If you haven’t heard of the Southwest Companion Pass, you’re about to be enlightened on the best travel deal in the airline industry. It is the best travel deal ever to be seen in the airline industry. If earned, a Southwest Companion Pass allows for you to fly with a complimentary companion on every flight you take for up to two years (on cash-paid or points flights). Achieving Southwest Companion Pass status is done by earning 125,000 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points in one calendar year.
While that may sound impossible for the regular traveler, it’s not. My wife and I have done it on three separate occasions. Earning the 125,000 Southwest points does not have to be done solely through flying. In fact, it can be achieved without flying a single flight. The points can also be earned through the Chase Rapid Rewards credit cards. This means that both the credit card introductory bonuses and the money spent on the cards will earn points towards the Southwest Companion Pass!
What is the Southwest Companion Pass?
When you earn a Southwest Companion Pass, you’re essentially getting status that grants you and your companion unlimited (BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE) flights for both the year you earn it and the following year. Yes, you heard that right. If earned in January 2019, you’d have it for all of 2019 and 2020! The free companion tickets are valid on both paid flights and reward flights. That essentially means that those 125,000 points you just earned are now worth double. They’re worth 220,000 points if you always take your companion along for free. The only thing to say is about this deal is WOW! It doesn’t get much better than that. If you decide to travel a lot on Southwest while you have the companion pass, you can save thousands upon thousands of dollars.
I almost forgot to mention that Southwest has grown their flight routes over the past few years. They now fly to more destinations than just the USA. They fly to Mexico, Central America, and much of the Caribbean. Also, they plan to begin flights to Hawaii in late 2018 or early 2019. I’m guessing you’re starting to understand why this is my favorite deal in the airline industry. Southwest doesn’t fly worldwide, but for people who are looking to travel within the U.S.A. and to our southern neighboring countries, it’s an amazing deal. Who doesn’t love a good deal?
Who is the Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Right For?
While Southwest doesn’t have first class, they lack a large international route map, and they don’t have seat selection, they make up for it with their excellent customer service and flexibility. All Southwest flights can be rescheduled up to ten minutes before the flight time for no fee. You can also check your bags for no fee. It’s truly an airline that tries to make their customers happy and it shows. That’s hard to say about other airlines these days.
Some people dislike Southwest’s seating procedure, but if you know how it works and you’re on top of checking in exactly 24 hours before your flight, it works out quite well. I simply set an alarm 24 hours and 5 minutes before my departure time. When my alarm goes off I open the Southwest app on my phone and check-in when the time hits. This ensures you will get in the A or B boarding group and likely ensures that you will have a seat with your flight mates. I have never missed out on getting a seat next to the person I was flying with by using this check-in procedure.
The Southwest Companion Pass is perfect for flyers who want to travel within the United States and nearby countries. Their destinations within the US are actually very good. There are few places in the country that you cannot get to by flying Southwest. The addition of Hawaii will add even more options for vacation using a Southwest Companion Pass for flights. I have been flying Southwest for six years and have nothing bad to say about them. I love flying Southwest, especially when I’m flying with my free companion beside me!
How to Get Southwest Companion Pass: The Hard Way or The Easy Way
In order to earn a Southwest Companion Pass, you have to earn 125,000 qualifying points or fly 100 qualifying one-way flights each year. While, for most people, taking 100 flights is out of the question in a single year, it is possible to earn 125,000 points. It’s possible due to the different options available to earn qualifying points. Qualifying points include points earned through revenue flights on Southwest, credit card points (including credit card introductory offers) and points earned through Southwest partners. Points that don’t qualify are purchased points, points transferred from other members (even family), points converted from other loyalty programs (the likes of Chase Ultimate Rewards), e-rewards, e-miles, Valued Opinions, Diners Club, points earned from program enrollment, tier bonus points, flight bonus points and partner bonus points.
Credit Card Bonuses (The Easy Way)
The best way to earn large amounts of Rapid Rewards points is through the introductory offers of the Southwest credit cards. However, you need to be aware of Chase’s rules on applying for Southwest credit cards before you hit submit. Because Chase has it’s 5/24 rule, if you’ve opened more than five credit cards (not just Chase cards) in the past 24 months, you’ll likely be denied. You can’t earn the bonus on any of the Southwest cards if you’ve earned an introductory offer bonus with that specific card in the past two years. Also, a new rule (as of April 2018) prohibits you from owning two of their personal credit cards at once. Meaning you can no longer sign up for two personal cards to earn the bonuses in a single year.
You are, however, allowed to have one personal card and one business card at the same time. Therefore, to earn the most points from credit card bonuses you’d need to apply for one of the three personal cards along with the business premier card. Qualifying for a business card is not as difficult as you might think. Any side hustle or extra income may qualify you. With introductory offers ranging from 40-75,000 points, signing up for two of the Southwest credit cards will get you most of, if not all the way to earning the Companion Pass. As a rule, I wait to apply for any of these credit cards until the introductory offer is at least 50,000 points.
Southwest Credit Card Referrals
Credit card referral bonuses are another great way to rapidly accumulate points toward the Companion Pass. Chase offers 10,000 points for every friend whom you refer through your personalized link and is approved for a Southwest credit card. These referrals are limited to a total earning of 50,000 Rapid Rewards points per year.
Southwest Flights
Other than credit card bonuses and referral bonuses, flying very often on Southwest is your best option for earning Rapid Rewards points. Depending on the fare type, you earn between 6 and 12 points per $1 spent on Southwest airfare. With this method alone, you would need to spend at least $9,000 on airfare to earn enough points for the companion pass.
Sign up for Rocketmiles here: Get 1000 extra bonus points when you book.
Rapid Rewards Partners
Southwest has several travel and shopping partners that allow you to earn extra Rapid Rewards points by purchasing rental cars, hotel stays, transportation and experiences. One of the best partners is RocketmilesWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you., where you can earn up to 10,000 Southwest points per night on certain hotel stays (extra bonus offer points don’t count towards Companion Pass – base points do). A hotel room booked for a few hundred dollars can earn thousands of points alone. For instance, the booking to the right shows a hotel room that costs $379 and earns 5000 Rapid Rewards points. This is a great way to meet the last of the points you may need to earn the SW companion pass.
Credit Card Spend
Any points you earn through purchases made on the Southwest credit cards will count toward the Companion Pass. All the Southwest credit cards offer the same earning rate: 2X points per $1 spent on Southwest purchases, Rapid Rewards hotel purchases, and partner car rental purchases. 1 point per $1 spent is earned on all other purchases. This would be a difficult way to earn a companion pass unless you spend a very large amount of money each year. You would need to spend over $100k on a Southwest credit card to earn the Southwest Companion Pass through credit card spending only.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining
The Southwest Rapid Rewards Dining program is another good way to add a few extra points to your balance. You’ll earn up to two points per $1 spent at qualifying restaurants. You must sign up for this program and designate your credit card to earn these bonuses.
Rapid Rewards Shopping Portal
You can also earn extra Rapid Rewards points by clicking on a retailer’s link through the Rapid Rewards shopping portal before purchasing. The Rapid Rewards shopping portal includes many retailers you probably use, like Best Buy or World Market. You’ll earn varying point multipliers depending on the retailer but it’s usually between 1-4 points per dollar.
Southwest Credit Card Companion Pass: Earn it Without Flying a Single Mile
As you can see above, the only quick and easy way to earn the Southwest Companion Pass is through credit card bonuses. The other ways to earn Rapid Rewards points are good for topping off any last points you need to meet the 110,000 points for the Southwest Credit Card Companion Pass. Chase currently offers four Southwest Rapid Rewards credit cards and they all typically have introductory bonuses of 40-75,000 points each. Out of the four Southwest credit cards, you can often get approved for two of them (1 personal and 1 business), meet the minimum spends for both, and you’ll instantly earn a Southwest Companion Pass.
Chase offers three personal credit cards (PlusWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you., PremierWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. and PriorityWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.) and one business credit card (Business PremierWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.). Yes, you must have your own business to qualify for a business credit card. However, a sole proprietorship is valid. That means if you have any kind of “side hustle” or side income you have a business. Do you sell things on eBay or Craigslist? That’s a business. Maybe you have garage sales… Get creative! If you need inspiration, check out these two blogs: Smart Passive Income & Side Hustle School.
