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The Best Hidden Redemptions

So we have helped you earn lots of points and miles we've worked, I'm booking your flight worked on booking a great hotel on now, we want to focus on expanding your travel horizons perhaps even further. We know, based on all the feedback we've got from so many people that a lot of people, when they started, they didn't even have the same vision that they have now they actually realized there's so much more that they can do in the miles and points world s o this week, going to help you gain access to lounge is we kind of covered it a little bit and talk about it in more detail. The main point is level up your experience that's kind of the theme this week is level up travel in whatever style you want, and so we begin talking about a few of our favorite hidden redemptions or maybe a few aspirational awards. If your dream trip is not totally complete yet, I just want to add something to it a few ideas for that and our three goals for today. If you have your workbook, you can make some note...

s in that think bigger about using your points, identify an amazing experience goal may be one of the ones that will share a few, maybe something that you party been thinking about, something that you'll go and come with. Come up with later o r, then upgrade your dream trip so again, upgrading your experiences and making this even more amazing, I would love to know from our in studio audience who has been has been with us for all five weeks now, at least all the lessons thus far. How has your dream trip vision expanded since we began? Or has it expanded? And if so, how that I can actually fly business class? I didn't even think that was possible. I thought I was back in the plane, you know, no problems doing that, but now to know that I could even go business class is amazing. It'll change your life, I think just similar, just recognizing that I don't have to do everything bare bones figuring out how to do it at the ground level is one thing, but to make it more of an amazing experience or a dream trip may not be something I do on every trip, but if I'm planning a dream trip, I could do something different and you got lots of tools now absolutely everything together, I went from thinking, you know, just a regular flight over there now, there's gotta be a first class fight some way, and I have to stay and, you know, in a nice hotel, least three to four nights, just a you know tie it all together and if it's going to be my dream trip also your standards you're being raised totally reasonable to me oh now I'm gonna thinking about piggybacking a trip to bali on the back end of it that's because they're practically next door basically it's like seattle and vancouver from mongolia once you crossed ocean everything e love are into the audience but they're saying things like mongolia is no big deal that's wonderful you had your hand up I think I'm go to easter island after iceland on do the round the world trip so you know make that the first stop and then keep going fantastic super fun for me like with understanding kind of where I fit in in the profile and how all that works I think it definitely for some reason I was just still caught up in like, oh dream trip it cost money and I don't know what I'm gonna do when I get there but the money's gonna be in getting there and now you can focus everything on what's gonna happen when you get there when you don't have to worry about that cost. So for me the whole trip has gone from just like I'll get there and I'll figure it out to be like by all this is is totally reachable now it's accessible on dh that's like super exciting when you think about where you want to be it's awesome! I love that and next week we're gonna talk more about that that experience level what you can we all like plan to budget some money towards our dream trip, right? And so maybe you had a thousand dollars to take your trip somewhere, and now you have that you still have that thousand dollars, but now you don't have to use it for your flight and you don't have to use it for your hotel. So what syrians could you dio on your trip that, you know, might have seemed out of reach before perfectly, then for that? Yeah, next year my goals in july first is to go leave and travel for one whole year and because of the resource is that you guys have provided. I initially thought that already tapped out all the canadian credit cards available, but you guys have provided me with some new ones, some new leads that I can tap in abuse and and and we built on exactly and and it's been great, and he seems like my dream is not no longer something that is full of stress, it's something that I can make happen and I could live it thinking that's so fun that's so great to hear you're gonna be our go to expert on those things, kendrick so we're gonna be following up with you and we'll see what happens you guys are all going to be our skype guest on creative way that's right that's super awesome that's so great so we talked about profiles I think matt actually mentioned way began like away from the beginning and lesson two we're talking about different travel styles and first of all the trouble hacking approaches then also the different travel profiles and as we talk about upgrading your dream trip upgrading your whole experience I think the point I want to make is that any profile can benefit from thinking about upgrading and optimization and what can you do better so it's not just a jet setter who maybe has a pretty high standard already? Maybe even those jet setters have learned there are some things that they can do that they had no idea of or that vacation ist who didn't have a lot of flexibility maybe they're going on a family trip someone who had a pretty busy career only had a brief period of time hopefully they've identified some things that they can add so whatever time that they have whatever budget that they have their trip obviously the flexible backpackers which it seems like a lot of people in our group kind of identifying with I'm noticing both in our audience and everybody needs a place to move to exactly if you're a vacation after a backpacker it's an easy place to move to the one she wants you learned the skills yeah everyone's kind of gravitating toward that fat hacker hacker role but the point is even a backpacker can upgrade their dream trip using miles and points any other strategies that we've been using throughout the whole course. So with that in mind we have this lovely phrase I think you actually wrote this phrase a long time ago upgrade your bucket list and we use this in upgrade unlocks the unconventional guide stephanie wrote and so we were thinking is we're preparing okay? We're going to bring people into this week we're