Almost every year, my partner and I accumulate enough points for both of us to get free round trip flights across the United States, even while working as servers and attending a university. Our secret? Travel credit cards.
Fancy travel credit cards aren't just for business men flying around the country. If you are smart about managing your money, all of your everyday expenses can land you a free flight, or perhaps pay for that last hotel check in. Most people are familiar with the benefits of using a credit card correctly, typically in the form of a $20 gift card to some retailer after accumulating enough points.
Using a travel credit card, however, can get you an entire flight for free, a prize much sweeter than a mere gift card. From Florida to California, Nevada, Washington and beyond, these cards have taken my poor twenty-something self on many a free adventure.
The first step to accomplishing this is choosing a card that is right for you. There are many different travel credit card out there, and googling 'best travel credit cards 2017' will pull up several great lists to get you started.
You will want to consider several elements about your potential card. Does the card have an annual fee? Is that fee waived the first year? Is the card airline specific or can you use your points with any airline?
Can your points pay for hotels and rentals? Do you get any bonuses like a free checked bag? How many points per dollar do you get? All of these questions are important and the answer depends on your own goals and credit.
Generally, cards with a higher annual fee will have better perks, though cards with no annual fees can still give you a bang for your buck. It's worth it to take a look at the new cards each year as well, as you never know what deals are out there.
In the end, one of the most important considerations in choosing the card will ultimately be the sign up bonus. Pretty much every travel card has a deal that goes something like this: spend $2,000 in the first three months and get 30,000 bonus points. Those points are typically enough for a round trip flight or one way flight.
Now, you may be wondering how you could ever spend that much money on your card in only a few months, but all you have to do to accomplish this is use your credit card to pay for everything that you buy. Bills, gas, groceries, activities--charge everything possible to your card. Be the person who puts the whole restaurant bill on their card and has their friends pay them back in cash. More points for you! You'll earn that free flight, and then continue to earn points after that for an endless cycle of free travel.
But before you dive in, a word of caution: do not use your card frivolously even if your credit limit is thousands of dollars high. Use your credit card like you would use your debit card; charge only expenses that you already have the money for, and pay it off each month by the due date. Otherwise you will find yourself terribly in debt and a free flight will be the least of your worries.
Using this method, you will accumulate many points, and hopefully a free flight. Plus, any other traveling or flying that you do will often boost your points because these types of purchases often double your points per dollar, making it easier to land the next free flight. And so the cycle begins.
So, for all the wanderlust souls out there, take this knowledge and fly!