# Earning Free Airfare Tips



## VegasBella (Dec 28, 2014)

I'm interested in maximizing our family personal finance to earn free or discounted airfare. Does anyone have experience in this area where they can point me in the right direction?

So far I have found these getting started tips:

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/01/frugal-travel-guy-rookie-guide-introduction-background.html

http://thepointsguy.com/beginners-guide/


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## Timeshare Von (Dec 28, 2014)

VegasBella said:


> I'm interested in maximizing our family personal finance to earn free or discounted airfare. Does anyone have experience in this area where they can point me in the right direction?
> 
> So far I have found these getting started tips:
> 
> ...



I know someone who is a "points guy" disciple and has done well.

Me?  I am a credit card churner, but you need to be smart about timing and fees.  My experience has been that it's difficult to get totally free flights (especially if working to coordinate more than a single traveler), but you can substantially reduce the costs.


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## LisaRex (Dec 29, 2014)

I think the best advice is to figure out where YOU most want to travel and then taking it from there.  Go to kayak.com and determine what airlines fly to your target destination from your nearest airport (and/or nearby airports that you'd be  willing to drive to), and then do some mock bookings to see what sort of free flights you can come up with.  

Pay attention to things like total flight time, number of layovers, and how many miles required, as those are just as important as award flight availability.  I mean, who cares if I can book a free flight to Hawaii, if it requires 2 connections and 23 hour total flight time? Or flights that depart at 6am, meaning I'd have to get up at 3am the last day of my vacation? 

10 years ago, we were traveling to Hawaii a lot, so I targeted credit cards that would help me get free flights on Delta, as that was the airline that offered the most desirable itineraries from Cincinnati/Dayton. I charged just about everything to my Delta AMEX, as they offered double miles on gas, groceries, dining, etc. back then.  I ended up coming out several thousand dollars ahead over the span of ~5 years, but it took a lot of luck, a lot of planning, and a fair amount of flexibility (e.g. we added 5 days to our trip because I could only find 4 low-tier flights if we flew out on a Tuesday and flew home on a Sunday.)

Since our favorite travel destination is now the Caribbean, I've switched my goal to USAir, as they offer the most and best itineraries from Cincinnati to St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Grand Cayman.  Last year en route to St. Maarten, the FA peddled a US Air card that came with 30,000* bonus miles, first year fee waived. Since good flights can be booked for ~60,000 miles, I signed us each up for one. figuring we were half way there.  Then, as luck would have it, American Airlines announced it was merging with US Air, so I signed us each up for a 50,000 bonus mile AA-branded card, first year waived, because I knew that after the merger was complete, we'd end up with 80,000 miles each -- enough for 2 free flights, worth $1,000 after fees.  (I'll cancel both AA cards and one of the USAir cards before paying the first annual fee.)  

But don't just target airline-branded cards! Some of the best sign-on bonuses and earning:redemption ratios are for generic travel cards, such as Chase  Sapphire, which is my go-to card because it lets you select any itinerary your heart desires, and gives you the option of pay for all of it or part of it with points.  Plus you can book really great activities with points, something that I really enjoy. 

Hope this helps. Good luck!

*If you go to their website, they're now offering a 50k bonus card!


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## tante (Dec 29, 2014)

LisaRex said:


> I think the best advice is to figure out where YOU most want to travel and then taking it from there.  Go to kayak.com and determine what airlines fly to your target destination from your nearest airport (and/or nearby airports that you'd be  willing to drive to), and then do some mock bookings to see what sort of free flights you can come up with.
> 
> Pay attention to things like total flight time, number of layovers, and how many miles required, as those are just as important as award flight availability.  I mean, who cares if I can book a free flight to Hawaii, if it requires 2 connections and 23 hour total flight time? Or flights that depart at 6am, meaning I'd have to get up at 3am the last day of my vacation?
> 
> ...



You pay the annual fee immediately for the US air card, not after a year. Just something to factor in and good job


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## LisaRex (Dec 29, 2014)

tante said:


> You pay the annual fee immediately for the US air card, not after a year. Just something to factor in and good job



I checked and you're correct. Sorry! (But it's a good reminder to always include things like annual fees when figuring out the best card. And, it goes without saying, that all these great perks are greatly minimized if you carry a balance.)

It also came with 0% interest for 12 months, which is handy when you're renovating!


