Showing posts with label TRAVEL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TRAVEL. Show all posts

The Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

April 15, 2025

I have NEVER seen an offer this good, especially for the best travel credit card for beginners! We open a new credit card about every three months, but if I were to only have one credit card, it would be the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It’s my favorite travel credit card because your points go far, their travel portal is easy to use, and you can transfer your points to many different airlines and hotel brands.

Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

An Amazing Offer From The Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

For a limited time you can earn 105,000 points after spending $5,000 on the card in the first 3 months of opening a Chase Sapphire Preferred. If you use the travel portal to redeem your points, they are worth over $1,300 in free travel. The annual fee is $95 and will be on your first month’s bill. Be sure to use this link so you can get the sign-up bonus when you apply. 

If you’ve been thinking about opening a new credit card, this is the one you want to pick. The usual signup bonus is 60,000 points. Sometimes it will go up to 75-80,000 points, but 100,000 points is almost unheard of. On top of that, they are doing another crazy thing until June 15, 2025. For stays at certain hotels, 1 point equals $0.02 in redemption value. So if you jump on this quick enough, your 105,000 points can become $2,100 if free travel.

Why the Chase Sapphire is the Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

If you don’t have a specific trip in mind, if you don’t know where you want to go, what airline you plan to use, or a certain hotel in mind, the Chase Sapphire is great because of how flexible it is. The travel portal is very similar to Expedia.com, so you can use your points to book flights on different airlines, hotels from almost any brand, rent a car, or book excursions.

Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners
When we went to Disneyland, we booked a hotel through the Chase travel portal for around $300 per night. The current promotion makes it 15,000 points per night. The Del Sol Inn is right by the entrance to Disneyland and is actually a shorter walk than walking to the parking garage. The kid rooms have bunk beds, a microwave, refrigerator, an outdoor pool, and parking for $30 per night (it’s $35 at Disneyland).

You can read here about how to pay for your tickets to Disneyland using points. I’ve already told you how much I love Southwest, so if you need more Southwest points, you can easily transfer your Chase points online. Here’s a list of other transfer partners:

  • AerClub, loyalty program of Aer Lingus
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Emirates Skywards®
  • Air France KLM Flying Blue
  • Iberia Plus
  • JetBlue TrueBlue
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
  • United MileagePlus®
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • IHG® One Rewards Club
  • Marriott Bonvoy™
  • World of Hyatt®
    • Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

Another favorite of mine is the World of Hyatt because they have many all-inclusive properties for fairly good rates. The best place I’ve ever stayed is the Hyatt Ziva in Cancun, Mexico. The food is incredible, the entertainment is wonderful, and the property itself is just amazing. They even have dolphins on sight, I loved watching them play every day.

Random Facts About the Best Travel Credit Card for Beginners

A couple of little perks that I enjoy that end up paying for my annual fee are a complimentary DashPass and a monthly credit. I don’t use DashPass very often, but I love that the Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you up to $10 off an order every month on DoorDash non-restaurant orders. I get candy, soda, or junk food for my kids at 7-11 because they have a “pickup” option, so I don’t have to pay for delivery or any extra fees. If you do this every month it ends up being $120of free food, which is more than the $95 annual fee.

Remember to use this link so you can get the sign-up bonus when you apply. Do not add anyone as an "authorized user." After you are approved, you can get another bonus by referring your spouse and they can also get a sign-up bonus. If you add someone as an authorized user they can't get a sign-up bonus for their own card.

Something else to keep in mind, is that your points are associated with your credit card. If you close your card, you lose your points. You’ll either want to spend your points before you close your card, or pay the $95 annual fee to keep it open. You could also call to “downgrade” your card to one that doesn’t have an annual fee, but you lose many of the perks that come with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

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Why I Love Capital One Venture Card Miles

March 24, 2025

I love that Capital One Venture Card miles are flexible and easy to use. Right now they are offering the best sign-up bonus I have ever seen for this card. They haven’t said when the offer will end, just that it’s available for a limited time.
Capital One Venture Card Miles

The sign-up bonus is 75,000 points (worth $750) and a travel credit of $250. The minimum spend is $4,000 in the first 3 months, so as soon as you spend $4,000 on that card, you’ll get $1,000 worth of free travel. The annual fee is only $95 and it will be on your first bill. Be sure to use this link so you can get the sign-up bonus when you apply.

How to Redeem Capital One Venture Card Miles

Most travel credit cards are locked into one airline or hotel company, making it difficult to get the exact vacation you were hoping for. The great thing about the Venture Card is that you can use the miles on anything that codes as “travel” on your bill. This makes the miles very flexible and valuable.

