Travel Hacking 101

Karen Sawicki is a personal finance and travel expert who has spent the past decade turning ordinary credit card spending into extraordinary travel experiences. After graduating with a degree in Economics from the University of Michigan, she worked as a financial analyst before discovering that her passion for spreadsheets could be applied to earning millions of reward points. Since 2016, she has visited 43 countries and flown over 300,000 miles—most of them on award tickets booked with points and miles.

Karen is the founder of *The Miles Mentor*, a blog and newsletter that helps beginners navigate the world of credit card travel hacking without stress. Her approach emphasizes credit health, disciplined spending, and incremental progress. She believes that anyone—regardless of income or credit history—can learn to travel more for less. Her work has been featured in *Business Insider*, *NerdWallet*, and *The Simple Dollar*, and she has spoken on panels at the *Travel Hacking Summit* and *FinCon*.

When she’s not researching the latest sign‑up bonus or booking a last‑minute award flight, Karen enjoys hiking the national parks of the American West, experimenting with sourdough bread, and watching classic cinema. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and two cats, who never complain about being left at home while she flies business class to Europe. *Travel Hacking 101* is her first book, born from years of answering the same questions from friends, family, and readers: “How do you get so many free flights? Can I do it too?” Her answer is the book you just finished—proof that the journey is as rewarding as the destination.