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Travel hacking 101: A beginner’s guide to travel hacking like a pro

When I started travel hacking 11 years ago, it was an obscure “hobby” that few had heard about and most dismissed as a scam . Nowadays, seemingly everyone is doing it to some degree. Whether getting in on the latest credit card promotion or snagging a first-class seat for the price of coach, travel hacking has become more popular than ever.

It’s the easiest way to save on travel and improve your experience. Utilizing travel hacking methods, you can fast-track your way to top-tier elite status and earn frequent flyer miles without ever stepping on a plane.

There is endless information about maximizing every dollar (and mile) spent. But if you’re new to this “game” and just want a simple explanation of how it works, you’ve come to the right place.

Here is everything you need to know about getting started with travel hacking.

What is travel hacking?

Travel hacking involves earning frequent flyer miles or points through non-traditional methods and redeeming them for nearly-free travel.

The most common travel hacks include leveraging credit card welcome bonuses for premium cabin flights and taking advantage of sweet spots and generous routing rules to get the best deal on award flights.

How much are points and miles worth?

Points are worth 1-2 cents each, depending on the loyalty program and how you use them. You’ll generally get the highest value by redeeming points for premium cabin flights and luxury hotel stays. Some programs impose a fixed value on points, depending on the fare cost. For example, Southwest Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.3 cents towards Wanna Get Away fares.

The same goes for transferrable rewards. Most of them are worth at least one cent each towards direct travel bookings. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards® are worth 1.25 cents each towards direct travel bookings for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card  cardholders and 1.5 cents for those with a Chase Sapphire Reserve® .

The difference between points, miles, and rewards

Points, miles, and rewards are different types of loyalty currencies. There are exceptions, but airlines usually issue miles, while points come from hotel loyalty programs or bank rewards.

A good travel hacking strategy involves having a mix of all three currencies.

Transferable rewards

Thanks to their flexibility, transferable bank rewards are the gold standard of loyalty currency. You can transfer them to airline miles or hotel points, usually at a 1:1 ratio or better.

Examples of transferrable rewards include Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Rewards miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards®, and Citi ThankYou® points.

Airline miles

You might be wondering if it’s worth earning airline miles when you can just transfer your bank rewards points instead.

Well, you should earn airline miles from a co-branded airline credit card for several reasons. For starters, you can supplement welcome bonuses from airline cards with a bonus from a transferrable rewards card to reach your travel goals faster.

In addition, some airlines incentivize you to earn miles (through a co-branded credit card or otherwise). For example, American Airlines counts all co-branded credit card spending towards elite status. Meanwhile, Southwest Rapid Rewards issues the Companion Pass after you earn 125,000 points in a calendar year (which increases to 135,000 next year). Earning airline miles can pay off.

Hotel points

Hotel points can go a long way in reducing out-of-pocket travel expenses. You can earn hotel points from co-branded hotel credit cards, by shopping online, and even by participating in surveys. Hotel credit cards offer generous welcome bonuses, with perks like elite status and annual free nights.

Examples of hotel points you should consider earning include World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and IHG One Rewards.

How to start travel hacking

Travel hacking is fun and rewarding but can also be a lot of work. There is a wealth of information about ways to earn and burn points for maximum value. But if you’re just learning and want to know the basics, here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started.

Step 1: Set a goal

Before you embark on your travel hacking journey, you’ll want to set a goal. Are you hoping to redeem miles for international travel ? Or perhaps you’re saving up for a family trip to Disneyland. Regardless of your goals, it’s important to identify them early on to determine which credit cards and loyalty programs will help you get there.

Step 2: Choose your rewards program(s)

Once you’ve determined your travel goals, it’s time to pick your loyalty programs. Start with your home airport; if you live in an airline hub city, that airline can be a good starting point. There’s no sense in earning Southwest points if you live in Alaska. You might be better off with the Alaska Mileage Plan program since the airline serves the region and offers domestic and international partners. You’ll have more opportunities to redeem miles, and if you fly the airline often enough, you’ll even earn elite status.

When choosing a loyalty program, keep partner airlines in mind. For example, if you’re saving up for a Hawaiian vacation and want to fly United, you should consider collecting Turkish Miles&Smiles instead. Turkish Airlines is a Star Alliance member, like United, and offers domestic United flights for just 15,000 miles round-trip in economy. Exploring partner programs can help you save on award travel, stretching your miles further.

Choosing a hotel loyalty program might be easier. Think about which hotels you like when traveling and which elite benefits you care about. Most hotel loyalty programs let you earn top-tier status from credit cards alone, so think about which programs offer the best perks and properties in the destinations you like to travel to.

Here’s a look at every major hotel program’s global footprint to help you choose:

• Marriott Bonvoy: Over 8,000 properties in 139 countries
• Hilton Honors: Over 7,000 hotels in 122 countries
• Choice Privileges: Over 7,000 hotels in 40 countries
• IHG One Rewards: Over 6,000 properties worldwide
• Radisson Rewards: Over 1,700 hotels worldwide
• World of Hyatt: Over 1,150 hotels in 70 countries

While it’s good to identify at least one airline and hotel program, you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. Try to collect at least one transferable rewards currency, so you’re not limited to only a few programs.

Transferrable rewards can also protect you against program devaluations — if one airline or hotel increases its redemption requirements, you can transfer your points to another.

Here are some of the most popular transferrable rewards programs:

• American Express Membership Rewards®
• Bilt Rewards
• Capital One Miles
• Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• Citi ThankYou® Rewards

Step 3: Choose a credit card

Once you’ve identified the loyalty program you want to earn points with (and incorporated at least one transferrable currency), it’s time to find a credit card.

When choosing a credit card, you should consider the following features:

Welcome bonus

A high welcome bonus will help you achieve your travel goals much faster. Some credit card bonuses are high enough to cover a round-trip international business class ticket. You’ll incur a 2-5 point credit score hit from every inquiry, so make it count. You should aim for a welcome bonus of at least 50,000 points, and plenty of cards meet that criteria.

Credit card application rules

Remember that some banks have strict application rules when applying for credit cards. For example, American Express limits welcome bonuses to one per lifetime. Meanwhile, Chase’s infamous 5/24 rule prevents you from being approved for a new card if you’ve had five or more in the last 24 months.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with these rules before applying for a card to avoid unnecessary rejection.

Travel perks

Many travel rewards cards come with valuable perks like elite status, airport lounge access, airline fee credits, and annual free nights. Think about which of these perks you’re likely to maximize every year. Doing so can help you choose the best credit card and figure out if the card is worth renewing every year.

Annual fees

Travel hacking can get expensive if you’re not careful about annual fees. Rewards credit card annual fees range from $89-$695. It’s easy to get tempted by a high welcome bonus, but annual fees can dent your travel budget if you’re not careful.