Getting Approved for Southwest Credit Cards
Getting approved for both a personal and business card at the same time is absolutely possible, and even probable if you try. I’ve done it on multiple occasions, my wife has done it, and many travel bloggers have done it as well. Call the reconsideration line If you’re not approved for one of the cards. You can ask them if they’ll manually review your application. You may want a personal card and a business card to keep expenses separate, which is a valid reason for two similar credit cards.
Two Southwest credit card approvals at once are possible. If you aren’t able to get two credit cards at the same time, you can always apply for one and then wait 3 months or more to apply for the other. As long as you are awarded the introductory bonuses in the same calendar year, they will combine to earn points towards the southwest companion pass.
How to Earn Your Southwest Companion Pass in January to Maximize Your Value
Once you are approved for your Southwest credit cards, you’ll need to meet the minimum spends to earn your bonus. If you are trying to earn the Southwest Companion Pass in 2019, you can actually apply for the credit cards at the end of 2018. Because you get 3 months to complete the minimum spends, you can get your credit card anytime after October starts. If you do this, you must make sure to not reach the full minimum spend until after January 1st, 2019. That is when you will earn your bonus points.
For instance, if you were approved for one of the Southwest credit cards on October 15th, 2022 (that earns the bonus after $3000 in first 3 months), you would have until January 15th, 2023 to complete the minimum spending. You could put, say $2800 in spending on the card in 2022, then wait to complete the other $200 of needed spending until after January 1st, 2023. This will allow you to earn your companion pass earlier in the year to maximize the time you have to use it. Just be sure to not complete the minimum spending too early, because you must earn all 125,000 points in the same calendar year.
Southwest Companion Pass Trick: Combine Two Credit Card Offers
Below are the four Southwest credit cards offered by Chase. To help earn a Southwest Companion Pass, it’s possible to be approved for two of the credit cards. You can get one of the personal cards as well as the business card. This is how I have earned the companion pass three separate times, and have had a free flight companion for nearly six straight years. It’s pretty simple.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus
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INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 50,000 points after spending $1000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rentals.
BENEFITS Earn 3000 points on your cardmember anniversary. All points from credit card count toward Companion Pass.
FEES $69 annual fee.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS Southwest points are great because when they have a sale, their award chart goes on sale as well. By getting a personal and business Southwest card you can be well on your way to Companion Pass status.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 50,000 points after spending $1000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rentals.
BENEFITS Earn 6000 points on your cardmember anniversary. All points from credit card count toward Companion Pass.
FEES $99 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS Southwest points are great because when they have a sale, their award chart goes on sale as well. By getting a personal and business Southwest card you can be well on your way to Companion Pass status.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 50,000 points after spending $1000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rentals.
BENEFITS $75 Southwest travel credit each year. 4 Upgraded boardings per year. 25% back on in-flight drinks and wi-fi. Earn 7500 points on your cardmember anniversary. All points from credit card count toward Companion Pass.
FEES $149 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS Southwest points are great because when they have a sale, their award chart goes on sale as well. By getting a personal and business Southwest card you can be well on your way to Companion Pass status.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 60,000 points after spending $3000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on Southwest purchases and Rapid Rewards hotel and car rentals.
BENEFITS Earn 6000 points on your cardmember anniversary. All points from credit card count toward Companion Pass.
FEES $99 annual fee. No foreign transaction fees. Employee cards at no additional cost.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS Southwest points are great because when they have a sale, their award chart goes on sale as well. By getting a personal and business Southwest card you can be well on your way to Companion Pass status.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 2X points on travel and 3X on dining.
BENEFITS Points are worth 25% more when used in the Chase travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. 1:1 point transfer partner hotels and airlines.
FEES $95 No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS This is the best first travel credit card to get. It has a valuable signup bonus with easy to redeem points. You also get a boost to your points value in the Chase travel portal.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Ink Business Preferred
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INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 100,000 points after spending $15000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on travel and select business expenses (including online social media ads). *Limited to first $150k per year.
BENEFITS Points are worth 25% more when used in the Chase travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. Employee cards at no additional cost.
FEES $95 No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS The signup bonus alone for this card is amazing. Pair that with some great rewards earning for your business and this card is great. If you have a business, we find the Ink Preferred to be the best offer available.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
If you’re looking to travel a lot in the next year with that Companion Pass, you might also be interested in priority airport security screening and airport lounge access. You can receive those travel benefits and much more with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
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INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 3X points on travel and dining. Also Earn a total of 10X points on Lyft rides.
BENEFITS $300 annual travel credit. Priority Pass Select airport lounge access. TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Points are worth 50% more when used in the Chase travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. 1:1 point transfers to partner hotels and airlines. 1 year of Lyft Pink.
FEES $550 No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS This is one of the best premium travel credit cards if you want some luxury. It has a valuable signup bonus with easy to redeem points. You also get a boost to your points value in the Chase travel portal. The biggest key to this card is the airport lounge access. If you travel a lot, it's extremely valuable.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
How to Use Southwest Companion Pass Effectively
Now that you know the easy way to get the Southwest Companion Pass, here’s how you’ll use it. Since every flight you take on Southwest in the year you earn companion pass and the year after will include a free companion ticket, you should take advantage of it as much as possible. The more you use your companion pass, the more valuable it is. For instance, if you only use it once for a $300 flight, it’s value is $300. But, if you use your companion pass for 20 $300 flights, it’s value is $6000. The Southwest Companion Pass can be extremely valuable, but it’s inevitably up to you how valuable it will be.
Southwest Points to Dollars: How much is each point really worth?
Each Southwest point is worth about 1.6 cents when used to book a “Wanna Get Away” flight. This is the lowest available price for flights with Southwest and will get you the most value. If you earn the Companion Pass that means you will have 125,000 points to use. You don’t actually have to spend the points you earned for the Companion Pass. You get to keep them. Those 125,000 points are valued at $1760 towards Wanna Get Away flights. But, now that you have a free companion for every single flight, those points are worth double. An astonishing $3520 value if you take a companion on every flight!
How to Use Southwest Points to Book a Flight and Add Your Companion
You’ve got $3520 worth of points if you earned the Southwest Companion Pass. You’ll surely want to know how to use them effectively. I follow the rule of only booking flights at the Wanna Get Away price. Southwest points prices always coincide with the cash prices (~62.5 points per $1). When using your companion pass, you will book your flight as usual, except only book the flight for one person, whoever holds the companion pass status. You’ll add your companion to the flight after booking.
Remember, you can use either cash or points to book even when you’re adding a companion. Sign in to your Southwest account, Find your flights, complete your bookings, and then go to My Account and then My Trips. There you will find all of your upcoming trips and a button that says Add Companion. You’ll click that on each itinerary that you want to add your companion and follow the prompts. You’ll have to pay the taxes and fees to complete booking your companion.
Using Your Companions Rapid Rewards Points to Book a Companion Flight
In my wife and I’s case, she has the companion pass, but I have some Southwest points in my own account. Those points aren’t transferable, but I can use my points to book her a flight. After I book her flight, she can add that flight to her Southwest Rapid Rewards account using the confirmation code. Then, she can add me as a companion for the flight using the process detailed above. This is a great way to take advantage of Southwest points that your companion may have in their account.
Always Book One-Way Flights Separately
Whenever booking flights on Southwest, it’s smart to book each one-way flight separately (not as a round-trip ticket). Southwest offers no fee rescheduling of all flights, so if one of your flights becomes cheaper after purchasing it, you can easily reschedule either the departing flight or arriving flight. It makes sense to only book one-way tickets because if, for instance, your departure flight gets cheaper and your arrival flight gets more expensive, you can’t reschedule just half of your itinerary if booked together as a round-trip. Using this one-way booking process, you’ll easily be able to change your flights, guaranteeing the best price.
Book Your Flights During a Sale
Southwest has sales on their flights very often. The great thing about their points being equal to a dollar amount is that when they have flight sales, the points price becomes cheaper as well. During past sales, I’ve been able to find flights for as little as 2-3000 points. Remember that there are no fees to reschedule a flight, so you can book your flight now, but continue to check prices, especially during sales. If either way of your flight becomes cheaper, just reschedule it for the cheaper price. You will be refunded the difference of points or dollars.
