How to travel using miles, not money!

Do you want to learn how to travel using point and miles, and not money? Read on my friend . . .

As an avid traveler and confirmed wheeler-dealer, I entered into the "points and miles hobby" a little over a year ago. Since then I've accumulated over 2,000,000 miles/points and have traveled to multiple destinations with little money out of pocket (read 17 day trip to Italy in June for $1600 cash out of pocket plus spending money - and we're talking executive class trains, hotel suites, and more)!

But wait, before we get started just a bit about me.

I am just a guy who lives in Washington state with a beautiful wife and 2 young, fabulous, kiddos. I work from home, love to travel, and am an avid crypto currency trader. I am also new to Steemit and the Steem platform. I love what Steemit represents, though, and I thought this would be a great platform to share with others (who may not otherwise be able to afford to do so) how to travel as I do using miles, not money.

Caveats

This Points and Miles Hobby (some call it travel hacking, a term which I despise) comes with a caveat. You typically need to have good credit, and be good with credit cards. If this describes you, read on!

• Most of the miles/points you accumulate come from credit card sign up bonuses and daily spend
• If you don't pay off your credit cards every month, this is not for you
• If you are organized, can handle a spreadsheet, and love the idea of using your good credit as an asset, you may just find that you love this hobby as much as I do!

The General Idea

Points and Miles are collected in Frequent Flyer and Hotel Rewards programs. The quickest way to a stash of miles/points is via credit card sign up bonuses. Once you have the points and miles, you use various tools to find and book airfare, hotel, hostel, Airbnb, train, bus, Uber, and more using those miles instead of cash. There are a ton of tools available, most for free, and it's actually easier to use these points than you might think.

• Credit Cards

Now, I am not a fan of credit cards to be quite honest. To me, they are nothing more than a tool for travel benefits. I treat them as a debit card and suggest you do as well. They are not a tool to buy things you can't afford. If you can't pay it off that month, you can't afford it. The long term interest you pay (and stress you incur from the debt) will exceed the benefits.

We all have a choice in how pay for the goods and services we buy. You can pay cash, use crypto, use a debit card, or use a credit card. By using a credit card - the right credit card - you can earn significant miles and points for doing nothing more than living as you normally do.

Points and miles come two ways - via daily spend and via credit card sign up bonuses. These bonuses are where the magic happens.

• Daily Spend - You simply pay for the goods and services you would normally purchase with the credit card, get the points, pay off the card (I do this several times per month, but I hate debt) and build your stash of points.

• Sign Up Bonuses - A good example is the Alaska Airlines Visa card (there are better cards, but more on that later). You can do a quick Google search for "Alaska 30,000" and you'll find links to the Alaska Airlines Visa card. Sign up, and you'll immediately receive 30,000 Alaska Airlines frequent flyer miles (it usually shows up in your Alaska mileage account within a few days). With this card there is no minimum spend to get the miles. Quick, easy, straightforward. Once you have the miles you can keep or cancel the card. Note that Alaska typically requires around 25,000 miles for a round trip, domestic ticket. I just did this 4 times (yes, you can get more than one) and am flying my family back to Nebraska for a family reunion this November for free. Oh, and I won't pay for luggage either as the $25 per bag fee is waived since I am an Alaska Visa card holder.

All cards - and all points - are not created equal

In the world of the points and miles hobby, you'll quickly become a credit card aficionado. You'll soon realize that all points are not the same. There are 3 basic - and different - types of rewards systems, and it's worth noting them here:

• Airline Miles Cards
  These are the cards, such as the Alaska Airlines Visa example above, that give you airline miles for each dollar spent. Typically you'll get one mile per dollar spent, and that typically increases to 2 or 3 miles per dollar when spending with that particular airline (food on the plane, tickets, etc).

• Hotel Points Cards
  Same thing as a Miles card, but hotel specific. The Hilton American Express or Visa cards, for example, earn you Hilton Hotel points for each dollar spent in the exact same fashion as the airline cards.

• Bank Rewards Cards
  These cards will earn you points within a specific bank owned points system. These are the most lucrative, as they are the most versatile. They work like the above types of cards, but instead of earning points with a specific airline or hotel you earn them within the specific rewards system. That system has multiple travel partners which you can transfer those points to - typically on a 1:1 basis. So, instead of being locked into one airline you now have points that can be transferred to multiple airlines and hotel chains - all with partner relationships that make these points extremely valuable. There are other benefits as well, but we'll get into those in a different post.

There are three main rewards programs to note: Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi Thank You Points.

• Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR)
  These are, in my and many other's estimation, the cream of the crop. They have excellent travel partners (United Airlines, British Airways, Hyatt, Marriott, and more) You earn points for every dollar spent, but it is quite easy to earn multiple points per dollar (more on that later).

• American Express Membership Rewards
  Coming in a close second, Amex has some great partners as well but it's easier to earn more UR points. Do what I do - have both!

• Citi Thank You Points
  Citi has been upping their game, and these are very valuable points as well. They are versatile, can be used for a variety of purchases including transfer to partners, and they are well worth having.

I'm in, So What Now?

• Do some research!
  Dig into this crazy world - it's a deep hole once you get started (not unlike crypto currencies). I will be posting more tips and tricks about how to travel using miles not money, but for now just spend some time digging around.

• Don't just start applying for credit cards. Have a plan.
  Chase cards are the cream of the crop in this world, but they are also the strictest in terms of approval. My advice is always get a Chase Ink business card, a Chase Sapphire card, and a Chase freedom card if you can.

Chase has a 5/24 rule (if you have applied for more than 5 cards in 24 months you won't be approved) so get these cards first. You want these cards because they open up the ability to earn 2x - 5x UR points per dollar spent. This is huge because UR points are typically valued at $.02/point or more. You can often realize $.05/point or more, and it's not hard to get 5x or 8x points for every dollar you spend. With a 60,000 point sign up bonus, the Ink is easily worth $1200 in travel - but much more if you know what you are doing.

• Follow Me!
  I'll be posting more articles about traveling using miles not money - some very specific, and some more general like this one. My goal is to help the Steemit community travel more and see this world beyond their wildest dreams. It's a big, wonderful place, this world of ours, and it's full of awesome things and beautiful people. Get out and see it!

• Watch for my Next Articles:

• How to easily earn 8X UR points per dollar spent at Lowes by shopping at Staples

• Our 17 day trip to Italy - done right - for $1600 out of pocket plus spending money!