Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Boarding Area:
boardingarea.com. A website that contains a series of blogs that discuss
how to fly for free and gain airline miles and elite status quickly.
The Points Guy:
thepointsguy.com. Run by Brian Kelly, this site helps people navigate
credit card bonus and airline and hotel reward programs.
Second, travel credit cards offer many perks besides their sign-up bonuses. Many will give you elite loy-
alty status. There's nothing better than getting elite status and the perks that come with it for doing nothing.
The American Express platinum card gives you Starwood Gold status, access to airport lounges, and a $200
USD travel credit. The Hilton card gives you gold status. The United card gives you priority boarding and
free checked bags. The list of freebies goes on and on.
Most good credit cards also give you extra points when you shop at specific retailers, or, if it is a branded
credit card, you'll get extra points with that particular brand. You're going to shop anyway, so why not
earn something for doing it? These cards are meant to get people to be loyal, so they include lots of perks
so you don't use a competitor. I received triple miles by buying clothes from Gap using an airline's credit
card, since Gap was a preferred merchant. United gives you double points when you use their credit card for
booking flights directly on their website.
If you don't want to be tied down to one company, a general rewards credit card like Capital One
Venture Card (capitalone.com), Chase Sapphire and Ink cards (chase.com), or American Express (amer-
icanexpress.com) would be best. You will still get points for free flights and discounts, as well as cash back.
You won't get any of the elite status benefits that a branded credit card gives, but you will have access to a
wider range of brands and companies while still receiving points that can be redeemed for free travel.
When you are choosing which card to get, it is important to look for the following three things:
A Huge Sign-up Bonus:
As mentioned above, most cards offer sign-up bonuses of twenty
thousand points/miles. Don't get one that doesn't; otherwise it will take you ages to get a
free flight. Lately, in a bid to get more people to join their card programs, many airline- and
hotel-specific cards are offering bonuses between sixty and one hundred thousand points. I
simply won't sign up for a card that doesn't give me at least twenty thousand points when I
sign up. Most cards have an everyday sign-up bonus of around thirty thousand points.
Extra Points:
Most credit cards offer one point for every dollar spent. However, the good
credit cards will give you extra points when you shop at specific retailers or, if they are
branded credit cards, with a particular brand. This will help you earn points a lot quicker.
I don't want just one dollar to equal one point. I want the ability to get two or three points
every time I spend a dollar. Therefore, look for cards that have retail partnerships so that
when you go shopping, you gain more points quickly. When I used my AA credit card to
sign up with Netflix, I received an extra five thousand points.
Low Spending Minimum:
Unfortunately, in order to get the large bonuses these cards give,
there is usually a required minimum spending amount before you'll be eligible to receive
the bonus. But sometimes the spending requirement is too high. I love the Starwood Amex
card, but you must spend $5,000 USD before you get the reward bonus. While all cards give
you six months to reach that spending level, I'd prefer to have a lower threshold. After all,
spending money just to get points is not worth it. I want to be able to get the bonus using
my normal, day-to-day spending. Only sign up for cards that have a spending requirement
of less than $1,000 USD.
