As a public speaker, I travel a lot. A whole lot. I have my routine fine-tuned, with two travel bags packed with identical clothes, toiletries, and supplies, so I can turn around and head back out on a moment's notice. I work well from the road, and I genuinely enjoy seeing the world as I work. But do you know what I love even more than business travel? Travel with my family!
And here's a little secret: I frequently find ways to do both—business and personal—on the same trip using the following strategies.
1. Use your miles or points for business travel.
The more you travel, the more miles you rack up. The more miles you rack up, the more free travel you earn. Pretty darn simple.
Of course, you could choose to take all your miles in magazine subscriptions, but trust me, there's nothing better than telling your partner you can both upgrade to business class on a long flight without paying a dime.
I have rewards memberships for all of the airlines I regularly fly. If there's one you tend to use more than others, opening a credit card that rewards you with additional miles is a good strategy as well.
2. Take advantage of free hotel stays.
Just like with airfare, you can join rewards programs for hotel groups that have big benefits, most notably free nights.
If you rack up business travel stays, you can cash in your free stays for your family when it comes time to cash out.
3. Go ahead and combine business and pleasure.
My favorite way to make business travel work for my personal life is to extend my trips and enjoy sightseeing wherever I happen to be for work. You've already paid your airfare—the only additional expenses are lodging and meals.
This option works best if I plan ahead and can factor in my family's schedules so they can join me. When I'm at a speaking engagement, my wife can relax by the pool and we can share dinners together, or if her schedule's packed, she can just join me for a weekend getaway after my work is wrapped up.
Since I have to travel anyway, we try to pick destinations that appeal to us both and will work for both of our calendars.
4. Keep an open mind.
When you think of Mexico, you may think of white, sandy beaches and turquoise water. Who wouldn't want to travel there?
But my speaking engagements in our neighbor to the south aren't usually at the beach. I might be in Guadalajara or Mexico City.
And you know what?
Those are great places to travel for fun. Museums, different cultures and world-class food are all there.
If you rack up business travel stays, you can cash in your free stays for your family when it comes time to cash out.
While Guadalajara might not have been my first thought for an add-on vacation, it was fantastic!
5. Be flexible.
Just like keeping an open mind about your destination can help you find unexpected fun, being flexible with travel arrangements can help you score better deals.
For example, if I'm traveling by myself on business and a flight is overbooked, I'm usually one of the first ones to volunteer my seat as long as I'm not on a tight schedule. That flexibility has let me bank travel vouchers to travel on my own time to the destinations of my choice. Being willing to take a later business flight has bought me some great personal travel.
Whether you tack a few personal days on to the end of a work trip or you cash in your business miles for a free personal flight, it's easy to find personal benefits in your business travel. But when you're flexible and willing to explore places you wouldn't necessarily have booked a vacation to, you're hitting the jackpot.
Read more articles on work-life balance.
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