Southwest Companion Pass Rules
You are allowed to change your designated companion up to three times each calendar year.
Once you qualify, you can begin booking flights with your Companion Pass immediately, and it is good through the remainder of the year you earn it as well as the next calendar year (up to two years, depending on when you qualify).
You can pay for your flight with cash or points before you add your companion.
Your companion can’t fly without you – they must be booked on the same flight and dates.
If you cancel your ticket, the companion ticket will also be canceled.
You have to pay for your ticket (cash or points) to bring a companion (you can’t use a companion pass to fly with a partner also using a companion pass).
Where Does Southwest Fly?
As of October 2018, Southwest Airlines flies to 99 destinations across the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Also, they will be adding four new destinations come this winter. Southwest will fly to Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island of Hawaii. Soon, there will be over 100 Southwest Airlines destinations to use your Southwest Companion Pass on including Hawaii.
Here are some of my favorite locations to fly via Southwest Airlines:
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Charleston, South Carolina
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Boston, Massachusetts
Austin, Texas
Tucson, Arizona
Havana, Cuba
Virginia Beach, Virginia
San Diego, California
Salt Lake City, Utah
Niagara Falls, New York
Nassau, Bahamas
Washington D.C.
Los Angeles, California
San Francisco, California
Hawaii
Think of all the amazing adventures and vacations you and your companion could take advantage of with a Southwest Companion Pass. For a full list of Southwest destinations: Check out our post: Where Does Southwest Fly?
Beginning in March of 2019 Southwest began flying to Hawaii for the first time. Flights are to all of the major islands: Oahu (HNL), Maui (OGG), Kauai (LIH), and the Big Island (KOA). The original four mainland departure airports will be Sacramento (SMF), San Jose (SJC), Oakland (OAK), and San Diego (SAN). In the future, I would expect to see more departure airports along the west coast. The airports that could be next are Portland (PDX) and Seattle (SEA). They both have similar flight times to California to Hawaii flights.
Southwest Airlines Hawaii Inter-Island Flights
Southwest will also offer inter-island routes. Currently, there aren’t many options to fly between the islands. This will hopefully create some cheaper fares to get from island to island. It currently costs around $100 with other carriers. I love Hawaii and travel there often, so it’s nice to be able to split up a vacation between multiple islands, like my wife and I did for both our honeymoon and our one year anniversary. It also brings another option to use points to travel between islands. Plus if you have a companion pass it will be 2 for 1 pricing.
Who Will You Choose to be Your Companion?
If you’re looking to do a lot of traveling in upcoming years with a companion, this deal is perfect for you. It’s absolutely worth attempting to achieve, especially for couples or best friends. I choose my wife as my companion, and she chooses me. As long as this deal stays alive through credit card bonuses, we’ll likely have one for a long time to come. My wife and I now have a Southwest Companion Pass status for the third straight year (and 4th next year) thanks to the Southwest credit cards.
My wife, Allison applied for both the Southwest Rapid Rewards PlusWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you., and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier BusinessWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. credit cards at the same time. The personal card was automatically approved. The business credit card, on the other hand, received a pending status. After about a week, they approved her business card as well (patience is a virtue). At the time, the introductory bonuses for those two credit cards were 60,000 Rapid Rewards & 75,000 Rapid Rewards respectively. After meeting the minimum spends on both Southwest credit cards, she earned around 130,000 Southwest points and one SW Companion Pass (it used to be earned with 110,000 miles)!
Now we have a free companion ticket on every flight we take for the rest of 2023 and the entirety of 2024. Even better is that those 115,000 points are essentially doubled (230,000 points) worth approximately $3,700. That’s a lot of Southwest Airlines destinations we’ll be able to fulfill without spending any money (besides taxes & fees)! This is the best deal in the travel industry. Don’t miss out. It likely won’t be around forever. Who will be your companion?
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Using credit cards is an important part of life for many people. When you are using your credit card, you want it to be as convenient as possible. Those who are traveling regularly on business or for pleasure will want their credit cards to offer them good perks. For this reason, travel credit cards have continued to increase in popularity over the years. One of the most popular and prevalent travel rewards credit cards is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
It has been around for a long time and continues to offer customers robust and convenient perks. If you like to travel or if you need to travel regularly for your job, then it will pay to have a good credit card such as this in your wallet. You want to make sure that you are getting the very best travel credit card to suit your needs, though.
Take the time to read our review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It should give you all of the crucial information that you need to know. It will be a lot simpler to figure out just how good this card is and whether or not it is going to earn a place in your wallet. Every aspect of the card will be examined and you will have access to all of the important details.
The value of one credit card introductory bonus can be of enormous value. The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a very nice signup bonus and good benefits. Credit card signup bonuses are the points or miles that a bank is willing to give you when you sign up for their credit card and meet an initial spending level that they designate. A typical credit card introductory bonus could be something like 50,000 points or miles for signing up for a particular credit card and spending $3000 on that card within the first 3 months of applying.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
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INTRODUCTORY OFFER You'll earn 60,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months.
REWARDS You'll earn 2X points on travel and 3X on dining.
BENEFITS Points are worth 25% more when used in the Chase travel portal. No foreign transaction fees. 1:1 point transfer partner hotels and airlines.
FEES $95 No foreign transaction fees.
TRAVEL FREEDOM THOUGHTS This is the best first travel credit card to get. It has a valuable signup bonus with easy to redeem points. You also get a boost to your points value in the Chase travel portal.
LEARN HOW TO APPLY NOW >>We may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The Best First Travel Credit Card
The card that I refer to people who are interested in earning travel points through credit cards is most often the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. It typically offers 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 within the first three months of having the card. The offer changes occasionally in how many points are offered or how much the initial minimum spend is.
Whenever someone asks me what credit card is best to get first, I always ask them what they want to achieve with the points. Usually, the person asking has no idea, they just know that they want to travel more. In this situation, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the best offers around due to its versatility. It allows the customer to either spend their Chase Ultimate Rewards points directly with Chase or transfer to an array of airlines and hotels.
The transferring of the points will typically give a more valuable redemption. I’ll share a recent example of what the points from signing up for this one card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, achieved for someone in real life. My sister-in-law and her husband recently took advantage of this offer to book all of the flights for their Hawaiian honeymoon!
First, let’s go over the details of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Chase mentions that this signup bonus is worth $750 worth of travel. While that’s true if booked through the Chase travel portal, I’m going to show you that those points can be worth quite a bit more. How much more? You’ll see… it’s pretty crazy!
Features
This is a full-featured credit card that is going to work out great for most people. It has the potential to earn you travel rewards at a very good rate. Most of the appeal of this credit card is going to have to do with the reward structure. Even so, there are some other interesting features that you should take note of.
For instance, this card has the potential for a very big sign-up bonus. If you are able to spend a certain amount on your new credit card within the first three months, then you can earn a large number of points. This helps you to redeem rewards rather quickly and it is something that you can turn into real rewards fast. If a sign-up bonus is something that appeals to you, then you should know that this card has a good offer.
Another great feature of this card is just how flexible the redemption options are. It is possible to redeem your points in the form of cash back or as gift cards. You can also choose to redeem your points in the form of travel. When choosing to book through Chase, you will be able to save an extra 20% of your money, increasing the overall value of those points that you have been earning.
The travel options that you can make use of through Chase are all really good too. Chase has many different airline and hotel partners that will allow you to use your rewards points effectively. This should help you to get to where you want to go as easily as possible. If you want to have a great traveling experience while continuing to earn rewards, then using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a fantastic idea.
It should also be noted that this card can link up with the Chase Freedom line of cards. Using different rewards cards in tandem can help you to really maximize your benefits. If you use the two credit cards intelligently, then it will be possible to earn extra rewards points during travel bonus category months. This is worth mentioning due to the overall popularity of the Chase Freedom cards so if you have one already, then it makes getting this card an even more attractive option.
Benefits
As you might expect, this Chase Sapphire Preferred Card comes with many great benefits for you to enjoy. One of the most useful benefits is the purchase protection guarantee. You will be able to use this card while enjoying protections against certain problems. It has a $500 claim maximum per item and a limit of $50,000 worth of claims per account.
