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How to Travel More Luxuriously on a Budget
Jul 28, 2022
Have you always wanted to experience luxury travel but thought it was out of reach? It's more accessible than you think! Here are 8 Tips for adding luxury travel on a budget. Chapters: 0:00 How to add more luxury & comfort to your vacation 0:22 Choosing the right time and location 1:31 Using layover programs 2:24 Leverage membership programs 3:00 Leverage credit card perks 4:01 How to fly private 6:06 How to get in to first class lounges 8:55 Join a first class lounge membership 9:15 Look beyond hotels and city centers 11:21 Use a private terminal Mentioned in video: Article with links - https://www.craftedtravelco.com/post/how-to-add-luxury-travel-on-a-budget JSX $20 off coupon code - ZQXA4B PriorityPass - https://bit.ly/3yKcSi4
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0:00
So vacations this year seem to be going in a very specific way. We've been stuck at home for so long
0:05
that a lot of people are wanting to take the best trip of their life, bucket list trips. They're
0:10
really wanting to make it something special. So to that end, today I want to bring you eight tips
0:15
for how to add more luxury and comfort into your vacation. So you ready? Let's go. All right. The
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first tip I want to share with you is to travel in the off season to lesser cheaper places. And
0:30
by that, I mean going to places that are typically cheaper. So not going to Paris or London, but
0:34
going maybe to the areas, you know, are a little cheaper, like certain cities in Mexico, like
0:40
Thailand and some of the other countries that, you know, tend to be a bit on the cheaper side
0:45
in general. And then on top of that, go in the off season. So for instance, to Phuket in Thailand
0:51
if you go between July and October, that is their off season because it's also the rainy season
0:57
But if you're willing to put up with the rain, you could get a much better deal. For instance
1:02
there's a luxury hotel there called, I'm going to mess it up, Almanpuri, Almanpuri, I think
1:08
Please don't murder me if I'm saying that wrong. But it is a luxury hotel in Phuket. And if you go
1:13
in July, for instance, you can get rooms for $85 a night, whereas usually it's well, well above that
1:20
So by combining off-season with lesser expensive destinations, combining those two, you can stay at far more luxurious hotels for a lot less money. The next tip is to use
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layover programs. So there are airlines that build in layover programs into their tickets
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So for instance, if you are flying on Air Canada and you are going to say America to
1:44
London, let's just say, if you have a layover in Toronto, you can extend that layover from a few
1:50
hours to perhaps even a day, perhaps even two days, depending on the program and be able to
1:56
build in more into your vacation, build in more luxury because for the same cost as that single
2:02
flight that you've taken from America to London, you are now adding a Canadian stop for no extra
2:07
cost. There are some airlines that offer this and I have details on that within my article
2:13
which I will list below of some of the programs you can utilize to extend your vacation
2:18
add a bit more comfort and luxury for the same price as a single round trip ticket
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The next tip in this one, probably you have heard of before, but that is to leverage your
2:29
mile programs and your perks on your credit cards and, and your membership to say whatever
2:35
airline is your favorite airline. Now, if you belong to an airline membership program and you
2:39
have enough points, you probably are in those higher tiered elite status. And if you are
2:45
oftentimes that comes with a host of extra perks, whether that is free upgrades, first class lounge
2:50
access, free bags, things of that nature. All of those can help you to have a much more luxurious
2:56
experience. Even if you're on a budget on your vacation, you can also do the same thing with
3:01
If you happen to have a travel credit card, they often have a ton of perks that you might not know about
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Again things like upgrades first lounge access additional things that can help make your vacation far more luxurious If you happen to be an Amex member and happen to have those platinum levels you also get some extra things like access to their fine resorts program
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which comes with its own host of free things such as free nights
3:26
After maybe you buy three nights, you get the fourth night free. They have extra amenities such as credit resort credits or different programs or different
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just a bottle of champagne on the arrival. You can also, if you have hotel credit cards, they often come with free nights each year
3:44
or other perks that help you to get upgrades and other things like that
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So be sure to take advantage of any membership credit card perks and look at the statements
3:53
to see or look at your program to see exactly what you might be able to get that you didn't
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know that will help you make your vacation far more luxurious this year. The next is to fly private