Before settling on a credit card, explore the lower or no-annual-fee version to see if it’s a better fit.

For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card may seem appealing with its welcome bonus, but you’ll pay a lower annual fee with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card .

Step 4: Other ways to earn points

Credit card welcome bonuses are the fastest way to earn points, but they’re not the only way. You can earn points from shopping portals, dining rewards programs, completing surveys, and more.

Shopping portals:

• American AAdvantage eShopping
• Alaska Mileage Plan Shopping
• Delta SkyMiles Shopping
• Free Spirit Online Mall
• Hilton Honors Shopping Mall
• JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Shopping
• United MileagePlus Shopping

Dining rewards programs:

• American AAdvantage Dining
• Alaska Mileage Plan Dining
• Delta SkyMiles Dining
• Free Spirit Dining
• Hilton Honors Dining
• IHG Rewards Club Dining
• JetBlue TrueBlue Dining
• Marriott Eat Around Town
• Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining
• United MileagePlus Dining

Airline companion passes

Airline companion passes are one of the best travel hacking tools to stretch your points further. Some passes are issued annually as a credit card benefit, while others have to be earned. In most cases, you can save 50% or more on airfare with a companion pass.

Here’s a look at companion passes you should consider adding to your travel hacking arsenal:

Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare

The Alaska Airlines Famous Companion Fare is a great travel hacking tool for west coast flyers. The pass is issued as part of the welcome bonus on the Alaska Airlines Visa® credit card and reissued annually. Considering the Alaska card has a reasonable annual fee, this is a terrific benefit.

Simply book a companion on the same flight and pay just $99 (plus taxes and fees).

American AAdvantage

You can get an American Airlines Companion Certificate from one of four co-branded credit cards. The spending requirement ranges from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Once you’ve secured the certificate, you can use it to cover a companion’s airfare for just $99 plus taxes and fees.

• Barclays Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard: Spend $20,000 in a year
• AAdvantage Aviator Silver Mastercard: Spend $20,000 in a year
• AAdvantage Aviator Business Mastercard: Spend $30,000 in a year
• CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: Spend $30,000 in a year

The American Airlines Companion Certificate is only valid on round-trip economy class tickets within the contiguous U.S. For Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Island residents, the pass is good for round-trip flights originating in those destinations.

British Airways Travel Together Ticket

The British Airways Travel Together Ticket is issued to British Airways Visa Signature® cardholders who spend $30,000 in a calendar year . This perk can take the sting out of high fuel surcharges imposed on British Airways award tickets transiting through London.

The Travel Together Ticket is valid in all cabins, including first class and international fares .

Delta Companion Passes

Delta has two companion passes: one is valid on economy class tickets only, while the one issued through the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Card can be applied to first-class travel. You’ll pay just $80 for your companion’s ticket, which is a bargain — especially when using it for first-class flights.

Note that the Delta companion tickets are not valid on award flights or basic economy tickets.

Here’s a list of cards you can earn the companion pass with:

• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card

Iberia airfare discount

Iberia offers a $1,000 airfare discount on two tickets booked on the same flight. You can earn it by spending $30,000 on the Iberia Visa Signature® Card per calendar year. It’s valid in all cabins, providing ultimate flexibility.

Southwest Companion Pass

The Southwest Companion Pass is one of the most popular travel hacking tools out there. You can get one after completing 100 segments or earning 125,000 Southwest points in a calendar year, though the requirement is increased to 135,000 points in 2023. However, points earned from the Southwest credit card welcome bonuses count towards the pass.

It only takes one business or one personal card welcome bonus to earn the Southwest Companion Pass:

• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card : Earn 50,000 points after you spend $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card: Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card: Earn 50,000 points after spending $1,000 within the first three months of account opening
• Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Business Credit Card: Earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 within the first three months of account opening

Redeeming points

You’ve accrued thousands of points and are ready to start booking your dream vacation. Now what? Redeeming points isn’t exactly easy, and that’s by design. Loyalty programs count on members not doing their due diligence to get as much out of their points and miles as possible.

While booking the first award that pops up in the search result is easy, that’s not the best way to stretch your points. Here are a few concepts you should familiarize yourself with to get the most out of your points:

Stopovers and open jaws

While a simple round-trip flight is great, you can stretch your points further by incorporating stopovers and open jaws into your flights.

A stopover is when you visit an additional destination on your way to your final destination or home. Several airline loyalty programs allow you to add a free stopover to award flights:

• Alaska Mileage Plan (free stopover on one-way awards)
• ANA Mileage Club ( one free stopover and one open-jaw on round-trip awards)
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles ( up to four destinations per itinerary)
• Emirates Skywards (one free stopover per round-trip)
• Japan Airlines Mileage Bank ( three stopovers or two stopovers and one open-jaw )
• Singapore Krisflyer ( one stopover and one open-jaw per roundtrip flight )
• United MileagePlus (one free stopover within the same region per round-trip flight)

Open jaws are another great way to add a destination to your itinerary. An open jaw is when you return from a different destination than you flew into.

One example of an open-jaw ticket is if you fly from New York to London and then return home from Paris. Many people book this route with Avios because British Airways imposes hefty fuel surcharges on flights departing from London. Savvy travelers will take a train to Paris and fly back from Charles de Gaulle to save money.

But booking an open-jaw doesn’t have to be about saving money. It’s a great way to see multiple destinations on the same trip, especially in Europe, where connecting flights are relatively cheap. Here’s a list of loyalty programs that allow open jaws on round-trip award tickets:

Fourth and fifth night free

Some hotel programs offer free nights when you redeem points for consecutive nights at one property. These deals can help you save as much as 25% on an award stay. The most generous is IHG One, which offers a fourth night free to IHG Rewards Traveler, IHG Rewards Premier, and IHG Rewards Premier Business card members. Meanwhile, Marriott members and Hilton elites get the fifth night free on award stays.

These discounted award rates can help you save thousands of points and book extra free nights at no cost. Factor this into your award-booking strategy, and you’ll stretch your points further.

Take advantage of sweet spots

Sweet spots are awards that are significantly discounted compared to other loyalty programs. Both hotels and airlines have sweet spot awards that can help up your travel hacking game.

For example, Turkish Airlines offers round-trip economy class tickets between the mainland U.S. and Hawaii for just 15,000 miles. That’s what some loyalty programs charge for a one-way ticket, making this an excellent sweet spot award.

Travel hacking is all about finding ways to stretch your points further. You can do this with tactics like searching for generous credit card welcome bonuses, booking flights with stopovers and open jaws, taking advantage of hotel programs that offer free nights, and looking for airline sweet spots.