You can use Capital One Venture Miles on flights from any airline, any hotel company, any rental car company, for a cruise, bus tickets, train tickets, and the list goes on and on. You pay for these things using your Venture card, then log in to your account, click on “view rewards” then “redemptions” and you just erase the purchase off of your bill using your points. 100 points will “erase” $1, so your 75,000 points is worth $750.
Capital One Venture Card Miles



Capital One Venture Card Miles

The $250 travel credit works a bit differently. You use it toward purchases made through Capital One Travel Portal. The Credit may be used in whole for a single purchase or in part over multiple purchases. Keep in mind that credits expire a year after you open your account.

My Favorite Ways to Use Capital One Venture Card Miles

Hotels and plane tickets are easy to get for points, but what about tickets to Disneyland? There’s even a way to get them for FREE using credit card points. You need to purchase the tickets with your Capital One Venture card from a travel website like www.arestravel.com. They also have tickets to Universal Studios, LEGOLAND, Sea World and more.

If you buy them directly from Disney, it will not be coded as travel. If you get Disneyland tickets from a travel website, you can erase them from your bill. You have 90 days from the purchase to erase them, so you could even use the purchase of the tickets to help you meet your minimum spend, then erase them once you get the pointsCapital One Venture Card Miles

When I’m traveling with a large group I love staying at an Airbnb, but they don’t offer any credit card sign-up bonuses. You know I’m not about to pay with cash for a vacation, so what’s a girl to do? Luckily, Airbnb codes on your bill as “travel” so you can use your Capital One Venture Card miles. Victory is mine!

Some Things to Note About Capital One Venture Card Miles

Your miles are linked to your Capital One credit card account, so if you want to use the miles, you need to keep your account open. I usually close my card 11 months after I open it so I don't have to pay another annual fee, but if you haven't redeemed your miles yet, you would want to keep your credit card open.

Remember to use this link so you can get the sign-up bonus when you apply. Do not add anyone as an "authorized user." After you are approved, you can get another bonus by referring your spouse and they can also get a sign-up bonus. If you add someone as an authorized user they can't get a sign-up bonus for their own card.

Some people have asked if the Capital One Venture X card is worth it, and the short answer is “no.” I wouldn’t get it because it has a higher annual fee, $395 instead of $95. They will give you a $300 travel credit to help offset the higher fee, but the math just doesn’t make sense to me, pay $300 to get a $300 credit.

Other Perks From The Capital One Venture Card

If you want to skip security lines at the airport, you can receive a statement credit of up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. You can also enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection. I’ve never tried either of these options, but they sound great.

If you aren’t into travel you can also use your miles to pay for purchases on Amazon.com or use them at other online retailers that take PayPal. You can also redeem your miles for physical or digital gift cards. You can even get cash back, either as a statement credit or a check.

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Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Promotion

March 18, 2025

You don't want to miss the limited-time Southwest Airlines Companion Pass promotion. If you apply by March 31, 2025, you can get a sign-up bonus of 30,000 points and a Companion Pass good until 2/28/26. 

The Companion Pass is amazing because someone can fly with you for free on EVERY ticket you purchase. I guess you do have to pay $11.20 in fees for round-trip domestic flights, but that's basically free. You can apply using my link and you'll need to spend $4,000 on that card in the first three months to get the bonuses. The annual fee is only $69 and it will be on your first month's bill.

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Promotion

I love Southwest because can usually find cheap flights and their website is easy to navigate whether you’re searching for flights using points or dollars. I love it because they don’t play any games with the points, if it’s available for cash, it’s available for points. Prices are released about 7 months ahead, but I like that because the pressure is off to plan trips too far in advance. 

My family flew from Salt Lake City, UT to Kahului (Maui), HI for 21,691 points each. Fees are only $11.20 for round-trip domestic flights, including Hawaii. The fees to Mexico are quite a bit more because they are international flights, but we’ve flown to Puerto Villarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Cancun for less than $150. 

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Promotion

Offers change all the time and for some reason, Southwest has three different personal cards and two business cards. It can be confusing, but take a deep breath and I'll walk you through it. When I'm deciding which card to apply for, I look at the number of points earned vs. the annual fee. The Plus usually is the best personal card because it has the lowest annual fee and the same sign-up bonus as the Premier and the Priority cards. For the business card, I’m willing to pay the higher annual fee, because there is a higher sign-up bonus with the Performance Business Card. 

How the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card Helps You Earn A Companion Pass

The very best thing about Southwest is the Companion Pass. If you missed the March 31 application date or you want to have a Companion Pass for almost two years, you can get one by earning 135,000 points in one calendar year. 

