How I Got Started in Travel Hacking (and Unlocked $40,000+ in Free Travel!)

Ministry is incredibly rewarding, but let's be honest about the financial reality many pastors face. Recent research shows that one-third of pastors don't even use all their vacation days, often due to financial constraints rather than lack of time. Today's guest post comes from Tim Walker, a pastor who discovered how travel hacking transformed not just his family's ability to travel, but became a legitimate tentmaking opportunity. His story proves that with the right strategy, ministry leaders can break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and create the margin they need for rest, family time, and ministry effectiveness. Whether you're skeptical about travel hacking or wondering if it's actually legitimate, Tim's transparent journey from financial struggle to earning over 3.5 million points will give you the real story. Over to Tim ...

For many years in ministry, my family barely made enough money to live on, and our paycheck-to-paycheck life meant that we never made enough money to travel.

That all changed when I discovered Travel Hacking!

I'm grateful to be able to share my story with you of how I got started with Travel Hacking, the mistakes I made early on, the breakthrough moment that made it all click, and then how Travel Hacking became a key part of my tentmaking journey. If you've ever wondered "Is Travel Hacking legit?" or "Can I actually do this?", my story is for you.

My Backstory

My name is Tim Walker, and I live in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania with my wife Heather and my two girls, Lucy and Emily. Thirteen years ago, I had the privilege of planting Restored Church, an urban church intentionally rooted in the poorest neighborhood in our city. We are a church family that is primarily filled with first-generation Christians that Jesus has rescued out of homelessness, addiction, prostitution, gangs, prison, Atheism, Satanism, and everything else in between. As exciting as those stories were, it was equally exhausting that we never could afford replenishing vacations to refresh us from the compassion fatigue of urban ministry.

As I began searching for solutions, I stumbled into Travel Hacking years ago without even knowing it...

The First Travel Hacks I Tried

In 2014, I signed up for two rewards credit cards I saw advertised online. While I earned many points, I unfortunately cashed in those points for gift cards and cash back and didn't realize how much more valuable those points could have been for travel.

A few years passed, and we wanted to travel to visit my parents. The problem was we couldn't fit in their small house, and we couldn't afford to pay for a hotel. So, I signed up for a hotel credit card to cover our stay. We burned through all of those hotel points in a few nights and had nothing leftover for future trips.

It really seemed like credit card miles and points didn't do much to solve our inability to travel, so I just reverted to using a cash back card for everything...

My Breaking Point

Over the years, desperate to find a way to travel, we suffered through time-share pitches, bait-and-switch gimmicks, and low-quality budget travel options... It felt like we had to beg, borrow, and barter every year just to get a vacation.

One year, someone gave us 10 days at a beach house on the Atlantic Ocean, and we were so excited! Then, we showed up and found that the place was mold-filled and mosquito-infested… That's what broke me! I remember thinking, "I really don't want my kids to grow up and remember that their dad took them on low-end vacations, because we could never afford anything better."

That experience sent me on a relentless pursuit of finding a solution...

When Everything Changed

In that season, I stumbled upon the Tentmaking Pastors Travel Hacking Course. I was skeptical at first, especially since credit card miles and points hadn't worked well for me in the past, but I was desperate enough to give it a try. That was my breakthrough moment! The course helped me begin to understand how it all worked. Following that course, I built on that foundation and researched, studied, and learned how to fully master Travel Hacking.

Within my first nine months, I earned over 1.2 Million travel points, and I finally had a solution that took my family from being broke, burned out, and stuck at home to actually being able to travel.

I've now earned over 3,500,000 points and miles, and my family takes multiple trips per year, all over the world, for free!

I Found My Niche for Tentmaking

After mastering Travel Hacking for myself, I started personally coaching some family and friends to help them unlock the secrets of free travel as well. They loved it and encouraged me to start a business to teach more people how to master Travel Hacking.

I had wanted to find a tentmaking avenue to replace my church salary, but prior to this, I never could figure out what my niche was. Now I knew - I would offer online courses & coaching to teach people Travel Hacking! I launched Travel Multiplier 18 months ago, and I've now had the privilege of equipping hundreds of people to start and maximize Travel Hacking through my business.

My Story Can Become Your Story!

The opportunity for free travel isn't new or unique to me, and it can be life-changing for you! If you're ready to experience the freedom of free travel, the biggest thing I would tell you is don't do it alone. Travel Hacking is simple, but it does require strategy. I'd encourage you to learn Travel Hacking from Chris' Travel Hacking Course or check out what I'm doing with Travel Multiplier.

One note to this global audience: Although Travel Hacking is possible in every developed country, what many people, including me, teach is centered around the U.S. Banking System. So, make sure to learn from someone that specializes in the specifics of your country's economy.

If you still find yourself skeptical about some of the details of Travel Hacking, I completely understand and respect that as a fellow skeptic. I'd love to have you download this short, free guide I wrote: The Skeptic's Guide to Travel Hacking: Debunking the 7 Biggest Myths and Exposing How Free Travel Really Works

You can enjoy the freedom of free travel, and now is the perfect time to start!