Travel Hacking Genius: How Anandra Flies FREE with a Companion! (Total Gamechanger for Chant Lovers)

Aloha!

You may or may not know that I'm a super nerdy travel hacking geek in addition to being a mantra nerd! My sister and I got smart about it last year and got 1,500,000 bonus miles between us, just by spending what we normally would on our lives and businesses.

How to Travel Hack (get 10X rewards per $1 consistently)

If you'd rather watch a video👇👇 than read, here's me giving you the rundown on how to do it: 

Maybe you've got money flowing in abundance (yay you!) but if you're like most people (like me anyway!) and want to do your favorite chant retreats but have to be careful about finances, I want to turn you onto the concept of travel hacking.

I already feel like I'm winning at life because I get to help people every day with sound yoga therapy and teach mantra and nāda yoga for a living, but traveling for free definitely feels like winning too! Rainbows just might encircle you, too, like they did on a recent flight home to Kaua'i (in the video). Isn't that COOL?!?

What is travel hacking for chant lovers?

The basic travel hacking concept is simple:

1. Instead of getting 1:1 miles on a normal airline travel credit card, you apply for special credit cards that offer great signup bonuses.
2. One at a time.
3. While you're hitting the bonus on one, you put all of your bills and your daily expenses on that card. (Tricks to make that easy, in the video, i.e. setting it up with Apple Pay)
4. After you hit the bonus on that card, you switch to a new card and do the same thing.
5. That way you can get 10X the value (towards bonus points) out of every dollar you spend. Spend those bonus points on any airline, rental car, hotel, etc. if you do it my way.

If you're a chant lover and want to join us on retreat, you could totally travel hack your way to getting 95% of your travel costs covered to any of our upcoming global sound & mantra retreats! There are always some fees and taxes, usually between $5 - $100.

Travel hacking for Heart of Sound chant lovers has 2 phases:

1. Start rocking your travel hack credit card game (using my favorite recommended cards below!)
2. Join our Partner Program and when you're gushing to your friends about Heart of Sound trainings and retreats, mention your 10% discount code. "Hey I'm jetting off to Māui for a teacher training this fall, wanna come? Use my code MYNAME to get 10% off!"
3. You'd potentially fly for FREE, and get $$$$ in tuition credits or cash payouts from referring folks to our training. (Word of mouth has always been our best way to reach the right people!)

My current best cards for travel hacking, and why:

(If you click those links and sign up, instead of navigating away or searching on your own, I'll get a small miles bonus, too. Thanks for using the links! Every bit helps me be able to keep touring affordably myself and offering Scholarships to others!)

#1
The Capital One Venture X is the best premium travel card with great travel perks including airport lounge access and amazing travel insurance protection.

#2
I love the Southwest Airlines because of their amazing Companion Pass, flexibility, and generally great prices.

#3
The business INK cards at Chase are really where the huge bonuses come in, since you can apply for them with your social security number AND with your EIN if you own a business. The best part is that the miles are ultra-flexible (and worth 1.25X when you spend them!). They'll transfer to almost any airline and hotel chain, making the game of travel hacking super fun since you can spend the miles in really fun and creative ways!

Playing the game of travel hacking right:

Ideally you plan it out before making a larger purchase so it's super easy and you can hit the bonus with just one or two purchases (like a home improvement, or a teacher training course, or the last trip you'll ever pay for with cash again ;) )

With several different companies offering great bonuses, you can alternate applications and not over-do it.
*The key is to NOT go crazy and get yourself into debt (obviously!) and just use the cards for all the things you'd need to buy anyway. Like your taxes (which can be put on a credit card in most places now!). Your bills, groceries, gym membership, etc. Or even your rent!

What does travel hacking have to do with chant lovers?

Our upcoming Chant Retreats Worldwide are already as affordable as we can make them... family-style accommodation options, local rental cars from me & my friends, and simply delicious Ayurvedic food is included in the price.

If you're flying to Hawai'i, you can also get your flight to Hawai'i for FREE, plus a companion! Ask me how I did it!

Since I'm on the most remote landmass on Earth and tropical paradise is not cheap, getting to & from the island is also a significant expense. But I have good news for you!

Clever Chant Lovers could fly FREE + 1 AND get FREE Tuition

1. If you're clever about it, and willing to plan ahead, you could rock the travel hacking game and get your flight + a companion's flight FREE! (See Companion Pass below)
2. If you have a network of people who would also love our programs, you could get your tuition paid for by referring others to our sound & mantra trainings. It's not a pyramid scheme or anything - just a straight $ thank you for spreading the word! (Check our Affiliate Program or contact us)

How to become a total travel hacking geek (like me!)

• If you live in the US and you're a person who can pay their credit card bill on time and in full each month, signing up for credit card bonuses is a great way to rack up more than enough bonus points for a round trip to Hawai'i. (Travel hacking opportunities are less available outside of the US.)

Travel Hacking Companion Pass how to (if you and a friend want to fly for free, here's what do to):

1. If you will be travelling from the United States, and can fly Southwest Airlines to Lihue, the Southwest Companion Pass is AMAZING! (I got it last year and my boyfriend and I have been travelling 2-for-1 all year. Yep. It sounds too good to be true but I am living proof. It was remarkably easy!)

How I got the Travel Companion Pass  (the normal way to do it!)

