Want to learn how to leverage all your spending, your credit, and your everyday purchases to live the life you always wanted? Read our brief Travel Guide. A lengthier, more content-packed guide will be released soon! http://www.promorockstar.com/group

1. The Art of Travel Hacking
Intro to Travel Hacking
What is Travel Hacking?
Travel hacking is an amazing concept that has been around for some time, that
takes simple everyday purchases, such as using credit cards to pay for gas,
checking into hotels, buying airfare, even purchasing food and shopping online!
It’s an amazing way to truly leverage the expenses you will naturally incur while
you are out and about. You see, years ago, when I realized I had all of this
money going out, but not getting recognized or even awarded for all of the
spending, I realized there had to be something I was missing.
Tens of thousands of dollars later in expenses, and lots of opportunities lost, I
finally discovered the incredible art of “travel hacking”. Now, you can too.
*Note: Any links used here are not affiliated with Promo Rockstars and are not
affiliate links, so we do not earn any fees for providing them as resources. This
is all free for you to use. Enjoy!

2. My Story
Now, how you get started is up to you, however this recommendation comes
from personal experience and one that has had astounding results.
Coming from being in heavy debt back in 2007, buried deep with letter in debt
collectors, getting calls from creditors weekly if not daily, and just not knowing
what I was going to do next.
So as you can imagine, travel and spending money was the last thing on my
mind.
However, I started doing research and learning from those who have come from
humble beginnings, paid off a lot of debt, traveled around the world for free or
cheap, and lived a lifestyle of freedom. How the heck did they do it?
Getting Started as a Travel Hacker
Enter the world of travel hacking, where people get to travel way beyond their
means for way less in monetary cost.
The easiest way to get started racking up travel miles and hopping on a plane
within the next 30 days is through travel credit cards.
“Wait, what? Credit cards! I don’t know about this.”, you may be thinking to
yourself right now. Trust me, I was super skeptical when I first heard about it and
thought it was the dumbest idea ever until I tried it and saw that it worked.
So, if you want to get started the easy way, let’s take a good look at your credit.
Credit Card Hacking
Checking Your Credit History
Checking your credit history doesn’t sound like the most fun thing in the world,
but it’s necessary for your financial well-being and especially if you want to be
able to take advantage of travel hacking using credit cards. The best travel cards
do require great credit scores, but don’t worry.
When I first started out, my score was literally just above a 500 FICO score. Not
too good, if you ask me. I was scared I would never get out of the abyss. With
some research and consistent action, I slowly but surely cleaned up my credit
over time.

3. The amazing thing is that nowadays, it’s much faster to dispute items on your
credit report.
Before, I used to send letters via postal mail, investing in stamps, envelopes,
paper, and ink. It took a lot more time and work before, so you definitely have an
upper hand in getting things taken care of right away.
The best resource for you to use is http://www.freecreditreport.com.
It’s free to signup, however, I would recommend paying the $32.95 to get all 3
credit reports and scores from all 3 bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and Transunion).
Print them out, save them on your computer, and grab a highlighter.
The following steps are important:
1.) Collect all your latest bills, collection notices (if you have any), employment
information, etc.
2.) Start going through your credit reports and highlighting anything that is
incorrect or at needs to be fixed.
3.) Try to see if your account amounts match up.
4.) Check to see if the status of each account is correct (make sure to refer to the
guide for each report to see what each status means).
5.) Check your current home address on the report to see if it is correct.
6.) Make sure your latest employers are listed.
7.) Now, once you have highlighted all errors and accounts that you want to
resolve, update statuses, etc you are ready for the next phase: Disputing
Disputing Your Credit Reports
1. In order to dispute credit reports, you must go to each bureaus website
and click on “Dispute Credit Report”.
2. Setup your profile and it will pull up your credit report info.
3. Start finding each account you want to update, personal information that
needs to be changed, etc.
4. Leave a personal statement is also a great idea.

4. 5. Make sure that you keep track of all disputes.
Debt Settlements
Ok we don’t want to get too far into fixing your credit, because this is meant to be
a travel guide.
Make sure you do your best to settle all accounts in collections and watching to
see if they update your credit report status.
Monitoring Your Credit Score
If you want the best mobile app and website to use, we would recommend Credit
Karma (http://www.creditkarma.com)
Also, a cool idea is to put a fraud alert on all your credit reports. This will actually
help you get more credit (surprisingly!)
Check
your
credit
Leverage
Your
Current
Expenses
Spend
Money
=
Collect
Points
Get
Free
Travel!
Now that you have cleaned house, it’s time to start to travel hacking!
Great Travel Apps
Hotel/Flight/Transportation/Accomodation
1.) Trip It-track your trips!
2.) Award Wallet-track your loyalty programs

