Luxury for Less

Luxury for Less

Home
Notes
Archive
Leaderboard
About
Reader AMA: The "Luxury for Less" Playbook — Points Secrets, Hotel Strategy, and Family Travel
+ the 3 biggest beginner mistakes and the best cards for instant travel perks.
 • Professional Traveler
Resetting Your Travel Stack for the Year Ahead
A January reset for your cards, Business Class for $5.60, Europe’s most underrated destination, floating in Finnish Lapland, and the simple translation…
 • Professional Traveler
How I Got 87k Points by “Double-Dipping” and Booked a Business Class Flight For $13.50
No new credit cards. No sign-up bonuses. Just the art of the points stacking
 • Professional Traveler
The $22,000 Bill That Paid for 3 First Class Flights
How I routed one unavoidable expense through the right cards
 • Professional Traveler
My Flight Booking Secret, The Magic of Andalucía, and A Must-Know Safety Trick | Hotlist #9
How to never overpay for a flight again using the "Book vs. Transfer" method, plus the easiest way to stay safe solo.
 • Professional Traveler
The Annual Credit Card Audit: How to Decide What to Keep, Cancel, or Downgrade (And Get Paid to Stay)
Why you might be losing money on your "premium" cards, the exact script to get retention offers, and the only time you should actually cancel a card.
 • Professional Traveler
The Tax Bill That Bought Me Etihad First Class
The exact strategy I used to turn a mandatory bill into a luxury travel reward
 • Professional Traveler
Hotlist #9: How Your Rent Payment Is a Free Flight Waiting to Happen, and an Italian Gem to Put On Your Bucketlist
How to turn your monthly rent into points, redeem premium cabin on Lufthansa, and where to go next
 • Professional Traveler
Reader AMA: Travel, Mindset, and Life Behind the Lens
From fear of flying to photography gear – my honest answers to everything you’ve been curious about.
 • Professional Traveler
The Visa Rule That Saves Vacations
A simple pre-trip hack that keeps you from ever being turned away at the airport again
 • Professional Traveler
Hotlist #8 | A 95k First Class Sweet Spot, Chasing Auroras, and The Truth About Shopping Portals
Why February is the perfect month for Northern Lights, a luxury twist on the classic Nile sail, and the overlooked tool that multiplies your points.
 • Professional Traveler
Turning a Long Layover Into a Mini Vacation: Why I Love Etihad’s Free Stopover
Why this little-known perk is one of the best travel hacks for maximizing your itinerary (and your sanity)
 • Professional Traveler
Meet Rove Miles: The “Universal” Loyalty Program Worth Trying
How this new platform lets you earn and transfer miles across 13 airlines — no credit card required.
 • Professional Traveler
Hotlist #7: Points, Lions at Breakfast, and Italy’s Most Magical Secret
A flight worth $9,600 for 36K points, a cave hotel you’ll never forget, and one safari night I’ll never top
 • Professional Traveler
Luxury for Less
Luxury for Less
Luxury for Less by @professionaltraveler helps you unlock five-star hotels, flights, and unforgettable trips, without the five-star price tag. Smart tips to travel better, smarter, and more stylishly.

Luxury for Less

AboutArchiveSitemap
© 2026 Catarina Mello (aka Professional Traveler) · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture