Musings From a Two Week Fairy Tale EuroTrip

A BowTiedBum State of the Union post will drop shortly…. I’ll address the Fluz situation, the affiliate opportunity, and everything else later this week…

I’ve been on vacation the last two weeks and it inspired me to write a brief post:

For those that are new, I often discuss how travel has shaped my life.  Particularly, with being able to connect with my wife’s family who lives in Europe.  I’m eternally grateful for the credit card points journey I just happened to randomly stumble upon a few years ago.  This journey allowed me to travel all over the world for free or pennies on the dollar, get to really know my European in-laws, and more importantly, provide an opportunity for my in-laws (who are getting older) to really get to know my two year old daughter.

If it weren’t for this game, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do any of this as it would have been out of my budget.

During the past two weeks, we hiked the Alps, and my 73 year old father-in-law got to proudly carry my two year old daughter on his back. We toured Monaco and got to enjoy a nice group dinner. We stayed in an oceanfront hotel in Nice, France, and my father-in-law offered tidbits of wisdom from his life over an espresso and croissant at a sidewalk bakery. We traveled along the coast of the French Riviera, as I drove, trying to navigate the traffic circles and foreign signs.

We took a boat to Saint-Tropez, and got to experience some of the best people watching I’ve ever seen. We had lunch at one of the fanciest restaurants in town overlooking the water.

We enjoyed full, sun-soaked days, often losing track of time as the sun set at 10PM, offering us ample time at the beach. We sipped champagne and local wine, while overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, and discussed cultural differences, age differences, and current events. We spoke about what the future generation might look like, with hopes that my daughter might still appreciate the little things in life and not always be glued to a screen.

We met up with local friends and despite the age differences among our family and friends, there was one thing we all agreed on:

Life is incredibly short and time is precious.

I was able to pay for the entire trip with points, and this is not meant to be a flex. With some effort, anyone can do this too, and that’s exactly why I started this project.

To me, travel is vital. It energizes my soul, expands my horizons, and simply makes me a better person. Travel is absolutely essential and is a big priority.

One big takeaway from the trip was:

Location > everything else…

If you’re anything like me, you want a quality trip that you actually enjoy, rather than just flexing for Instagram.

Take a look at the screenshot below:

This is Nice, France. European hotspot in the summer and in high demand.

La Negresco is one of the most desirable spots in the city and is always in high demand. However, with Chase UR points (converted to Hyatt), we were easily able to book the Hyatt Regency, a couple hundred meters away, right by the beach.

Personally, I don’t spend a lot of time in the hotel on trips like this, particuarly if it’s so close to the beach. On trips like this, we generally use our lodging as a place to crash and don’t spend a lot of time there. On this particular trip? We left our hotel at 8AM and usually went back home around 10PM. If anything, we stopped in for a quick second to grab something.

However, we had friends who booked an AirBnB where the green X is. We visited their lodging which was in a courtyard, and it was a 2-3 minute longer walk to the beach than our hotel was. Sure, they didn’t have any ocean view, but who cares? None of us spent any time in our hotel anyway, so what’s the point? Their AirBnB was $250 per night for a two-bedroom, just a few steps away from the beach. We visited their apartment, and they had a full kitchen, balcony (facing courtyard) and two large bedrooms. If we didn’t have the Hyatt accomodations for free, we would have absolutely booked this property.

In the next couple weeks, I can write a detailed trip report how we paid for everything (including restaurants) for free with points.

However, my goal is to help everyone create similiar, long lasting memories with their loved ones… And take that trip they’ve been putting off for years…

Many of you are on track to earn $10K+ WiFi money through credit card churning alone. Others are earning an additional $10K+ by simply following the Amazon Arbitrage Guide and taking action. Regardless of how much you earn, remember that spending time with your family and friends, and creating lasting memories is what it’s all about.

We’ll discuss what the second half of the year looks like for the BowTiedBum community shortly. Big things are coming!

Good luck, and feel free to reach DM me on Twitter or Slack with any questions.

Disclaimer: None of this is to be deemed legal or financial advice of any kind.