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Your loved ones….well. They love you. AND, your friends and family also probably know about your travel addicti–err, I mean, your totally normal level of travel. But wouldn’t your relationship with them be even MORE special if they contributed towards your passion for travel. Whether they know it, or not.

Let’s face it, traveling is expensive. But that’s what loved ones are for, right? Here are my top 5 ways to get your loved ones to pay for your travel. Yanno, without just sending them an invoice.

1. Play the Venmo Game

This is the BIGGEST and most effective way to get your loved ones to unknowingly pay for your travels: Venmo. EVERYTHING. Going out to dinner with your friends? Offer to pay for everything, and everyone can just Venmo you back. “But how does that help pay for travel?!?!” You might be asking yourself. Because you do it with your airline credit card. YAS, you heard me right. In fact, buy ANYTHING with your airline credit card, and just let your friends and family pay you back. That said, this method only works with people that will actually pay you back. This is especially powerful for big purchases. For big dinner parties, OFFER TO PAY. For weekend trips with friends, OFFER TO PAY AND SPLIT LATER. Housing, food, heck if your balance can swing it – do airline flights too.

Are your parents asking you to buy them something from the store? Buy it with your airline card, then they’ll pay it off for you. My mom can not for the life of her figure out online shopping. You know what I do? YUP. Airline card + Venmo. You’re practically earning free miles with the help of your loved ones. Thanks for the free trip y’all.

2. Suggest Family Vacations

Nothing brings a family together like a vacation. And by that, I mean a vacation paid for by your family. WELL, I mean, not everyone’s parent’s can afford to foot the whole bill, but if yours can, hey, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. A vacation is a vacation – AND A FREE ONE AT THAT. If you’ve always wanted to go to Thailand, casually bring it up to your parents. Send them some Costco package deals or even offer to plan the whole thing yourself! All they have to do is show up with wallet in tow.

But you don’t have to suggest super luxe vacations either. Not everyone’s family is ballin’ like that. Or in my case, at all. Find a cheap flight deal for the family, OR -even cheaper- ROAAAADDTRRIIIPPPPPP!! Find a new location that isn’t too far away, then you can all pile in! Sure, it may not be Bora Bora (unless…you happen to live in Bora Bora already), but it’s still travel! AND you’re spending time with your loved ones and creating new memories. Two birds. One stone.

If you need more inspo for traveling with your parents, check out this interview on my blog!

3. Make a CHEAP wish list

Emphasis on the cheap part. Ain’t no casual friend about to buy you a flight to the Maldives. The key with a wish list is making sure it is easy (avoid obscure items only on an underground Chinese Ebay), affordable (stop tagging them in Gucci bag ads), and fun. So no grocery lists or credit card statements, unfortunately. Since your wish list will be related to one of your biggest passions, your friends will love shopping for you! There are tons of options to find online or even at Target, AND you can find lots of travel necessities for under $20!

Either make up your own list and check out a wishlist curated by someone else. I will probably (eventually) make one up. Just stick to things that won’t break someone’s bank to buy.

Also, if your friends or family do a White Elephant or gift exchange type of deal, casually send them post in an email.

4. Visit Them

“I would love to show you around my town!” Your old college roommate texts you. Time  to put their money where their mouth is. Sure, you might have to end up paying for the flight, but you can get free housing, free transportation (assuming they have a car or scooter), a couple free meals or drinks, a personal photographer, oh. AND A FREE TOUR GUIDE. Literally, where else is that going to happen?!? NOW IS THE TIME TO VISIT THAT LOCATION! In the USA alone, I have already gotten free housing, transportation, and a good chunk of food covered in Boston, Oahu, Seattle, NYC, and Burlington. I saved hundreds of dollars on housing in Oahu by crashing on my friend’s couch! And don’t forget about your international friends. They got couches too!

I’m currently looking into visiting friends in Vietnam, Costa Rica, Wales, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Liberia, and Croatia. I won’t make it to all of them, so prioritize the ones at risk for moving first! Y’all think my destinations are random?? THINK AGAIN. Set those flight alerts on Google! But, always remember to check with their schedule availability. You can’t sleep in their spare bedroom if they’re gone and didn’t leave a key.

Yay friendship!