You will also be able to make use of trip delay insurance while using this card. The trip delay insurance will offer up to $500 per ticket. You will be able to use up to $10,000 in trip cancellation insurance too so you can keep yourself safe from potential travel problems. This card even protects your luggage with $100 per day baggage delay coverage and luggage reimbursement insurance of up to $3000 per person.
This card can also be used to help you out with your rental cars. You can use this credit card as primary insurance coverage for a rental car. This can keep your costs low and it will cover any issues with the car just as a normal primary insurance policy would. This is a very useful feature that is sure to help regular travelers out.
Fees
Prices and fees are always going to be big factors in deciding how good a credit card is. If you are going to be using a credit card regularly, then you do not want there to be fees that are not agreeable to you. There is an annual fee that is associated with this credit card. That may seem like bad news at first, but it’s moderate at $95.
After the first year, you are going to be paying $95 per year for the privilege of using this credit card. Overall, that is not too unreasonable. This falls in line with the fees that other credit card companies offer. It is a reasonable annual fee that should not come across as too much of a burden to you.
The APR on this credit card is not anything that is particularly good or bad. It is a fairly standard APR that should work out pretty nicely for you. This is a card that keeps its fees lows and keeps its interest rates in a good range. You should be able to appreciate the customer-friendly nature of this credit card.
Speaking of being customer-friendly, you will also be able to enjoy the perk of having no foreign transaction fees while using this card. This is an important feature for a travel credit card to have. If you plan on traveling abroad using this credit card, then you will not have to worry about being saddled with extra fees. It makes it easy to recommend this card for people who are going to be traveling outside of the country.
Rewards Program Info
This rewards program is going to be very helpful to people who travel all the time. You will be able to earn 2X reward points on all of your travel expenses. You will also be earning the 2X reward points on any of your dining expenses. This is going to help you to rack up the bonus points very quickly and redeeming the points for real rewards will always be easy.
One good thing to note is that these categories are actually quite broad. For instance, the dining category is going to earn you 2X points on purchases at restaurants. This is also going to earn you the points when eating at a fast food restaurant while on the road. Even some delivery services will count for the 2X points so you will be earning points on pretty much all of your dining while out on travel.
The same can be said for the travel options. Travel expenses will help you to rack up points quickly and this covers many categories. Of course, you will be earning 2X points on flights and hotels. This travel card is going to give you 2X points on various other travel expenses too.
If you need to hail a taxi and you pay with your credit card, then that is going to earn you the double points. Paying for parking lots, toll bridges, riding on a train, taking the bus, car rentals, and many other things will all earn you the increased points. This means that you will be earning a lot of points no matter how you decide to travel. You can even earn points on local travel expenses while you are close to home so it is a very convenient credit card to make use of.
The Pros
Points easy to earn
Many redemption options for your points
No foreign transaction fees
Good benefits
This credit card really does make it easy for you to earn points. If you want to be able to earn travel rewards regularly, then you will have many chances to do so. This card gives you the double points on so many things that are associated with travel and dining. If you use this card often enough, then you are going to reap the rewards as a regular traveler.
Redeeming the points is very intuitive overall too. Whether you are looking for simple cash-back options or you want to redeem gift cards, you will have options available to you. You can use the card in tandem with a Chase Freedom card to really open up your options for maximizing your rewards. Redeeming your rewards for travel will net you an extra 20% when booking through Chase, making it easy to book your next trip.
You won’t even have to worry about foreign transaction fees if you are planning on traveling outside of the country. Being able to make use of the card to travel abroad is a nice feature. It makes it a practical option for many people and it might be the only travel credit card you will ever need. Simply being able to avoid the high foreign transaction fees of some other cards will save you a lot of money.
The benefits of this card are substantial as well. You can enjoy purchase protections and trip cancellation insurance. Using this card will even protect you in the event that your luggage is lost on a flight. It is a very convenient card for any traveler so applying for it is certainly a good idea if you are regularly on the go.
The Cons
Annual fee
Rewards that work best for people who spend a lot on travel expenses
The annual fee that is associated with this credit card is not too bad but it is something that you should consider. Having to pay an annual fee will mean that you will want to get enough out of this card to justify it. This makes it so that you have to earn a certain amount of rewards per year to make it feel as if you are not wasting money. Depending on how often you travel, this may or may not be possible for you.
People who do not regularly travel will not be able to take advantage of this card as readily. It may not wind up coming in handy as much if you only travel once or twice a year. This is something that is more geared towards business people and people who travel regularly for recreational purposes. Think about how often you will be using this card before applying for it.
Credit Score Needed for Approval
As with many good credit cards in this range, you will need to have a good credit score in order to be approved for this card. A credit score of 690 or above is recommended for you to take advantage of this card. If you fall in the lower credit score ranges, then the likelihood of getting approved is lower. Those with excellent scores will have no problem getting approved for this card so take the time to check your scores before applying.
Meeting the Minimum Spend for the Chase Sapphire Preferred
After applying for the card you’ll need to meet the initial minimum spend so that your bonus points will be released into your account. When Amber and Sean received their Sapphire Preferred, they had their regular spending, plus some of their wedding expenses that needed to be paid. This allowed them to easily meet the initial minimum spend.
If you already spend $4,000 per three months, great! You’ll meet your spend just with that.
If you don’t typically spend that much, you can get extra spending in a variety of creative ways. A few of these ways to get extra spending are by saving up large purchases that you have been planning on, or Christmas gift shopping ahead of time. There are many ways to meet minimum spending requirements to earn your bonus. A good reference for meeting minimum spending limits can be found on the Frequent Miler blog.
How Many Points were Earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
Using their wedding expenses and regular spend, Amber and Sean spent about $9,000 in the initial three months of having the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It earned them the following points:
50,000 pts – introductory bonus (old offer, it’s now 60k!)
9,000 pts – regular spend points
5,000 pts – authorized user bonus points (this offer is no longer available)
Amber and Sean decided that they wanted to travel to the beautiful islands of Hawaii for their honeymoon! They’ve been to Oahu already, so wanted to experience something new… (Or some things)! They ended up finding flights that were available through Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines to travel from San Francisco to Kauai, then to Maui, and back home to San Francisco.
Here’s a look at their flights and how many points and dollars it took them to book.
The total amount of money that they saved on these flights was a combined: $1,345.40 SAVED! (I’d call that a win)
Overall, this was a great travel rewards redemption, which got excellent value out of their points. Their flights to and from Hawaii ended up with a value of 2.3 cents per point, and their inter-island flight earned a value of 1.4 cents per point. That comes out to a total of 2.1 cents per point. 64,000 points spent and $1,345.40 saved.
Understanding the Value of Just One Credit Card Signup Bonus
This is just one example of how a single credit card signup bonus can make an enormous impact on the price of travel. Earning points through travel credit cards can give you extraordinary value. Amber and Sean ended up saving over $1,300 dollars on their honeymoon, which is pretty incredible. I’d say that’s quite a bit better than the $625 value that Chase puts on the introductory bonus!
Who is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card for?
This credit card is specifically targeted towards people who travel regularly. If you travel on business many times a year, then this is going to be a card that will work out well for you. It will allow you to earn rewards consistently and you can use it to help lower your overall travel expenses. If you do not travel often enough, then this card will not work out as well for you.
Even people who travel regularly for recreation have a great time with this credit card. If you are often booking hotels or flying to different locations, then this is going to be a perfect credit card to keep in your wallet. It helps you to earn rewards points and you will be able to redeem those points in a variety of different ways. This is a very useful card for people who travel so you will want to travel often enough to justify the annual fee.
This is also going to be a great card for people who travel for a number of different purposes. You can earn rewards points on travel and dining in a number of ways. This is not limited to air travel and hotels as some other travel rewards cards are. Being able to earn the 2X points on bus travel, train travel, fast food dining, and other expenses will be helpful. It just might be the best travel card when you consider how easy it is to earn those points.
An Alternative to Consider
One alternative credit card to keep in mind is the Bank of America travel rewards credit card. It is able to offer you similar benefits to the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card but it does not have an annual fee. If the annual fee is something that is holding you back from wanting to pursue the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, then this one might be one to look into. It is able to give you 1.5X points for every dollar spent and is a good travel credit card overall.
