The secret to being able to afford to fly business class as a family
The thought of flying with young children, especially long-haul, can be enough to make parents run screaming at the prospect of traveling across the globe.
When facing a daunting 16-hour flight with toddlers, small children, and judgemental passengers, staying home is the path of least resistance.
But what if there was a way to fly the family business class while still being able to eat and have a roof over your head for the trip?
The Moth Family has unlocked the secret to afford business class – and a big thank you to them!
Some of the immediate advantages of premium cabin travel include more space, faster check-in, quicker security lines, priority baggage, increased baggage allowance, use of a Business Class Lounge priority boarding, attentive service, children’s meals, and a chance for everyone to get some sleep – invariably on a “proper” lie-flat bed.
You don’t need convincing to fly business (other than the price tag), so here goes—the hack to cross the curtain into business class.
The secret is…
Point hacking.
“One of the best-kept secrets about business class is no one pays for it,” says the father of two, Jimmy Mitchell.
The family of four has been sharing their travel tips since they sold everything to move to Southeast Asia to escape the cost of living crisis.
Sharing a travel diary online, Jimmy and Pauline say their lifestyle is becoming increasingly popular, and they have met a number of families also using travel to escape the growing cost of living Down Under.
Jimmy continues, “No one pays cash for their seat; it’s all from points. The best way to get points from credit cards is point hacking. Where you essentially just get credit cards, and you unlock the limit,” he explains.
“A credit card may offer 100,000 points for a $3000 spend limit. You apply for the card, spend the limit, and get 100,000 points, which will get you a business-class ticket from Perth to LA. Rinse and repeat with other offers,” he shares in his TikTok with over 1.7 million views.
“Some people have 10-12 credit cards that they only use to get the points, pay them off, and never use them again,” he says as he sits in his business class seat.
Is this true?
It is! Just google ‘point hacking’, and the first few links will show banks or card companies offering points for their credit cards.
Velocity has up to 120,000 points.
While over at Westpac, you can earn a bonus of 150K for your travels.
There’s even a sub-group in Reddit where you can find out more, and even better, people have researched it all for you.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a website with all the offers listed for you in one convenient location.
Would someone please think of the credit card company?
The question remains: Will point hacking set off any red flags for credit card companies? After all, you want to travel in style, not damage your credit score.
“The credit card companies rely on people not paying for their credit cards. So, the few people who take “advantage” of the points system are so minuscule compared to the amount of people who don’t pay credit cards off in time,” Jimmy explains.
What was also surprising from the video is that the people around him weren’t crazy-rich and paying to fly first or business, but they used their points to fund a more comfortable flight.
“And if you talk to anyone who frequently flies business or first class. They’re not paying for their tickets; they are using points gifted to you by the credit card companies.”
“My advice is to look up point hacking, learn the pros and cons of doing it and decide if it’s right for your family. It’s pretty nice for us, as a family, to fly business knowing I can lay flat and get a few hours to sleep before arriving back on the tarmac,” he concludes.
You may not be able to fly at the pointy end of the plane for these school holidays; term one will be over before you know it.
Start unlocking those points and report back from your flatbed while sipping champagne before take-off.
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