1. Apply for a Southwest Airlines Business Card to get the 80,000 bonus. (Sometimes it's even more!)
2. Apply for the Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards card to get the 50,000 bonus.
3. Meet your minimum spend for both cards by paying for things you're already planning to buy, such as the Hawai'i mantra and nada yoga retreat tuition, or the sound and mantra teacher training package deal (available for both the 500hr and the 200hr training).
4. You can also put your Chant retreat rental car on your new Southwest airlines credit card.

   

The trick to timing travel hacking is:

1. Apply for a new card with a great bonus a few weeks before a planned purchase.
2. Make the purchase to meet the minimum spend before the deadline (usually 3 months).
3. Use the bonus points you earned to get your flights, airbnb, rental car, etc.

My current best cards for travel hacking, and why:

(If you click those links and sign up, instead of navigating away or searching on your own, I'll get a small miles bonus, too. Thanks for using the links! Every bit helps!)

#1
The Capital One Venture X is the best premium travel card with great travel perks including airport lounge access and amazing travel insurance protection.

#2
I love the Southwest Airlines because of their amazing Companion Pass, flexibility, and generally great prices.

#3
The business INK cards at Chase are really where the huge bonuses come in, since you can apply for them with your social security number AND with your EIN if you own a business. The best part is that the miles are ultra-flexible (and worth 1.25X when you spend them!). They'll transfer to almost any airline and hotel chain, making the game of travel hacking super fun since you can spend the miles in really fun and creative ways!

Travel Hacking Credit Card Application Tips

With fraud on the rise, the banks are getting more and more strict about identity verification.

1. You must have a dedicated mobile phone number in your own name, and have access to receive text messages and one time passcodes while you're applying. (You cannot use a work phone number that is registered in the business or someone else's name. Do not try to use a friend's phone to verify - it might work for the application, but not the verification after the card arrives.)
2. You must have an email address that you can check and verify your account, too.
3. You must have a physical address to mail your card to, for most applications. (Most banks will not mail the card to a PO Box. Mailing the card to an address that is not associated with your credit history may also raise flags. Use your most common, standard physical address to avoid complications!)
4. Your name on the application must exactly match your ID and your Social Security Number
5. If you use an alias, apply using your legal name.
6. They'll ask your gross income and rent payment. It doesn't need to be an exact figure, just close to what you expect this year.

I made a few of these mistakes last year trying to apply for cards on a tech-ignorant family member's behalf (with permission of course!). Now I make sure that they're available by their phone to get the OTP when we're setting up the accounts in real time.

Travel Hacking Key Concept: don't spend more than you normally would!

Other ideas to meet your minimum spend without spending any extra money would be:

Signing up for new cards a few weeks before an expenditure is coming up is just super smart! (But only if you're able to pay your cards on time and in full!)

Annual renewal fees for car insurance, subscription payments like Spotify, etc. You can often save 20-30% going from monthly to annual payments in advance, so it's worth doing an audit of your subscriptions to a) save that money and b) hit your minimum spend quickly!

Of course, putting your Heart of Sound Retreat + 200hr Teacher Training package deal (or 500hr Package Deal!) would be the best idea! ;) as you'll save $500 on both plus go a long way towards your minimum spend on the Southwest Business Rewards card!

If you took action soon, it's possible to get your bonuses posted to your account in plenty of time to use those miles to book your Southwest reward flight to Lihue, plus fly your companion with you for free! (As of posting, a round-trip flight LAX to LIH uses only about 50,000 points, so after getting 130,000 in bonus points from those two cards you'd have plenty left over for other adventures or our next mantra and nada yoga retreat!)

Companion Pass sample numbers for Chant Retreats

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Personal card FREE companion pass + 30,000 miles bonus pays for 2 round trips from LAX to LIH!

Minimum spend is $4000, you'd hit by investing in the Retreat + 200hr Teacher Training package deal (or the 500hr Package Deal!)

Companion Pass sample numbers Normally

Normally that same Southwest card has a minimum spend of only $1000, which you'd meet by purchasing the mantra and nada yoga retreat OR the lodging + car (which you can share with a friend) on that card.

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Business card = 80,000 miles bonus

Minimum spend is $5000, you'd hit by investing in the Retreat + 200hr Teacher Training package deal (or the 500hr Package Deal!)

That's 130,000 miles towards your 135,000 requirement to get the Companion Pass (which is good for the remainder of the year plus ALL OF NEXT YEAR!)

We hope to see you real soon!

What about the annual fees?

If you're doing the method I recommend, you'll be earning so much in bonuses the annual fees will be worth it. You can set yourself a reminder to cancel that card just before the annual fee hits if you want!

💡 Want more tips & insider tricks?
Join our ✈️Travel Hack Nerd 💸 WhatsApp Group to connect with other chant-loving travel hackers, ask questions, and share wins!

Chant Retreats

Experience sound yoga therapy and Sanskrit mantra chanting with Anandra and our global chant community in person!

Our "Retreat into the Heart of Sound" experiences are offered worldwide by Anandra and Heart of Sound graduates. While our priority during retreat is to provide you with an invitation to our profound chanting practices (and you're welcome to skip study session times if you're simply on retreat) your "inner nerd" will also enjoy our innovative approaches 

Retreats also count as in-person attendance hours for Heart of Sound 200-hour and 500-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training. Package deals are available saving you $200-$500.

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