Travel Hacking

Now that you know The Basics of Earning Miles and Points, let me take you down Points Potential Lane.

As I mentioned, we earned most of our miles initially on Delta and it has paid for our major flights on our upcoming trip.

Hey-o Southeast Asia in business/first class…in one month!

Would I purposefully earn miles on Delta now? Probably not. Delta in the last year and a half has turned into a revenue based frequent flier program. For a non-business traveler like me, it doesn’t bode well. I’m a lowly Silver Medallion on their SkyMiles program. While I probably see more complimentary upgrades than most Silver Medallions because my home airport isn’t a huge hub, I’m also not trying (willingly) to spend $2,500 towards earning Silver Medallion status for the next year. I will have enough miles, but I will not have spent enough to maintain my status. So, sadly, we need to spread our wings and fly to more programs. (See what I did there?)

You can read more about Delta Skymiles devaluation and the program turning revenue based here.

That said, we both separately have the Delta Platinum AMEX and will keep it simply for the free companion pass we get each year and checked luggage. It makes the $195 fee worth it. (I don’t know many flights that are cheaper than $195.)

Saying goodbye to Delta actually makes me a bit sad as I love Delta as a brand and I’ve enjoyed my Silver Medallion status. It just doesn’t make fiscal sense if we have other ways of earning free or nearly free flights.

So, if Delta Skymiles aren’t something I’m actively earning on credit cards right now. What would I recommend?

 

My Favorite Credit Cards (thus far)

Remember, I’ve only been in the points game for about a year and a half. These are the programs for earning miles and points that have worked well for me.

Chase Sapphire Preferred (contact me if you want want a referral)

In the points game, this card has been king for awhile. I use this card for my normal spend on everything. Why? The Ultimate Rewards program, where you can transfer and use your points, is pretty fantastic.

• Current Bonus:
  • 40,000 points when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months.
  • 5,000 bonus points when you add an additional cardholder
• Benefits: 2x points on travel and dining, no foreign transaction fees, primary auto rental insurance and the ability to transfer points to 11 transfer partners through the Ultimate Rewards program
• Annual Fee: $95 which is waived the first year.

 

Chase Freedom (contact me if you want want a referral)

Much like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the Freedom is another great card from Chase and utilizes the same Ultimate Rewards Program. While each purchase on this card earns 1 point, during each quarter, certain purchases earn 5x the points. All you need to do is “register” (hit a button on your account online) before each quarter and boom, you’re earning 5x the points.

Below are the retailers you can earn 5x the points with for this quarter. (Side note: I can’t wait for Christmas and that Amazon 5x bonus. Errrrrbody will be getting gifts through Amazon this year.)

• Current Bonus: 
  • $200 (20,000 points) limited time offer after spending $500 on purchases in your first three months
• Benefits: Get 5% cash back (5x the points) on up to $1,500 spent at featured stores that change each quarter.
• Annual Fee: $0

 

Chase Ink Plus

If you’ve ever received a gift card from me, I’ve bought it using this card. That’s because you can get 5x the points at office supply stores and guess what’s sold there- hey-o, gift cards! Plus, television, internet and cable services all earn 5x the points. Oh and 2x the points at gas stations. Oh AND you can transfer points through, you guessed it, Ultimate Rewards. Yup, this card is great. (This is a business credit card.)

• Current Bonus:
  • 50,000 points after spending $5,000 in the first three months.
• Benefits: Earn 5x the points at office supply stores, cable, cell and internet service. Plus 2x the points at gas stations and also on hotel accommodations. No foreign transaction fees. Ultimate Rewards transfers.
• Annual Fee: $95

 

Starwood American Express (Contact me if you want a referral)

While I haven’t used the points I’ve earned on this card (yet) at the hotels that are part of the Starwood Properties, the beauty of this card is you can transfer points to 30 different partners.

Plus, hello, you can use an Amex at Costco.

Cheers to massive amounts of toilet paper and paper towels.

• Current Bonus: 
  • 25,000 points when you spend $3,000 in purchases within your first three months.
• Benefits: Double points on at Starwood hotels (This includes the Westin and W hotels), plus you can transfer points to more than 30 different partners.
• Annual Fee: $65 is waived the first year.

 

Great Cards for Non-Everyday Spend

Now these are cards I still have and use sometimes, but the beauty of the points game is you can “earn and burn” points quickly, as the professional churners say. Basically, these are great cards for their points and often amazing benefits. Would I use them for everyday spend? Not usually.

Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard

I’m just trying to spread more airline points to other programs, so I got this card and met the minimum quickly. When I got this card it was 50,000 miles, as well as 2 lounge passes. My hunch is that may come back later on, which is better than the current offer.

• Current Bonus: 
  • 30,000 miles after you make $1,000 in purchases within first 3 months
• Benefits: Free checked bags, early boarding privileges, 2x the miles on AA purchases and 1x the miles for all other purchases.
• Annual Fee: $95 is waived the first year.

 

UnitedMileage Plus Explorer

Again, this card is simply to earn more miles on other airlines without having to fly. The Star Alliance (which United is a partner) is great for short flights while traveling between countries abroad. I used 10,000 points to fly from Barcelona to Lisbon on TAP airlines last summer.

• Current Bonus: 
  • 30,000 miles after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months
  • 5,000 miles after you add an authorized user
• Benefits: 2 lounge passes each year you have the card, free checked bag, priority boarding, , 2x the miles on United purchases and no foreign transaction fees. Plus, I think an undervalued benefit is your miles never expire while you have this card.
• Annual Fee: $95 is waived the first year.

 

Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve

I got this for the $100 statement credit initially. I used it when I stayed at a DoubleTree in Lisbon, and it made my final price incredibly cheap per night. Plus, the immediate Gold Status with this card often means free breakfast and free internet. But the real beauty of this is the 2 weekend night certificates that you can use at any hotel in the Hilton portfolio.

Which basically means the hubster and I will be the odd kids out when we stay at some swanky hotel in South Beach this summer.

• Current Bonus:
  • Two weekend night certificates plus a $100 statement credit after spending $2,500 in the first four months.
• Benefits: Earn 10 HHonors points for every dollar spent on hotel stays, 5 points for every dollar spent on airline and car rental purchases and 3 points on every dollar for all other purchases. Automatic Hilton HHonors Gold status. No foreign transaction fees. 
  
• Annual Fee: $95, not waived the first year.

 

IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card

Quite simply, I got this card so we could stay at a nice(r) hotel on our last stop in Seoul, South Korea. After 2 weeks of traveling, I’m sure we’ll be happy put our feet in a jacuzzi tub and enjoy room service. I paid our rent with this card and in return it paid for our entire stay at the Intercontinental COEX while in Seoul. Beautiful, right?

• Current Bonus:
  • 70,000 points after spending $1000 in the first three months.
• Benefits: Earn 5 points per dollar spent at IHG hotels, 2 points at gas stations, grocery stores and resturants and 1 point on all other purchase. No foreign transaction fees. Platinum Elite Status.  Plus, an annual free night for each year you hold the card. 
  
• Annual Fee: $49 is waived the first year.

 

Does this help at all? I know when I first started in the points game, the information was overwhelming. I’ve tried to break it down into bits that were the most useful information for me when I started.

Next, I’ll show you how once you have any of these cards, you can maximize your miles and points through shopping portals and rewards programs. Meaning, you can double dip with your cards.

That’s peanut butter and chocolate exciting!

Interested in more travel hacking posts?
Start here:
What is Travel Hacking?
The Basics of Earning Miles & Points

Now that you know what Travel Hacking is, let's get into the basics of earning Miles and Points.

 

Managing Credit Cards in the Points Game

A word to the wise:

• If you don't pay off your balance every month, the points game isn't for you. The interest you pay in carrying a balance, far outweighs the benefits of any points or rewards you may earn.
• Typically, you need a credit score higher than 730 to begin the points game. Don't have a good credit score? Follow these tips from my pal, Alexander at ThePointsofLife.com.
• It's a myth that applying for multiple credit cards negatively affects your credit score long-term. While your credit score takes a 2-3 point hit when inquiries are made as you apply for a credit card, your score actually increases more as your debt-to-credit ratio improves with each approved application. (Psst. You want a low debt-to-credit ratio.)
• Many credit card churners recommend only applying for credit cards every 90 days.
• If you are applying for more than one credit card, do it on the same day so there aren't multiple inquiries on your report from the previous 90 days (see above.)
• Do only what you feel comfortable with and how you think you can manage it for you and your family.

 

Meeting the Minimum Spend on Credit Cards

Most credit cards require that you meet a minimum spend in order to get your reward of miles or points. When I'm trying to meet a minimum spend I tend to use that card for everything I normally spend money on. I hit “hold” on my normal points credit cards and use only that particular card I'm trying to meet the minimum spend on until I hit it. You have to be diligent and organized about it.