Being that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is able to offer you 2X points, it is likely going to be the better choice for regular travelers. Just take the time to examine your options and you will be able to determine which is best. Those who travel all of the time will be able to enjoy the robust rewards options that Chase has to offer. The Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card is another good option but it may lack in some areas where the Chase card shines.
Compare All of the Chase Ultimate Rewards Personal Cards
Sapphire Preferred
Sapphire Reserve
Freedom Flex
Freedom Unlimited
Signup Bonus
60,000
60,000
$200 (20,000 pts)
Extra 1.5% for 1 yr
Bonus Spending Categories
3X on dining, 2X on travel
3X on travel and dining, 10X on Lyft
5% on select rotating quarterly categories
1.5% on all purchases
Annual Fee
$95
$550
$0
$0
Extra Perks
Baggage insurance, trip insurance, rental car insurance
$300 annual travel credit, TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, Priority Pass Select, Lyft Pink, Door Dash statement credits
Purchase protection, extended warranty
Purchase protection, extended warranty
Best for People Who...
Want a large introductory bonus
Like to Travel
Want a large introductory bonus
Want luxury travel benefits
Travel often
Want no annual fee
Also have a Sapphire card
Want to earn bonus points on spend
Want no annual fee
Also have a Sapphire card
Want simplicity in earning points
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Decision Time: Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred the Travel Card You Need?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a fantastic travel credit card that has many perks. The annual fee is not unreasonable and you won’t have to deal with any foreign transaction fees when using this card. It is a practical travel credit card that will work great for anyone who travels often enough to warrant applying for it. This can help you to earn rewards quickly and you will always be able to redeem your rewards in a variety of different ways.
This is seen as one of the premier travel credit cards for a reason. All of the perks that this credit card offers are top-notch and your overall experience should be stellar. If you have been waiting for the right travel credit card to come along, then you may wish to apply for this one. It has a great reputation and has been making customers happy for many years.
Do you like taking photos and videos while on vacation? I’m guessing your answer is either “yes” or “no, but my significant other does”. Of course you want pictures of your awesome vacation so that: A. You can show off to your friends on social media, and B. You can look back at all the great times you had, when you’re back at home.
Yes, your phone is probably pretty good at taking the selfies and pictures you ask another tourist to take for you, but how about those underwater shots of you and the turtle while you’re snorkeling, or the video of you stand up paddling for the first time? I’m not sure you want to take your cell phone with you on those adventures, even if it is waterproof…
MADE FOR UNDERWATER AND ACTION SHOTS
The GoPro HERO cameras are perfect for taking action shots, videos, and underwater photos or videos. There are an assortment of handy accessories such as “The Handler” which is both something to hold onto and a floatation device, so that you’ll never lose your camera. GoPro’s also come with tools that allow you to attach the camera just about anywhere to capture your action from the best possible angle.
I personally have the Hero 4 Silver, which is now outdated but is still amazing. The newest version is the Hero 6 Black. The GoPro Hero 6 Black iis waterproof without the use of a case and features 4K video and 12 MP photos which turn out amazing. They are truly game changing products that will enhance the way you document your vacations to make your photos and videos look like a professional did it.
All of the products from the Travel Product of the Week series can be found in the Travel Freedom Store.
Travel Freedom will regularly feature interviews with people like you, who are using credit card reward points and miles for free travel. The purpose of this series is to get a glimpse into the life of a rewards traveler. They will demonstrate how free travel, using rewards points and miles instead of money, is real. They’ll show us how they’ve done it and how free travel is possible for anyone, including you.
Hi, I’m Ryan. I’m from Eugene, Oregon where I’ve lived for most of my life. My biggest interests are my wife (obviously), traveling, sports, entrepreneurship, and cryptocurrency.
As you may know, I’m the founder of Travel Freedom where I try to help people like myself, use miles and points to gain access to free travel (or at least very discounted travel). Travel Freedom is fun for me because I get to combine two of my passions: travel and entrepreneurship. It also helps me stay up to date with the world of free travel.
How long have you been traveling with points and miles?
I’ve been traveling for free with the help of rewards points and miles since 2012 and have never looked back. My life has changed quite drastically due to my ability to access free travel.
How did you find out about the secret world of free travel?
This is a bit strange, but I’m sure many people who find the free travel community finds it in a wide range of ways. In 2012 I had a cracked root in one of my teeth, which meant that I would need a root canal (eventually led to an implant -ugh) which was going to cost a couple thousand dollars (double ugh). I was dreading both the procedure and the cost I was going to incur. But, I had remembered seeing ads for credit cards that would give you a chunk of money for opening an account, so I went to my good friend Google… After searching, I ended up coming across a few travel blogs which featured free travel, using credit card rewards.
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I started reading them religiously and decided to apply for a Chase Sapphire PreferredWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. credit card so that I would receive 50,000 points from the introductory bonus after paying for my root canal. (the bonus at the time)
Through my research, I also found out that using credit card points toward travel gives you a significant bump in the value received from the points. For instance, I used those Chase Ultimate Rewards points on travel and my points ended up being worth about 2.5 cents each. That made my rewards bonus worth a total of $1,250!
If I had instead redeemed those Ultimate Rewards points as cash back or for gift cards, they would have given me a value of just $500.
Looking back, I’m not too mad that I had to have a root canal and implant. Yes, it sucked, but it opened my eyes to the world of traveling with points and miles. It has allowed me to travel infinitely more than I would have been able to without this knowledge.
What did you use those first Chase Ultimate Rewards on?
I took a vacation to Maui, Hawaii!
As a child, I visited Hawaii a few times because my grandparents lived on Maui for about ten years. I fell in love with the islands then and had been wanting to revisit them as an adult. I was able to book my own round trip flight using just half of the points I earned through the Sapphire Preferred rewards bonus.
Since then, I’ve gone back to Hawaii more times than I can count on my fingers, visiting all four of the major islands. My wife and I even spent our honeymoon island hopping. We love Hawaii and will probably visit once a year for the rest of our lives. If you haven’t been, I suggest you go see what it’s all about. The best part is the flights usually cost about $11 because we use reward points.
Have you ever had an amazing or crazy story come from traveling with points and miles?
I’ll tell you two stories from my journey through free travel. One that almost happened and one that really did happen.
First, the one that almost happened… If you’re involved in the free travel community for long, you’ll learn that airlines and hotels sometimes have what are referred to as “mistake fares”. Which are when something goes wrong with their pricing for a short period giving extremely good rates for flights or hotels. Travel bloggers often post these to social media and they are usually corrected by the airline or hotel very quickly.
So, one day while I was at work I got a notification on my phone that United Airlines had flights to Hong Kong that were possible to book using just 4 United miles (the equivalent of about 8 cents). I quickly found some dates that I thought I would be able to travel on and booked a round trip flight to Hong Kong.
Everything seemed good and I was even ticketed through email. But, with these mistake fares, sometimes the companies will honor them and sometimes they will cancel them. Unfortunately, they ended up canceling everyone’s tickets who got in on this mistake fare, but it was exciting while it lasted. I didn’t get to end up taking an 8 cent flight to Hong Kong, but it made me aware that these mistakes do happen and they often honor the pricing.
Now for the story that DID happen. In 2015, some good friends of mine mentioned that they thought their other friend and I would get along very well. They gave me her contact information and we started talking non-stop because there was an instant attraction. The only problem was that she was currently living in Virginia, and if you remember from the first question, I live in Oregon. Yeah, that’s 2,800 miles apart, making the first date quite difficult.
No worries, I travel for free with points and miles. I had American Airlines miles out my A*$ from a credit card rewards bonus and some promotions I took part in. So, I booked my ticket to fly across the country for our first official (non-Skype) date. The rest is history and we are now happily married and thankfully both live in Oregon!
*Disclosure: Results may vary – Becoming a rewards traveler does not guarantee you to find your soul mate across the country.
What’s the best credit card introductory bonus you’ve ever received? Do you remember what you redeemed the points for?
I’ve earned a few amazing bonuses throughout the years. The banks offering these credit cards with huge introductory bonuses sometimes decide to run special offers for even more points or miles than usual.
