Often the most costly part of a trip is the flight, so the first portion of my trip that I attempt to get free is the airfare. In the last four years, my spouse and I have earned and used more than 75 free roundtrip tickets, and have paid for fewer than 10. Lots of people have asked us how we are capable of travel so often for free, so I explain that the key to flying free is earning airline miles by applying for credit cards. However, should you dig a little deeper, you will find that the real secret to earning points quickly is getting large signup bonuses for these cards. That's why it's crucial that you find the best travel credit card.
By way of example, at this moment, by applying for the American Airlines Visa card you earn 50,000 miles by spending $2000 in 3 months. These miles can be used to book an international flight for free, such as a roundtrip award flight to Japan (which I personally did in October 2011!), or to get TWO domestic roundtrip award flights free! The best thing is, the annual fee is waived for the first twelve months, and in case you don't want to keep the card, you can cancel the credit card right before next year's annual fee is due. Effectively, you get 50,000 American Airlines Advantage Miles for free, and all you need to do is spend money which you would have normally spent anyhow on your normal household obligations!
After showing that the key is signing up for credit cards, people usually ask me won't signing up for these cards damage my credit? The short answer is it will drop it for the short term, but typically by only about 5 points. I have discovered that within 6 months my score bounces back.
Typically, now, you are likely asking yourself exactly what is the best travel credit card now? The answer to this question varies every month. Nevertheless, to start out, I would recommend choosing a major airline carrier (e.g. United) and signing up for their co-branded credit card (e.g. Chase United Explorer) that features a signup bonus of 40,000 miles or more.
And it doesn't have to stop there! I recommend that you develop a technique to sign up for a different travel credit card(s) periodically, so that you start to collect points with numerous airline companies (e.g. Southwest, United, etc), so you have flexibility for free future travel!
Finally, if you are interested in learning more about how to earn free travel, please check out
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