In the past 3 years, I was able to take many trips to Europe and domestically within the USA without stressing about money or saving for the trips. The trips were not 100% free as you still need to pay for taxes but they were very low cost- all thanks to travel credit cards points

Traveling can be very costly and need to be budgeted for ahead of time as it can easily cost a couple of thousand dollars up to $6000. Now more than ever, traveling is very expensive, and it is getting very hard to get affordable airfare or deals. The world has finally opened up and everyone wants to travel after long lockdowns and travel restrictions. However, I want to share with you one of the best financial secrets that I learned during the past 2 years that allowed me to save money on travel.

“Over the past 2 years, I was able to take trips cheaper than regular prices and sometimes close to $0. You can too if you learn the secret of credit card points”

In late 2020, I learned about credit card churning and how to use credit cards for your benefit without being in debt of course. After doing my research, and knew what works for me, I decided to try this technique and I was able to take 2 trips to Europe for 2 weeks for less than $1000 (round trip airfare and accommodations). If you want to know how to keep on reading. To know how, please keep on reading.

 What is Credit Card Churning?

Credit card churning according to Forbs is the process of opening a credit card for the sole purpose of earning a welcome bonus or other benefits. In other words:

1. You open a credit card for the purpose to get the welcome bonus for travel

2. Spend the required amount to gain the welcome points

3. Pay the annual fee (if applicable)

4. Pay off the credit card in full - monthly (don’t ever carry a balance)

5. Use the points to pay for your upcoming trip

6. Downgrade the credit card or close it.

   1. This is important to stop paying annual fees

7. Start over with a new credit card

You should be a responsible person to do this process. You need to make sure you are not spending more than what you have, and you can pay the full credit card amount without carrying a balance. Credit card debt has a very high APR and can really hurt you in the long run

Requirements

1. You will need a good credit score

2. You are a responsible person and use credit cards responsibly

How to Find The Right Credit Card?

I will be focusing on travel credit cards. There are some well-known travel credit cards and also airline credit cards.

Airline Credit Cards:

If you are going to open an airline credit card, I would advise you to determine where you are traveling, and which airline you want to use, then look into their credit card deal.

For example, if you want to go to Spain, Iberia Airline has a direct flight from the northeast to Madrid. Iberia uses Avios as their mile system, their Avios point system is very good and you can actually transfer points from one of their partners (British Airways, American Airlines, ..etc) to Iberia Airline and use the miles to pay for your trip. You can also consider opening a credit card with Iberia if you think it is a good option for you.

Example:  I used Avios points for round-trip airfare between From Boston to Madrid. Paid $192 for $650

Travel/ Banks Credit Cards:

This option gives you some freedom while booking. There are some credit cards that are made for travel. They do have some benefits like no foreign transactions, free global entry, ..etc. The benefits vary depending on the credit card.

Some of these credit cards are Amex, Chase Sapphire, Capital One Venture, BOA travel credit, and Discover Miles. This credit card offers trip booking through their website and you can use points/ miles to book the trips. This will give you a wide variety of options, you also can transfer points to “travel partners” – The transfer is 1:1 points but sometimes they do offer like 1:2 or 25% bonus. Most of the time, point transfer to the airline can provide you with the best deal.

Example: When I booked an Iberia ticket, I transferred points from Chase Sapphire to British Airways as it had a bonus offer. British Airway uses the same point system as Iberia (Avios), then transferred from the British Airway to Iberia.

A simpler example was booking a round trip from Boston to Paris that costs $700 for $0 via the Chase Sapphire travel portal.

Please note you will need to pay taxes in cash

Next,

Once you found the credit card that works for you, read the requirements, sometimes it is required to spend $3000 or  $4000 in order to get a bonus. Most have an annual fee, and some waive the first-year fee. Use the opened credit card for all your spending and never carry a balance; pay them with a credit card in full at the end of the month

I recommend opening one credit card at a time to avoid unnecessary spending

Once the welcome bonus is granted, book your trip and you can decide if you want to keep the credit card or downgrade it before the first year ends by calling customer service

Bonus Tip: most credit card has a referral program, and you get bonus points when you refer friends most of the time your friends will get the extra mile when you refer them. You Can refer your travel partner and you will get the bonus.

Best Credit Cards:

From my experience, here is a list of the best credit cards for travel with a reasonable annual fee

• Chase Sapphire

  • Currently, a 60K points welcome bonus after spending $4000 in 3 months

  • $95 annual fee

  • To Apply: To get 80K bonus points, make sure to use my referral link here, Chase Sapphire

• Capital One Venture  

  • Currently, 75K is the welcome bonus point after spending $4000 in 3 months

  • $95 annual fee

  • Lodge Access

  • Free Global Entry

  • To Apply: Capital One Venture

• Delta (Amex)

  • Currently, 40K Delta Skymiles after spending $2000 in 6 months

  • $99 annual fee waived the first year

  • Perfect if you travel with Delta

  • To Apply: Get the Bonus point by applying here: Amex

• American Airlines Travel Credit

  • The $95 annual fee was waived the first year

Trips I took Using the Credit Cards Points:

Boston to Paris – $0 round trip

7 nights in Paris and 2 nights in Annecy - $13

4 nights in Barcelona – $0

Boston to Madrid - $192

Boston to Cancun flight - $0

7 days Mexico accommodation - $181

Final Thought

Credit Card points are powerful if you use them right. Some travelers like to use 80K points for 4 nights 5 starts hotel/resort while others may use the same amount to pay for a 10 days trip. This really depends on your travel style (budget vs luxury)- either way, using travel credit cards for money you will spend either way can help you save on your next trip by earning points on every dollar you spend.