You'd be surprised at how quickly your normal spend adds up. Think of all the things you pay for that are “major” expenses.

1. Car/Home insurance
2. Health insurance
3. Rent/Mortgage
4. Car Payments
5. Student Loans
6. Gas
7. Utilities

Most of those items can be paid with a credit card and if not, there's usually a service that will allow you to pay with a credit card for a fee. The fees need to financially make sense. If you're spending $40-50 in fees to meet a minimum spend for not a lot of points, it's silly. Again, do what makes you feel comfortable.

Very often, I pay our rent over the course of 2 months and easily meet the minimum spend on credit cards. (I guess there's a benefit to high rent in South Florida?)

Services to pay your bills:

ChargeSmart (I’ve used this)

William Paid (I’ve used this)

RentShare (I’ve used this)

RentMoola

Now some naysayers will proclaim that paying those fees isn't worth it, but I would disagree because a plane ticket that only cost me $40 in fees to meet minimum spend that earn points for a plane ticket, is worth it to me. It may not be to you, and that's okay! Again, this is something churners do to meet minimum spending. I don’t use these services unless I’m trying to meet a minimum spend.

If you’re saving up for a big purchase, do it strategically. For instance, we desperately need a new mattress. I won’t be buying one unless it goes towards meeting the minimum spend on a credit card. I mean, why not? It’s just all about piecing together a good spending strategy so you can travel more!

A note about manufactured spending: I cannot offer advice in this area yet as I haven’t done it. But plenty of travel aficionados do and can offer you advice if that’s something you’re interested in. Basically, you move money around on gift cards or prepaid credit cards and use various online services to meet your minimum spending. It’s not something I’ve dipped my toes into yet — I simply meet minimum spend with our normal spending.

 

Programs You'll Benefit From:

Ideally, you'll have a some low-level points in a few programs and have an idea of which direction you'd like to accumulate more points. If not, never fear, I have some advice. I will go into specific brands and their benefits in my next post, next week.

Airlines

Take a look at your closest airport and see which airline has a hub there. You'll benefit from having lots of choices for flights. Of course, this isn't necessary. Especially if you fly a lot internationally. The hubster and I had most of our points with Delta (because Detroit was a hub and we used to live there) but we now live in Fort Lauderdale. We still manage to nearly always fly Delta. That said, a smarter move may be to put some points towards American, which has a hub in Miami, so course, I have.

Hotels

If you're not a business traveler, hotels can be tough for earning points by stays and while I haven't traveled specifically for work in years (sad face), I still put points towards brands I've liked and used in the past. Do you have a hotel that you're dreaming of staying at or perhaps a family vacation with a great family friendly resort? Put your points towards those brands.

Misc.

I can't claim to know a lot about the “other” category that points may fall in – car rentals, gift cards, cash back. My allegiance is to Avis simply  because my old work account is through them and I have status. In general, gift cards and cash back are a poor use for your points. Why? Because if you use 25,000 points to cash out for $250, you could have easily used those points for a round trip domestic ticket that cost over $250. You picking up what I'm putting down? Don't cash out simply because it's easier— I'm here to help make this second nature.

Like watching your life move in slow motion as your husband goes to use a non-points earning credit card to pay for gas when your Chase Ink gets you 2x the points at gas stations.

Noooooooooooo!

 

Points/Miles Earning Credit Cards in my Arsenal:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred (my favorite — contact me if you want a referral)
• Chase Freedom
• Chase Ink
• IHG Rewards Club Select Credit Card
• UnitedMileage Plus Explorer
• Amex Delta Platinum (contact me if you want a referral)
• Amex Starwood Preferred Guest
• Amex Hilton HHonors Surpass
• Citi Hilton HHonors Reserve
• Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard
• Barclays US Airways Premier World (discontinued due to American Airlines merger)

Holy shit, Caroline. That's a lot. Yes, but as anyone in the points game knows, I only keep and use a handful in my wallet regularly. I will close accounts that aren’t useful to us in the future or if their fee isn’t worth the price to keep it. I wish I had known more about this a decade ago. You know, when I applied for credit cards only because they had the cool transparent plastic?

Like I mentioned in my last post, I've really only been doing this since our honeymoon almost a year and a half ago. My guest post pal, Kiki, uses the points strategy too for her and her wife to fly around the world.

