How one couple bagged free ride in $23m private jet

Gilbert Ott and Laura Burns scored a free flight by 'gaming' online promo codes. Photo / Supplied

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).

Ott and Burns flew to Washington DC on a Cessna Citation X private jet. Photo / Supplied

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.

The couple spent the flight drinking wine and playing poker. Photo / Supplied

"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