With a little bit of effort, you can travel hack your way to (nearly) free travel.

Happy travels!

About the author

Ariana Arghandewal

Ariana is a travel reward expert and founder of her own award-winning blog., PointChaser. She has worked as an editor and covered all things points, miles, and credit cards for over a decade across a number of personal finance sites.

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Travel Hacking 101: Beginner’s Guide to Free Flights & Hotels

R.J. Weiss, CFP®

• Updated December 20, 2023

Travel hacking has saved me tens of thousands of dollars. Just as important, it’s given my family incredible travel experiences that we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford.

With this guide, you’ll have all the knowledge and tools you need to start travel hacking like a pro and create unforgettable travel memories yourself. 

Here’s what we’ll cover :

• What is travel hacking?
• Travel hacking and credit Impact
• How to earn points and miles
• The best first credit cards for travel hackers
• Tips for getting free flights with credit card points
• How to maximize your hotel points to get the most free nights
• My favorite award redemptions of all time

And lastly, we’ll answer some of the most common questions asked by new travel hackers.

What Is Travel Hacking?

Travel hacking is the art and science of unlocking free or significantly discounted travel experiences by strategically earning and redeeming reward points and airline miles. 

This concept encompasses various techniques, including leveraging credit card rewards, airline loyalty programs and hotel rewards to make your travel dreams a reality.

Since some credit cards offer as much as 2% cash-back, you might wonder whether it makes sense to just use those rewards for travel. The real benefit of using points and miles comes from point redemption values that can often reach 3 cents per point or more, and sometimes even go up to 10 cents per point.

Credit cards that offer generous welcome bonuses and reward points for everyday spending are the foundation of travel hacking. By using credit cards strategically, you can accumulate valuable points that can be redeemed for flights, accommodations and other travel-related expenses.

It’s not uncommon for a single credit card signup bonus to cover the cost of an international flight, making this a game-changer for many travelers.

In addition, you can also earn points or perks by taking advantage of airline loyalty programs or hotel rewards programs. By staying loyal to a specific airline or hotel brand, you can earn rewards points or perks such as free upgrades, lounge access and more. 

In essence, travel hacking is about understanding the ins and outs of the rewards ecosystem and using that knowledge to make the most of every travel opportunity. 

How Travel Hacking Impacts Your Credit and Finances

If you’re considering travel hacking, it’s crucial to understand how it can impact your credit score and overall financial health.

Your credit score is a three-digit number that indicates your creditworthiness and helps lenders evaluate your risk as a borrower. 

Several factors determine your credit score, including:

• Payment history (35%)
• Credit utilization (30%)
• Length of credit history (15%)
• New credit (10%)
• Types of credit in use (10%)

Signing up for credit cards is closely tied to many factors that carry the most weight in your credit score. Therefore, it’s not whether travel hacking will affect your credit score but how it will affect it.

To ensure a boost to your credit score while enjoying travel rewards, remember to:

• Choose credit cards you plan to keep long-term.
• Aim to hit the minimum spend requirement without overspending.
• Keep your credit utilization less than 30%.
• Space out new credit card applications.
• Pay your balance in full using auto-pay to avoid missing payments.

Much of this is familiar to anyone who has managed their credit responsibly. But if you’re new to managing your credit, check out our article titled “ How Travel Hacking Impacts Your Credit and Finances ” for a more in-depth guide. 

How to Earn Points and Miles

Points and miles are the currencies of the travel hacking world. When you know how to earn them efficiently, you’ll be well on your way to ticking off dream destinations from your travel bucket list.

Fortunately, with the right travel hacking strategies, you can earn points and miles toward your dream vacation without spending a fortune. 

The top strategies for earning points include :

• Credit card sign-up bonuses . By strategically choosing a card with a great bonus, you could find yourself enjoying a premium flight experience or a free hotel stay.
• Optimizing your spending through bonus categories . Many credit cards offer bonus rewards for specific purchases, such as travel or dining. Using the right card for each purchase can help you accumulate points faster.
• Shopping portals . You can earn rewards at popular online stores. Many credit card issuers, airlines and hotels have their own shopping portals.
• Maximize points earned while booking travel . Frequent travelers can optimize their rewards by taking advantage of loyalty programs offered by airlines and hotels.
• Refer friends and family to credit cards . Referring friends and family, including a spouse, to credit cards can be a rewarding way to earn additional points or miles.
• Open a business credit card . Business credit cards often have some of the most lucrative signup bonuses, making them an essential part of beginner travel hacking.
• Earning points with bonus transfers . Bonus transfers can be a powerful tool for quickly reaching your rewards goals. Many credit card issuers and loyalty programs offer periodic promotions, where you can transfer your points or miles to partner programs with a bonus.
• Promotions and offers . Promotions and offers can encompass both limited-time and ongoing incentives, which involve activities such as adding authorized users, making purchases at specific merchants, linking your loyalty accounts with certain merchants, or completing one-time tasks, such as meeting a spending threshold within a specified timeframe. These offers vary by credit card issuer and card type.

By implementing these strategies, you’ll effectively accumulate rewards and transform them into unforgettable travel experiences. 

To learn more about these strategies, read our detailed guide on earning travel rewards: Earning Points & Miles: The Best Ways to Earn Travel Rewards .

The Best First Credit Cards for Travel Hackers

As a beginner, choosing a card that offers long-term benefits, has a quality signup bonus, and has reasonable minimum spending requirements is essential.

Our top choices for first-time travel hackers include the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, among other outstanding credit card offers we’ve curated for your convenience.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers a reasonable annual fee of $95, making it a great value. It also provides a consistently great signup bonus worth hundreds of dollars in travel rewards. 

With this card, you can redeem your points at a rate of 1.25 within the Chase travel portal, or transfer your points to various airline and hotel partners (including popular brands such as United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Hyatt Hotels).

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is another excellent option for beginners. 

With this card, you can earn unlimited 2X miles per dollar spent on every purchase, making it easy to accumulate rewards quickly. It also offers a consistently high signup bonus, which can be worth hundreds of dollars in travel credits. 

One unique feature of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is that it allows you to use points to erase purchases categorized as travel on your credit card without using a travel portal.

You can then benefit from a larger sign-up bonus and other travel perks the card offers, like lounge access, TSA credits and the option to transfer points to travel partners for potentially higher value. This combination of features makes the Venture card more appealing for travel enthusiasts compared to a 2% cash-back card.

Overall, both cards offer flexibility in using your rewards, making them worthwhile even if you don’t have a specific travel destination in mind.

We’ve partnered with CardRatings to give our readers access to top credit card products. By collaborating with CardRatings, we ensure all data is accurate regarding the credit card products available, as it changes frequently. To discover these and other top travel card offers, see their “ Best Travel Cards ” page.

