So, I have been a long time reader of this forum, longer than my current username has been around. I forgot my last one, but nevertheless I have not contributed much over the years. I have received lots of good info, laughed a lot (Finster), and wasted a good amount of time here, so I feel a slight urge to give back in a way.

I am a 36 year old, average surfer from North Florida with a wife and twin toddlers. I have a 9-5 and am lucky in that I get 3 paid weeks vacation. I call it a good month if I get to surf 3-4 times locally. So, I generally always try to spend my vacation time at a warm place with waves. 

About 7 years ago I stumbled upon a way to make my vacations cost a lot less. And I am talking about a ton cheaper, to the point where I sometimes just call them free trips. It's called "churning" by many in the "hobby." There is a Reddit community dedicated to it with 70,000+ readers here: https://reddit.com/r/churning  

In a nutshell, it is possible to earn hundreds of thousands of airline miles, bank points, and hotel points, that can be used to offset surf trip costs to the point where they are virtually free. The easiest way to accumulate these valuable points at a fast rate is through credit card sign up bonuses. There are hundreds of different bonuses available at any given time. The smart "churner" applys for credit cards with the most valuable rewards bonuses, uses the points/miles for trips that they want to take, and closes or downgrades the cards that have annual fees before they come due. 

I have taken around 10 trips now where I reduced my out of pocket cost by half on the low end, to almost 100 percent. It takes some time and organizational skills but I beleive most people could do it as well. I won't get into too many details right now but if you read a little about it, like in the wiki on that Reddit forum, I will be glad to answer any related questions you might have. There are milions of tiny details that can limit or enhance the benefit you are able to receive, but overall if you have good credit, are not applying for any big loans in the near future, and have a little time to read the possible value you can gain for travel is endless.

My plan is to answer anyone's questions here, make recommendations from experience, and give examples of what is possible. I definitely get satisfaction from helping people plan their perfect trip. If this was the 80's I would consider being a travel agent. But, I must say that my intentions are not wholly altruistic here. I stand the chance to benefit, while helping others earn points and miles, by receiving referral credit if someone signs up for a card that I also own. The referral credit is almost always a small bump in points or miles from the company for that recommendation. I will never refer someone unless it is the best current deal and fits with that individual's goals. 

If ways to reduce surf trip costs does not belong in the surfing forum, please move to NSR. This took me a long time to write, I will expound later.

I'm headed to Costa again in 2 weeks with the fam and friends - flying on AA and BA points, staying at the Andaz Papagayo and the JW Marriott Guanacaste resort with points, and used Citi TY points for the Avis SUV rental. Will report back with details.

Thanks for reading, I know this is not for everybody.

Ask me how to take almost free surf trips anywhere.