point spend I will get $350 cashback!
Click to expand...

Spewin I didn't to points+pay with cashback at the time... still not a bad way to burn 10,000 points! :)
 
I don't believe any self-professed Frequent Flyer Point/Mile Junky worth their weight in points/miles would enjoy being referred to as a 'Travel Hacker'.

As mentioned, we simply use the system to the best of its abilities. We are not hacking, simply taking advantage.

I really dislike the term myself.
 
While we generally always think of hacker as a derogatory term, the origins I recall were far more endearing. I found this definition on wikipedia:

A hacker is someone who loves to program or who enjoys playful cleverness, or a combination of the two.[SUP][3][/SUP] The act of engaging in activities (such as programming or other media[SUP][4][/SUP]) in a spirit of playfulness and exploration is termed hacking. However the defining characteristic of a hacker is not the activities performed themselves (e.g. programming), but the manner in which it is done: Hacking entails some form of excellence, for example exploring the limits of what is possible,[SUP][5][/SUP] thereby doing something exciting and meaningful.[SUP][4][/SUP] Activities of playful cleverness can be said to have "hack value" and are termed hacks[SUP][5][/SUP] (examples include pranks at MIT intended to demonstrate technical aptitude and cleverness).
Click to expand...

ie

Being an AFFer entails some form of excellence, for example exploring the limits of what is possible within the rules of a airline frequent flyer program, thereby doing something exciting and meaningful. Activities of playful cleverness can be said to have "TR value" and are termed hacks.

Source: Hacker (programmer subculture) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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hummel said:
On that note... was just looking at Holiday Inn Old Sydney Jan 1st-2nd.. rates are $800+... hard to stomach compared to the previous 3 nights.. ;)
Click to expand...
Ah yes, just checked and my two rooms for those previous 3 nights still valid on my PriorityClub account. Now that's the sort of deal we all look for.
 
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