In what may be the best travel hack yet, an American couple scored a flight in a private jet for absolutely nothing.
New Yorker Gilbert Ott, 29, and his wife Laura Burns, 28, used vouchers to purchase a one-way, 80-minute flight from Boston to Washington DC in a luxurious Cessna Citation X private jet - which should have cost them about US$1500 ($2199).
The couple spent the flight drinking wine they were allowed to bring on board, playing poker, checking their mobile phones (forbidden on most commercial flights), helping themselves to on-board snacks and enjoying the leather swivel chairs.
"It felt incredible, amusing and privileged to see larger international airplanes lined up in front of us and behind us, taking off from a major airport as if we are important, which we are not," Ott told the Daily Mail.
Ott, who runs the website godsavethepoints.com, snagged the deal after downloading the JetSmarter App - which offers promo codes for private flights, much like Uber does for cars.
He managed to get a US$500 ($733) code, while Burns jumped on one for US$1000 ($146) - an offer that was available for a very limited time.
"We gamed their offer, which was intended for people who would eventually buy a US$9000 ($13,196) membership, but without buying the membership we used the promo codes and never spent a dollar," he told the Herald.
And the journey home was also easy on the wallet - the couple paid 15,000 air miles and US$11 ($16) in taxes for the two of them.
- nzherald.co.nz