5. 3.)
4.)
5.)
6.)
7.)
8.)
9.)
AirBnb-Alternative lodging and accomodations
Gogo-WiFi Access
TripColor-Like your own personal travel blog!
Priceline-for negotiating travel deals and “Name Your Own Price”
Uber- for cheap rides vs taxis
Megabus- for super-cheap transportation
OpenTable- for dining options and fast reservations
Reward Apps
1.) All Points-Rewards for Shopping
2.) iBotta-shopping points and cash back
3.) Receipt Hog-submit receipts get cash back
4.) Belly-restaurants
Alternative Payment
1.)
2.)
3.)
4.)
Paypal
Square-accept payments with reader!
Bluebird-can make payments or cash out at WalMarts!
Intuit Go Payment
Gas/Fuel
1. Speedway
2. FRN Network-Shell Gas Stations
3. CK Rewards
4. Love’s-Great for diesel trucks and DOT-vehicles
5. Pilots-Same as above
Finance On-The-Go
1. Mint
2. Personal Capital
3. Learnvest
4. SmartyPig-make savings accounts for different things and earn great
rewards!
Sell Stuff
1. Craigslist
2. Oodle Marketplace (Facebook)
3. Ebay
Food Hacking
Think about how much money you spend on food and eating out.
“Food hacking” is one of my favorite things to do and saves me well over $1000 a
year in food (most likely double or triple that!)

6. Doing secret shopping (also known as “mystery shopping”) is fun, rewarding and
your meals are usually free (plus you get bonuses for doing the mystery shop!)
Now, make sure you do your due diligence because although there are
thousands of legitimate companies out there, there are also plenty of scams out
there.
I like to personally stick with the Sassie Shopper Network. All companies under
their umbrella are certified, approved, and ethical in business.
Check them out here: http://www.sassieshop.com
It’s free to sign up, however you can get certified with the “Gold Certification” for
$100.
Gas Hacking
Whenever you go to a gas station, did you ever realize that you could get cash
back rewards just for purchasing something you were already planning to do,
such as gas?
Next time you are on the road, ask the gas attendee at every chain if they have a
rewards program or loyalty gas card.
Most likely, they will and will provide you with instructions on how to get signed
up.
My favorite are:
-FRN (Fuel Rewards Network with Shell Gas)
-BP Rewards
-Speedway Speedy Rewards
CK Rewards (Circle K)
Make sure that you check all of your options on your online profile. Some of
these cards, such as FRN, allows you to tie a debit card and get cash back when
you use it to purchase gas.
Time to get paid for buying gas!
Hotel Hacking
This may not come to you as news, but hotels also have loyalty programs.
And for each hotel chain, there is almost always a credit card tied to it.
Usually applying for the credit card gives you a huge boost in points and free
night stays.

7. You can even use the points to go shopping on their online malls, get discounts
at nearby exhibits and excursions, and even apply points towards car rentals and
flights! The options are limitless!
Our favorites:
-Hilton Honors
-Choice Hotels
-SPR Brand Hotels
-Wyndham
Airline Hacking
Just as with hotel hacking, airlines have loyalty programs that are great and also
tied with credit cards.
Watch out with the credit cards, however, as they usually come with yearly fees.
Either way, the free travel you get in relation to what you pay for the yearly fees
is well worth it.
Using airline points, the more you fly, the more points you get, right?
Well, what happens when you don’t fly that often.
When you are getting comped travel from companies, and getting flown out for
business, make sure that you are asking the companies if you can use your
rewards account and get the points for it on your account In some instances,
such as with Southwest Airlines, they let you add the points when you check-in
for your flight. Super convenient. (this can be done with hotels too!)
Our favorite airlines:
-Southwest Airlines
-US Airways (now merged with American Airlines)
-Frontier Airlines
-United
-Virgin Airlines
Free Resources

8. Check out the following sites and let them know Promo Rockstars sent you!
http://www.rocketmiles.com
http://www.milepoint.com
http://www.extrapackofpeanuts.com
http://travelhacking.org/
http://www.millionmilesecrets.com
http://www.mysteryshop.org
Please make sure to check out our new website at
http://www.promorockstar.com.
PLEASE DO NOT ILLEGALLY COPY, DISTRIBUTE, OR DEFACE THIS FREE
RESOURCE. THANK YOU!