The two cards that stand out the most are when I got 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points for signing up for the Amex Platinum card (learn moreWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.), and more recently when I got 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for signing up for their Sapphire Reserve cardWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.. Both are premium travel cardsWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. that give you access to things like expedited airport security, airport lounges, and elite status at hotels.
Both offers earned enough points for multiple vacations saving me thousands and thousands of dollars on travel. For instance, either one of those introductory bonus offers is enough miles to book four round trip flights to Hawaii. That’s a lot of free travel from just one credit card! Also, as mentioned, they both came with airport lounge access, which my wife now refers to as “Princess Traveling”.
What do your friends and family think of your free travel using rewards points?
They are becoming more comfortable with it now that I’ve been doing it for so long. In the beginning, I think they were a bit skeptical of how it was possible to earn free travel. They often wondered what the catch was. Now that I travel for free whenever and wherever I want to, for very little to no money out of pocket, while my credit score is just about as good as it can be, they’re starting to ask more about free travel and travel credit cards.
What are your future free travel plans?
This year, my wife and I plan on traveling to Mexico with some of our family, New Orleans to see a friend, and California a few times to see family and for a wedding. My wife is a teacher (summers off) and I just started a job that gives me more flexibility to travel, so we also have a lot of time available this summer to make even more plans. We could use some ideas, so send them our way!
Do you use your miles and points to travel as much as possible, or to travel more extravagantly?
For the most part I try to get the most bang for the buck (or in this case bang for the point). We usually travel in coach and try to squeeze out as much free travel as possible with the points we earn. There have been a few times where we went for the extravagant travel though, flying in first class or staying at resorts that normally cost $500 a night, but those are more occasional. We like to venture out while on vacation, so the features of where we’re staying is less important than just a comfortable place to relax and sleep.
How often do you travel now, compared to before you knew about free travel with rewards?
Before I knew how to earn free travel using credit card reward points and miles, I would maybe travel once a year due to the cost of flights and hotels. Since learning about free travel, I would say I average traveling 6-8 times per year. My wife and I plan on bumping that up a bit in upcoming years because we would like to travel as much as possible before we try to have children.
What is your best tip for people who are just now learning about free travel?
Make a plan first, and then go for it!
When I started out, I just jumped in and got every good introductory bonus I could find without having a redemption plan. I ended up with some points just sitting in accounts instead of being used. Always remember that holding on to points has no value. If you’re going to earn points, there should be an ultimate goal to use them in the near future.
How can people contact you?
Right here on Travel Freedom is the best way.
I would love for everyone to join our Travel Tribe email subscription. It’s free and will help stay up to date on free travel and the best credit card offers. Also, feel free to send me an email with any questions you may have. I’d be happy to connect with you!
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“Five dollars for a bottled water?!? Seriously? This is robbery, but I’m dying of thirst during my layover.” I’m sure you’ve felt this way before, while at the airport or traveling in general. Instead of buying bottled water over and over again, at the airport, at the hotel, and while traveling, why don’t you make the investment in an insulated water bottle. My favorites are made by Hydro FlaskWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. and are stainless steel, insulated, and come in a wide range of colors. They have a variety of sizes to fit your needs and to fit in your carry on.
Most airports now have fill stations, so all you have to do is make sure your bottle is empty while going through security and then fill it up when you get into the terminal. What’s great about having a Hydro FlaskWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. while traveling, is that it will keep your drink either hot or cold for hours on end. Also, you will be contributing to help lower pollution and keep our oceans clean by cutting down on those garbage patches in our oceans.
Take it to the Beach
If you’re adventurous while on vacation, you’re going to need some water. Hydro FlasksWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. are perfect to fill up and take with you on your hike, to the beach, or around the city. Even if it’s a scorcher outside, you’ll have an ice cold water at your fingertips all day long. Maybe you want to take a drink with you to the beach that’s a little stronger than water… If so, Hydro FlasksWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. are the perfect way to disguise your drink of choice. Wink wink…
WATER BOTTLES SAVE MONEY AND OUR PLANET
If you’re looking for a high quality water bottle, look no further than Hydro FlaskWe may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.. Not only are they the perfect water bottle, they help save our planet. Have you seen how much plastic is floating out there in our oceans? It’s disgusting, and as long as people continue to buy single-use plastic bottles of water, the problem won’t be solved. They’re perfect for traveling as well as at work. They’re tougher than any other bottle I’ve owned. Your drink will stay cold for up to 24 hours due to the double layer insulation. Plus they look great! Get one in your favorite color and make everyone else jealous.
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There are numerous ways to save money on travel expenses. While I talk about them a lot and it’s the main topic of Travel Freedom, points and miles are not the only way to save massive amounts of money while on vacation. In fact, points and miles can’t always be used, so it pays to understand where you can save money on paid travel as well. There are six valuable ways to decrease your costs and save money on travel, without downgrading. I’ll explain each of them to you.
RENTING A CONDO OR HOUSE
Most people only think of staying in hotels when they book their vacation. What if I were to tell you that by instead booking a condo or house, you could save money and have more amenities. You won’t have a buffet breakfast, and you won’t have a concierge desk, but do those things actually bring you any value? What’s great about having your condo or house while on vacation is that it feels more like a home. From my experience, it usually also saves you money compared to a hotel. The best part of having a condo is that the condo has both laundry and a kitchen.
There are many resources for booking condos and homes to rent, but I’ve used both airbnb and vrbo with nothing but success. They are both very easy and have many options, everywhere that I’ve taken advantage of them. I also try to find a property that waives their cleaning fee for a week or more stay to save even more money.
PREPARE YOUR OWN MEALS
If you’re staying at a hotel with a kitchenette, or a condo with a full kitchen, you can save a bunch of money by preparing some or all of your meals. Eating meals out, really adds to the travel bill. Let’s just imagine a week vacation for two where you eat out for every meal. If the average bill is $40, that ends up being $120 a day and $840 a week. The way I like to save on food is to prepare most of our breakfasts and lunches, and prepare one or two dinners each week. This alone can save you and your family hundreds of dollars, plus you’ll probably be eating healthier if you make it yourself.
BE FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR TRAVEL DATES
Can you fly on Friday instead of Saturday? Can you take your vacation the week after popular spring break dates? Being just a little bit flexible in the dates you travel can save you quite a bit of money. If you’re paying for your flights, many of the travel search engines like Sky Scanner, will tell you if it is cheaper to fly the day before or the day after. Also, hotel room prices fluctuate depending on the dates you want to book, so one day may be half the price of the next. It’s not always possible to be flexible on your dates, but when you can be, there is an opportunity to save money on travel.
FIND FREE ACTIVITIES
There are so many fun activities and beautiful sites to be seen in any city or region that don’t cost a penny. Just go search on google “Things to do in (vacation destination)” and you will find an abundance of places to visit that either cost nothing or are very affordable. Often times these places are the most memorable activities from your vacation too! Hikes, snorkeling destinations, architecture, museums, parks… There are so many possibilities for your vacation. Don’t only stick to the touristy activities. Venture out and I can guarantee you’ll have a lot of fun.
USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Depending on your travel destination, public transportation may be a viable option to get around. It doesn’t work everywhere, but a lot of larger cities have very good public transportation. You can take light rails, subways, trains, buses. Uber or Lyft are other options to save money if you won’t be driving enough to warrant a rental car. It’s available almost every now and continues to grow rapidly. Rental cars can be very expensive depending on the location and dates of your travel, so it makes sense to look into alternative options.
USE MILES INSTEAD OF MONEY
The biggest way of saving money while traveling, and the whole reason I started Travel Freedom, is the use of miles and points instead of your hard earned money. As shown in almost every blog post of Travel Freedom, you can earn miles and points without actually traveling to earn them. Banks are willing to give out huge introductory bonuses for having one of their branded credit cards, which can lead to thousands upon thousands of dollars saved for you.
Imagine using 50,000 points instead of $1,600 for your honeymoon flights, or staying for free with credited nights at a five-star resort for 3 nights instead of paying their typical cost of $500 per night… You can absolutely travel abundantly without having to spend much money at all. Points and miles are the number one way to achieve this.
Now that you know of these six ways to save some money on travel, get started on booking your next trip. You know you need it! If you have any tips on how to save money on travel, please share with everyone in the comments!