talking about lounges we're talking about airline status and upgrades bunch of fun stuff you know what are some really fun aspirational concepts that are not just aspirational there aspirational in a sense that we want to do them but they're also obtainable through the world of miles and points so with that in mind we've got a different idea drinking a martini on an airplane that's right that was no longer like nineteen sixty when you did drink martinis on your plans I had this martini on an airplane last year two thousand fourteen or something like that. Okay, so that's the first thing exactly martini airplane this was a empty hand fight if I'm not mistaken and here's a fun one like this, I've never done this with myself so this is thin either I think this would be fine as well we talked about that first class terminal in frankfurt where the guy carried my bag up and stowed it for me in the plane. Well, if you have a layover in that, if you're flying first class and have a lay over in that airport, or if you're the highest level of lufthansa's senator, honor your senator class, they have this thing where you can pay ninety nine euros and you can rent a porsche while you're paid nine dollars for a porsche and they give you maps and tell you where to go during your stopover. So that's one of the actual maps where they show you from the airport, they give you a ride so you could drive up portia's fast as you want on the autobahn, right? Okay, so I haven't, you know, nine dollars for drivers passes you want, you know, intercourse that's gonna be awesome, but get back because there's really awesome stuff in that lounge, okay, great. So I've mentioned this a couple of times I don't know if I should picture before, though you know my dream trip, which I may have actually already been on thiss point. Of our video's going out is I've wanted to fly emirates first class for a long time I didn't have any emirates miles or points so I found a creative way to get them talked about that a little bit and this is the onboard shower available in the a three eighty only for first class customers you only get to take a shower for five minutes but that's okay, I think I can maximize the five minutes there's not some other stuff to do you go to the bar you know, sweetie, you know what kind of stuff is showing up in the seat and stuff so anyway, that's one aspirational experience one goal of mine for many years I think chris might have actually been on this plane, but I haven't we keep telling bill about this one. This is the double bed sweet on singapore airlines first class in the nose where is it it's actually the way in and I don't think it's in the nose that's a good thing I'm not sure about that. I have not been on the plane, I can tell you, but I would love to do this. I think it's really fun it's basically the two center seat if you're traveling with somebody, all the partitions come down, so when they make the beds they actually turn into a full double bed if you're traveling by yourself, you get two seats I e when I think back to your cell for good, you could watch two movies tio tio myself champ for myself so here put that on your list you can have the next one you could have high tea at the burj al arab this is one of the most expensive and exclusive hotels in the world it's a hotel in a complex and all kinds of stuff it's in the emirates and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you can't even gain access to the compound instigated it's a gated compound so normal you cannot gain access to the compound unless you're staying in the hotel extremely expensive hotel which doesn't really participate in any of the points and miles strategies that we've been talking about have their own problems of their own but it's like twenty eight you have to spend twenty eight dollars to get one point and then it's like three thousand points for one night but every room is a suite in every suite has its own breakfast buffet or something something crazy if you're a crown prince, this is basically most of the time most the way he talked to have like a one to one valuation, so this is a twenty eight tow a great evaluation, but the whole point is you can't gain access to the compound unless you're staying in the hotel but there's, an afternoon tea service you can register for. I think it cost about seventy dollars or something like that. And if you make a reservation has to be booked a couple of months in advance often, then you can go and you can set up at up at the top and you can stay there for a couple of hours. Play here. You remember years. Stay here, play here, play here. Maybe we had t wei have a last week. Yeah, way we're flying. Emirates. Yeah. Okay. All right, a little. Um, we talked about this. Nathan, talk to us about this. Remember, nathan bury the guy who got all his points from his home depot creative spending. He took a bath in the airport and there's a few really nice first class lounge is that have amazing bathtubs like this. And this is just this is called the cabana it's. Just a a room. If you're in the lounge, you can sign up for access to it. And I think they limit your staying in each lounge to, like they ask you to not stay longer than three hours. You know, in the bathtub. I personally could probably stay longer than three hours in about but it's an amazing it's an amazing little retreat in the center of the airport probably the best one in the world I think that's what I always go through when I passed through hong kong, they've never actually told me about a limit before I think it's just, you know, maybe they're like that girl probably about them really liketo think they put this on the way back. Okay, so hey, if you don't want to drive, of course maybe maybe you want to ride in a porsche on dh speaking of the emirates when you fly on, is it across? That's on auntie had that's right? When you find hetty had their two main carriers and emirates one is called emirates when it's called and he had and when you fly on eddie had like we did from los angeles to abu dhabi last year, a free show for it, park services included and the reason why this is especially significant. There is because it's not just a brief transfer, you could be transferred ten minutes, your hotel or something, but the cities of abu dhabi and dubai are about two hours apart on this car. Service will take you anywhere in the country anywhere in united arab emirates, so if you are transferring from abu dhabi to do by the chauffeur will drive you all the way across the country from abu dhabi two hundred dollar taxi ride you can take the bus for seven bucks off your backpacker, but you know things are going in the back of the plane. There is a bus to do this, but they will do it for you for the two hour drive it's all included as part of