(Image credit: Flightradar)
I know what you’re thinking. Turkiye, even other countries with CBI or Golden Visa programs = not cheap to get to. But hear me out: by using credit card miles and points wisely, you can fly for a significant discount!
If you aren’t familiar, you can use points, earned on travel credit cards, to offset the cost of travel. You can use these points for virtually any kind of travel, but I use them mostly for flights, since that’s where I find the most value for me. Everyone customizes the game differently depending on their own needs.
I won’t pretend to be an expert in the miles and points game. Whenever I think I’m doing pretty well, along comes an article that’s completely next-level. So rather than my giving you advice, I’m going to direct you to a few websites that have been instrumental in my learning this craft.
For a comprehensive course that starts at the basics and leads you into more advanced topics, I like 10X Travel. Their free course will handhold you through everything and give you all the fundamentals you need to get started.
I rely on Daily Drop for my miles/points daily news. Their cheeky newsletter comes out every weekday — it’s an informative and humorous read! The newsletters will assume that you know the basics, though.
Another great resource is Travel Freely. Zach also has a solid educational section on his site, plus a free tool where you can keep track of your cards, their sign-up bonuses, spends, etc.
There are many other miles/points resources out there, but these have been my go-tos. (None are affiliate links; I just really like these sites and products!)
Once you’ve accrued your points, you can fly cheaply to Turkiye, or wherever your heart desires! And at least for us Seattleites, there are many places in the world with a cheaper cost of living than our home; so the cost truly is the most expensive part of most of our international travel. Day-to-day costs are relatively small.
I hope you enjoyed these links, and I hope that you are able to use them to explore your world a little more!