Getting started articles

You’re at the airport and you’re about to leave on a trip of a lifetime. You’re so happy that you want to share it with the world and with all your followers. So you post a picture of your boarding pass on Instagram or on Facebook for the world to see. And some of your friends start commenting… They’re all happy for you to go and discover the world.

But there’s a problem.

One month later you arrive the airport ready to fly back home and the airline agent tells you that your ticket has been canceled and refunded. You lost the money you spent for that ticket and you will have to buy a new last minute ticket.

How did this happen?

If you look at your boarding pass there are some very sensitive information. First there’s your name. Then there’s usually your booking reference. Some airline might call it PNR or booking number. It’s usually 5 or 6 characters. You can also usually find your e-ticket number. Its 13 numbers. Sometime the first 3 are separated from the rest. And last but not least there’s a code. It looks like a complex barcode. It’s the code that gets scanned when you board the plane. Even though you can’t read it with your eyes, doesn’t mean it’s not sensitive. It’s actually VERY sensitive as it contains all the above information (and even more).

In the image below, I removed the sensitive information.

Let’s now look at what someone could do with that information. How did you check in for your flight? Yes, you probably went to the airline’s website and entered your booking reference and your last name. It means that anyone who has that information can have access to your booking and change it.

Did you select a nice window seat? They might change it for a middle seat.

Did you choose a vegetarian menu? They might change it to a baby meal.

But worse, they could actually cancel your next flight. In case of cancelation, some airlines can refund the amount as voucher to use on any other booking. And it’s not linked to your name anymore. So they could actually cancel your ticket, get the voucher and fly… with your money.

They could also have access to your frequent flyer account and steal your miles.

How can you prevent that?

It’s actually very easy to prevent getting your flight tickets from being stolen. Next time you’re traveling, make sure to hide all the sensitive information on your boarding pass and you’ll be a happy traveler.

Ten years ago, I was leading a customer support team with a large American company. Our goal was to fix some of the largest videosurveillance systems in the world. Based in Switzerland, I was traveling extensively: I never spent more than a week per month back home. On a Friday night, as I was about to fly home after a week in a very secure facility downtown Moscow, I got a call from a coworker:

“We need you in Vegas on Monday, which hotel do you want us to book for you?”

I’m quite tall (1.96m or 6’5″ if you prefer imperial units) and company policy was to get the cheapest airfare you can find, even for a 12 hours half-way-across-the-globe flight. As such, I was flying in Economy most of the time. Traveling is fun, but it can be highly tiring when you need to work right after sitting for 13 hour straight in an Economy seat. As any good engineer facing a tough problem would do, I started to look for a solution. How can I travel in comfort? How can I get anywhere on the world and feel refreshed on arrival? Am I the only one?

As far as I remember, this trip to Vegas was my last flight in Economy (besides short two-hours trips around Europe or Asia). When flying back from the States, I was introduced to the wonderful world of Travel Hacking. Don’t worry, there’s nothing illegal here.

I love defining Travel Hacking as a way to find tricks and loopholes in the travel system in order to maximise your experience. Do you want to fly Business or First class for the price of Economy? Do you want to stay in some of the best hotels of the world for the price of a Motel? All this is possible with Travel Hacking.

Here are a few examples of how I used Travel Hacking for my own benefit or my friends:

• I brought my family on a three-weeks safari in Tanzania. We payed less than $1,500 per person for flying in Business Class from Europe. Economy tickets were more expensive.
• I sent teddy bears to children hospitals and had pizzas delivered to fire stations in the US. It allowed me to get two Business Class tickets from Europe to South America. I proposed at the Iguazu Falls in Brazil and she said Yes!
• I flew on Lufthansa First Class between the Europe and the US for less than $2,000.
• I helped a friend save $200 by flying in Business Class instead of Economy on a flight from Europe to Australia. She stopped in Bangkok on the way to Sydney and even got a free 1-hour massage in between flights.
• I helped friends get upgrades, free breakfast and spa vouchers at 5 stars hotels around the world.
• I helped a friend save $4,000 by changing his travel dates by one day.
• I even got paid to stay in cool hotels.

I decided help more people get that kind of results. Join the MilesAddict community today and you will get my complimentary guide on the tips to sleep for free at the best hotels in the world. I will then send you regular tips and tricks on Travel Hacking in the next few months.

If you listen to me, you will not travel in Economy anymore…