4.5

And then there’s family. If you’ve moved away from home, they probably miss you a lot, especially during the holidays. Ask for them to spot you a plane ticket to come visit (remember, use your card to book then have them Venmo you). Or, same with friends, if you have family members far away, GO VISIT THEM! Under the guise of family bonding (well, you might actually do some of that), you’ll get free room and board. Heck, your parents might even pay for you to go ‘meet your cousins from Germany.’ Take them up on that offer. There’s nothing like a good ol’ family reunion with a bonus 5k miles.

This PERSONALLY doesn’t work for me though. My mom would hit back with a “oh, so I have to PAY to see my own daughter now? Was I that bad of a mother to you?!”

If that’s the case, offer for them to visit you. But pay with your airline card and have them Venmo. You know the drill. Then, you can take free day trips and stuff on their dime! Plus, they might even pay for gas too! Score.

Since you have housing covered, check out my post on how to find the best (and cheapest!) flights!

5. Giftcards

Because just giving plain money isn’t very festive. I mean, unless it’s coming in a red envelope, but that’s a different subject. If you REALLY don’t want things, ask for gift cards! It’s not OUTRIGHT buying your travel, but basically.

Some of my recommendations for gift cards are :

• Amazon – duh
• Airline – arguably, the most expensive part of traveling. make sure to ask for the ones you have loyalty programs or credit cards for. Miles, baby. Miles.
• Hotel – yaaaaaaaaaaaaas, hotels are living the GOOD life. I know I keep stressing this, but try to hint at the hotel chains that you get extra airline points for. They add up honey!
• Airbnb – my personal favorite way to find accommodations. If you have NEVER stayed in an airbnb, use my referral code for a FREE bonus $40 towards your first booking! That’s…basically a free night somewhere! AND, if you use my link, I get a free $20! Issa win win! Get moving on your newfound airbnb game!
• Visit.org – a travel company that partners with nonprofits and other do-good organizations around the world to offer immersive travel experiences that benefit local communities. Sustainable, ethical, AND supportive to the local community? I’m in.
• Uber/Lyft – ah yes, beautiful beautiful Uber. Because sometimes, public transport just isn’t fast enough. And I got a referral code for Uber too! If it is your first time using Uber, type in [ kalilahh3ue ] and your first ride will be free! And then I get $5 credit! For Lyft, just use [ KALILAH075154 ] for your first free ride, and I get $10. So thats TWO FREE RIDES right there on top of your gift card money!! Woop woop! If you are outside of the USA, there might be a different rideshare program. Ask for that one.
• Headspace – it is an app that provides guided mediation to de-stress and improve focus. Travel is a journey of self discovery too!
• REI – UGH, one of my FAVORITE PLACES to shop. If you are an outdoorsy person, you know how expensive gear can get. That’s what loved ones are for. Please and thank you!

6. Crowdfunding

I meannnnnnnnn.

If you’re real desparate to not pay for your own travel (which is a luxury in itself) – you could always crowdfund. I’m not personally supportive of this, but hey. Do you. Here are some crowdfunding sites that allow travel donations. Just know, I won’t be contributing. Maybe someone will though!

Fundly, kickstarter, BoostUP or paypay donate are all options for this. But, I don’t have any experience crowdfunding for travel though. Lemme know how that goes.

And, while they’re at it, consider asking them to donate to the Global Dreamers Foundation. It is a non-profit organization that offers a travel scholarship to first-time travelers. As well as sponsoring the cost of passport applications, the organization also supplies gear and travel advice. So, give back a dollar or two so that someone else may have the opportunity to experience the world. Read more about it here!

7. Discounts by Association

Do you have any loved ones in the airline business? What about the hotel industry? Ask them if they have standby flights or hotel discounts for friends and family. And then become their bff.

I’m exaggerating, but also, I’m not. You shouldn’t be close to them JUST for the perks, but also, the perks gotta get used by someone, right?? Also, look beyond the obvious careers! If you have any friends that are travel agents or in the travel industry in particular, you can score major deals if you book with them! You’re helping each other! At my job, I get a pretty sweet discount on rental cars! So, get to know your friends. And also their perks.

ANNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Those are all of my tips on how to finagle your way into more travel via friends and family! Aren’t they just the greatest?? Do you have any more tips on scamming your loved ones err–i mean, having them help with your travel ambitions? Drop them in the comments!

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