Knossos on the Greek Island of Crete allows you to see what civilization was like 4,000+ years ago. Photo by Evan Berman

I had a conversation the other day with a fellow travel enthusiast and we discussed a fundamental part of travelling on points and miles: what are we looking for in travel? This article should help you consider for yourself three things. The first two are simple but the third is arguably most important:

1. Why do I want to travel?
2. What type of trips do I want?
3. If a travel budget is irrelevant, how often would I travel. Put it another way, just because you can collect all these points and miles, will you be able to use them?

Why Travel?

Travel has been proven time and again to have benefits for the mind and overall well-being. Just mentioning the word can conjure up an image of sipping a drink on the beach or exploring the beauty of Paris. Everyone’s idea of travel is different; though, and it’s important for you to figure out your travel goals and desires. Therefore, I will provide some ideas but do not take interpret this as an exhaustive list. After all, I’m not coming on vacation with you! (unless you ask nicely :))

Here are some ideas you might have:

• “Travel should be all about relaxation. I want to do absolutely nothing other than be happy.”
• “Travel is a way to discover a new culture. The more different from ours, the better!”
• “Travel is a way to get out of my comfort zone!” You might decide that you want to climb a mountain in Ecuador or visit Patagonia, the Amazon, or go big-game hunting in Africa.

What Type of Trip do I want?

Let’s examine the three ideas and give examples of what types of trips each one might inspire.

• If travel is all about relaxation, you could decide you want to visit the Maldives, Cancun, or the Bahamas.
• If travel is about discovering a new culture, you might decide that Africa is for you or that you want to visit Vietnam, Singapore, or Nepal.
• If travel is about getting out of your comfort zone, you might decide that you want to climb a mountain in Ecuador or visit Patagonia, the Amazon, or go big-game hunting in Africa.

How do I want to Travel?

Another personal decision you need to consider is what type of travel are you hoping to take? Do you want to fly first class or business class and stay in 4- or 5-star hotels only? Is your only concern travelling as much as possible, even if that means sacrificing your means of transportation?

This is important because (surprise, surprise!) flying business or first class is quite a bit more expensive than flying economy class, just as staying in luxury hotels and resorts is more expensive than staying in budget hotels and hostels. For example, you might be able to fly round-trip business class for 100,000 points/miles but could only spend 30,000 points on economy class flights to the same place. Or, you can have endless luxury for 100,000 points a night, compared to a budget hotel for 5,000 (or possibly less!) points.

Final Thoughts

It’s also ok to do a mixture of each type of trip! You can treat yourself once a year (or every five years) but then travel for less in your other trips. There is no wrong answer– remember: no matter how you travel, you will still be able to visit other places for small amounts of money so you are still coming out ahead! Regardless of what you decide, read these other posts on how to amass the points that you need to get started.

Evan