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SAVING Travel Hacking: How to Use Credit Card Points to Tra... 2026-02-27 · 5 min read · travel hacking · credit card points · airline miles

Travel Hacking: How to Use Credit Card Points to Travel for Free (or Nearly Free)

saving 2026-02-27 · 5 min read travel hacking credit card points airline miles hotel points travel rewards

"Travel hacking" sounds complicated, but the core idea is simple: credit cards give you points or miles for spending, and those points can be redeemed for flights and hotel stays worth far more than the cash you earned them on.

Done right, travel rewards cards can fund multiple free trips per year. Done wrong, interest charges wipe out any benefit instantly.

The Golden Rule: Pay Your Balance in Full Every Month

This bears repeating before anything else. Travel rewards only work if you never carry a balance. Credit card interest rates (typically 20-28% APR) destroy any value from points in a single billing cycle.

If you can't reliably pay your full statement balance each month, skip rewards cards and use a cash-back card or no-rewards card instead.

How Travel Points Work

Earning: You earn points or miles on every purchase. Most cards offer:

Redemption: Points can be used for:

Point values: Points aren't worth a fixed amount — it depends on how you redeem them.

Typical point values:

The best redemptions are usually for premium cabin flights (business/first class) through airline partners — this is where the value really multiplies.

The Best Starter Cards

Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95/year)

Often considered the best starting point:

Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550/year)

Higher fee but strong benefits that offset it:

American Express Platinum ($695/year)

Luxury card with perks:

Effectively justified only if you use the statement credits.

Capital One Venture X ($395/year)

Simpler option:

No-Annual-Fee Options

Welcome Bonuses: Where Most Value Comes From

A 60,000-point welcome bonus (earned by spending $4,000 in 3 months) is worth $900-$1,500 in travel depending on redemption. The annual fee ($95) means the first year is a good deal almost regardless.

Meeting the minimum spend: For most people, the minimum spend requirement ($3,000-$5,000 in 3 months) can be met with regular spending — groceries, utilities, insurance, everything you already pay. Don't manufacture spending or make purchases you wouldn't otherwise make.

Multiple cards over time: Many experienced travel hackers open a new card every 6-12 months to collect welcome bonuses. There are rules:

Airline and Hotel Loyalty Programs

Beyond credit cards, joining airline and hotel loyalty programs (for free) earns points when you fly or stay:

Airlines to consider:

Hotels:

The Best Redemptions

International business class: This is where points really shine. A business class ticket to Europe can cost $5,000-$8,000 in cash but only 60,000-80,000 miles on many programs. If those miles are worth 1.5 cents each for cash redemptions, you're getting 5-8 cents per mile by flying business class.

Domestic flights: Usually 1.2-1.5 cents per mile. Still fine, just not exceptional.

Hotel award nights: Hyatt is exceptional — a nice Hyatt property might cost $250/night cash but 8,000-12,000 Hyatt points. If you earned those points at 1.5 cents each (via Chase transfers), you're getting 2-3 cents per Hyatt point.

Cash redemptions: Typically 1 cent per point. Always worse than travel redemptions. Never do this with premium travel points.

Practical Example

You have the Chase Sapphire Preferred. You earn 80,000 points from the welcome bonus + $8,000 in annual spending at 2x (16,000 points). Total: 96,000 points.

You transfer 60,000 points to United Airlines and book a round-trip to Europe in economy for two (30,000 each). Cash value of those tickets: ~$800-1,200 each = $1,600-2,400.

You use remaining 36,000 points through Chase's travel portal (1.25x) = $450 credit toward domestic flights.

Total value: ~$2,050-2,850 from spending you would have done anyway.

Keeping Track: Tools

When Travel Rewards Aren't Worth the Complexity

Travel hacking has a learning curve, but the payoff — business class flights and nice hotels for cents on the dollar — makes it worthwhile for people who travel regularly or have a specific travel goal in mind.