If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling to that far off destination with a special someone but were unsure how to pay for it? Here is Roaming with Points guide to using your points and miles. It’s not difficult, getting a good sign-up bonus will give you a huge head-start. Read my article here on how I got started over 20 years ago.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Points and Miles Process
Quickest Ways to Earn Points and Miles
Getting the Best Deals on Points and Miles
How to Book
Understanding the Points and Miles Process
Firstly, you need to determine what is important to you, airlines miles or hotel points. This will help you in searching for the best credit card to apply for. In my opinion, airlines miles give you the best deals, especially now that the cost of fuel is so high, it increases ticket prices quite a bit. No matter which you choose, it will help you realize your goal of travel to that special place.
A little or a lot of research may be required to find the best travel credit card that gives a great Sign-Up Bonus (SUB) and has flights going to your destination. Some airlines have deals running on SUB’s continuously and certain times of the year they are better than at other times. The same with travel credit cards, if you continue to watch, you can get that perfect SUB. One thing to keep in mind for credit cards, the more perks it has, the higher the annual fee.
Most cards come with a minimum spending requirement to get the Sign-Up Bonus. The average usually falls into the 60,000 – 75,000 points or miles after spending $3-4,000 in the first 3 months. You have to be disciplined and understand your time frame to reach the spending requirement. You will need to create a loyalty program account for whichever airline or hotel credit card you choose.
Once you have accomplished your spend goal and received your points and miles, it’s time for growing your account quickly.
View of Arc De Triomphe view from the Eiffel Tower
Links to the Most Popular Travel Credit Cards
Delta SkyMiles American Express
Quickest Ways to Earn Points and Miles
One may think you need to be on the road every week flying here and there or staying in hotels to build miles quickly, that does help, but there are other methods that can be equally if not more effective to build points and miles. Below is a list that will help you reach your goal:
- Everyday purchases – as I explained in my article, using your travel credit card like your ATM card is key. I purchase everything possible on my card, most credit cards will have a 2X or 3X points and miles for gas or grocery store purchases and even higher points and miles for restaurant spend. I use my cards for insurance payments, cell phone accounts and any home utilities I can sign up for. You have to be disciplined to pay off the card every one to two weeks as to avoid finance charges.
- Shopping Portals – several credit cards have online shopping portals for many retailer that give bonus points and miles over and above the card earning. Two portals that come to mid are Delta Skymiles Shopping and Capital One Shopping. As I have been a Delta Skymiles American Express cardholder for over 20 years, I have used their shopping portal many times. Their points and miles bonus’ increase over the Christmas holidays and these will certainly add up.
- Travel – Of course travel is a great way to add points and miles to your account. Most all airline, hotel and travel credit cards give the most points and miles for using their product. Airlines can give as much as 3X miles and some hotels will go as high as 10x miles for a hotel stay. These as up very quickly.
A Guide to Hotel Loyalty Credit Cards
Getting the Best Deals on Points and Miles
Moreover, as you did the research for your first card and the large sign-up bonus, the same applies with getting a good deal to maximize your points.
Furthermore, understanding your travel destination is most important to getting the best bank for your points and miles use. If your goal is to travel to Europe, Asia or whatever country you wish, understanding the peak travel times and trying to avoid these will give you some off-peak deals you need to stretch your travel farther.
Once you have made this determination, it’s just a matter of finding your best travel week(s) at the best price. It does require some patience and often times luck to uncover that perfect date span that works. Your diligence will pay off with some consistent effort.
In addition, signing up for social media groups that post about Flash Deals will also help you get a great deal. In fact, if you are near a gateway airport or can get to one with a few hours drive, your deals are better from these locations than smaller, regional airports.
How to Book
The best ways to book your travel, in my opinion, is through the airline or hotel portal. Most hotels will not award points for reservations that are booked outside of their portal. Keep this in mind.
Using an airline or hotel loyalty account that has your preferences specified including your KTN number (Known Traveler Number), passport information etc. etc. is the easiest and safest way to book travel. Personally, I’ve never used a credit card travel portal to book any of my stays, however, there are a lot of bad reviews and huge issues from those who have. I would rather transfer my points or miles to an airline or hotel account and go from there.
Now that you have a better understanding of the process and how to book awards travel, have some fun with it! It’s a great game to play that will pay huge dividends when done properly. I would have never traveled to some of the destinations with my family without my points and miles. It can work for you too.
Below are some links to airline and hotel credit cards as well as travel credit cards that will help you on your journey.
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