First, you’ll want to open a business credit card in mid-October. BUT, make sure you do NOT meet the minimum spend until January. This will be the third month you have the card open. If you meet the minimum spend too early, your points will be added to your account in December and the plan won’t work. 

Next, you’ll open a personal card in January. If you get the sign-up bonus from the business card in January and the sign-up bonus from the personal card in March you’ll earn 135,000 points in the same calendar year. The coveted Companion Pass is yours, commence evil genius laugh.

Southwest Airlines Companion Pass Promotion

Not only will you have buy one get one free tickets for the rest of the year, but you’ll also have it for the next calendar year. And you can use the 135,000 points to “buy” your tickets, so you won’t have to pay cash for your tickets for quite some time. 

You can change your “companion” up to 3 times a year. You used to have to call and wait on hold to do this, but now you can easily change the person who will fly with you for free online. I went to New York with my daughter as my companion, then I changed it to my husband for our family trip to Maui, and then I changed it to my sister when we went on a girl's trip to Florida. One year, my sister took each of her kids on a solo trip, what a fun Christmas present that was for them.

Do not add anyone as an "authorized user" when you are applying for a credit card. If you add someone as an authorized user they won't be able to get a sign-up bonus for their own card. Because it lasts for almost two years, I'll earn a Companion Pass and then two years later I'll refer my husband. Then he can earn his own. So every two years we alternate who has a Companion Pass. Yes, they will give you another sign-up bonus every two years, crazy I know.

Big Changes for Southwest

Southwest recently changed some of the long-standing perks that made them stand out, but credit card holders can still get a free checked bag. They are also doing away with open seating, but some people see this as a positive change. One last thing I love about the Southwest Credit Card is that your points are not associated with Chase or your credit card. I like to close my credit card 11 months later so I don’t have to pay another annual fee, but the points stay in my Rapid Rewards account so I can keep them even after I close the credit card. 

Here’s a Summary of The Best Southwest Credit Card Offers:

Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business (use this link when you apply)

  • The sign-up bonus is usually 80,000 points (apply in mid-October)
  • The minimum spend is $5,000 in the first 3 months (be sure NOT to meet this before January)
  • The annual fee is $199
  • Also apply for the personal card to get the Companion Pass for the next two years 
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus (use this link when you apply)
  • The sign-up bonus is usually 40-60,000 points
  • The minimum spend is usually $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • The annual fee is $69
  • Apply in January after you meet the minimum spend on the Performance Business card

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What Is Travel Hacking and Other FAQs

March 14, 2025

My quick definition of travel hacking is opening new credit cards to get a large amount of points that you can use for travel expenses. There’s more to learn, but if you can remember new cards equals lots of points, you’re on the right track. Some people think you can just open one card to earn points, but that’s not a hack. 

My husband and I have opened 32 cards in the last eight years, but you can start with one and go from there. We’ve earned 2,674,774 points and gone on at least 18 trips, almost for free. We still have to pay fees on our flights, and some other things, but it's a fraction of what we would normally spend.


What Does It Take?

Travel hacking isn't for everyone. You need a decent handle on your finances and shouldn’t hate keeping track of financial details. You don’t have to have a comprehensive budget, but you should have an idea of how much you spend in a month and you should be willing to check your accounts regularly. Here's a checklist to see if this could work for you and your family:

  • You can easily pay off your credit card bill IN FULL and ON TIME every month.
  • You are somewhat organized and can track when you opened cards, so you can close them before the annual fee next year.
  • You spend at least $1,700 per month that you could charge to a credit card.

Some people are tempted to use their credit card to pay their rent or mortgage, but if it will charge a fee, use another form of payment. Don’t pay extra fees just for the credit card points. If you can’t meet the “minimum spend” with your normal living expenses like groceries, gas, bills, and shopping this might not be for you.

Who Should Avoid Travel Hacking?

If your style is more, “fly by the seat of your pants” when it comes to money or if paying your bills on time isn’t your jam, travel hacking may not be the best idea. You may end up paying more fees and become frustrated with the process. I don't want people to go into debt or make unwise financial decisions just to get credit card points. If any of these describe you, you may not be a good candidate for travel hacking:

  • If you use credit cards to make it from one paycheck to the next.
  • If you have trouble paying off your bill IN FULL every month.
  • If you have trouble remembering to pay off your bill ON TIME every month.
  • If you struggle with staying organized and/or keeping track of details.
  • If you have a poor credit rating. You can still try to apply, you just may not be approved. Many of the credit cards that offer good sign-up bonuses require good credit scores.
  • If you are about to apply for a large loan such as a mortgage and can not withstand a 3-5 point decrease in your credit score, this may not be for you.

