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Here is a comprehensive starting point for families looking to dive into the world of free travel on points
There is a WIDE world of points out there. You could easily spend hundreds of hours researching (we know, because we HAVE). Or you can trust us to help you plan 1-2 aw inspiring family vacations per year, the easy way!
If you’re looking to do things like fly your whole family to a resort in Hawaii for free, or to cover your flights and hotel for a big trip to Disney, or to take that family trip to Europe you’ve always dreamed of, all on points, we can show you how to make that happen with truly minimal effort.
That’s why we decided to put together this resource for people like us – busy parents who are limited on time, who don’t need to optimize each and every painstaking trick out there, who just want to enjoy life and see the world.
Psst: once you understand the basics below, jump over to our next blog The Busy Mom’s Guide to Free Travel [Step by Step] where we’ll walk you through an easy beginner plan for which cards to apply for and when in year-one.
The Basics
Traveling free on points in a nutshell: Strategically apply for credit cards with generous Sign Up Bonuses. Hit the minimum spend, pay the balance in full, collect the bonus, and redeem the points for hotels and airfare. Rinse and repeat. Watch your credit score rise as you rack up hundreds of thousands of points and continue to grow your credit worthiness.
Don’t carry a credit card balance, ever
If you’re currently carrying a credit card balance, shift your focus to paying that in full first. This game doesn’t really benefit you until you’re in the position to never carry a balance again. With that said, there is one credit card tool we used for years while working our way out of debt – search for a credit card that offers 0% APR on balance transfers. This will help you pay off your debt much faster by avoiding the interest.
Read more in our post The Quickest Way to Pay Off Credit Card Debt.
Why redeem points for travel instead of cash back?
Simply put, each point when redeemed for travel takes you much further than the cash value. Here’s an example: we recently booked 8 nights at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the Bahamas (swoon). If we were paying cash, this reservation would have cost just over $7,000.
Follow us here – if we were redeeming credit card reward points for cash back, 1 point = 1 cent. This means it would have taken us 700,000 reward points to “pay ourselves back” for that $7,000 booking. But by paying with points, it only cost us 160,000 reward points (which we accrued in about one and a half credit card Sign Up Bonuses). Would you rather have enough points to book the trip of your dreams once you accrue 160,000 points, or have to wait until you reach 700,000 points to “pay yourself back”?
Focus on Chase, especially early on
Chase credit cards offer the easiest way to accrue a boatload of points, and those points carry the most value when redeeming for hotel/resort stays. Let’s dive in on Chase:
- They offer some of the best travel partners, read our post Chase Travel Partners to see the complete list here
- You can transfer Chase Travel(SM) (Chase’s travel currency) 1:1 to United Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Air Canada, British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, IHG, and many more
- Focus on Hyatt
- Chase is the only brand that transfers to Hyatt, and Hyatt offers the best value for hotel/resort redemptions. Ex: if you look at two similarly tiered Marriott and Hyatt hotel rooms, the Marriott may cost you 40,000-60,000 points per night, and the Hyatt may cost you around 12,000-15,000 points per night. You WANT Hyatt, which means you NEED Chase!
- They issue a large number of cards to a single person
- Ex: Capital One limits the number of cards that one person is able to have to two cards, so the point accrual can take longer. With so many options with Chase, it’s easy to accrue many Chase Travel(SM) points quickly that can be pooled together for large trip redemptions
Note: almost all Chase cards earn Chase Travel(SM) points, but you will need one of the following 3 cards to be able to transfer those reward points to airlines/hotels, so start with one of these three:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (most common starting point) $95 annual fee
- Ink Business Preferred Credit Card from Chase (the business version of the Sapphire Preferred, and an amazing option if you qualify for business cards – this is the card we use) $95 annual fee
- Chase Sapphire Reserve (the fancy version of the Sapphire Preferred but with more perks) $550 annual fee
Note: Chase has a golden rule when it comes to getting approved for their cards:
- You must be under 5/24, meaning Chase will not approve you for any card if you have opened 5 new cards from any bank in the past 24 months. One loophole is that most business cards do NOT count against your 5/24
- Ex: you can open 3 personal cards and 5 business cards in 24 months, and you’re safe at 3/24. But if you open 5 personal cards, you’re now at 5/24, and will not get approved for any Chase personal or business card until your 24 months resets
Check out a step by step list of our favorite cards (hint: most of them are from Chase!)
Consider Business Cards
We mentioned the allure of business cards above – these are going to be one of the quickest ways to rack up a ton of points. They tend to have higher Sign Up Bonuses, and by opening yourself to the world of business cards, you’re multiplying the number of bonuses you can apply for.
You do NOT need an EIN, business license, or any other formal documentation to apply for business cards. Do you sell items on Etsy, or even Facebook Marketplace or eBay? Do you occasionally pick up odd jobs, or get paid for babysitting? Then you can apply for business cards! Read more in our post Am I Eligible For Business Cards.
Grab a Partner (P2)
If you’re married, get your spouse on board! If not, other family members and friends make great partners too. Having a P2 allows you both to accrue even more points by sharing your referral links between each other. I refer P2 (my husband) to his next Chase card and I get roughly 20,000-40,000 referral bonus points each time, then he refers me to my next Chase card and he collects the referral bonus points. We pool our points together so it’s an easy way to gain a lot of points!
Note: you can share your referral link with anyone! But sharing between P1 and P2 is double the fun.
Take your time, learn as you go
Try to wait a minimum of 60-90 days between applications. Of course if your P2 is your spouse, you can alternate who applies each time and work through them quicker. If you’re moving at a normal household spending rate, you’ll probably find it takes you some time to hit, for example, a $6,000 minimum spend, which will naturally keep you at a slower pace anyhow.
Be strategic about your spend – apply for a new card in advance if you know you have a big trip/renovation/expense coming up, but don’t buy things you normally wouldn’t just to meat the minimum spend. Come up with a plan and stick to it – slow and steady!
And you’re off!
Whatcha waiting for, go get that first card! We’ve put together this handy dandy step by step guide to help you plan out your strategy in year one:
Have questions?
Send us a message @ourwishfultravel on Instagram
Or drop us an email at ourwishfultravel@gmail.com to chat!
Our Wishful Travel has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Our Wishful Travel and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Ready to get started? Head over to our next blog where we’ll walk you through an easy beginner plan for which cards to apply for and when in year-one.