You can accumulate points quickly, even enough for your Southeast Asia adventure in July to be nearly paid for:

To Hanoi, Vietnam: Business Class on Korean Airlines: 70,000 miles

To Yangon, Myanmar: Coach on Vietnam Airlines: 22,500 miles

To Seoul, South Korea: Coach on Asiana Airlines:17,500 miles

To Atlanta, Georgia: First Class on Delta: 90,000 miles

Hotel in Hanoi (3 nights): Hilton Garden Inn: 30,000 points

Hotel in Seoul, South Korea (2 nights): Intercontinental COEX: 70,000 points

The rest of the hotels or flights will be paid for (on credit cards to earn 2x the points for travel) because they are so cheap it's not worth it to use points. But obviously, if your end goal is to not spend a dime on an airline ticket or hotel, you can surely do that!

 

Do What's Comfortable for You

It's really easy to get caught up in this points strategy game and apply for everything all at once or feel the need to get that big rewards credit card that was just announced. Don't. Do what's best for you and your family.

As an example, on my last round of applications, I applied for 2 cards. If you follow any of the bloggers I mentioned in my last post, you'll see that they apply for lots all at once. The newest, hottest card out right now is the Citi Prestige. I was really hesitant to apply for the new Citi Prestige because the fee is $450 a year. For most people, it could end up being a great card because you get airline lounge access and a $250 credit towards travel charges. For me, and in our current medical school, not traveling as much as we'd want to situation, it just didn't make sense. So I applied for 2 cards I know we can use in the immediate future: the Amex Hilton HHonors Surpass (we love the Hiltons by the beach here for a quick staycation) and the United MileagePlus Explorer card which prevents our United miles from expiring as long as we hold the card. Plus, we use the points mainly for shorter flights on international carriers.

In my next post, I'll show you which cards I recommend and how you can use them to get the most points for your hard-earned money. Sound good?

Any questions?

 

Interested in more travel hacking posts?
Start here: What is Travel Hacking?

I hate to break it to you, but you’ve been lied to all along. Travel doesn’t have to be expensive.

I’m not going to tell you to stop buying your beloved Starbucks every day (although it would help), so you can save enough for that big vacation. The fact simply remains, if you want to travel, truly want to travel, you have to make it a priority. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Someday we’ll go there. It’s just so expensive.” The reality is, it’s just not a priority for you then because as you’ll see, traveling isn’t just a luxury for the trust-fund babies of the world. We have bills, rent, student loans, a savings account and many more of the typical reasons that come to mind when people say they can’t travel. Did I mention the hubster is in medical school too?

There are sacrifices I’m willing to make because travel is so important to me. It may not be as important to you if you have other priorities and that’s totally okay!  Just know that if you truly do want to travel, you can make it happen. So, no more excuses. Now go get your camera ready and your bags packed.

 

What is Travel Hacking?

Travel hacking is for anyone who likes to travel, whether it be a trip to Disney, a last minute flight to see grandma or a business class ticket to Hong Kong. There’s something for every type of traveler. For me, I want to see more countries and do it for as little as possible. Revolutionary, right?

Through credit cards bonuses and your typical spending, you can gain hundreds of thousands of points and miles that can be put towards your big travel dreams. People in the travel world refer to this as Travel Hacking. As a copywriter, I don’t like the term “hacking” as it leads the reader to believe you’re breaking into something; this term is really only used for shock value. For me, this is all about strategy.

I’ll explain how I collect miles and points in upcoming posts and go through which programs I value more highly. But, a word to the wise: If you don’t like budgets or keeping an eye on spending, then travel hacking may not be for you.

It’s not rocket science, but it does involve a bit of planning and a little restraint on the dollar bins at Target. Damn the man, they get me every time. Again, traveling is important to me and I think of this every time I want (not need) another pair of beige flats from DSW.

 

This isn’t just for singletons or DINK (Dual Income No Kids) households. (Or in my case, SIMS: Single Income Med Student household.) As you’ll discover, plenty of people make this possible with kids in tow.

Please note: If you do know something about collecting miles and points, I’m not experienced with manufactured spending. More importantly, I’m proof you don’t need to be. If you don’t know what that is, no worries, I didn’t either.

 

How I got started

I’m relatively new to the miles and points world. I hope you look at that and take comfort. I only started collecting miles and points just over a year ago for the specific reason to travel more. That means you, my little padawans, can do it too.

