MONEY TALKS
These are a few of my favorite things:
If you're not using points/miles to travel, I'm here to convince you that you're missing out. In lots of cases, the availability of my points/miles were the difference between affording a trip and being forced to save it for another time. I flew to Europe TWICE without spending a single dime on my flights. I'm heading to Vietnam in the spring without spending a cent on that round trip flight!
So before you start closing this web page, muttering about how impossible or irresponsible or crazy travel hacking is, give me a chance to ease your mind.
1.
No, it will not ruin your credit score. I usually have 4 credit cards at a given time and my credit score is, according to Credit Karma "excellent." In truth, your utilization amount (i.e. how much of your available credit is being used) will impact your score far more than your amount of accounts. In fact, having more than 11+ accounts open in your name (including loans, credit cards, etc.) is actually good for your credit! Use Credit Karma's Credit Simulator to see how your score would change by opening a new card, paying off a balance, or getting a new loan. I absolutely love this tool and frankly, travel hacking or not, you should familiarize yourself with it. Better credit scores = better offers, so do what you can to bump that baby up!
3.
No, you don't have to spend exorbitant amounts of money to see the benefits. While you will, most likely, need to hit a minimum purchase amount in a given time (think $3,000 in 3 months), that can typically be easily reached by putting all of your normal expenses on that credit card. Phone bills, gas, groceries, Netflix-- you name it, I put it on my credit card. Additionally, I typically time opening new credit cards with a big purchase I knew I'd make or I'd offer to make a big purchase for someone else and they would simply Vemno me. For example, I bought my brother's fancy new computer for him, he wrote me a check, and I was suddenly halfway to my minimum amount to receive my bonus miles!
2.
No, you don't have to track everything in a separate spreadsheet and juggle 14 credit cards at a time. (But there are apps and websites that could help if you wanted to!) Sure, I know a lot of people who travel hack and open several new credit cards a year and pick different cards to use for every single purchase. That can sound exhausting, so instead, I pick one or two cards that become my go-to cards for a year or two. Keep it basic for now! I've highlighted a few of my favorites and some great resources below but pick one with a good (& achievable) sign on bonus, and one that rewards you for things you are already spending money on. A card that gives you 5x points back on gas isn't all that useful if you don't have a car, right? Make sure you consider YOUR life when making the decision!
4.
No, it isn't complicated. At least, it doesn't have to be. If you're just starting to dabble in it, pick one card. Start with just one, keep track of your rewards and balances, and make sure you're comfortable before immersing yourself. Additionally, I try to limit my new cards to ~1 a year simply to minimize the impact on my credit score. If you need help organizing and keeping track with your rewards, use resources like AwardWallet to help you track it all! I can't believe I didn't discover this tool sooner.
Chase has a good rule to live by, called the 5/24 Rule. In general, try to avoid opening more than 5 cards in 2 years, or you'll be ineligible for some of the good ones!
(Note that this is not an excuse to buy things you don't need or can't afford. You should be essentially treating your credit card as a debit card and paying it off each month.)
This is a great intro card with a nice, low annual fee ($95) and a pretty nice sign up bonus! As of January 2024, you get 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after account opening. That's $750 when you book through Chase's portal!
On top of the bonus points, you'll get a $50 towards hotel stays and over $200 in additional value, from things like DashPass to Instacart. I wouldn't get this card for the perks, though. If you want to stick in the Chase family and get a lot more perks, go for the Sapphire Reserve. The annual fee is higher at $550, but you get $300 in travel credits each year and over $1,200 in additional value (Priority Pass lounge access, Global Entry/TSA PreCheck, Lyft Pink, etc.). Plus, the redemption value is higher in the Chase portal, so those 60,000 bonus points can be worth $900.
Best for Those Wanting to Dive In: Amex Platinum
Now I will say, the annual fee can be off putting at first. This card definitely isn't for someone who isn't serious about wanting to travel, but boy do I love this card.
Having said that, for a $695 annual fee, you get $200 in hotel credits, $200 in airline credits, $200 in Uber cash, $189 for CLEAR, GlobalEntry, $240 Digital Entertainment credit (for Netflix, Hulu, etc.), $100 Saks shopping credit, $300 Equinox+ credit, Amex airport lounge access, plus the sign on bonus (after spending $8,000 in 6 months) which can equate to up to $1,500 means that the annual fee pays for itself.
If that didn't convince you, there are also non-monetary perks. Global Dining access gets me priority access to some of the best restaurants in Chicago. When I book ~luxury~ hotels, we get $100 to spend on food, massages, etc. and we get early check-in and late check-out, plus free upgrades! The perks really just keep going.
Thoughts on Airline Cards:
I'm not typically a fan of Airline specific credit cards.
I had the AAdvantage card with American Airlines, and while it was nice to have free checked bags and priority boarding, it was a bit frustrating to encounter so many black out dates or dates where the points needed for a given route fluctuated wildly. Instead, I just transfer my Chase or Amex points to the airline directly.
Also, they tend to nail you on various fees. My Guatemala ticket would have been 100% free had I paid with rewards on my Barclaycard, but I used my AAdvantage card and was stuck paying $55 in fees.
Frankly, I only suggest getting an airline specific card if you're A) very loyal to a specific airline or B) know that you want to go to a given destination and that given destination is best served by a specific airline. Otherwise, go with one of the two cards above.
Need more convincing?
I signed up for the Capital One Venture Card and used that to buy some larger purchases that I had coming up for myself and my partner, and had him Venmo me for his half, so we hit the minimum spend without using that card on any everyday or recurring purchases. This way, once I use up these miles, I'll go ahead and cancel the card (or threaten to, at least) so that I don't have to pay the annual fee on it next year. Now I have 90,374 miles to use in the Capital One travel portal, which is the equivalent of $903.74! (In fact, I used miles to pay for a round trip ticket to Vietnam!)
Now, add that to the miles I have over with my Chase Reserve card and then add my miles from Amex (My rock. My love. My favorite.)
In the last 12 months, I've redeemed $1,953.12 worth of points. I still have $1,191.23 worth of points left in my portal.
That's over $3,000 available to me for travel over the last year.
I haven't changed any of my spending habits. I haven't done any crazy travel hacking. No spreadsheets to track. No extra debt. Just money earned from my daily spending.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
1.
The Points Guy: This site has been around for ages and I always consult it before picking a new card. Super easy to navigate, and clearly lays out pros and cons of each card.
2.
NerdWallet: I think this site is really helpful in many ways, but the one big lacking point is that it focuses less on the intro bonuses, which is a huge part of travel hacking.
3.
$55.70 last minute flight home from Guatemala without crazy layovers or red eye flights!
(With either the Barclaycard or the Chase Reserve, this flight would've been even cheaper!)