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## abbekit (Dec 29, 2014)

I follow both those sites (sign up for their daily email alerts) and http://loyaltylobby.com

I also churn credit cards somewhat. Remember you don't need to just concentrate on one airline's cards, look at the airline you fly the most and see who their partners are (i.e. I almost always fly American so I also got credit cards from Alaska, U.S.Airways, British Air). And yes, look at bank cards like Chase or Barclays that can transfer points. Also Starwood (Sheraton/Westin,etc) has a good transfer points to miles ratio. 

If you go that route NEVER carry a balance, pay off your cards each month and your credit score probably won't take a hit (mine has gone up since I started applying for more cards). 

Lots of great info on flyertalk.com forums (what TUG is to timeshares they are to airlines, hotels, car rentals and travel credit cards).


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## VegasBella (Dec 30, 2014)

Yeah I already learned that we missed a good opportunity when we renovated. We just paid cash mostly - appliances went on a 0% for 12 months card but all the labor, the cabinets etc we just paid outright. Sigh... We spent over $40k on our home and earned zero miles. Zero


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## Pat H (Jan 3, 2015)

The airlines used to have so many miles opportunities that it was easy to accumulate lots of miles. Not so easy anymore. I currently have AA, UA & Starwood cards. I put everything possible on my cards. I also shop thru AA's shopping portal. I try to stay at Starwood properties wherever possible. You can credit most hotel stays to the airline of your choice. 

I recently went on a trip to China through a tour company. The cost for a coach airfare ticket would have been $1800. Instead I used UA miles to fly first class over and AA miles to fly business class back. The flight over was 14 hours direct. The way back was over 24 hrs and 3 different flights. Well worth the extra miles. 

In addition the tour included 4 inter-China flights 3 of which were on UA partners so I got miles for those flights. We stayed in 2 Sheratons and 1 Marriott properties and I was able to get credit for 2 of the stays so far.


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## akp (Jan 4, 2015)

There are tons of opportunities to earn miles.

Last year, we flew a family of five to Aruba and Europe on FF miles and also used hotel miles to stay for 12 nights (2 rooms!).  My husband and I also went to Maui twice on award tickets.  

In 2015, we are flying the family of five to Australia on award tickets.

The opportunities may be less than they used to be, but they are still awesome 

I'm not a fan of Frugal Travel Guy; Points Guy is okay.  See Frequent Miler for earning miles, and MileValue for spending them.  

Anita


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## Sandy VDH (Jan 4, 2015)

Here is also another (albeit a bit over the top couple who run the website) to try http://millionmilesecrets.com/


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## SkyBlueWaters (Jan 5, 2015)

akp said:


> There are tons of opportunities to earn miles.
> 
> Last year, we flew a family of five to Aruba and Europe on FF miles and also used hotel miles to stay for 12 nights (2 rooms!).  My husband and I also went to Maui twice on award tickets.
> 
> ...



That's amazing! Do you plan around the discounted mileage or just go when you want? It's hard to plan the points when the lodging comes first.

Could you share your favorite credit cards. Trying to book Hawaii for May but burned my points for Whistler last year for a family of 5.


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## akp (Jan 6, 2015)

SkyBlueWaters said:


> That's amazing! Do you plan around the discounted mileage or just go when you want? It's hard to plan the points when the lodging comes first.
> 
> Could you share your favorite credit cards. Trying to book Hawaii for May but burned my points for Whistler last year for a family of 5.



We've done a little of both.  The Hawaii and Australia trips were based on finding the availability, but the Europe trip we were specifically hoping to go to Europe at that time.  Lots of luck, and lots of time spent learning to search properly.

I briefly had a blog about points and miles stuff for timeshare owners because I think we are a natural audience for taking the best advantage of it...but it was more work that I really wanted to do, and I felt like I was pushing credit cards 

There are a couple of things I'd recommend.  *Note that all of this only applies for people with excellent credit who pay their credit cards off each month*. 

1) sign up for a dining program for your preferred airline.  If you don't have a preferred airline at this point, just choose United.  Just link the credit cards you use when dining out to your Mileage Plus Dining program.  If you dine at a restaurant in the program, you get bonus miles.  This is a small thing but you might as well get all possible miles.