9. BONUS GUIDE:
How To Prepare and Pack on Tour
The best advice we can give you is to pack light. Only take those things that you
will be able to get through an airport, will not take up unnecessary room, is
lightweight and will be used at least once on the tour, and is not too expensive
that you will be afraid of losing.
*Make sure you are only taking essentials on tour, and nothing that is just going
to be sitting around.
Let’s break it down for you:
Essentials can include (can vary depending on length of tour, which we will cover
below):
• Toiletries
o toothbrush/toothpaste*
o groomer/shaving razor*
o shaving cream*
o shower gel*
o deodorant*
o contacts/solution (if you wear contacts)
o hair gel/spray
o anything else that is important to you
*Most of these items you can get in hotel rooms for free at the front
desk. However, if you will be flying to your tour training, wait till you arrive to buy

10. these essentials, as they usually will not make it through security, unless you
check in your baggage.
Clothing
o jeans (2-3 pairs)
o dress pants (1 pair)
o work pants/khakis (3-4 pairs)
o shirts (mostly undershirts, some for going out) (no more than 5
pairs)
o Shoes (work & casual) 2 pairs
o undergarments/socks (enough for a week)
• Necessities
o Passport
o IDs
o First Aid Kit (small) with bandaids, anti-bacterial ointment (great for
the road!)
o Heat packs (great for winter tours, especially when driving)
o Work gloves
Over time, we will add to this list and help you identify what is necessary.
•
Physical Preparation
Tours can be easy-going, or they can be gruelling. Either way, you never really
know so it is best if you get physically prepared for the tour.
This can mean many different things for different people, so we want to make
sure that we are all on the same page.
•
Most tours require the following:
o Ability to pick up boxes from 25-100 lbs or more.
o Ability to comfortably bend on your knees and pick up heavy
objects
o Handle tents of different sizes and weight
o Open/close tables of different sizes and weight
o Handle tent/table weights and do it safely
o Haul gallon jugs (in some cases 5 gallon canisters) of gasoline for
gas generators
o Safely move gas generator from vehicle to activation site
o Carefully handle climbing ladders, hoisting up signage, lighting,
speakers, cameras, etc
o Carry stanchions (used for regulating lines/crowd control)
o Other assets/staging equipment.
With that said, it goes without saying that before heading out on tour, you may
want to make sure that you are taking good care of your physical body and
moderately exercising. Ensuring that you are prepared to take on any task, no

11. matter how big or small, will further add to your confidence on the job.
Loose Ends to Tie up
There’s a lot to make sure is taken care of and wrapped up before heading out
on tour.
Let’s help ease your mind and use the following checklist (can vary person to
person)
1.
2.
3.
4.
.
a.
.
a.
b.
Make sure all of your IDs and passports are up to date and renewed
Get your yearly checkups done (doctor, visual, dental)
Ensure your health insurance is up to date
Unsubscribe from any subscriptions you will not be using when on the
road
a. Cable?
b. Home internet?
c. Home services?
5. Place a hold or freeze accounts you will not be using
Car insurance
Other services
6. Make sure you have insurance on personal property you will taken with
you
Travel Insurance
Mobile phone insurance
Insurance for other devices (Check out http://www.worthavegroup.com)
7. Setup a system to track your expenses (we recommend
http://www.mint.com)
8. If possible, place your bills on Auto Pay to have one less thing to worry
about before heading out (or pay in advance for the length of your
program!)
9. If necessary, place Mail Forwarding on your mail temporarily, or have
someone that you trust to deposit checks for you. (you may have to add
them as a co-trustee on your bank account)
10. Ask someone to check in on your place for you while you are gone.
While these are all great things to do before heading out on the road, again, this
will vary for you. Make sure to double and triple-check to ensure that you have
done everything you need to before leaving for tour.
Packing Like a Tour Manager
1 month
• Use a small backpack or even mini-luggage.
• Travel light, you should not have to check in baggage for a tour this short,
but it can vary.
• You should be able to go through all your clothing with only having to do
laundry once or twice.

12. 3 months
• Medium-to-large luggage, expect to check-in your luggage.
• Bring plenty of socks and undergarments
• Expect to do laundry 2-3x a month while on tour, so keep this mind.
• Do not overpack jeans or shirts (this will make your bag heavy)
• Keep extra room in your baggage for training materials you may receive.
* Keep in mind to not let your bag get too heavy
6 months
• Large luggage, check-in
• Purchase an extra pack of undergarments and socks
• Pack 2-3 extra pairs of pants
• Pack 3-6 extra shirts
• You will be doing laundry on the road
1 year
• Pack the same as 6 months
• Expect to wear out certain clothing
• You will have to inevitably purchase new clothing every 3-6 months
• Do not fret over toiletries, you can restock on the road
• Tendency is to overpack with shoes, electronics, etc. Do not do this
• Bring sandals, shoes (for work/exercise/casual)
• If you absolutely find you need something you forget, ask someone to ship
it to you.
Please make sure to check out our new website at
http://www.promorockstar.com.
PLEASE DO NOT ILLEGALLY COPY, DISTRIBUTE, OR DEFACE THIS FREE
RESOURCE. THANK YOU!