Hi there, it's Ernest from Trip Astute. Today, we'll be talking about the
question I get asked all the time, which is, "how do I travel for free?"
(light chiming music)
There are a ton of ways to answer this question and even online communities dedicated to
this topic. Just check out all the miles and point blogs out there, as well as
Flyertalk, which is an entire community of people dedicated to talking about how
to earn points and maximize their travel. For simplicity sake, we're going to cover
three basic ways to earn points: One is by flying and staying at hotels. Two is
through credit cards, both promotions and through daily spend. And three is through
other point bonuses. Things like dining rewards, banking promotions; basically any
way to earn points that isn't through credit cards or just by actually
traveling itself. If you're lucky enough to travel all the time for work, or maybe
unlucky, then you probably stay at a lot of hotels and you probably fly a lot. Now
hopefully you're staying at the same portfolio of hotels and flying on the
same or similar airlines in order to maximize your points. If not, you really
should consider it. I'll give you an example. When I used to work for a
consulting firm in DC, I used to travel all the time to Austin, Texas, and my
company had an arrangement with Hilton hotels. And so when I would stay at the
Doubletree, the Embassy Suites, the Garden Inn, basically all these hotels were
on the same portfolio which was managed by Hilton. And so I was earning Hilton
points the whole time, which I later used for a huge vacation after I left the
company. The same holds true for airlines as well. I was given the choice to travel
on different airlines every week, and I really chose to narrow it down to one
one or two airlines, specifically United. In fact, I flew so much that I not only
got some perks in terms of status, but I also gained enough mileage to have a
round trip for two from DC to Hawaii, which was pretty awesome. And the hotel
perks are definitely great too. So if you earn a lot of points and you end up
getting more status, you end up unlocking a lot of additional perks things like
late check-out, early check-in, free breakfast. Those things are small, but
they definitely add up. The last few years, my work has been more local, so I
haven't been traveling as much. As a result, I've been using basically method
number two to earn as many points and perks as possible, and that's credit
cards. Credit cards, especially those with a specific affiliation or program, can
earn you a ton of points. And I mean a ton! I actually haven't paid for a flight
or hotel in years, and that's just based on bonuses that I've earned off applying
for new credit cards, and also through my daily spend. One of the biggest questions
I get when I talk to people about credit cards is, "Hey, should I actually pay for
the annual fee. Isn't it too much to pay, you know, four hundred dollars, for an
annual fee?" And the answer I always give people is it depends. For some people, paying
the annual fee is worth the cost. Now I know it may seem outrageous to pay money
to a credit card company, but actually, if you sign up for a credit card that gives
you a bonus back of two thousand dollars and free travel, then paying the annual
fee may not seem that bad, even if you only pay it for a year. So always keep
that in mind. Sometimes you pay a little bit, but you get a lot more back in
return and in value. Lastly is number three: other point bonuses. Things like
dining rewards or opening bank accounts. I've definitely taken advantage of these
type of promotions in the past. Even today, my credit cards are registered
through one of the dining programs, and I gain points every once in a while just
by dining at some of my favorite places to eat. So in summary, there are three
basic ways to earn points and miles. One, like we covered,
is by flying and also staying at hotels. Two is through credit cards. And three is
through other point bonuses. Things like dining programs and banking promotions.
Now we'll cover all these topics in more detail in future videos. However, before
going any further into credit cards, I have to ask that you look at this video
called "Before starting the points hobby". It's not meant to be a downer, but it's
definitely meant to help you get organized before you start this hobby.
It's something that I always tell my friends and so I want to make sure I
tell you as well. Thank you for watching the video. I hope you enjoyed it. This is
actually our first video in this vlog. If you have any thoughts or questions,
please leave them in the comment section below. If you enjoyed the video, please
hit the "like" button, and would love it also if you would subscribe. I'm aiming
to have a new video every week. I hope to have videos on how to earn points, you
know, credit card reviews, gear reviews, and also destination reviews. Thanks
again everyone. Until next time, travel safe and travel
smart.