Welcome Back to Breakfast with Lisa & Josh!

Before we start - just wanted to let you all know that our newest series - The Quest to the Northern Most City on Planet Earth just launched. We’re super excited about it. Check it out :)

We love so many different aspects of travel - the adventure, the feeling that we get right before we hop on a plane to another country, the fun process of picking out an airbnb, trying new food, meeting incredible people, and so much more. All of it.

But, the thing above all of that for me is finding a great deal, a huge value that everyone else overlooked, while traveling.

I know, this might sound odd - but for me there’s just something beyond exhilarating about finding a mistake fare flight for $78 to Tokyo (this actually happened… but then, well, we had to cancel the flight, twice, ya know, because it was 2020), or a $212 round trip flight to Auckland, New Zealand (also actually happened), or a 5 night stay using Hyatt points in South Korea for 2,500 per night (definitely happened), or that perfect Airbnb that’s just a little bit out of town for half off if you book the weekly rate (also happened).

Finding these opportunities to get as much out of our travel bucks as possible has become more than a hobby for me - it’s an obsession.

So, here’s the top 5 best deals we got on our entire 1 year of travel.

#5 - 5 Nights with points at the AC Hotel Innsbruck

This one really set the bar pretty high for points redemptions on this trip for us. We got to stay here for just 70,000 points (including a 5th night free bonus from the credit card we have) for 5 nights. Had we booked it with cash, it would have cost us $1020. An incredible redemption that came at the perfect time in our trip - we needed a bit of comfort after moving so fast across Europe.

The hotel was incredibly beautiful, with massive windows showing not only the famous ski jump, but also the breathtaking mountains surrounding all of Innsbruck.

#4 - Last Minute Points Flight To Make My Brother’s Wedding

During our trip, we didn’t really ever know where we were going to be, or for how long, or when we were going to be there. As a result of this tremendous lack of planning, we had to book our flights home to my brother’s wedding very, very last minute. Like, 5 days before last minute.

We used 45,000 AA miles for the both of us to fly from Paris to home, which would have cost us $1,320 had we paid in cash. And the benefits weren’t just that we got a great deal, being able to book with points meant that we could wait until the last minute to get the most convenient flight, because we knew the points prices were going to stay the same no matter when we booked.

We made it home in time for the wedding, had an amazing time, and were able to continue our trip without having to worry for a second about the costs. We were able to just say “yes,” and that’s a beautiful thing.

I mean, of course I wasn’t going to miss my brothers wedding, but still - it made it much easier to make it happen.

#3 - New Years in Style at the Hyatt Park Bangkok

Bangkok during New Years is an absolute madhouse. It was double so for the 2021-2022 celebration because tourism had just opened up for the entire country a few months prior. Everyone was in a celebratory mood, and it felt like all of Asia was coming to Bangkok to ring in the New Years together.

As a result, hotel prices were INCREDIBLY expensive during these few days, but we also wanted to do something special with our friends (the One Pack Wanderers) to celebrate the end of that leg of our trip together. So, we booked 5 nights at the Hyatt Park Bangkok with points and got to see the New Year fireworks from our rooms, spending only 25,000 points to do so. Had we booked this with cash, it would have been $684.

It wasn’t the most ludicrous points-for-dollar redemption we’ve ever had, but being able to secure that incredible room with the included rooftop breakfast and having the opportunity to ring in 2022 with our friends in style, for free, was absolutely priceless.

This was one of my favorite memories of the entire trip. I’m getting all nostalgic just remembering it. What a beautiful night.

#2 - 5 nights in Singapore for free

Singapore. There’s so many ways, so many different words one could use to describe this place - but one word nobody would use is “cheap.” Especially when it comes to accommodations, Singapore is one of the most expensive places in that part of the world. It’s absolutely worth it, but it can definitely be a budget-destroyer if you’re not careful.

We spent only 20,000 points to stay at the Four Points Singapore right on the river (cash cost would have been $856), and it was just incredible. We had an adjoining room with our parents, the location was perfect, the service was impeccable, and we fell in love with the area right away. Being able to get our entire stay for free just made it all that much sweeter.

But the best part? The hawker center just down the road serving up mind-bogglingly delicious and cheap food 24/7. It was like having 50 world class restaurants right next door.

In fact, it was exactly that.

#1 - THE Grand Hyatt Jeju

This was not just the best value we got on our trip, this was the single best hotel redemption I’ve ever had. Points-for-dollar it wasn’t overly spectacular, but the experience was so unique, so special, so over the top.

As soon as we walked into our room (which was bigger than just about every apartment we’ve ever lived in) and hit the magical “raise all the blinds up” button and looked out over Jeju, we knew we were experiencing something really special. It had a living room space, a bathroom larger than Lisa’s old room in San Francisco, and the comfiest robes and slippers ever (yes, we still have those slippers 3 months later, BTW.) The hotel itself had two pools, one of which was an infinity rooftop pool and hot tub, a huge gym, a shopping mall attached, and of course, its own 7-11. I’ve never experienced anything like this before in my life, and I’m not sure if I ever will again.

We stayed here for 4 nights for free, spending just 30,000 Hyatt points to do so. We would have spent $1100 in cash to stay here. Fully outside of our budget range. Not even close.

I’ll stop talking. Just look at the photos.

Late night robe snacks after visiting the hotel pool, a la 7-11

We know you’ve probably heard this line before (in different formats and on different social medial platforms)—we have a course that explains how to do all of this, link at the bottom - you know the drill by now. Sorry, just had to say it.

Lately…

We unfortunately had to say goodbye to Octavius, our much-loved cat. If you’ve ever watched our older videos, van life videos, cabin videos, and any of our videos all the way to the end, you’ve seen (and heard) him. He’s simply the best. We miss him so, so much. For us, he was home. Sorry for the downer. It’s just what’s on our minds and honestly, why we’ve been a bit MIA.

The (Near) Future

Videos of our latest quest coming your way very soon, we promise :)

Videos This Week

Exactly, precisely, down to the penny. This is how much a 1 year trip around the world costs.

Our new series that we’re super excited about :) the quest to the northern most city on planet earth. It’s gonna be awesome.

See you next Sunday…ish :)

- josh (and lisa)

Oh, and if you want to learn how we afford to take all these trips after quitting our jobs last year, you’ll likely be interested in our Skillshare course on Travel Hacking and Frequent Flier Miles. It’s been really taking off lately, but we still have a few uses of this link left for those of you who want to see the class for free. It comes with a free month of Skillshare, which is more than enough to watch our class and any of the other great courses on there!

Check it out here: https://skl.sh/lisaandjosh02221

Bonus Cat Content

A younger Octavius. You could always tell he had some sink water when he left the bathroom with a mohawk.

Unsubscribe