How I Booked Overwater Bungalows and Flights In Tahiti for $140

When I asked my children where they wanted to celebrate their graduations,
they decided on Tahiti. I was a bit surprised since my first thought was that’s where you honeymoon. But I was game. And they added, we would love to stay in those over the water bungalows. Makes sense!

So how do you get a family of 5 an almost FREE trip to Tahiti? It takes a lot of planning and time. I wanted to walk you through my process so you can see the strategy in action. 

And I need to mention that if you are looking for help planning your next trip, I just launched the second cohort of my Travel Coaching Program. There are still a few spots open. And right now, I am donating 15% of all the proceeds to the Israel Emergency Fund.

But I'll share my process here so if you want to do it on your own, you can. Because my goal is that everyone can travel for almost FREE and enjoy those priceless experiences.

I start with research:

• Who flies to Tahiti
• Which islands should we visit
• What is there to do there
• Do we need a car
• Where will we stay

And of course, the most important question of all: which over the water bungalows do we want to stay in. 

After doing the research, I decided for this trip: 

• We should fly American Airlines - 70,000-80,000 miles per round trip
• We will visit Tahiti and Moorea - we can take a short ferry between these islands. 
• We will need a car on both islands
• Besides the OWB, seems to be most cost effective for our family of 5 to stay in Airbnb

Now this is the way, we travel, but you might make different choices for your family. Now the fun part, earning all the points. For this trip, we will need approximately: 

• 400,000 American Airlines miles for 5 r/t tickets
• 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for 2 nights in an OWB bungalow and a garden room (we need two rooms for 5 people)
• Capital One points to erase the Airbnb, rental cars and tours

It sounds like a lot, but let’s break it down:

• Barclays American Aviator bonus offer 70,000 miles for $99 annual fee and one purchase - my partner and I each opened one of these
• Chase Ink Business Preferred bonus offer 100,000 Ultimate Rewards for a $95 annual fee and $8,000 minimum spend - my partner and I each opened one of these
• Several friends opened the Chase Ink Business Preferred using my referral link - bonus 40,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points for each one
• American Airlines Online Shopping portal
• Chase Ultimate Rewards Shopping portal
• Capital One points using my partners Capital One Venture X card and my new Capital One Venture X bonus. 

So what did all of this get us:

• 240,000 American Airlines miles netted 3 round trip flights
• 128,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 round trip flights
• 299,000 Chase Ultimate Reward points netted 2 nights in the OWB and 2 nights in the garden room
• 74,000 Capital One points netted 3.5 days in the Airbnb

So right now, I estimate the amount I saved using points and miles at approximately $11,000. Pretty good. I have spent $400 on annual fees and $340 on taxes, fees.

Between now and the actual trip, I will continue to earn Capital One points so I can erase the Airbnb, tours and rental cars.

And when I’m relaxing on the beach in Tahiti, I’ll enjoy it just a bit more because I didn’t spend an arm and a leg to have this dream vacation.

If this sounds amazing, but you are confused about where to start and how to get your next trip for almost FREE then join the second cohort in my Travel Coaching program. Sign up by November 1st.