Notes on Travel Hacking Through Maine

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4 Responses

  1. Arrgo says:

    I really enjoyed this and the nice pictures. Going to places like this is what it’s really all about. I find it’s a good way to get away from everything, clear your head and regroup. I havent had to get into travel hacking yet, but I do similar things with other purchases by stacking offers and using a certain credit card etc. It all adds up. Might as well get something extra out of it if you are going to spend the money anyway. Loved the last picture and paragraph. It’s all very true and that mindset has worked the same for me also.

    • Joe Freedom says:

      Hey Arrgo, good to hear from you. Yes, the travel-hacking game is all about maximizing the return that you get from your otherwise necessary spending. For years I’ve been using the 2% cash-back Fidelity Amex/Visa, which is a good card (zero effort; zero cost; 2% cash back on everything that goes straight into a Fidelity index fund). But with these bonus offers on these cards I’m getting an ROI more in the 15-16% on my spend. Just for a little extra effort. And from what I read about this topic, the real experts are getting a significantly higher ROI than that.

  2. Thanks for the great photos. I’ve never been up and down the Maine coast before (only visited once on a trip to Sugarloaf). This despite two years living and working in Boston and another three years in law school. I’ve always felt like I needed to do this exact trip. Not sure when it’ll happen but this is inspiring all the same. Great work on the travel hacking. I use a combination of the same or similar cards for expenses that generate 3X points (usually airfare and dining) and then fall back on the USAA 2.5% cashback card for any other purchase.

    • Joe Freedom says:

      Hey Biglaw. We first did this trip about 14 years ago (when I was a second-year associate I believe) and I’ve been itching to do it again ever since. What a great resource the Maine coast is for the folks in Boston and Mass. If I had gone there before law school I might have pursued interviews in Boston strictly for that reason!

      Right, I use specialized cards to get higher rewards on things like groceries, travel, etc., and then fall back on the Fidelity card for everything else. I need to check out the USAA card–an extra .5% on all purchases would be nice–but I’m presuming you need to be USAA-member eligible.

      Joe

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