If you’ve ever looked at my Instagram or blog and thought, how is she constantly traveling?, the answer might surprise you.
No, I don’t have a trust fund. No, I’m not taking free international trips because I work as a travel writer (that ship sailed long ago). And no, I’m not secretly spending tens of thousands of dollars on flights and hotels.
The truth is that a huge percentage of our travel is paid for with credit card points and miles (i.e. rewards I earn from money I’m already spending to live). Over the years, my husband and I have used them to take trips across Europe, spend three weeks in Thailand and Qatar, travel around Australia for nearly a month, and take smaller domestic getaways to places like Hawaii and Tucson—all for a fraction of what those trips would normally cost.
Here’s exactly how it works—and how you can start doing it, too.
Note: This post contains affiliate links to cards I use frequently. That simply means if you sign up for one, I’ll receive referral points. Everybody wins. But I only recommend products I use and swear by.
First: Let’s Talk About “Free” Travel
When I say we travel for free, what I really mean is that we redeem points instead of paying cash. Those points come from the sign-up bonuses and rewards we earn by putting our normal spending on travel credit cards. Instead of earning airline miles from flying alone, we earn them from everyday purchases like groceries, dining out, business expenses, gas and travel bookings.
And yes—this strategy only works if you pay off your credit cards every month. Interest charges will wipe out the value of any points very quickly, so please only spend what you can afford and pay off. Otherwise, this hobby is not yielding “free travel” for you.
But if you already use credit cards responsibly, this is one of the easiest ways to turn everyday spending into flights and hotel stays.
Step 1: Get the Right Travel Credit Cards
The foundation of traveling on points is choosing the right credit cards. Over the years, my favorites have evolved, but a few consistently stay in the rotation, and I’m constantly opening new ones to add to the mix (no your credit score won’t fall using this method; yes, I consistently maintain a credit score above 820.
For beginners, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the easiest cards to start with. It earns bonus points on travel and dining and allows you to transfer those points to airline and hotel partners for potentially higher value redemptions. And if you’re going to use all the perks and benefits that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, that’s another one of my golden card (but only if you will get value out of the hefty annual fee).
Other cards I frequently recommend include:
- American Express Platinum – great for frequent travelers and lounge access
- American Express Gold – ideal for people who spend a lot on groceries or dining
- Capital One Venture X – simple earning structure with strong travel perks
- Southwest Rapid Rewards cards – useful for earning the Southwest Companion Pass
Different cards excel at different things, so your lineup should reflect how you spend money. Also, you should always make use of every last benefit—for example, several of my AmEx cards have quarterly Resy credits or free money to Lululemon, where I’d already be dropping cash.
Step 2: Earn the Welcome Bonuses
The biggest stash of points usually comes from sign-up bonuses. When you open a new card, you’ll typically earn tens of thousands of points once you meet the minimum spending requirement—often something like spending $3,000 to $5,000 within the first three months.
That might sound like a lot, but it’s surprisingly easy if a) you have a big house expense coming up (think: shutters, roofing, plumbing) or b) you shift everyday expenses to the card:
- Groceries
- Gas
- Utilities
- Dining out
- Business expenses
- Flights and travel bookings
One welcome bonus alone can often be worth a round-trip international flight. And if you’re self-employed, like us, you can use paying your quarterly tax estimate to meet a sign-up bonus in one fell swoop. It makes forking over money to the government slightly less painful.
Step 3: Use the Right Card for the Right Purchase
After the sign-up bonus, the key to maximizing points is using the right card for different categories. I put little sticker tabs on each credit card that say things like “Gas” or “Groceries” to remind my husband and me which card to use at what stores.
For example:
- Dining and Groceries → American Express
- Flights → American Express Platinum
- Travel bookings → Chase Sapphire
- Everyday purchases → a high-earning catch-all card like this or this one
By stacking category bonuses, you can accumulate points much faster than if you used a single card for everything.
My husband and I typically accumulate over one million points a year, and that’s not because we’re spending a million dollars—it’s because we strategically maximize rewards.
Step 4: Transfer Points to Airline and Hotel Partners
Here’s where the magic happens: Most travel cards allow you to transfer points to airline or hotel loyalty programs. Instead of redeeming points through a bank portal for a fixed value, transferring them can unlock dramatically better deals.
For example: 60,000 points might equal a $600 flight in a portal (this is not a great redemption). But transferred strategically, it might become a $4,000 business-class ticket
That’s how travel hackers stretch points so far (and also why we’ll never fly economy on an international flight again). I also then use a program like Point.Me to help me find dates that have award availability within the points ecosystem I’m using.
Step 5: Use Airline Programs Strategically
Some of the best deals come from airline sweet spots.
For instance, earning a Southwest Companion Pass means one person flies free (plus taxes) every time you book a ticket for yourself, which can last nearly two years depending on timing. You can use any Southwest card to do this.
Currently, Southwest is running a promo if you don’t already hold one of their cards where you’ll automatically get a Companion Pass for one year simply by opening one of these cards and hitting the spend within three months. It’s one of the best Companion Pass deals I’ve ever seen them run, so hop on it if you’re on a SWA route!
That single strategy alone can save thousands of dollars if you travel frequently within the United States and Caribbean.
Step 6: Be Flexible With Travel Plans
Flexibility is one of the biggest secrets to maximizing points.
Award flights aren’t always available on the exact dates you want. But if you’re willing to adjust by a day or two—or fly to and through a different hub, which we call a positioning flight—you can often find incredible redemptions. Again, this is where Point.Me comes in handy; it saves me so much time from running random searches on individual airline sites.
This also is how we’ve scored long-haul flights to places like Australia and Asia for a tiny fraction of their cash price (basically, the airline taxes).
My Favorite Beginner Strategy
If you’re brand new to travel points, here’s the simplest way to start:
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Open a beginner travel card like Chase Sapphire Preferred.
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Meet the minimum spend to earn the welcome bonus.
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Continue using the card for travel and dining purchases.
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Redeem points for your first free flight.
That single step can open the door to an entirely new way of traveling.
If you want to dive deeper into the cards I use and how to choose the right one, check out my full guide: “Miles and Points for Beginners: The Best Travel Credit Cards.”
The Bottom Line
Travel hacking isn’t about gaming the system—it’s about using the financial tools that already exist in a smarter way by thinking of the way you area already spending your money. With the right strategy and approach, everyday spending can turn into flights, hotel stays, and unforgettable trips.
And once you take your first “free” trip on points? You’ll never look at credit cards the same way again, I promise you.