Airline Miles for Beginners

If you’ve never done it, booking flights with points can feel intimidating. With so many airline programs and transfer partners, knowing where to start and how to get the most value for your points can be challenging.

So let’s start with the basics. There are two main ways to use your points to book flights:

• Through an airline’s mileage program . Using an airline’s mileage program means you redeem points or miles earned through that airline’s loyalty program. Each airline has its own award chart and pricing, which determines how many miles you need to save for a free flight based on the destination and class of service. 
• Using fixed-value points . These points hold a set value, typically measured in cents per point. You can use these points to book flights or other travel expenses at a fixed redemption rate. For example, if you have 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points and the Chase Sapphire Reserve , you can use them to book a flight at a rate of 1.5 cents per point, which would be worth $750 towards the cost of the flight. 

When trying to maximize the value of your travel rewards, booking flights with miles can offer outsized rewards compared to fixed-value points. However, there are certain situations where fixed-value rewards can come in handy.

At the same time, booking flights with reward points is more challenging than booking flights with fixed-value rewards, as award space availability can be limited. 

When you’re ready to book your flight, check out our step-by-step guide to redeeming points for airfare . Plus, see our rankings of the best free tools for award flight searches to help save time. 

Exploring Your Accommodation Options: Hotels, Vacation Rentals and More

Booking accommodations like hotels, vacation rentals, and other types of lodging with reward points can be a great way to save money or even splurge on a luxurious stay. 

Similar to flying, when it comes to redeeming points for lodging, there are two primary methods: 

• Hotel loyalty programs.
• Fixed-value rewards.

Earning points by transferring them from credit card companies is one of the fastest ways for you to book hotel stays. For example, you can earn a signup bonus with a credit card issuer like Chase, then transfer the points to a hotel loyalty program like Hyatt. 

This allows you to earn points fast and potentially stay at a higher-end property than you would be able to afford if paying with cash. 

Additionally, some hotels offer co-branded credit cards that allow you to earn points directly with the hotel, and often offer free nights or room upgrades.

Using fixed-value rewards to book hotels offers flexibility to those who prefer to avoid committing to a specific hotel chain. The Chase travel portal, for example, allows you to book hotels at a rate of 1.25 cents per point with a Chase Sapphire Preferred card or 1.5 cents per point with the Chase Sapphire Reserve . 

Capital One offers many redemption options, including booking hotels through deal sites like Priceline or vacation rental sites like Airbnb. 

After making bookings, which can be done outside of Capital One’s travel portal, you can use your points to effectively “erase” those purchases from your account statement. The key is that they must be categorized as travel.

Remember that leveraging the power of points and rewards to create meaningful travel experiences is the core idea of travel hacking. Whether you’re looking to save money or splurge on a luxurious stay, booking accommodations with points is an excellent way. 

Check out our Booking Hotels with Points Made Easy guide for more tips and tricks.

Discover My Favorite Reward Redemptions

Curious about the real-world potential of travel hacking? Don’t miss my article on my favorite reward redemptions . 

This piece dives deep into some of the most incredible travel experiences I’ve had, all thanks to strategically using points and miles. From first-class flights to five-star resorts and unforgettable family vacations, these examples will give you a glimpse of what’s achievable. 

Let this article inspire you, whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your travel hacking to the next level.

Traveling Hacking FAQ

Yes, travel hacking is legal. It involves strategically using credit card rewards, airline loyalty programs, and hotel rewards to get the most value for your points and miles. However, it’s essential to follow the terms and conditions of each rewards program and credit card issuer to avoid potential issues; while violating these rules is not illegal, it could get you kicked out of the program and may result in the forfeiture of any accumulated points or progress.

When done responsibly, travel hacking should not ruin your credit. In fact, it can even improve your credit score. Ensure you pay your credit card balance in full every month, keep your credit utilization low, and avoid applying for too many cards in a short period.

The time it takes to earn enough points for a free flight or hotel stay depends on various factors, such as your spending habits, the credit card you choose, and most importantly, how you plan to use the rewards. With the right strategy and card, you could potentially earn enough points for a free flight or hotel stay within a few months. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is most often recommended for beginners. The card offers flexible rewards, reasonable annual fees and a valuable signup bonus. But make sure to check out the best current offers for other cards that might match your travel goals, in addition to making sure you’re a good fit to hit the minimum spend and having a good enough credit score. 

Unlock Your Next Adventure

Travel hacking is all about leveraging the power of points and rewards to save money and create meaningful travel experiences.

To dive deeper into specific topics, be sure to check out our related posts:

• Travel Hacking & Credit Impact
• Earning Points & Miles
• Choosing a Travel Rewards Credit Card
• Airline Miles 101
• Maximizing Hotel Loyalty Points and Programs

With these resources, you’ll have everything you need to take your travel hacking to the next level. 

Happy travels!

Travel More, Spend Less

From international business class flights to nearly free family vacations: unlock it all with points through our free 7-day travel hacking course.

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Using Your Credit Cards & Other Methods to Travel Hack Responsibly and Safely

Mastering the art of travel hacking can help you maximize your travel rewards while minimizing your expenses. MoneyGeek's expert tips and resources can guide you in making the most of your credit cards and loyalty programs.

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Updated: March 21, 2024

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How Do Travel Hackers Get So Many Cards Without Trashing Their Credit?

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Travel hackers, or credit card churners, use credit cards as a tool to get free or heavily reduced fares on flights and nights at hotels. Churners apply for several credit cards at a time to capitalize on the rewards. But while these churners are happily galavanting around the world, are their credit scores suffering?

What is credit card churning?

Credit card churning is when you sign up for multiple cards to get the signup bonuses, hit the spending requirement for these bonuses, and then possibly cancel the cards if the ongoing rewards don’t meet your particular needs. Churning is generally used by travelers looking to score free flights, hotel nights and other travel rewards.

People with reservations about churning worry it will decrease their credit scores. Let’s discuss how your FICO score is calculated, and how churning affects the different factors that make up your score.

How your FICO score is calculated

Your FICO score is calculated using five factors — payment history (35%), credit utilization (30%), length of credit history (15%), types of credit in use (10%) and new credit (10%). Churning credit cards will affect most of these factors.

Provided you make all of your payments on time and pay your balance in full each month (or at least keep your revolving credit low), churning won’t hurt your payment history and won’t cost you anything in interest. However, it could affect your credit utilization ratio, because many credit card issuers impose minimum spending requirements within a short period of time to get the signup bonus.

The average age of your credit accounts will be take a hit when you open new cards, but you can mitigate this by keeping a few “oldie-but-goodie” cards open for a long time. Opening new accounts and promptly closing them will also damage your credit score because of the new credit penalty, which temporarily lowers your score until the account has been open for a year.