Do You Use One Card For Your Daily Expenses?

Never! The way to earn a substantial amount of points is to open new credit cards. Even if a card is offering 5-10x bonus on your spending, it’s never going to add up to as much as a sign-up bonus. Say you spend about $2,000 per month, with the price of groceries and gas, that’s not too hard to imagine. Say you get 2 points per dollar spent (that’s a pretty decent average). You would only get 48,000 points in that year. If instead, you opened a new card every 2 months, you could get up to 300,000 in that same time spending the same amount of money. 

Comparing Points Earned the "Normal Way vs. Travel Hacking"

Where Should I Start?

There are so many options out there, it can be hard to know where to start. Here are my three favorite credit cards with the most flexibility.

How Often Should I Open a New Credit Card?

  • We open a new card about every 3-4 months, but you can decide how often you'd like to open new cards. Maybe you want to start with one and see how it goes.
  • Chase will only let you open 5 new credit cards in 24 months. Travel Hackers refer to this as the Chase 5/24 rule.
  • You and your spouse can both do this, so it's actually 10 cards in 24 months or a new card every 2.4 months. As soon as you meet a "minimum spend" for the new card, it will give you your sign-up bonus. It's not benefitting you anymore, so you can move on to the next one.
  • There are more cards than just Chase. Capital One, American Express, Citi, and other banks offer great sign-up bonuses.

I know it seems like there’s so much to learn, but I promise you can do this. Post your questions in the comments, I’m here to help! 

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Traveling Hacks - How to Travel for Free (Almost)

March 03, 2025

I love a good life hack or shortcut, but I especially love it when a life hack will save me money. I’ve discovered a traveling hack that will allow you to travel almost for free. We’ve used this trick to visit to all-inclusive resorts, Europe, and go on some pretty epic road trips. How do we do this without spending much money? Three words: credit card points.

Traveling Hacks
Traveling Hacks Using Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses

Many people have a credit card that earns them points, but saving enough points for just one plane ticket requires a considerable amount of points and can take years. Ain’t nobody got time for that. The secret is opening a new credit card to get a sign-up bonus. This will give you a large amount of points in just a couple months, instead of having to wait so long to accumulate points. This is what some people refer to as “Travel Hacking.”

Traveling Hacks
How Does It Work?

  1. Open a new credit card that provides a substantial sign-up bonus if you spend a specific amount of money within a designated time frame, this is known as a minimum spend.
  2. Use this credit card to pay for all of your daily expenses, including gas, groceries, bills, and even offering at church (if you're into that).
  3. Pay your card off in full and on time each month.
  4. Once you meet the minimum spend, you will receive your sign-up bonus points. Utilize your points for free flights, hotel stays, excursions, car rentals, Disneyland tickets, and more.
  5. Return to step one and open another credit card, this is how you can really rack up the points. You can refer your spouse to get even more points.
  6. I like to close the card 11 months after opening it to avoid incurring another annual fee.

Some of My Favorite Travel Credit Cards

Capital One Venture (use this link to get the sign-up bonus)

  • Sign-up bonus is 75,000 points (worth $750) right now they’re offering an additional $250 travel credit (this is the best bonus I’ve ever seen for this card).
  • Minimum spend is $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • Annual fee is $95
  • Use points to “erase” any travel purchase. The travel portal makes it easy to remove travel purchases off your bill using your points.
Traveling Hacks

Chase Sapphire Preferred (use this link to get the sign-up bonus)

  • Sign-up bonus is 60,000 points (worth $750 in the Chase travel portal)
  • Minimum spend is $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • Annual fee is $95
  • Points can be transferred to many hotels and airlines

Traveling Hacks
Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus (use this link to get the sign-up bonus)

  • Sign-up bonus is 30,000 points and a Companion Pass (buy one get one free plane tickets on EVERY ticket bought with points or cash) until 2/28/26
  • Minimum spend is $4,000 in the first 3 months
  • Annual fee is $69 
  • Southwest is one of my favorite airlines for domestic flights as well as flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, and other tropical locations.

Some Things to Keep in Mind

  • You usually have to pay the annual fee up front on your first credit card statement.
  • DO NOT put your spouse as an authorized user because you can refer your spouse to receive a referral bonus (usually 10-20,000 extra points).
  • When you're applying for a card, PLEASE use my referral links so I can get a bonus too:)

Traveling Hacks
Travel hacking has become somewhat of a hobby for me. It’s so fun to figure out what card I want to open next so I can plan another free vacation! I hope you can also enjoy the process and travel almost for free.

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