Luxury Travel Hacks for the Smart Traveller

Whenever the term “luxury lifestyle” is mentioned, there’s a given sense of hedonism, entitlement and indulgence that can make one cringe.

That feeling is understandable because decades ago, there was only one definition for luxury: everything gold, gleaming and opulent. Fortunately for us, luxury today doesn’t just mean chandeliers and brand names. Luxury is very personal and subjective. It is all dependent on your own taste and lifestyle preference so the definition of it is dependent on your personal taste.

Because of luxury’s newfound flexibility in terms of its definition, one can get creative and smart about ways travel luxuriously

Personally, a luxurious lifestyle for me does not involve yacht weeks or an obsession for branded anything.  Comfort is my one and only ultimate definition and reason for wanting to live a luxurious lifestyle.

If you share that reason with me, here are some ways how we can hack our way into a comfortably luxurious life:

1.) Stick to One Alliance When Flying

There is no such thing as ‘a free lunch’ in the world of commercial aviation, but free flights, yes. Start being familiar with the major Airline Alliances. There are three main ones – One World, Star Alliance, and Sky Team. Know the individual airlines that makeup each alliance.

Depending where you are based, there is a better alliance for you. For someone based in Australasia, I am more inclined to use One World airline partners (Qantas, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, etc). My travel routes are often to Asia or Europe so I tend to use these airlines often.

As a result of my frequent use of these airlines, I’ve taken advantage of their partnerships and code shared flights, and have scored either an upgrade or booked round-trip tickets using frequent flyer points.

2.) Travel Smartly in Style

We shouldn’t limit travelling in luxury to just flights. As I said, my very definition of luxury is comfort. And everyday comfort is essential so when it comes to your daily transport, getting a luxurious and comfortable car is crucial. In general, we spend more total combined hours in cars than we do with any other kinds of transport, so it only makes sense to make your everyday ride a pleasurable one.

Luxury cars come with a hefty price that’s for sure but fortunately, there are ways to be ‘creative’ and resourceful about it. Second-hand luxury cars offer you the opportunity to operate a car engineered for driving pleasure and designed for luxury, at a fraction of the cost. The same goes for used catamarans and other big purchases. Second-hand may not give off the same air of exclusivity, but the affordability of used vehicles does nothing to tarnish their luxurious comfort.

Preloved luxury cars can sometimes be a good buy more than a preloved regular car because it is very likely that the first owners have taken real good care of it. Also, I find that luxury cars like BMW never lose the leathery, new car smell no matter how old they are.

It goes without saying though of course, that you need to do extensive research and arm yourself with a lot of information when buying a second hand luxury car. There may be tons of choices out there but there is definitely a match for you. See more luxury cars here.

3.) Look Beyond Hotels for Accommodation

Some luxury travellers lock themselves to strictly staying in hotel chains when they travel. That can be fun for a while until you realise that some hotels look and feel very much the same as one another.

In my recent post about finding affordable luxury accommodation in Sydney, I share one of my best-kept travel ‘secrets’ – and that is staying at serviced luxury apartments.

I have always had a pleasant experience staying at serviced apartments around Sydney. It’s the perfect cross between a luxury hotel and Airbnb. I love that you still get the service required to have a pleasant stay like housekeeping, reading materials, and concierge service (sometimes) , but at the same time you maintain your privacy and get to experience how it would be like to live like a local in the area.

4.) Live it Up, Live it Down

You must realise that not all aspects of your life has to be lived in luxury. In one of my articles about how I travel the world without breaking my bank, I put emphasis on living a balanced life.

In my case, the two main aspects in travel that I like to be in luxury is: transport and sleep. So while I spend majority of my budget towards those two things (you can really tell I value comfort and good rest above all things), I also live it down on other aspects that are not so essential for me.

For instance, I tend to walk a lot on my travels. This not only saves me money but allows me to take in the views, scents and sounds of a new city that simply cannot be done when you’re inside a tourist bus.

I also tend to be simple with food. I’m happiest when I eat simply so there really is no need for me to go to a Michellin starred restaurant or a find and line up for a place that’s Insta-famous. Unless of course, its to sample a must-try local delicacy – after all, food is a big part of travel experience.

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These are just some tips I have in order to try and have a sustainable lifestyle of travelling in comfort. I don’t want to travel like a billionaire, I just want to travel in my personal style of getting there in comfort and rejuvenating in a nice plush bed so that I can wake to the call of a good adventure the next day.

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What aspects of travel do you prefer to do in luxury and which ones are you happy to do simply?

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This post has been written in collaboration with Gumtree, but all thoughts and opinions are mine.