If you choose to churn credit cards, understand the following:

A long credit history is your best friend. Having a long credit history means new credit won’t affect your average age of credit accounts as much, so the credit score points you lose will likely be immaterial. Which brings us to the next point ...

A perfect credit score and an excellent credit score carry the same terms. While it would be awesome to say you hit the perfect 850 FICO score, for all practical purposes, it isn’t necessary to get the best credit terms — like the most preferable interest rates, etc. If your score lies between 720 and 850 , you have an excellent score. Along with an excellent score comes excellent terms. The point is, a long credit history will mitigate your chances of hurting your credit score much. And even if your score drops a few points, you’ll still receive the best terms if it exceeds 720.

Should you churn credit cards?

If you have a reasonably long credit history and an excellent credit score, you don’t necessarily have to worry about losing a few points. If you don’t have an excellent credit score, but still have a good score, churning could work for you as well. Just remember, your score probably won't rise to the excellent level if you churn heavily.

Churning has its downsides. Besides the new credit penalty, there are a few more disadvantages.

Issuers could ban you from applying for new credit. Credit card issuers are well aware of the existence of churning and they may choose to ban you, either temporarily or permanently, from applying for credit cards or receiving signup bonuses.

Credit card management can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to manage multiple credit accounts, and there is always the risk you’ll miss payments or overspend in order to hit spending requirements to receive bonuses. The fewer cards you have, the fewer cards you have to make payments on and the less effort you have to exert chasing credit card signup bonuses.

Each new account will shorten your average account age. This is why it’s risky to churn without a long credit history. For instance, if you have one credit account you opened five years ago and decide to open one more account today, your average credit age will decrease to two-and-a-half years. This is a significant drop and will likely hurt your credit score.

Closing accounts can increase utilization. If you carry revolving debt, closing credit accounts will increase your credit utilization, possibly decreasing your credit score. Let’s say you have one previous credit card with a limit of $5,000 and a balance of $3,000, and then you churn a credit card with a limit of $5,000, but don’t carry a balance. In this case, you are currently utilizing 30% of your credit ($3,000/$10,000), which most experts say is acceptable. However, if you close the second account, your utilization is now 60%. This is high enough for potential creditors to see you as a risk, so your credit score will likely drop.

So should you should churn credit cards or not? The decision is completely up to you. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you about the downsides.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

1.5%-6.5% Enjoy 6.5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel; 4.5% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 3% on all other purchases (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year). After your first year or $20,000 spent, enjoy 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and unlimited 1.5% cash back on all other purchases.

$300 Earn an additional 1.5% cash back on everything you buy (on up to $20,000 spent in the first year) - worth up to $300 cash back!

on Capital One's website

2x-5x Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options.

75,000 Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

• Travel Hacking 101: 9 Critical Tips to Know

by Nichole | Last updated Sep 4, 2023 | Travel Hacking

Travel hacking 101. Sounds complicated, but it’s not. With a couple of a few pointers, you will be well on your way to earning points and miles to cash in on free flights and hotels. Suddenly that 2-week trip to Africa or exotic vacation to the Maldives becomes obtainable. No more dreaming. I will warn you though travel hacking can become addicting and super thrilling when you score that amazing redemption.

* Some of the links in this post contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. All recommendations are from first-hand experience that I feel will deliver value to you! Thank you for your continued support.

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01- Pick an Airline Alliance & Stay Loyal

Three airline alliances, #1- free flights, #2- airline perks, how to pick an airline alliance, #1- home airport, #2- where you like to travel, which airline alliance we use, 02- pick a travel credit card, chase vs. amex, sign up when there's a big bonus offer, join forces with your partner or spouse, 03- maximize points with the chase trifecta, chase sapphire reserve, chase freedom, chase freedom unlimited, 04- double dip, #1- shopping portals, #2- dining rewards programs, #3- rakuten, #4- amex offers, 05- know the partnerships , uber & marriott, lyft & delta, american airlines & world of hyatt, british airways & airbnb, 06- lookout for mistake fares, 07- always check the redemption value, redemption value formula, points guy calculator, 08- airlines miles are more valuable , 09- redeem at chase travel portal, final thoughts, related content.

What is travel hacking?

Travel hacking refers to using travel credit cards and airline miles to collect points, so you can cash them out on free flights and hotels, upgrades, airport lounge access, and other perks.

Where do you even begin?

There are many advanced techniques, but these are the 9 steps to get you well on your way to free travel. Let’s dive in.

American Airlines plane

What you need to know is there are 3 airline alliances:

• Star Alliance

An airline alliance is a group of partner airlines that span the entire world. If you have status on one airline, then its partner airlines will also recognize you and give you priority treatment.

Pick one alliance, and stick with it for 2 reasons.

The miles you accumulate can be redeemed for free flights. The number of miles needed for that free flight will vary based on the destination and the fare class you want (economy, business, first-class).

Flying is not the only way you obtain airline miles. You can also transfer your Chase and American Express credit card points into airline miles.

Another way to obtain airline miles quickly is by signing up for a big bonus offer with an airline co-branded credit card.

For example, the United Explorer card offers 50,000 United bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months your account is open.

As you accumulate points and gain status, the airline’s loyalty program will usually award you with perks like free checked bags, priority boarding, and lounge access.

* Note, not every airline is part of an alliance. For example, Southwest is not in an alliance.

This will depend on 2 factors: 

What major airlines are at your home airport? This really is the main determining factor.

Do you live in Atlanta, Georgia? You will probably pick Delta.

What about Chicago, Illinois? You are probably going with United.

How about Charlotte, North Carolina? American Airlines will likely be your top pick.

Where do you like to travel? Europe? U.S.? Asia?

Which airlines fly to your desired travel destinations? If you only fly domestically or maybe to the Caribbean every now and then, you might not pick an alliance and just stick with Southwest. Your travel goals will help guide this decision.

If you live in the United States, your major airline choices are as follows:

• United (Star Alliance)
• Delta (SkyTeam Alliance)
• American (Oneworld Alliance)

Once you select your alliance, make sure to SIGN UP with your airline’s loyalty program and add that number to EVERY flight you book. 

An airline alliance is like a marriage. For better or worse, you are in it. Make sure it is a good one and meets your needs, and you will be rewarded for that loyalty. 

PRO TIP : Go to Wikipedia and type in your home airport. It will show all the main airline carriers and the main destinations. Use this information to determine your airline alliance.

Cathay Pacific The Wing Lounge in Hong Kong

Previously, we lived close to a United Airlines hub, so we initially chose Star Alliance and accumulated quite a few points (or I should say my husband did due to his business travel).