To get started on your travel freedom journey, there are a few important things you’ll need to do. This will involve a bit of research and preparation so that you are confident and efficient in your plan of attack. Make sure you do these before diving in, so that you do this the right way. Remember, your credit is important in life, so don’t use it for travel points and miles if you aren’t in the right place to do so.
CHECK YOUR CREDIT SCORE
First of all, You’ll want to go check your credit score if you don’t already know what it is. Credit Sesame is a good way to check your approximate score for free. If your score is around 700, you’re in good shape to use your credit to earn thousands or millions of miles. Also be sure that you are in a good place personally to use your credit for points and miles. As I’ve said before, if you’re looking to take out a large loan in the near future, it is not a good time to apply for any credit cards.
CREATE A POINTS AND MILES WALLET
Through your journey with Travel Freedom, you will be using many different types of miles and points from an array of service providers. You may have miles with five different airlines, two banks, and 3 hotel groups at any given time. You’ll want a way to organize these miles and points as well as the usernames and passwords used for each login. The easiest way I’ve found to keep track of them all is to aggregate them all in one place – Award Wallet. Here, you will create your own account, where you’ll input all of your account numbers so your logins, balances and expiration dates will be tracked.
Their FREE version is fine to begin with, but as you have more accounts you may be interested in paying for their upgraded account that has a few more features. If you will be using points and miles to travel along with your significant other, you will both want to make an account, and then link the two so you can see both while logged in.
REVIEW YOUR MONTHLY SPENDING BUDGET
Ok, now that you know your credit is in a good place, and you have a wallet to keep track of all your points and miles you’ll be accumulating, you’ll need to look at your monthly spending. You’ll want to verify how much you spend that can be put on a new credit card per month. This is because most credit card introductory bonuses are given to you after you spend a certain amount of money within the first few months of having the card. You will need to know how much spend you’re able to put on the card so that you know if you can meet the minimum spend to release your introductory bonus.
Once you know how much you spend monthly, you can calculate whether or not you can reach the introductory bonus of each card. There are ways to get extra spend, to up this level if needed, which I will get into in another blog post. A great resource to learn about meeting minimum spending limits, is at The Frequent Miler, travel blog. Now you know what credit cards you can afford to meet the minimum spend for your bonus.
PLAN WHERE YOU WANT TO VACATION FIRST
At this point, you could jump in and apply for the best credit card offer you can find, but I don’t believe that’s the best option. I made the mistake of doing this and wish I had started out slightly different. Before applying for anything, MAKE A PLAN. Where do you want to travel to? Do you want to get a flight with miles, or do you want to book a free hotel with points.
You have some research and decisions ahead of you. Once you find the location you’d like to travel to, you’ll need to research what airlines fly between your home airport and your destination. Then which of those airlines has the lowest price in terms of miles to fly between the two. Or, if you would rather get free hotel rooms during your stay, you’ll need to know what hotels are in the area and of those, which ones have a rewards program (most do!).
Google will be your friend in this research, but here are a few other resources from our friends over at Million Mile Secrets – another travel blog:
Ok, final step! Depending on all the research you’ve done in the above tasks, find a credit card or multiple credit cards that fit your travel plan. There are credit cards that offer points and miles directly with hotels and airlines, and there are credit cards that offer their own points system. Some of these bank reward systems such as Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Member Rewards, offer the ability to transfer to a multitude of airlines and hotels. These are my favorite types of credit card bonuses because of the versatility of the points. Remember, not all points are valued equally. Some may be better for one vacation and another may be better for your next vacation.
You’re so close to your first vacation using points and miles, you can probably smell it! Let me know how it’s going. I’m here to help you!
PS: If you’re interested in traveling more often or more luxuriously, check out ourFREE 5-DAY MINI COURSE.
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I’m sure you have certain products that you must always take on vacation. I sure do… Actually, the list keeps getting longer and longer as I find cool new travel products. From the time you start packing to the time you’re out on a snorkeling boat, some little things can improve your travel greatly. I’d like to share my favorites with you, including the Nike Vapor drawstring bag.
Travel Freedom is not only about travel credit cards. Certain travel products can greatly enhance the way you travel. We’ll be reviewing the Nike Vapor Drawstring Bag, which I believe is a must-have travel product for anyone. It’s one of the products that I can’t travel without. You’ll see why.
This travel product is a very simple one, but also a very valuable one. No matter where you’re headed, the Nike Vapor drawstring bag is your perfect travel mate. It’s a lightweight drawstring bag that’s big enough to carry all your necessities. The drawstring bag I personally own is made by Nike and has two compartments. It has a main compartment that securely closes at the top using the drawstrings. It also has a smaller zipper pocket in the front, which is perfect for things you might need more often like your phone, wallet, and keys.
They’re the perfect bag for when you’re out and about on vacation. Whether you’re going to the beach and need something to put your valuables in that can keep the sand out, or you’re exploring around a city and need a light bag to carry your belongings without making your back sweat, this drawstring bag is quite possibly perfect.
If you don’t already have a drawstring bag (aka a gymsack), the Nike Vapor drawstring bags are both inexpensive and high quality. I have dragged mine around with me for years and it’s still holding up. They also come in a variety of colors that look stylish.
When my wife, Allison, and I are traveling we always bring our Nike Vapor drawstring bag with us and always seem to find a use for it. Our Nike Vapor drawstring bag is easy to pack. It weighs nearly nothing and doesn’t take up much space in your luggage at all. After I pack my suitcase, I just set the drawstring bag on top of my clothes.
The Nike Vapor drawstring bag is definitely a necessity now. It allows you to easily carry your belongings around with you wherever you go while on vacation. Try one out on your next vacation and let us know what you think. If you’re like us, you’ll never go on vacation without one again.
Nike got it right with this one. The Nike Vapor drawstring bag has a height of 19 inches and a width of 14 inches. It has adjustable drawstrings for a more comfortable feel. The main compartment closes on top using the drawstring straps. There is also has a smaller pocket in the front that zips closed. The bag weighs 7 ounces by itself. It is a perfect size for any kind of normal use and has high durable quality. It’s definitely worth the price tag and its value factor is high. We have two of these bags already and are looking to add another style to the mix soon.
Free flights… Upgraded to first class… Free hotel rooms… Upgraded to a suite… Free food and drinks in that fancy airport lounge… Sounds nice, right?!? These are some of the points and miles travel benefits and perks available to anyone who decides to travel using credit cards to earn miles and points.
EXPERIENCES FROM POINTS & MILES TRAVEL
These are all parts of travel that I have experienced over the past few years. I have flown countless flights where I paid nothing but the taxes and fees (as low as $6). I’ve have flown in first class. I have stayed at hotels without paying any money. I’ve been upgraded to suites in some of those free hotel stays. And, I now can’t stand a layover where I don’t have access to an airline lounge where they have free food, drinks, sockets to charge my phone, and comfortable chairs.
BEFORE TRAVELING WITH POINTS AND MILES
It’s hard to think that just a few years ago, I had no idea that these things would ever be possible, let alone that I could afford to travel much at all. Before points and miles travel appeared in my life, I didn’t think much about travel besides dreaming of places that I wanted to visit someday when I was much wealthier and could afford it. Is this you right now? I want you to know how easy and how available travel can be.
TRAVEL CREDIT CARD BENEFITS
Whether you want to start traveling for the first time and be able to do it for very small amounts of money, or you already travel and want to upgrade how you do it, travel with points and miles can open new doors to either option. The quantity of your travel as well as the quality of your travel can be boosted tenfold by following the simple steps of traveling with points and miles.
FLIGHT BENEFITS
The major flight benefit that comes from travel with points and miles is the airline miles you can acquire without actually traveling to earn them. Through very generous credit card introductory bonuses, you can almost instantly earn multiple free flights. For instance, I just signed up for a Chase Ink Preferred Business card which offered me a introductory bonus of 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards. This bonus alone, has the possibility of being used for 3 round trip flights to Hawaii if redeemed how I explained in the blog post “How I Fly Round Trip to Hawaii for $11”. Different credit cards all offer different introductory bonuses that all differ in value, depending how you want to spend the points.
