Originally Posted by
evergrn
That type of travel volume has to require a lot of money and time off, no matter how adept you are with the miles game, no? I don't mean to get into personal business and ask about your finances, but I just wonder how people pull it off. I know there've been other threads discussing this.
Last year I believe I did 30 segments, all economy except 4 were PE, over 9 trips (5 US-domestic, 4 international). ~80% personal travel.
I'm tired of flying economy, but I have no choice. I currently spend ~25% of my take-home on travel/vacation, far more than ideal (and saving far less than I should). And this is despite ~1/3 of those segments being either award or company-paid. I'm certainly doing okay salary-wise. Granted, majority of my trips are with wife and kids and I'm accounting for their costs. But since J costs 3-4x economy, my situation is akin to traveling solo and doing the above trip in J all the time but really pushing the financial limits in doing so.
I am flying business (award) next month for the first time in a long time. Award business is a good deal, but still not an easy thing to pull the trigger on, considering you could be flying double the number of family members if economy.
It requires money, but not FU money. I average $130/night or so on hotels, and probably $25k or so a year on flights (not chump change, but not something most upper-middle-class adults can't afford). I fly a lot of mistake fares and cheap business fares. Mostly it does require a lot of flexibility. I am very good at the travel-hacking game at this point.
I spend more money on travel than on anything else (eating/drinking out is probably a not-too-distant second). I love travel and the experiences it gives me, so I'm totally willing and happy to do so. I have few other major expenses — I hate shopping, I live out of a tiny suitcase, and I have no dependents. My rent is crazy overpriced ($42k/yr for a 1br in SF) but I'm getting rid of it which should pretty much cover the cost of hotels full-time.
At the end of the day, this is all about what you decide you value most and where you choose to spend your time, energy, and money.