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…in Argentina. 😉 As of today – 1 June 2018 – yours truly is officially a published author. “Travel Hacker : How to Travel Around the World for a Year Using Points and Miles” has finally been released by the Spanish-speaking world’s largest book publisher, Planeta.
Even though the book is written in Spanish, and won’t be available in the United Kingdom or Europe (at least right away), I still wanted to share the news with InsideFlyer readers.
What is the book about?
The titular travel hacker is me, as you might have guessed. A few years ago, I was inspired to spend the calendar year of 2015 travelling around the world with my Argentine girlfriend. The unique slant I sought was to spend the entire year travelling using ONLY miles and hotel points and to write a book about the experience. It didn’t quite work out that way, because I ultimately felt that I should also demonstrate situations where you SHOULDN’T use miles or points. (i.e. when room rates are low or a low-cost fare option exists for a short flight)
My aim was to tell an interesting story, combining both amusing anecdotes and several amazing travel hacks. Since the general public – unlike regular InsideFlyer readers – is mostly unaware of how travel loyalty programmes work, I also needed to explain how award charts, elite status etc. work. I think I was able – with lots of help from my editor – to combine entertainment with learning about travel hacking.
Will there be an English language version?
That depends… My original English-language draft has gone through so many iterations through the translation and editing process that I would need to spend a significant amount of time to translate the final Spanish version back into English.
But depending on how well my book sells in Argentina, it might be released to the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. And from there… who knows… I am also willing to consider self-publishing on Amazon, especially if enough InsideFlyer or Flying Piggie readers express interest in buying an e-book copy.
And… hey… I can always dream that someone who works in the UK / USA book publishing industry stumbles across this blog post and decides that they like the premise… 😉
I understand Spanish, how can I get a copy?
Since my book is just starting to hit bookshelves in Buenos Aires, I am not exactly sure where it will be available for purchase, especially in the e-book form that would be easier for a European or North American to acquire.
Edit: Amazon now has my book available for sale in the UK, in e-book format. Click here…
But if you follow or “like” my Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/TravelHackerARG – you can keep up-to-date. I’d be grateful for any help publicising “Travel Hacker” over social media.
I don’t normally write InsideFlyer articles about myself, but I wanted to share something I’m very proud of accomplishing. I look forward to hearing your impressions / questions / etc. in the comments section.
Will the info be relevant to someone staying in South Africa as we dont have plenty of opportunities like USA , CANADA and Europe in terms of credit card sign up bonus , Big footprint of the major Hotels , etc. Although we do have a lot of the various airlines that are frequently mentioned on the blogs flying into the Major cities in South Africa.
Thanks for commenting.
The book has nothing to do with credit card sign-ups. They don’t really have those in South America either. But besides that, I’ve never done credit cards because I find them to be boring and you have many other bloggers to sell you those. Anything written in a book would also be completely out of date once published.
First and foremost it’s a story intended to entertain – sometimes about events, sometimes about planning hidden city itineraries, doing mattress runs and other such travel hacks that people might find amusing.
There are some “how to” elements, but I can assure you (after much effort and argument with my editor) that a pure how-to guide doesn’t work in book format. I did visit South Africa and Mauritius though, and explain how I managed that, but clearly my book isn’t an “off the beaten path” jaunt through the jungle either because chain hotels are needed in order to spend points…
Thank you for your reply . It sounds like a fun and informative read in English especially the mattress runs and planning hidden city itineraries for me .
Yes, I somehow managed to combine 15 or so mattress runs with “Movember” 😉 The opposite of being discrete… 😀
The fact that the “The book has nothing to do with credit card sign-ups” is a major plus for myself. Living In Ireland , believe it or not, not one single bank offers any type of card which links spending with miles, so this book would be of interest to me, and I assume others in this country
Thanks. I definitely tried to approach it from the perspective of somebody who: a) doesn’t travel much for work (thereby earning miles and points easily) or b) somebody who can’t generate millions of miles from manufactured spend on a credit card.
It was interesting for me as a writer to think so carefully about how to be relatable to the masses, rather than a few thousand blog readers / travel hackers who often share our passion for the subject matter already.
Re Ireland and points credit cards…there is the bank of Ireland credit card that collects Supervalu rewards points, which can be transferred to Aer Club/Avios. Earning rate is a crappy 1 point per €10
Good luck Craig.
Hopefully you will see many people reading it on the train!
Thanks. I think I’ll be most excited to see it in airport bookstores. But obviously people reading it would be even better!
Morning Craig, (or should I say Buenos Dias?!). This is an amazing accomplishment & you are absolutely right to be very proud. When the English Language version comes out, I’m hoping for a personally signed copy? – LOL xxxxx
Definitely Naomi. 🙂 xx
I look forward to it very much Craig!! You have great weekend – Nxxxxx
Thanks. You too… I’m off to Buenos Aires this weekend to start my “book tour”.
Enjoy!! I’m just pottering round Northumberland where I live, which is not quite as exotic or warm, but it has its charms :)) xxxxx
Alas, my publisher thought it would be better to release my book during their winter, as staring at grey clouds was assumed to be more conducive to selling a book about exotic destinations!
So I’m leaving behind Spanish summer for Argentine winter… without my skis… 🙁
Ah of course, but it is quite possible an Argentine winter will still be warmer than a Northumberland summer!! You should definitely still go ski-ing though, it’s 1 of my life ambitions to ski in the Southern Hemisphere…..xxxxx
PS I just checked & we are at a similar temperature to Buenos Aires right now!! The difference is that this is as good as it gets here :)) xxxxx
🙂 My press team – how pretentious does that sound! 😀 – did warn me that it would be cold. I think they forgot that I am Canadian! 🙂 xx
Ah well I hope you have a fab time anyway!! When the temperatures reach the heights of 12 degrees here, people start heading for the beach & saying ‘Phew, what a scorcher!!’ – xxxxxxx
Hi,
I really hope this gets an English language publication. I don’t like e-books, although I can see the obvious advantages. For me there’s nothing better than a travel book you can hold in your hand and turn the pages of, even if it does add weight to your rucksack.
Thanks. 🙂 I do hope that it picks up interest from different publishers. It’s certainly getting a lot of media attention in Argentina…
This is the kind of book, though, that you might want to read at home to help prepare for your next trip(s). 😉