Alli, Sally, and I have put in quite a bit of mileage in 2019. From road trips, to flights, to cruises, we’ve been criss-crossing the globe highlighting the best of anywhere and everywhere. And while we are often working with tourism boards or brands on these projects, many of the biggest and best adventures are on our dime. With the most common question we get on TN being how we afford to travel like we do, I’m here to answer it… we can’t.
Enter credit card points and airline miles.
We booked this ENTIRE Greek Babymoon with points and miles! OPA!!!
I’m not going to use this post to go too far into how credit card points and airline miles work, but I will tell you that I learned everything I know from The Points Guy, the authority on all things points and miles. Feel free to head to TPG’s site and see how deep this rabbit hole goes! Note - this post is not sponsored by them :)
The purpose of this post is for those who aren’t playing this game at all to decide if you should get in or not. It can be super rewarding and provide travel experiences that some would never choose to afford, but it’s not for everyone. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself before getting in the game.
We promise we don’t work for Chase. But we are Chase points nerds.
Am I a responsible credit card user? Credit card companies can offer lucrative sign up bonuses and benefits because of the 40% of people that are currently carrying a balance on their card. Those hefty interest rates make them a ton of money, and they want to suck more people in with enticing offers. If you have a balance or don’t plan on paying off your credit card monthly, this is not for you. Your benefits will quickly be erased by the interest rates you’re paying, so you should stick to your debit card. While paying off your balance monthly is super important, a responsible user also doesn’t use too much of their credit, as credit utilization is a big factor in determining your credit score.
In other words, if you have a credit line of $5,000, don’t spend $5,000 a month and pay it off. While occasionally you’ll need to utilize more of your credit (that’s what it’s there for!), try to consistently to keep it low.
What’s my credit score? If you plan on being a responsible credit card user, then lets do this. You can check your credit score using Credit Karma, and check in on it periodically to see how you’re doing. Assuming you have good credit (a FICO score of 670 and above is good), I’d suggest starting off with a Chase Freedom or Chase Sapphire Preferred, but there are plenty of options to begin this adventure.
If your credit score is greater than 750, you can likely qualify for the more premium cards. Maintaining credit card accounts and paying off your bills will allow your credit score to steadily increase, and unlock more of the exciting credit cards :)
Do I have any big purchases on the horizon? If you’re only going to be opening one card to get started, this is not that big of a deal. But this is something to have in the back of your mind if you really get into credit card points. Since you will make mistakes (as we all inevitably do), there will be moments on this points journey where your credit takes a hit. If you’re making your payments and not carrying huge balances, you’ll steadily return back to your norm. All that to say, if you’re planning to buy a car or a home (especially!), then you don’t want to mess with your credit score. You want it to be as high as possible!
For example, we aren’t planning on buying a home for at least a few more years, so I’m churning through credit cards trying to rack up as many benefits as possible. But as we get closer to wanting to qualify for loans, I will definitely be toning it down.
Will I spend enough to justify the rewards? It’s always exciting to see the offers that card companies offer, like Chase’s current offer of 60,000 points for the Sapphire Preferred (which could take you on two round trips across the country). But those 60,000 points only come when you spend $4,000 in the first three months that you have it. So ask yourself, will I naturally spend that much? DO NOT spend $4,000 only to get the 60,000 points.
And do not sign up for the card if you aren’t going to make the bonus, it would be such a waste!
Do I have the time and energy to keep track of all of this? Starting with a card like the Chase Freedom or Sapphire Preferred cards, it won’t take you too much time to keep track of it all. Just pay your bills on time and hit your spending requirements in the beginning. But with the more premium cards you’re going to want to pay attention. They offer sign up bonuses, travel credits, store credits, Uber credits, free baggage, lounge access, and more! And often those benefits reset after a year (not the sign up bonus), so you need to make sure you are maximizing all of your benefits. The more cards you have, the more time and energy it takes to maximize all of your benefits. Once you get more than 3 cards, I’d recommend setting up a spreadsheet.
As an example of a failure, we have had the American Express Platinum card for the past 4 years, and it comes with a $100 per year benefit to Saks Fifth Avenue. You can receive two $50 statement credits per year (one each half of the year), so it’s basically free money! I didn’t know about it until early December… so we missed out on some free Saks shopping! Sorry Alli!
Utilizing credit card points and airline miles is an incredible way to save money to travel the world. If you’re smart and strategic, points can make travel easier, more affordable, and more lux! I’m planning on sharing more about how we use points and strategize in the coming months - let me know what you’d like to know more about! Or, head to The Points Guy and search for anything! They’re the real experts!
Qatar Airways’ Qsuite is arguably the best business class in the sky… and you better believe you can book it with points!