Star Alliance is one of the biggest airline alliances and has an incredibly robust network of flight options. You can basically travel anywhere using this alliance.

Now, we live close to an American Airlines hub, so we have switched to Oneworld . We love traveling to Asia.

Cathay Pacific has many routes to Asia and is one of American’s alliance partners. Because of my husband’s status with American, Cathay Pacific recognizes his status which allows access to their top lounges when we travel through Asia.

The Pier First Class Lounge in Hong Kong is probably my favorite lounge ever! Think free wagyu beef cheeseburgers, 15-minute massages, and a private shower after a long flight. Oh, yeah.

The downside to Oneworld is there are not nearly as many travel options as Star Alliance.

If you only can pick one, go with the Chase Sapphire Reserve hands down for two reasons.

The first reason is the $200 airline fee credit with Amex is very difficult to use because it only applies to incidental fees, checked bags, and in-flight refreshments on the one airline you select for the entire year.

You used to get around this by purchasing gift cards from the selected airline and using them to pay for flights, but they closed this loophole. 

The second reason is there are many places internationally that do not accept Amex.

The big perks of using Amex are access to their Centurion lounges, their concierge service, and the Amex offers they send out for select retailers.

On the other hand, getting value out of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is incredibly easy. The annual fee for Chase Sapphire Reserve is $550.

If you travel at all, you are going to be able to easily use the $300 annual travel credit. This drops it down to $250.

If you already enjoy DoorDash services every year, take another $60 off. Now, you are down to $190.

If you decide to take advantage of the Global Entry credit (which you should! if you love international travel), subtract another $100. You are left with $90.

Now you must decide if you will get more than $90 worth of Priority Pass access, car rental insurance, DoorDash delivery fees, and Lyft perks.

We use the Priority Pass lounges frequently, so for us, that alone adds up to way more than $90 a year. If you cannot tell, I love this travel credit card!

Plus, you can redeem your points through the Chase Travel Portal at 1.5x the rate, which will be explained later in this guide .

PRO TIP : Another consideration in the Chase vs. Amex battle is to consider your airline alliance. Chase and Amex have specific airlines they work with as transfer partners. Check to see which credit card partners with your airline alliance. That may help you decide which credit card is best for you.

Courtesy of Shutterstock: Travel hacking 101- pick a card with a big bonus offer

I would only sign up with a travel credit card WHEN there’s a nice welcome bonus offer.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is offering an 80,000 bonus point offer when you sign up and spend $4,000 within the first three months of the open account. At one point, Chase was offering a 100,000 bonus points offer. However, no one has seen that offer floating around for years.

Also, it’s important to know Chase has the 5/24 rule. You will be denied all Chase cards if you’ve opened 5 new credit cards in the last 24 months.

The standard welcome offer for American Express Platinum right now is 100,000 points, BUT you may be matched for even a higher offer of 125,000 or even 150,000 points!

You must spend $8,000 in the first 6 months to receive the points. If you are worried about hitting that minimum spend to get the bonus, time it around a big purchase (like a home renovation project or a new computer).

An easy way to see if you are matched for the lucrative Amex offer is to go to cardmatch.com and input your demographic information. It will not affect your credit score. It’s only a soft pull.

I’ll be honest. The American Express Platinum is not my favorite travel credit especially because not everyone accepts it when you travel internationally. I use it mainly for the Centurion Lounges, the Uber credits, and the occasional Amex offers.

The reason I signed up for it was because I was offered the high bonus offer. The 150K offer is insane. It’s worth roughly around $3,000! Here’s a snapshot of all the amazing free travel you can book with 150K Amex points .

PRO TIP :  If you find that you are not getting value out of the travel credit card after a year, you have two options when it gets close to your card renewal date. Call customer service and let them know you are considering canceling. Oftentimes, they will offer a retention offer in the amount of credit or points to keep you. If there’s no retention offer, another option is to downgrade the card to one with no annual fee.

Do NOT add your spouse or partner to your travel credit card as an authorized user.

It’s best to have your spouse/partner open up their own card, so they can also hit the bonus offer.

This assumes that you are able to spend the minimum required for the welcome offer AND you are still paying off your credit card balance in full every month.

Never pay cash for travel

Never pay cash or use a debit card for purchases.

Use your travel credit card for EVERY purchase.

It all adds up. You always want to earn points. Yes, I am guilty of even charging $1 for a gas station donut. Never lose out on points.  

Travel hacking 101: Use the Chase Trifecta Travel Credit Cards

I use this credit card for all travel-related expenses (flights, hotels, rentals, Uber/Lyft, parking, etc) and dining purchases to get 3x points . $550 annual fee.

This card has rotating 5x quarterly bonuses. For example, one quarter Chase may give you 5x points on all grocery and gas purchases. Then all of my grocery and gas purchases for those 3 months go on this card. I only put the 5x categories on this card. $0 annual fee.

This card will give you 1.5x points on all purchases. If my purchase does not fall in the travel or featured 5x quarterly bonus category, then the purchase goes on this credit card. $0 annual fee.

You can see how easily the points add up.

When I redeem those points, I transfer all the points from Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited to my Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card.

Then I redeem those points through the Chase travel portal for hotels (or flights if you choose) at 1.5x the rate .

Say you have 200,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which is equal to $2,000 USD. If you redeem those same 200,000 points through the travel portal, they are now worth $3,000 USD. Incredible value!

1 transaction. 2 types of points.

This is my favorite way to accumulate more points and miles. There are four easy ways to double dip when you are first starting out: shopping portals, dining programs, Rakuten, and Amex/Chase offers. 

We are all shopping online now from groceries to clothing to home goods. I don’t know about you, but I rarely go to actual stores now.

In addition to the points you receive on your credit card, what if I told you if you take one extra step you can collect even more points to go towards that free vacation?

Welcome to shopping portals!

These portals offer hundreds of different merchants that you are likely already buying from. Think Apple, Home Depot, Sephora, etc.

Many airlines ( American Airlines and United ) and banks (Chase) offer shopping portals. You must log in to the portal’s website, select the merchant you want, and click the link through the portal to direct you to the merchant’s website.

Once you complete the purchase, it will take a few days or weeks to see the points in your account.

How do you know what shopping portal to use? Go to Cashback Monitor . Type in your merchant, and see which portal is offering the most amount of points or cash back.

Cashback Monitor screenshot

For example, say you need to purchase a cute sundress from Macy’s for that wine vacation you are planning to Portugal this summer.

Type Macy’s into Cashback Monitor’s search box. You find American Airlines Advantage is offering up to 4 miles/$ spent. See the screenshot above.

Log into your American Airlines account and select Macy’s in the shopping portal. American Airlines will take you directly to Macy’s website.

