✈️ The Ultimate Travel Hack Thread

Fiscal said:

And even when one is settled down on a tropical island or mountain village, some of enjoy a nice trip every now and then.

For pleasure trips, it's fun to avoid planning and just explore (without too much help from GMaps) randomly.

Fiscal said:

the best restaurants in Monaco

Le Grill - can't beat it

Fiscal said:

or the Caribbean

I will mention Graycliff in Nassau and El Bucanero in Luperon (DR). Very different places, both worth visiting.

Fiscal said:

Plane tickets
Flightlist.io / Made for digital nomads, remote workers & flexible travelers. Discover more affordable routes and cheaper dates within a date range. Gives you the most affordable options to fly.
Skyscanner.com / The most well known and useful way to find a good route. Tip: delete your cookies or browse incognito to prevent/fix price fluctuations. Once you've found a good flight, book directly with the airline! In my opinion this is a better option than Google Flights, but you can always use that to see more options.

good tips. But it's so time consuming! Easier to email your Amex concierge and in a couple of hours you will receive your itinerary.

Fiscal said:

(E-)SIM

weroam.xyz / Global SIM Plan offers global data freedom with zero hassle. I highly recommend this service compared to other e-sim providers. It provides you with an Austrian phone number. Compared to other eSIM providers, this number doesn't expire after 30 days (it's valid indefinitely), and you don't need to reside in a single country to ensure validity. It works worldwide, and all you need to do is top up the minimum amount. You can also make calls with it, but with most providers you can only use data.

how many gb per month? How is the connection speed?

Fiscal said:

Loyalty Programs

Don't throw money out the window. If you travel a lot, a loyalty program is definitely worth it. Join a hotel chain and flying program that provides you with points/miles and work towards free stays/flights and upgrades. Carefully consider the global coverage that best suits your needs. Marriott has good global coverage and is the largest hotel chain. But looking for great service as a valued customer? I hear a lot of good things about Hyatt.

This is a deep rabbit hole. There's a whole forum dedicated to it: flyertalk.com/
Anyways I just opt for the hotels part of the Amex FHR, they are vetted and you get special benefits when booking through Amex.

If anyone needs a good and honest broker for private flights, send me a DM and I will be happy to share.

Fiscal said:

Loyalty programs are indeed a very broad topic, especially in combination with credit cards. I think it would be especially interesting to highlight which ones are still worthwhile in 2025.

Reminds me of the movie Queenpins 🤣

Fiscal said:

Status doesn't mean as much anymore. The good news is that I do notice the difference in higher segments of hotel chains, and it can be worthwhile to feel appreciated staying with certain brands.

I used to have top tier Kempinski status, where they upgraded you to the highest room category irrespective of your booking. So for example I booked a basic room at the Emirates Palace and I was upgraded to a corner suite.
Today Amex is the best option for an upgrade, and some social skills still help, in particular with independent/small chain hotels.

Let's share something.

Nomads : nomads.com

EU empty legs flights : globeair.com/empty-leg-flights

CEO said:

EU empty legs flights : globeair.com/empty-leg-flights

did you ever use them? All flights offered at €1,290, from Siena-Grosseto (55km) to Milan-London 😒

JohnnyDoe said:

did you ever use them? All flights offered at €1,290, from Siena-Grosseto (55km) to Milan-London 😒

I understand your concern but it's private flight, the normal rate is 500€ for 2H flight in normal plane.
The company is from Austria and well-known here but if you want to do due diligence check these :

VIES VAT number validation:

ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/#/vat-validation

globeair.com/p/impressum

Partners :

globeair.com/p/jacob-co-uk

watchpro.com/jacob-co-partners-with-european…er-globeair/

CEO said:

I understand your concern but it's private flight, the normal rate is 500€ for 2H flight in normal plane.

500€ for 2 hours? 🤪 I’m not sure if there’s still a plane that costs 2,500€ per hour.

CEO said:

The company is from Austria and well-known here but if you want to do due diligence check these :

They are legit, they operate the small Citation Mustang

JohnnyDoe said:

500€ for 2 hours? 🤪 I’m not sure if there’s still a plane that costs 2,500€ per hour.

I mean normal commercial flight costs that price in August in the EU bro.

Fiscal said:

GlobeAir is legit, I flew with them before. They are based in Austria and only cover Europe, and not even the entire continent (see map here: globeair.com/p/fleet). Their fleet mostly consists of Cessna Citation Mustangs (they are the primary user of this type of plane), and having to fly back regardless after a one-way trip I believe that's how they are to able to offer lower prices than others. So this is a good find and glad you shared it CEO. They allow payment with crypto.

Empty legs is good, thank you for the information didn't know they accept crypto, sounds amazing.

Fiscal said:

GlobeAir is legit, I flew with them before. They are based in Austria and only cover Europe, and not even the entire continent (see map here: globeair.com/p/fleet). Their fleet mostly consists of Cessna Citation Mustangs (they are the primary user of this type of plane), and having to fly back regardless after a one-way trip I believe that's how they are to able to offer lower prices than others. So this is a good find and glad you shared it CEO. They allow payment with crypto.

Nothing against GlobeAir, but with about the same budget you can charter a Phenom 100, which is a better aircraft. Arcus Air is a good operator. Anything over 1 hour though and you will suffer severe cramps and claustrophobia.
But it is always a question of positioning costs, which is why sometimes a CJ2 can be cheaper than a VLJ.
Don’t forget the nice PC-12 (turboprop) for short trips, and the great P-180 (best operator in the EU: Airgo) for longer trips.

Fiscal said:

Truly appreciate the input, noted. I just saw Airgo offers the Piaggo Avanti which is truly a special sight to behold (in my opinion)

Good plane.

JohnnyDoe said:

did you ever use them? All flights offered at €1,290, from Siena-Grosseto (55km) to Milan-London 😒

They lowered the price for you bro. It's 990€ now 😁

JohnnyDoe said:

good tips. But it's so time consuming! Easier to email your Amex concierge and in a couple of hours you will receive your itinerary.

Is this service always provided directly by Amex? I've been offered the Platinum card by the Py bank, which includes a concierge, but I'm afraid it's just some lame local service.

GuaraniGhost said:

Is this service always provided directly by Amex? I've been offered the Platinum card by the Py bank, which includes a concierge, but I'm afraid it's just some lame local service.

I don't know about Amex Platinum in PY. Amex Centurion provides its services from Brighton, UK, they don't outsource.