Sign Up For Credit Cards, Earn Free Travel

You can go to Hawaii for about $11.20 a person!

If that doesn't excite you, either you don't like traveling or you think it's too good to be true. If you don't like to travel, I'm sorry. If you do, it's far from too good to be true. I've traveled to many locales using frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I did not earn the vast majority of these points from actually flying on a plane or staying in a hotel room.

My first trip on loyalty points was a vacation to Hawaii. I learned about the opportunity to visit Hawaii for free from a co-worker back in 2003. I signed up for my first travel-related credit card shortly thereafter. The rest, as they say, is history.

Why Get A Credit Card For Travel?

The main reason to sign up for credit cards for travel is simple. It's related to the big bonuses that banks are willing to pay out to make you their customer. These bonuses can sometimes pay off in thousands of dollars of free or heavily discounted travel. 

The credit card companies charge swipe fees every time you use a credit or debit card. While new chip-and-PIN cards no longer require a swipe, you still pay the fees every time you insert your card into a point-of-sale system or make a purchase online. This is how companies like Visa make money.

Banks make money from charging interest on people who fail to pay off their balances each month. If you cannot pay off your balance IN FULL every month, a credit card is not for you. If you can, however, you could literally make anywhere from $100 to $1,000 for meeting a minimum spending amount on a new card. 

In this article on getting an American Airlines Aviator Red card, I pointed out that the 60,000 bonus from buying a pack of gum, paying the charge and a $95 annual fee could get a free (with the exception of certain unavoidable taxes) low-level award ticket to Europe. These tickets can run well over $1,000, depending upon where you want to go. It could also get you two or three round-trip tickets within the continental US. Again, depending upon where you want to go and when you want to make a trip, you could get several hundred dollars, if not more than a thousand dollars, of value from this one signup bonus alone. 

I went to Madrid with frequent flyer miles!

This is only one way to sign up for credit cards and earn free travel. There are a few dozen credit cards that could help you earn travel.

You may be wondering what my first recommendation would be. That's entirely based upon what your travel plans are. If you're looking for a couple of flights to Orlando or California for a Disney vacation, the AAdvantage Aviator Red might work out well. 

On the other hand you might want to do something a bit more adventurous. Then a card with flexible benefits like the Capital One Venture Card that offers at least $560 of free travel credits after meeting the minimum spend or the Chase Sapphire Preferred (this is a referral link--sign up and I may be compensated) that offers at least $625 in free travel after meeting the minimum spend might offer more benefits and flexibility. 

Most travel hacking gurus (those are the folks who make a living of writing travel blogs, which ain't me at this point) argue that Chase cards should be the starting point for those who want to earn cheap or free travel. This is because Chase has more difficult approval guidelines than many of the other banks. They also have some of the best card offers around. 

Who Should NOT Sign Up For Credit Cards and Earn Free Travel?

1. If you have no emergency fund set up, I would recommend that you be very cautious about signing up for credit cards to travel for free.
2. If you currently have credit card debt, don't sign up. The interest that you'll pay will definitely outweigh any benefits that you might get from a signup bonus.
3. If you are not a disciplined shopper and are tempted to spend more if you're not forking over physical paper and coinage, credit cards probably aren't for you. 
4. Those who have bad credit scores. You may be in great financial shape now, or you may be in really crummy financial shape now. The banks really don't want to fool with you at this point. Sorry. 

If, on the other hand, these issues are not a problem for you, it's possible that your family could take a really, really nice vacation every year or two and have your flights and/or hotels basically taken care of.

If you're interested in free travel (or even some cold, hard cash from signup bonuses), let me know where you want to go in the comments, and I'll make some recommendations that could make help you make it happen. 

Sign Up For Every Loyalty Program You Use

One of the biggest keys to rarely paying full price for travel is taking advantage of loyalty programs. Frequent flyer programs only go back to the late 1970s, but they can really pay off for those who sign up. Many hotel chains also offer loyalty programs.

So, you might be wondering, how many loyalty programs should you sign up for. This is a pretty easy answer. Each and every one that you ever use. If you're smart enough to stay at a Holiday Inn Express, you might as well sign up for the IHG Rewards Club. 

You might protest that you only stay in a Holiday Inn Express one night a year on the way to visit your Great Aunt Gertrude in Paducah. You should still sign up. Each and every paid stay or flight will provide you with loyalty points that will become the building blocks for future vacations at highly discounted rates.

Why You Should Sign Up For Every Loyalty Program You Use

Here's an example of how you can benefit from my own experience. 

I hardly ever stay at Best Western. I've basically been a Marriott loyalist since learning about the Marriott Rewards program (with a few IHG/Holiday Inn or Choice Hotels stays sprinkled in). However, several years ago, I spent a few nights at the Carolinian Resort in Myrtle Beach. At the time, it was a Best Western property. I signed up for Best Western's loyalty program. BAM. I earned several thousand points. 

In the ensuing seven or eight years, I stayed at a Best Western in western Kentucky once and one in Wall, South Dakota, twice. I dutifully gave them my loyalty number each time I stayed. 

A couple of summers ago, I was traveling east and looking for a place to spend the night. Columbia, Missouri had a Best Western hotel going for 16,000 points a night. I had just above 16,000 points by this point. I booked a room and saved at least $80, which would likely have been what I would have paid had I had to pay for a hotel that I would have actually stayed at (I avoid Motel 6 like the plague, for example). 

This depleted my account, but had I not signed up for Best Western's loyalty program a few years earlier, my bank account would be $80 or $100 lighter today. I rarely stay at Best Western, but using their loyalty program when I did stay with them eventually paid off with some savings. Therefore, my argument is that you should sign up for every loyalty program you use. 

There are ways to supercharge your points totals. These will generally involve signing up for co-branded credit cards. These bonuses can then be used to save hundreds, if not thousands, on a dream vacation--or several dream vacations.

If you'd like to learn more about how to travel the world for pennies on the dollar, be sure to scroll up to the top of the page to follow updates to this site.