Complete the purchase with your Chase Freedom Unlimited card and receive 4 miles/$ PLUS the 1.5x Chase points! Cha-ching.

Love dining out or grabbing takeout when you don’t feel like cooking?

Here’s yet another opportunity to double dip.

Certain airlines (American, Alaska, Delta, Spirit, JetBlue, Southwest, United) and hotels (Hilton, IHG, Marriott) offer dining rewards programs, which are operated by the Rewards Network.

Most points experts agree airline miles are more lucrative than hotel points.

All you need to do to get started is sign up for the program, register your travel credit card, and pay for your meal at a participating restaurant. Check which restaurants participate by typing in your zip code on the program’s website.

For example, if you join the AAdvantage Dining Program , you’ll get 1 mile per dollar paid, 3 miles per dollar if you agree to receive emails from the program, or 5 miles per dollar if you receive emails AND make 11 transactions in the calendar year.

Now you’ll get extra miles per dollar spent PLUS 3x the points with your Chase Sapphire Reserve card for a lovely meal out.

My Rakuten membership

I have been a member of Rakuten since 2010! It used to be known as Ebates. It’s a rewards program, where you can get cash back or extra Amex points for purchases you were going to make anyway.

To date, I have earned a total of $3,696.76!

Not bad considering there is little extra effort involved.

Go to Rakuten’s website and type the merchant you are looking for in the search box. The merchant will pop up if it’s a participating retailer with Rakuten.

For example, we recently booked a hotel through booking.com. I first went to Rakuten and typed booking.com in the search box. The current offer is 4% cash back.

I clicked on the “shop now” link, which directed me to the booking.com website. Once I complete my stay at the hotel in the next coming months, I will receive a check for 4% cash back.

Not bad for taking that one extra step. 

PRO TIP #1 :  Always check for mobile-only pricing on travel booking websites. When I recently went to booking.com through Rakuten’s website on my cell phone, I was shocked to see the cost of my hotel was $447 cheaper for a 4-night stay in the Maldives!! Not only am I getting 4% cash back with Rakuten but an additional $447 simply because I made the reservation on my phone instead of my desktop.

PRO TIP #2 : Reach the required amount of stays with booking.com and become a Genius member for even deeper discounts (10-20%)!

Screenshot of mobile-only pricing on booking.com

Travel hacking 101: Take advantage of Amex offers

Amex Offers are another great way to double dip. Amex will periodically offer you additional discounts at select retailers. The offers will be listed on your Amex’s home page after you log in.

The Amex Offers will list what you need to spend to get the offer and the expiration date. You have to select “Add to Card” next to the offer to get the discount when you use your Amex card.

Remember these offers are in ADDITION to the points you will already be receiving on your Amex card for the purchase. 

Chase has started a similar program, but I haven’t found the offers to match as well to my personal shopping habits.  

There are certain partnerships you need to remember to keep banking more points. Here are examples of a few of them.

Link your Uber and Marriott Bonvoy accounts and get 3x hotel points per dollar spent on Uber rides and 2x hotel points per dollar spent on Uber Eats.

Link your Lyft and Delta SkyMiles accounts and get 1 mile per dollar spent on Lyft rides. If you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pay for the ride, you can double dip and get 10x the total points!

Link your American Airlines and World of Hyatt accounts . Earn 1 Hyatt point per dollar spent on American Airlines flights. Earn 1 American Airline mile per dollar spent on Hyatt stays.

Sign up for a British Airways account. Book your Airbnb stay or Airbnb experience through this British Airways’ link . Then collect 3 Avios miles per £1/€1/$1 spent with Airbnb. These miles can be used later for reward flights.

Courtesy of Shutterstock: Travel hacking 101- look for mistake fares

I haven’t taken advantage of a mistake fare yet but can’t wait until I do!

A mistake fare occurs when there’s an airline price glitch resulting in a massively cheap flight. This mistake can be due to technology issues, human error, or communication problems.

Think like a $63 roundtrip flight to Chile from The United States. 

Now, you could just get lucky and happen to come across one, or you can constantly search specific routes. Who has the time for that?

A better way to stay informed if a mistake fare does occur is to join a subscription like Scott’s Cheap Flights . Add your home airport, and their expert team will continuously scour the internet to find you the best flight deals.

If you do find a mistake fare, act quickly because normally it only lasts a few hours before the error is corrected.  

Remember the 24-hour rule. Any flight that touches United States soil allows you to cancel your flight for free within 24 hours of booking as long as it’s not too soon before the day of the flight.

Book the mistake fare, figure out the details, and cancel for free in 24 hours if it’s not going to work. 

We love getting good value for the money.

I am always looking for a good coupon or promotion before I make a purchase or going back to get a price adjustment on something I just purchased if the price drops. 

Once you have accumulated all those airline miles or hotel points, you will want to start cashing them in for free flights or hotels. You will need to know if you are getting a good redemption rate for all those hard-earned miles and points.

There are two ways to figure this out. One requires a little math, and the other is plug and chug.

Travel hacking 101: Redemption Value formula

Plug in the information using the formula above. Then go over to the Points Guy’s estimated Monthly Valuations of some of the top hotel brands and airlines.

• If my redemption value is < the estimated Monthly Valuation of that particular airline/hotel, then BOOK WITH POINTS/MILES.
• If my redemption value is < the estimated Monthly Valuation, then PAY CASH. It’s not worth the points.
• If it’s equal, then it’s your call but some factors may lean you in one direction than the other. For example, some locations add an occupancy tax to the hotel rate. But if you pay with points, you may avoid that dreaded tax.

Alternatively, use the Points Guy’s Calculator to quickly determine if you are getting good value if you redeem those airline miles or points.

Courtesy of Shutterstock

You put all these tips into practice, and now you have accumulated a bunch of points on your travel credit card.

Now what? How do you start redeeming this travel currency into free flights and hotels?

Chase and Amex allow you to transfer your points to airline partners and hotel chains.

Chase has 11 airline partners and 3 hotel chains, and Amex has 17 airline partners and 3 hotel chains. When you are ready to redeem your points, transfer your Chase Ultimate Reward (UR) points or your Amex Membership Reward (MR) points to your selected airline or hotel.

Occasionally, Chase and Amex will offer a bonus for point transfer. For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve is currently offering 30% more bonus points if you transfer your credit card points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Once the points are transferred, complete the booking. Always check your redemption value to make sure you are getting good value out of your points.

In general, airline miles are more valuable than hotel points. The redemption values can be pretty incredible. Of course, this all depends on your personal travel needs and goals.

We used airline miles on our Africa trip to get us from the United States to Zimbabwe and from Johannesburg back to the United States. This saved us an incredible $3,296 on flights between the two of us!

