Using Miles and Points to Travel for Less
My husband and I have traveled all over the world using points and miles. We have saved over $100,000 and we want to teach you how we do it.
We put together this hour-long seminar to teach you the basics about how to get started. We talk about three main transferrable programs: American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Capital One Miles.
We recommend picking one and starting with that! Watch the whole video once, then maybe go back and watch the sections that interest you the most a second time. We also share some resources for you to learn more. I will list those below, as well. If you have any questions, email me at rachelle@theinspiredteen.com. Enjoy!
Definitions and Lingo:
SUB – Sign up Bonus, what you get for initially signing up for a card.
P1, P2 – Nomenclature for you and your partner when you are “playing in 2 player mode.”
Retention Offer – what an issuer gives you sometimes when you threaten to cancel a card.
Category Bonus – Some cards give extra points in certain categories. Use this to maximize earning.
Tips for Beginners:
Decide which “system” you want to use first (ie American Express or Chase). You can always try another later if you want to get more into this whole thing. If you know what you are saving up for (where you want to go and when), that is also very helpful!
Research cards before you sign up. Frequent Miler has a best offers page and that will help you decide which cards to sign up for and when.
Keep track of your cards, what type of spend to put on them (keep track of the category bonuses), which rewards you have earned, when the annual fee hits, and more. You can do this in your notes app or using an excel document.
Set up automatic payments on your cards. This will prevent you from racking up debt on accident. You can get a lot of points/miles with just a few cards, so don’t feel like you have to have as many as we do. It’s a lot to keep track of, but Beau loves it so it works out for us. :)
Watch your credit. It does take a small hit when you sign up for cards, so if you are going to be buying a home or car soon, you might want to be a little cautious. It does not hurt you long-term, though. We both have fantastic credit scores.
Figure out what works for YOU. There are a lot of different ways to earn points. You do not have to do anything complicated to start saving! Some of what we share here will be too much for most people and that’s ok. Start small and experiment. If something sounds too complicated and doesn’t work for you, don’t do it. There are a lot of other ways to save while traveling.
Additional Resources:
Frequent Miler - this is Beau’s favorite miles and points blog. They also have a podcast and Facebook group. They get pretty deep into it so it might be worth checking out after you understand a bit more about how it works.
The Points Guy - This is more basic and a great place to start for beginners.
Doctor of Credit - This focuses more on offers and free stuff.