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.
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 TRAVEL REWARDS
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.
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.
Ryan loves to travel. He learned the power of using points and miles for travel way back in 2012 and hasn't looked back. Ryan's favorite place to travel is to Hawaii, where he's explored each of the main islands. Travel has changed his life for the better and opened him up to new experiences!