Don’t miss my article on how we used airline miles and Chase points to save over $6,800 on our dream Africa trip!

The other way you can redeem points is through the Chase travel portal.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, your points get boosted from 1 cent per point to 1.5 cents per point .

For simple math, let’s say you have 200,000 Chase points sitting in your account. Those points are worth $2,000. However, if you go through the Chase travel portal to book that cute little boutique hotel in Aruba , the value gets boosted 1.5x to 300,000 points. A $3,000 value!

Here is an example of how we put our Chase points into practice.

We enjoyed an epic 2-week trip to Africa that would have cost a small fortune. However, our Chase UR points erased most of our hotel costs. We used 239,138 points to save us a whopping $3,587.07 on hotels! Here’s proof below.

Airline and Credit Card Points Used for Africa Trip

I hope this travel hacking 101 guide gets you well on your way to the world of accumulating miles and points toward free travel! 

Pick your airline alliance, get the Chase Trifecta with a big bonus offer, start double dipping, and cash in those points if you’ve got a good redemption value.

You will be earning that free vacation before you know it!

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The Pros and Cons of Travel Hacking – My Experience

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been dabbling in the world of travel hacking.

Travel hacking is essentially the process of signing up for a new credit card, spending enough to earn the sign-up bonus, using the points you earn to book free travel, and basically repeating that process over and over again.

If you’re using the credit cards responsibly and only spending what you would already spend otherwise, it can be a great way to quickly earn a lot points because the sign-up bonuses are much bigger than you would typically get from regular cash back offers.

Last year I wrote about how I travel hacked my way to free flights home for Christmas for my whole family, and since then I’ve done the same thing for a number of other trips.

So it’s been great, but there have been downsides too. Especially recently as I’ve run out of easy deals and it’s gotten more complicated and time-consuming to figure out my next move.

And since I’ve been asked about this by a lot of people who are intrigued by the idea of free travel, I figured that an honest assessment of my experience would be helpful.

So here are the pros and cons of travel hacking, based on my two years of trying it out.

The biggest benefit has (obviously) been all the free travel we’ve been able to get.

It hasn’t been anything fancy, but we’ve used our points for a number of trips that would have cost us some decent money, but ended up being basically free (you usually end up having to pay like $5 per flight in fees):

• Multiple flights to and from Boston to see my family.
• A family wedding in Chicago. This included one free night at our hotel.
• A flight for me to spend a weekend with my college friends.
• A flight to DC for a funeral.
• A couple of flights for business conferences.

Basically, all the points we’ve earned have made it easier for us to stay connected with people we care about who live in other parts of the country. That’s been awesome.

The other big pro is that it was easy to get started and find big opportunities to earn points quickly.

We already used credit cards for all our spending , so there wasn’t any change in behavior needed there.

And when you’re starting from scratch, it’s easy to find good deals.

We started with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Southwest credit cards, each of which earned us a lot of points that could be used cheaply for the flights we wanted.

The best choices for you might be different depending on where live and where you want to go. My friend Brad runs a great site to help you get started .

So the bottom line is this: if you’re already using credit cards responsibly, it should be pretty easy to earn yourself some free flights quickly.

The biggest drawback so far is that after about a year and a half, the easy opportunities dried up.

We’d already gotten the bonuses for the cards I mentioned above, along with a few others, and it wasn’t really clear to me what our next steps should be.

I ended up spending way more time researching our options than I should have. And as I’ve moved from one card to the next, it’s all gotten more confusing and time-consuming to keep track of.

And recently I got a couple cards that earned us a lot of points, but it turned out those points were harder to use than I thought they would be.

For example, we’re flying back to Boston in a week and it’s the first time in a couple of years that we’ve had to pay for flights. We were still able to book most of the trip for free, but because I wasn’t able to use our newer points like I thought I would, it ended up costing us a few hundred dollars.

I’m certainly not complaining about traveling on the cheap. I’m just pointing out that after the initial push it’s become much harder to find the path to free flights.

In other words, travel hacking is not a never-ending gravy train. At least not without significant effort.

There have also been a few times where I’ve caught myself being excited about spending money because it meant we were getting closer to hitting our sign-up bonuses. Not a good sign. Those bonuses are absolutely not worth it if you’re spending more than you would have otherwise to get them.

Have I actually spent more money than I should have because of the allure of sign-up bonuses? I’m not sure to be honest. But it’s something I worry about.

The upshot? I’m still doing it, but…

Even though it’s gotten more difficult as I’ve gone along, I’m going to keep travel hacking.

The bottom line is that travel is important to us, especially to see family, and travel hacking makes it a lot more affordable.

But, I’m going to be more laid back with it than I have been recently.

When I started this travel hacking experiment, I got it in my head that we could travel for free forever. Now I know that while that’s probably true, it would take a LOT of time and effort. And to be honest, I’d rather spend that time and effort elsewhere.

So no more spending multiple hours researching the next credit card. No more trying to figure out all the intricate details of how different frequent flyer programs work and how to maximize every little thing.

Instead, I’m going to stick with the small number of moves that will have a big impact without requiring a ton of time researching how they work.

We’ll still get a lot of free travel. And it will come with minimal stress and more time for things that I not only care about, but that will have a bigger impact on my bottom line .

What’s your experience with travel hacking been like? Any tips or tricks for people who are still learning to do it right?

I love love LOVE travel hacking! I churn around one card every few months and it’s like free money.

I’m glad it’s working out so well for you! I’ve definitely enjoyed the free money as well.

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I love the travel hacking mom show!

You guys are so wonderful and give such good advice from begginer to advanced hackers. I can’t wait for more shows and to learn and grow more!

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• MarciG_InAZ

AMAZING TRAVEL HACKING TIPS!

These moms do an incredible job of explaining the highlights of travel hacking. They provide specific examples of which cards to use and how to maximize point redemptions. Each topic is chunked into manageable, easy to digest episodes. I am several years into my travel hacking journey but am just getting ready to take the plunge into card churning and stepping up my organization of cards, benefits and redemptions using some of the tips I've learned from these moms. I backpacked around the globe in my 20's and now I cannot WAIT to do it again in luxury. Thank you for this incredible podcast. I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone interested in getting into the game!

My new favorite podcast!

I've binged every episode over the last few weeks and loved them all! Alex, Pam, and Jess give you the confidence to start traveling for nearly free. I highly recommend it!

• Chanta McLymont

Great tips!

I really liked how thoroughly that they went through the different travel hacking tips and that they personalize tips with life adventures

Favorite travel hacking podcast!

I listen to 5 travel hacking podcasts, and this is by far my favorite! Even my 9 and 10 year old daughters want to listen to it when we are in the car! I love how they dive deep into tips and tricks in a very specific yet understandable way.

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