It may seem silly to some, but I’ve always wanted to fly internationally in a lie-flat seat. Don’t let anyone dismiss your goals, no matter how trivial or ludicrous that may seem. Well, guess what? We’re doing just that in the upper deck business class this summer on our Southeast Asia adventure.

It even has a bar, you guys.

 

It will forever ruin our future international flights that aren’t in business class, I’m well aware. But I’m so excited!

A majority of our miles were on Delta since we used to live in their hub of Detroit. It just so happened that’s where our loyalty fell because it was so convenient. I had miles from business trips and we both had miles from traveling to see friends and family. It was nothing major, by the way. When we got married in England, I applied for the Gold co-branded Delta AMEX card (was upgraded to Platinum a while later) and amassed some more miles with the sign up bonus and flights to England and back. I put all of our flights onto my Delta card because we’d get 2x the miles. Miles started slowly adding up.

I know it may be shocking seeing as we had a destination wedding in another country, but our wedding wasn’t very traditional. The hubster and I were together for 6 years before we got married—we had more than enough kitchen utensils and hand towels. We set up a “normal” registry on Amazon with a short list that would probably piss off traditionalists. But when people asked us what we really wanted, it was an out-of-the-ordinary honeymoon. We put most money in savings and used some of it for our honeymoon to Cambodia and Thailand.

It was really right before we traveled for our honeymoon that I began reading about how I could use our miles for future travel.

While following several travel hacking bloggers, I couldn’t absorb the information quickly enough. Travel hacking suddenly became my guilty pleasure, it even beat out The Real Housewives sometimes. Sometimes.

Here are a few that I love and still follow today:

 

 

I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred card right before our honeymoon based on the advice of the experts above because there was a bonus of 40,000 points if I met minimum spending. The best and biggest feature for me at the time was no international fees. So we used the card the entire time we were in Cambodia and Thailand and met the minimum spending soon after by paying our normal bills.

I saw 50,000 points hit my account after I met minimum spending and also got additional bonuses based on which categories I spent money in. (2x the points on travel.) I was hooked. To give you an idea, that’s 2 roundtrip trip domestic plane tickets or nearly one roundtrip ticket to Europe, Africa or Asia.

 

Where can points and miles take you?

If your flight and accommodations are paid for, you’d most likely go on that trip, right? Well that’s what travel hacking does.

Since starting to methodically collect points after our honeymoon a bit over a year ago, I’ve accumulated enough for our trip to Southeast Asia this July. What does that look like?

• 2 roundtrip business/first class tickets to Seoul, South Korea
• 2 one-way business class tickets to Hanoi, Vietnam
• 2 one-way coach tickets to Yangon, Myanmar
• 2 one-way coach tickets back to Seoul, South Korea
• Free or nearly-free hotel stays in each city

That’s a pretty massive chunk of our trip already paid for, so even if we have to pay for everything else in between, it doesn’t break the bank. We also burned through most of our Delta miles as the program has devalued quite a bit in the last year– but that’s for another post. We’ll most likely fly small, budget carriers between counties as that makes more sense than using points or miles from a points value perspective. But that aside, we only have our food, drinks and really pretty sarongs to pay for.

Just so you know, points don’t need to be used for massive weeks-long international trips. I’ve also used them for our hotel at Disney World and a one-way flight between Spain and Portugal. While flying business class and first class is nice, it’s not my top priority if a travel opportunity presents itself. I’d rather fly 7+ hours somewhere next week than save for a few more months to do the same thing in first class. You’ll find that having points and miles gives you the flexibility to travel how you want.  You can even, although I don’t recommend it, use them to buy gifts cards.

I’ll be discussing the ins and outs of where to start in the next travel hacking post.

Traveling opens up all the possibilities that exist in this wild world. I fully believe that everyone should get the chance to travel. A cultural connection and understanding can sometimes only be gained by experiencing it. From drinking whiskey with friends in Scotland to laughing in a tuk-tuk on a cold night in Thailand, each experience is packaged away into little portions of your mind only to be taken out and shared with other open-minded individuals.

I want to share that with you.

 

Just let your mind simmer on collecting miles and points and imagine where in the world it could take you. Go on, dreamer. I’ll be right here cheering you along.

 

Is this something that interests you? Any travel hacking questions for me? Where would you travel if you knew your flight and accommodations were paid for?