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Now, before you crucify me, flying private can actually be cheaper than you think
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It isn't always about chartering the entire jet, although there's a lot more companies doing it nowadays
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So it is becoming a little bit more affordable, although it is still out of range for a lot of people
4:21
But did you know that there are jets that are smaller jets, say 30 passengers, and they sell their seats individually
4:28
One of them is JSX. Now, this one started in California as a little local regional airline and went from, say, Los Angeles or Burbank, actually, to Las Vegas or maybe up to the Bay Area
4:41
But they have now extended and have some routes that go into Texas, Florida, New York, and all along the West Coast
4:48
If you want a little bit of luxury, this might be just the thing. Now, what makes it a luxury experience is, A, the airplane and the amenities that you get because it is a smaller jet
4:57
It is a private jet. So it's a little bit more of that experience, even though you're sharing it with a lot of
5:02
people, 30 people, but not only that you get to leave out of the private terminal
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So that means no going to the main terminals, dealing with parking TSA lines and being in
5:13
a gate crowded with people. You go to the private terminal, you have much easier access to parking
5:19
You have a small TSA service without lines. You can actually arrive about 30 minutes before your flight and not have to worry about it
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because everything is much smaller, more private, and just a better experience everywhere you go
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Now, this can be had. I was looking at prices earlier today on a sample flight from Los Angeles
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to the Bay Area, and I found prices as low as about $119 each way. This is for a private flight
5:45
out of a private terminal, and it does go more than that depending on when you go. For instance
5:49
if you go on a holiday weekend, obviously it's going to be more expensive, but I just wanted to
5:54
bring it to your attention because it is far more in reach than you think. And I'll go ahead and link
6:00
that below as well. I have a coupon code that will give you $20 off if you wanted to explore them
6:04
for your next vacation. The next is to use first class lounges. Now I am gobsmacked by how many
6:12
people don't realize how within reach first class lounges are. Now the first and most free way to do
6:18
that is if you happen to have your membership program with your airline. Again, if you've
6:22
reach those higher levels or higher statuses a lot of times you can get free access to their first lounges or for a daily pass rate As being a member you can get a cheaper rate to be able to just use it for the day Another way to do it is through your credit cards such as Amex which gives you access
6:38
to the Centurion lounges and also gives you a free priority pass membership, which I'll
6:43
talk about in a minute, or other travel credit cards, airline credit cards
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For instance, American Airlines has their credit card that you can get access to there
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If you get the higher tier, if you get the platinum credit card, you get access to their
6:55
first class lounges. So that's just one way. The other way is to use an app such as Lounge Buddy
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Now this will tell you what lounges are available in each airport. And if they have a daily pass
7:07
rate, it'll tell you what that is so that you know, oh, Hey, I can go use Delta's lounge. And
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I know they'll only charge me $30 for the day, but I'm going to be safe. For instance, I'm going
7:18
to be in the morning leaving on my flight. And I know I'm going to be waiting for at least an hour
7:22
to two hours. And then I know I'm going to have a layover for three hours in Chicago and I can use
7:28
my pass. I could use the lounge then. And then, and then maybe there's another stop that you could
7:33
use it on. That might be well worth a $30 access pass for the day. And then of course, there's
7:38
always, if you happen to be flying first class or business class, you have access to those also
7:42
anyway. And then the fourth way is to buy a membership such as priority pass, which is a
7:48
conglomerate of about 1300 lounges and you actually buy to buy to be able to have access
7:54
to those lounges and they have different membership levels based on price and what you want to have
7:59
included. But all of that to be said, there are ways to get into the first class lounge, but why
8:04
why even bother? Well, it is because it is a more comfortable area for you to wait for your flight
8:11
Not only does it have more spacious area to relax, it's not a gate crowded and completely
8:16
packed with people where you may or may not be able to find a seat, but there are more
8:20
luxury seats. There's extra tons of outlets for plugs and different things
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Some of them even have desks if you need to work. I've seen some that actually have lounge chairs that lay down in case you want to sleep