the business class for a first class ticket, which can be booked on miles and points, right? So these are the tickets again, people are spending thousands and thousands of dollars on, but it's actually quite easy to book award tickets on etsy had in premium class is using american airlines smiles and a few other carriers as well. This is one you're gonna hear about tomorrow. You're in here story about this and lesson number twenty well, when we talk about challenges but this is the thai airways lounge in bangkok, the first class lounge actually has a full service spa, so you get off, you could get a full massage while you're waiting, and if you're flying business class, you can get an abbreviated I think it's ahead, necker foot massage for like thirty minutes you know hardship exactly it's hard there's actually a few airlines spaz around the world and provide these services I think probably the one in bangkok is the best it's probably the most aspirational one to work up to four in a word I think when we talk to marvin joe marvin and josephine either tomorrow the next day I think maybe they did this we'll hear all about it uh you could have a drink and the onboard bar of the korean airlines a three eighties we talked about the eighth creating a couple different times korean airlines actually did one of the most unique bar areas eso obviously if you if you haven't mittens to their than all the drinks are free that's a fun custom cocktail sticks placed a hangout apart from your seat that's right your friends that's right you don't go back to your suite you know that's great so these are just a few examples we kind of want to go through and say like you know here's some fun things it's good to have goals right it's good as we as we don't begin to understand how we can unlock these tools and make these travel experiences you know possible for us like ultimately is all about the travel experience of where we're going to but might as well make the journey you know part of it might as well enjoy all of that so I think we have a workbook activity all about hidden redemptions um and we have a question we can actually discuss this here is a group which upgrade experiences surprise you and if you're following along at home and you have you have the workbook. Feel free to note those down as well. What would you like to experience? So before we wrap up today, maybe we could just ask, what were your favorite ones of these are which surprised you're. What would you like to experience? I do. The porsche would be amazing. Awesome. Where's, the massage one again, there's. Actually, quite a few lunches that offer massage service. That one in particular is in bangkok and it's thai airways at their royal orchid lounge in bangkok airport. Yeah, japan airlines sekar alone. First cost lounge in tokyo also has a massage, but it's not nearly as extensive as the one in bangkok. Yeah, you guys sold me on the double bed on the eighty eighty on singapore. Okay, he's operated it's great. It could be a challenge to book down with miles and points, but it is possible here is possible. It will be worth back that's, right? Anybody else came out? I think, even like some of the most basic stuffed, even like the pajamas. You guys talk about his like on some when you get to something given to you. When you're our premium economy or business or something, those like a little gifts for someone like me is like, no way yeah I love the pajamas I'm a huge fan of the way we were preparing this course and talking about all the giveaways that we were going to do and I was like we should give away pajamas every day you know I work with some really smart people like stephanie and my assistant ashley and they were like you know, not everybody likes pajamas like airline pajamas you know maybe what kind of spa you know spread those out a little bit was like okay, that that's fine I said we should do we should do a lesson and make everyone in the studio audience where airlines after all this film you guys probably want to cozy up in somewhere like we probably have enough for you you know between waive any defect scott you all right alaska airlines are they giving up pajamas on your flights? Ok, right that's right horizon that's good my comment is I'm thinking now after seeing what some of these lounges they're like if I'm booking a dream trip and I've managed to get an upgraded status on the plane I'm going to look for a layover yes yes you really are no absolutely absolutely it's actually it's actually can be kind of disappointing to have a very short connection in one of these airports because you like looking forward to it like oh I just got to go straight actually will deliberately try to have a longer layover absolutely because it's fun and you can think about that, too. When you're you know, kind of when you get beyond your enthusiast and you're kind of into your your rock star, you can think about stuff like that and you know you're going to tanzania there's a lot of flights into africa that fly through some of these great they're on these middle eastern airlines that fly through some of these places that have really phenomenal lounges a question about about the way we're talking out loud just next year, next week, tomorrow, twenty one soon because I recently I had this x spearing's, where I decided to go for it and upgraded to first class on my overnight flight to miami, and I was really excited because I could go and hang out in the hotel because it was going to get there early, and then I got there when they were closed closed at ten p m like you say, that's never happened to me, but I think it actually happened me three times that's just about it. And can I ask what airline that wass that was on american? Okay, here in seattle, right? It can actually be a little difficult with domestic tickets, particularly in the u s so business, business and first class tickets aren't actually always elegy. Abel for allowing doc says that, too, but that was the other thing, and they said to close close and you couldn't get in because they're too big problems e doom I needed to do my reese, sir, we're going to fix that in less than twenty one. Exactly so weird thing about us, pretty much everywhere else in the world of business class ticket will get you in the lounge with us. You need something else, so we'll cover that that's. Great. Um, upgrade unlocks just a little side note. In the bonus materials for registering for the course, you should have received a free chapter of upgrade unlock that was written by stephanie it's, all about this whole concept of upgrading your bucket list. You have a free chapter of that it's, actually extended sneak peek a little bit longer. But if you're interested in purchasing that that's available on upgrade unlocked dot com as well.