Award Traveling 101

So… you are interested in traveling with points? Wondering where to start? Which credit card to apply for? What about annual fees? How can I find the best deals?

Let’s dive into the basics:

While I cannot cover all of the basics in this one post, I can certainly start you off in the world of credit card points. 

First off what are credit card points?

• Points are provided by credit cards and are considered to be a form of currency because they can be used to purchase flights called “award bookings”. Sometimes these points are referenced as “cash back” cards because you can exchange your points for cash (not recommended). Most award bookings show you the amount of points needed plus the cash for taxes and fees.  Not all airlines are created equal. 

What airlines are commonly booked with points? 

• United, American Airlines, Qatar, Emirates, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, JetBlue to name a few

What does credit card strategy have to do with earning these points?

• Certain banks have rules for approving credit card applications based on the number of cards you have opened in the last 12 months, 24 months, 48 months and 7 years. Hence, you want to be strategic and open certain cards first before you are locked out of getting them.

What’s the best kind of travel card to get?

• The best card to get is the card that allow you to transfer your points to other airlines for flight bookings called “transferable currency”.

• These cards are recommended first before getting co-branded airline or hotel cards because a lot of these points can be transferred to these said airlines and hotels. 

Why open a new card instead of putting all my spend on one card?

• Here’s an example:   Card 1 (gives you 1 point per every dollar you spend) you spend $4,000 dollars and you get 4,000 points. 

• Card 2: When you open this card there’s a sign-up bonus of 65,000 points when you spend $4,000 dollars in 90 days of getting approved for it. After you spend $4,000 dollars you are awarded 65,000 points. 

  
  

That means you received roughly earned 16 points per dollar spent, a way better value for your money!

It’s definitely pretty tricky and time consuming to open up card after card, but more on that later. 

Words of  Caution: The world of credit cards is not something to be taken lightly because debt is a real issue if you aren’t a responsible spender. The points game is for those who have a good sense of money and debt and have great credit scores to sustain a good relationship with each bank. It behooves each cardholder to be responsible and smart when going down this path. 

What about annual fees for these credit cards?

• Like anything you don’t get something for nothing. Annual fees are the nature of the beast but depending on your card lineup you can off-set annual fees by using the perks of certain travel cards. 

How can I find the best deals?

• Manually searching various major airports award bookings throughout the US to your destination can afford you the best options. Depending on where you live it best to check airports in neighboring states or cities for the best deals. In some cases you may find a good deal leaving out of say Dallas instead of Houston and you would reposition yourself to that airport for your international leg of the trip. These separate flights are private transfers and are often called “reposition flights”. 

Where do I start?

• There’s one card that I think every person should have or at least start off with because it transfers to airlines and hotels and is the basis for “transferable currencies”. Currently this card is running its highest ever sign-up bonus for a limited time. If you are interested in more details about this card read about here. Get it while it lasts!

Enjoy your Travels 

Gabby