Travel Hacking-Why I Refuse To Break the Seal
Why I Refuse To Break the Seal
You must be living under a rock if you’ve not heard of travel hacking. Almost every personal finance blog or podcast has tackled this subject at one time or another. So you may be surprised to see yet another post here on DiverseFI. I have assiduously avoided the subject, and have paused several times before deciding to jump into this much hashed out discussion. You may be wondering why I have been so cautious. Certainly I have used points or juggled credit cards at some point to get a cheap flight? Right? Well, the answer is actually no. When it comes to travel hacking, I refuse to break the seal.
It’s not that this time-tested mode of savings is somehow faulty. I have little worries about trashing my credit or losing track of all those cards at once.
I certainly see the benefit. If I have to read another blog about travel to Europe on some ridiculously low-budget, and hear about a blogger having the time of her life. I might just die of envy!
So why don’t I break the seal?
There are some ridiculously superficial reasons:
- I’m just not that organized
- I have better things to spend my time doing
- Tracking finances becomes painful when you are juggling cards
- I like the airlines and hotels that I’m used too, and don’t want to be forced into one brand or another
Unimpressive? Before you get ready to trash me in the comments, realize that there is one other, more sinister, reason that is holding me back.
It Started So Innocently
I barely paid attention to the notice that came in the mail . Originally I thought that the envelope from Verizon Mobile was just another advertising campaign. I twirled it between my fingers on the way to the garbage, before changing my mind. Who knows why.
You can’t imagine the surprise when I read the fine print closely. Apparently, I owed over $2000 for the purchase of three iPhones and mobile service for the last two months.
*Funny, I don’t have any business with Verizon! *
After several phone calls, It became clear that I had become the victim of identity theft. The fraud spanned multiple accounts, credit cards, and left a number of unhappy creditors.
A few hours later, a police officer was sitting in my living room taking notes and discussing the particulars. Unfortunately, this type of situation, is all to common in our digitally enhanced lifestyle. Social security numbers, personal identifying information, and even debit card pins are dancing around on some dishonest persons computer screen twenty-four hours a day.
On her way out the door, the officer nonchalantly made a suggestion that ended up being the ultimate solution.
You should lock your credit!
On Lockdown
And that’s just what we did. Within an hour, I placed a credit freeze on all our accounts. Although it cost a few bucks, this action pretty much solved our problems. By locking it down, we were able to stop anyone from using our personal information to open new accounts or cards.
Why does this work so well?
Almost all credit companies query either Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion before allowing a new account to be opened. When the account is frozen, they get a polite message saying the report is on lockdown and unable to be viewed. This halts any attempt to open a spurious account.
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
It was a great relief to know that my identity fraud issues had a limit. I contacted all the creditors, sent them a copy of the police report, and placed a fraud alert with the reporting agencies. I now view my credit report every quarter, and make sure that everything is accurate.
Having your credit frozen, however, makes opening new accounts, churning cards, or getting a mortgage much more difficult. You have to either unfreeze your credit completely, or work with the companies to selectively unfreeze.
This process is no fun, and often time-consuming.
So you will have to excuse me if I refuse to break the seal on travel hacking.
I know!
I know I am missing out!
But unfreezing my credit, or playing fast and loose with cards, provides a clear opportunity to weaken my rock solid chain of personal identity security.
I’m just not ready to take that risk.
(DiverseFi readers, this is post 100 for the blog. Thank you for reading!)