8:32
They have cleaner bathrooms. They have sometimes showers. They have free food and snacks, and they have free drinks and often an open bar
8:40
So if you know you're going to be waiting for any length of time, like an hour or more
8:45
first cloud using a first class lounge will help elevate that experience and make it a far more
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luxurious vacation for you and for everybody that you're traveling with all right now as i said you
8:56
can join a membership program for those launch access priority pass is the one i was telling
9:00
you about with 1300 different lounges that you can access i'm going to go ahead and link that
9:04
below if that's something that you're interested in i believe they're offering a 25 off currently
9:10
So off of your first year, you could get 25% off and details will be below
9:15
All right. The next tip is to not limit yourself to the main city center and to not limit yourself
9:22
by only hotels. So by that, I mean, for instance, if you're going to Rome, if there is a certain main
9:28
city popular area in Rome, it's like this, it's the city center, which means it's the
9:34
most easily accessible to all of the different locations, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, all
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of those things. If you stay slightly outside of that popular area you are going to find cheaper rates So thereby you can afford more luxurious hotels as long as you not staying in that city center If you look a little farther afield and it doesn mean that now you super far away from the things to see
9:55
and do, you can still accept access those easily. It's just that you're not in that main hub. And so
10:00
you can save a little bit more. The other thing is to not limit yourself to hotels. And by that
10:05
I mean, look to those vacation rentals, whether it's Vrbo or Airbnb, you can explore houses
10:12
or condos available for rent that will give you more access to things
10:19
And you would just be maybe a little bit outside of that city center. And oftentimes it can be cheaper, especially if you're traveling with a family
10:26
So if you're traveling with a family with kids, it's often better to get a vacation
10:30
rental because you have access to a kitchen, you have different bedrooms
10:34
so everybody could be far more comfortable rather than sharing a single room hotel
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By having the kitchen, it helps save costs as well on meals and be able to give you a little bit of flexibility in that regard
10:47
and saving more money in that regard. So a vacation rental in that regard is oftentimes far better than getting a hotel or resort
10:54
The other thing is if you're traveling in a group, say for instance, you are three couples traveling
10:59
it would likely be cheaper to share a three-bedroom house than it would be just to purchase three
11:05
separate luxury hotel rooms. So by combining being a little bit outside of the main area
11:12
and having a vacation rental, you can stay big and have a far more luxurious experience
11:17
on your vacation. The next is to use a private terminal. Now, what do I mean by private terminal
11:22
the one that comes to mind right now is in Los Angeles. It is called the private suite
11:29
And what it is, is an external terminal. It's in LAX, but it is, you do not go through the
11:35
main airport to get to it. It's a completely separate entrance. It's its own parking. It's
11:39
its own everything. And what you do is you pay for the privilege of leaving out of that terminal
11:44
It doesn't matter what flight you're on. You could be on any commercial flight, but you go to that private terminal. Like I said, parking is super easy, right up front
11:51
very convenient parking. You go in, you have a private suite access, again, top food, open bar
12:00
everything that you could possibly want, every comfort you could possibly want. You do TSA in
12:05
the private terminal. So it is a no lines and it is a private experience. You're not dealing with
12:11
what you would in the main gate, in the main terminal. And then when you're ready for your
12:15
flight, they literally drive you on the tarmac to the door of your plane. You never touch the gate
12:20
You never have to go inside. It is a completely private experience. This is excellent. If you
12:26
happen to be somebody who is famous or wealthy and don't want to have to be in the crowds
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or you just happen to have the funds and want a much more luxurious experience
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This is absolutely the way to do it. Like I said, this particular one is in Los Angeles
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but I'm sure some of the major airports will be opening these as the year goes on. And as travel
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comes back more and more. Now, the next thing to do, if you're traveling this year is to take a
12:48
look at these videos here, which will help you plan your vacation. And other than that
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I want to thank you so much for stopping by, have a great luxurious travel experience
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and I will see you on the next video. Take care. Bye-bye
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