Breaking Down Credit Card Rewards and how YOU can Take Advantage

Those who are frequent visitors already know I love taking advantage of credit card rewards. For the new readers? Well, now you know. Credit card rewards can be very lucrative. I’ve easily saved thousands by using my miles and points for free flights or free stays at hotels.

The rewards you earn make it possible for you to afford to travel to an expensive destination (such as Bora Bora or Australia) or stay longer at a cheap location (such as Prague or Vietnam). Points and miles can also change how you actually do the traveling. Wanna fly first class? Use your miles.

Getting points
​

Easy! Get a rewards card and start buying stuff!

Okay, in all seriousness, it’s a bit more complicated than that. But a rewards credit card is certainly one of the best ways to raking in the miles and points fast.

Many of the cards have different earning capabilities. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns three points per dollar spent on travel and restaurants. The AmEx Everyday Preferred gets three points per dollar spent at the grocery store, and two points per dollar spent at a gas station. And then there’s the Chase Freedom Unlimited that gets 1.5 points per dollar spent on every purchase you make.

You probably get the idea: you can earn a lot of the points/miles by buying items you would purchase anyways. Why not get rewarded for that??

I’ve easily earned about 250,000 points/miles over the past year. The more you spend, the more you earn. Having said that, should you buy stuff just to buy it? No.

There are plenty of other ways to earn points and miles. But where do you begin? How do you earn more points?? Is this right for you?? And once you get points, how do you go about actually booking the flight?? All great questions. And all of them have answers that'll likely please you. 

Cracking the Code to Travel Hacking

One of the best ways to learn about travel credit cards and how to take advantage of them is to get my book, Cracking the Code to Travel Hacking.

When I ask readers why they don’t take advantage of credit card points, the answer is always something like, “I think getting so many credit cards is bad for your credit score,” or “I don’t know how to do that,” or “the annual fees aren’t worth it.”

Well, guess what: getting a few credit cards over the span of a year, for example, is not bad for your credit score (I really wish I knew where this rumor started). In fact, it’s actually good for your credit score and I explain why in the book.

I also explain how travel hacking works in the book.

As for the annual fees, they most certainly can be worth it. I’ll explain why with my most expensive card - a $450 annual Chase card:

• $300 in annual travel credits (which makes the annual fee go instantly from $450 to $150).
• 3x points on travel and restaurants
• Priority Pass lounge access (which is amazing)
• Several other VIP perks including car insurance and trip insurance

I also have two hotel branded credit cards that have annual fees of less than $80. With each one, I get a free night’s stay every year - easily worth way more than $100.

Bottom line

If you pay off your card every month, you can make off like bandit as a travel hacker. Travel hacking is something everyone can embrace. It makes travel free.

And when you can use “free” and “travel” in the same sentence, that should be music to your ears.

Simply put, travel hacking will save you money. Period.

If you’re still not sure if it is for you, my book will certainly clear things up. And you can read one chapter for free by signing up below. By doing so, not only will you get that chapter for free, but you’ll also get access to my travel library, filled with a bunch of extremely useful information.