Another benefit from some of these credit cards, is access to lounges which are in all major airports. American, United, Delta, Alaska and many other airlines all have lounges within airports for customers to enter and relax in before and after flights. Normally you would need to be flying first class or pay somewhere around $40 to enter such lounges. Thankfully, there are a handful of credit cards that grant you unlimited access. When you’re traveling often, having access to a lounge is a great benefit. It gives you somewhere to get away from the hustle and bustle of airport terminals, allowing you to also get a snack and charge your phone. You can see where these lounges exist by visiting LoungeBuddy who has an extensive list (code JnSjMo28aP gives a $10 credit).
If you’re looking to up your quality of travel, you can use miles and points to book first class flights. You can even upgrade to first class on a flight you’ve already purchased. I mostly use points to upgrade the quantity of my travel, but I’ve upgraded quality a couple times. It’s quite nice sitting in first class. I definitely suggest trying it out at least once!
HOTEL BENEFITS
Now for the benefits that traveling with points can give you towards hotels… The major benefit, similar to the flight benefits, is the ability to redeem points for free hotel stays. There are credit cards and points systems that can be used at most major hotel chains. Hilton, Hyatt, Intercontinental, and Club Carlson are a few of the main brands. Each of these brands has different chains that are part of their reward system. While I find that points and miles are often more valuable when used towards flights, I do still use them for hotels when it deems advantageous.
Along with point bonuses, some credit cards offer elite status for certain hotel chains. If you had ever heard of elite statuses at hotels, like me, you probably thought that the only way to earn it was by staying at hotels all the time. While that is one way of earning status, you can also earn it simply by having the right credit card. Once you have status at a hotel chain, you are very likely to have your room upgraded. Sometimes, you’ll even be upgraded to a suite if one is available at your check-in time.
GETTING STARTED TRAVELING WITH POINTS
Now that you see what some of the travel benefits are, I can imagine you may be interested. Remember to keep the following in mind when getting started. When I first learned how to earn nearly unlimited miles and points through credit cards, I jumped in. I didn’t have much of a plan. If I could go back, I would make a plan before earning points. As I said earlier, all points and miles are not the same and are valued very differently. Having an idea of where you would like to travel is a good starting point. That way you can earn the points that will be most efficient and beneficial to your personalized travel.
I hope this has given you an idea of what traveling with points and miles can bring into your life. It has opened the door of travel to me, and I would like to invite you in to join the party.
PS: If you’re interested in traveling more often or more luxuriously, check out ourFREE 5-DAY MINI COURSE.
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I’ve now traveled to Hawaii seven times, flown across the country five times, gone to college football games in new cities, visited friends in other states, stayed in resorts that normally cost more than my weekly salary per night, flown first class, stayed in hotel suites, and relaxed in countless airport lounges where free drinks and food are always available. Whew, I’m out of breath… All of this and much more, I’ve done in just the past five years by traveling with points and miles. Yes, FIVE YEARS! That’s it. No joke. I want you to count up your past vacations really quick in your head, and see if your travel amounts to this much over your lifetime. Does it? Hold on to that thought…
HOW MUCH DID THAT COST?
Looking at all the trips and vacations I’ve taken, you’d think that I must be wealthy and spent a huge amount of money on my travels. I mean, look at the price of an airline ticket. Currently, the average round trip U.S. flight is over $350! That’s crazy! Oh, and Hawaii flights… I don’t even want to look at those prices. Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t pay very much at all to travel as much as I did. I’ve only paid a tiny fraction of the price anyone else would have paid. I’ve been able to do all that traveling using POINTS and MILES to cover the costs. You may think that you can only earn airline miles and hotel points by flying and staying a ton of nights at hotels, because that’s what you’ve heard. It’s NOT TRUE!!! I’ve earned almost all of mine, NOT by flying or by staying at hotels, but through TRAVEL CREDIT CARD INTRODUCTORY BONUSES.
Ok, now back to YOUR travel count… Was it less than mine over your whole life? Close? Either way, would you like your next five years to look like mine, or even better and more filled with travel and adventure? Would you like to start turning those travel dreams into reality? Hawaii, Thailand, Iceland, Europe, maybe Brazil… Do you have a bucket list that seems to be getting deeper and deeper with nothing being checked off? GOOD NEWS! You can start traveling with points and miles just as easily as I did. You too, can earn thousands upon thousands of miles and points to kick start your life filled with travel.
OK, BUT HOW?
I’m sure you’re curious to learn how all this traveling with points and miles business works, and you’re probably thinking “what’s the catch?”. I’ll tell you now, the one thing you’ll have to trade for this life full of travel, is a bit of time. Time up front to learn, and time to put your knowledge to work earning and spending your points and miles. Trust me though, it’s absolutely worth it. If I hadn’t learned how to travel this way, I probably wouldn’t have taken 90% of those vacations. Unfortunately, like most people, I would not have been able to afford it.
WHO IS TRAVELING WITH POINTS & MILES FOR?
You’re in? Where do you sign up? Well, first things first… Travel with points and miles isn’t for everyone. There are a few key prerequisites that you’ll need before you can get started.
You will need to have a credit score in the range of 700 or greater. Scores go up to a maximum of 850, so this is a very good score. If you’re well below this level, you will first need to work to raise your score. If you don’t know what your score is, you can check for free at creditsesame.com. I’ve found that this site will give you a pretty accurate estimation of your credit score.
You must be someone who pays your credit cards and bills off FULLY and ON-TIME, every month. If you’re running a balance, there is no point in earning points and miles because the interest on credit cards far outweighs the value of points.
You aren’t looking at taking out a major loan such as home mortgage in the next one to two years.
Do you fit the bill? Great! I want to share my knowledge of traveling with points and miles, so that your life can be full of travel and adventure like mine is. For me, travel has improved my life greatly. So much, that I now can’t see my life without it. I hope travel can do the same for you now that you’re on your way to becoming an expert points and miles traveler.
HOW DOES TRAVELING WITH POINTS AND MILES WORK?
Now that you know you want to travel like I do, by using points and miles, and you’ve met the prerequisites mentioned above, let’s move on to how this process works… The number one way to earn tons and tons of points and miles is through credit card introductory bonuses. This is where that good credit score comes into play. Banks are willing to give you a tremendous amount of value to add you as a customer. This means that they will regularly give introductory bonuses of 50,000 miles or more and occasionally even stretch those up to 100,000 miles. The best bonus I have earned to date, gave me enough miles to purchases five round trip flights to Hawaii using the method explained in my blog post “How I Fly Round Trip to Hawaii for $11”. I’ll say that again… FOUR ROUND TRIP FLIGHTS TO HAWAII. That’s pretty generous of the banks, I’d say! (Thanks Chase – wink).
OTHER WAYS TO EARN POINTS & MILES
Although, credit card introductory bonuses are the best and quickest way to earn points, they’re not the only way. Once you have a credit card that earns points, you can earn through spending. Many cards have category bonuses that earn extra points for certain purchases, so you can earn extra points on things you already buy every day. Some common bonuses are on things like gas, groceries, travel and dining. Another way to earn extra points is through online shopping portals that many airlines and credit cards have available. They will give you extra points to click through their links before purchasing products and services on popular online retailers. One more way to earn points is through promotions that the airlines and hotels have directly. Usually, they are for staying at a particular hotel chain so many stays within a period of time they will give you a bonus, or flying so many flights in a period of time they will also give you a bonus. These are just a few ways to earn enough points and miles to travel very well for the rest of your life.
IMPROVE YOUR LIFE BY TRAVELING WITH POINTS AND MILES
I have travel freedom, and I would like to teach you how to have the same. I spent hundreds if not thousands of hours researching and reading to understand how to travel with points and miles instead of money. My goal is to take what I’ve learned and make it much simpler and quicker for you. To continue learning about traveling with points and miles, and how to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, follow along with Travel Freedom.
PS: If you’re interested in traveling more often or more luxuriously, check out ourFREE 5-DAY MINI COURSE.
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Do you like taking photos and videos while on vacation? I’m guessing your answer is either “yes” or “no, but my significant other does”. Of course you want pictures of your awesome vacation so that: A. You can show off to your friends on social media, and B. You can look back at all the great times you had, when you’re back at home. 
The GoPro HERO cameras
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and are stainless steel, insulated, and come in a wide range of colors. They have a variety of sizes to fit your needs and to fit in your carry on. 
