How to Travel For Free

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I’m not rich. Not even close. My husband is a firefighter and I’m a teacher. Yet we still find ways to travel a ton throughout the year. That’s because I have uncovered so many secrets about how to travel for free. And yes, it is possible.

We’ve always had one travel credit card that we used for all purchases. My husband opened it probably at least 10 years ago, and I was an authorized user on the card. We’d put all of our everyday purchases on that one card, and we’d earn enough points to get a few hundred dollars towards our next trip. It wasn’t a ton, but it was definitely better than nothing.

Now I know that we were doing it wrong. Even if you don’t want to open a ton of credit cards–and trust me, you’re not alone–there are still ways you can get free travel. You just need to know these tricks on how to travel for free by opening cards, earning travel bonuses and then transferring those points. Transferring credit card points was a foreign concept to me, but it was the missing link I needed to know to truly make my points go further.

How to Travel For Free Step 1: Open a Travel Credit Card

If you are only going to own one travel card there are two I would recommend you choose from. The first one is the one we have had for years: the Chase Sapphire Preferred. This card usually has about 60,000 points as a welcome bonus after you spend $3000 in the first three months. Trust me, if you use this card for groceries, gas, eating out, kids sports, etc., you shouldn’t have an issue spending that.

Perks of the Chase Sapphire: This credit card is super popular because of the transfer partners. Once you earn your 60,000 bonus points, you can use them in the Chase portal (equivalent to $750 towards your next vacation), or you can transfer them to other loyalty programs, like Marriott, Hyatt, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, etc.

Capital One Venture X: The other card I would recommend if you are only choosing one is the Capital One Venture X card. My favorite thing about this card is it gets you and your family into airport lounges for free. This is a huge perk when traveling with kids, and only a few travel credit cards offer this. Other perks include the ability to redeem points immediately after making purchases (rather than waiting until the end of the billing cycle like most other cards). This credit card also has travel partners you can transfer points to, but there aren’t as many options as the Chase cards. Click here to read more about this card and the benefits.

Step 2: Transfer Points to a Travel Partner

Credit card points go so much further once you transfer them. And the Chase Sapphire has the best travel partners to choose from. I just booked 3 nights at the Grand Hyatt Nashville for my 40th birthday in July. The hotel cost more than $600 a night, and after taxes, it would’ve cost me almost $2200. But instead, I transferred my Chase Sapphire points to Hyatt and used those points. Each night was only 25k points, coming to a total of 75k points for the 3 nights.

In full transparency, I also have the Hyatt credit card, so I has extra bonus points–but again, if you only want one credit card, you can do this with your Chase Sapphire card.

How to Travel for Free Step 3: Refer Others

This is an easy one–particularly if you have a significant other. After you earn the bonus points, refer your partner to the credit card. Not only can they also earn bonus points (and yes, you can combine points), but you will get some bonus points for your referral as well.

For many years, I was just an additional user on my husband’s card. I had no idea it could be so beneficial for us to each have our own cards.

Tip: Instead of adding an additional user on the card, load the card into ApplePay on your spouse’s phone. That way they can use the card for gas, groceries, etc. when trying to hit the initial spending bonus.

Other Credit Cards Worth Considering

Looking for more tips on how you can travel for free? There are other credit cards worth considering:

• Marriott Bonvoy Visa – This card gives you 5 free hotel nights after earning the sign-up bonus. And each year, you get one free night voucher.
• Hilton Amex – This card has no annual fee, and it gives you a free night every year. That’s a solid deal! I opened this one so that I could stay in one of the best Oahu family resorts for free!
• Amex Gold – This card has a higher annual fee, but it also gives you access to many travel partners, and you earn a lot more points per dollar than on other credit cards.

Please note, you should wait at least 90 days in between credit card applications. Also, you need to keep the credit cards open for at least one year before canceling the cards, if you choose to do so. Finally, use the cards responsibly, and pay the credit card off each month.

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