2) Every frequent traveler should have the Chase Freedom card, and if you're married, you and your spouse should each have one.  It is a no annual fee card so you'll keep it forever which earns you 5 miles per dollar (they refer to it as cash back but DON'T take it as cash back, please!) in rotating categories.  Max out those categories every quarter ($1500 a quarter for 7500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points) and you will have 30,000 Chase points every year.  If your spouse does the same, you'll have 60k.  That's no annual fee, very little effort.  If you're confused about how to max out the categories each quarter, think gift cards.  (if gas stations are a bonus category, buy Amazon or restaurant gift cards.  If grocery stores are a bonus category, buy any gift card known to man.  etc.).  Note that you aren't *truly* earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points but if you have any Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card, 

3)  Go to cardmatch.com.  Right now many people are finding they are targeted for a 100K American Express Platinum card.  If you're targeted, apply.  The card does have a $450 annual fee but that is wiped out by several things even before you take into account the $1500-$2000 value of the 100k Membership Rewards points.  You get a $200 airline credit every calendar year...so you get it now and again in early 2016 before you cancel the card for $400 credit.  You apply for Global Entry and the $100 fee is reimbursed.  Now you're up $500 and the annual fee was $450.  Amex customer service remains amazing.  

4)  If you live on the west coast and want to go to Hawaii, learn about British Airways Avios.  You can fly RT to Hawaii for 25,000 miles.  Or if you live in Miami, you can fly RT to Aruba for 15000 miles.  (No joke!)

5) Start reading blogs.  I personally am not a fan of Frugal Travel Guy or Million Mile Secrets but there are many great ones.  Points Guy is good, as is One Mile at a Time.  I am a big fan of Frequent Miler and Mile Value.  Mommy Points is good for family travel.

6)  Don't ignore the value of having some good hotel credit cards to round out your timeshare.

Feel free to post questions or email me.  I love this stuff


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## akp (Jan 6, 2015)

SkyBlueWaters said:


> That's amazing! Do you plan around the discounted mileage or just go when you want? It's hard to plan the points when the lodging comes first.
> 
> Could you share your favorite credit cards. Trying to book Hawaii for May but burned my points for Whistler last year for a family of 5.



Sorry, one more thing.  I just noticed your point about planning the points when lodging comes first.  Tell me where your timeshare is and where you're flying from, and there may be some great solutions specific to your situation.


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## VegasBella (Jan 6, 2015)

This is all so new to me. I'm learning. I'm in the habit of always paying cash or paying directly from my bank account. I'm starting to change. 

One big thing that's totally different these days than 15 years ago is that you can set up your credit card to be paid automatically by your checking account each month. SOOOO much easier. 



akp said:


> 2) Every frequent traveler should have the Chase Freedom card, and if you're married, you and your spouse should each have one.  It is a no annual fee card so you'll keep it forever which earns you 5 miles per dollar (they refer to it as cash back but DON'T take it as cash back, please!)



Although my original intention was free or discounted flights, the more I learn I'm still leaning towards my old habits. This idea of choosing points rather than cash is scary to me, honestly. Points can just disappear whereas cash is cash. 

I investigated which credit cards to get by reading a couple forums and using the tool on NerdWallet.com 
Without changing any of my spending habits I feel like pure cash back offers are the best. 
But with some minor changes and new habits perhaps I can do much better. It's a bit of learning curve though, isn't it? How long did it take you to learn how to do all this efficiently?


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## akp (Jan 6, 2015)

VegasBella said:


> This is all so new to me. I'm learning. I'm in the habit of always paying cash or paying directly from my bank account. I'm starting to change.
> 
> One big thing that's totally different these days than 15 years ago is that you can set up your credit card to be paid automatically by your checking account each month. SOOOO much easier.
> 
> ...



You also should keep in mind that you get far better purchase protection by using a credit card vs cash.  I bought a resale timeshare on ebay last year and had a major problem with the company not delivering what I paid for.  With one simple call to Chase, I had my money back.  

There is no doubt the miles and points world is complicated; I think I spent several months studying Flyertalk, blogs, airline award charts, etc. before I had a grasp of things.  (Kind of like I spent months studying TUG, TS4MS and the Bluegreen Forum learning how to work the exchanges and the Bluegreen system.)  If you're that kind of person, your time spent will be richly rewarded.  If complexity overwhelms you, best off just getting the excellent Barclay Arrival  Plus card which earns 2.2% across the board with a $400 sign up bonus.  Cash is a most excellent reward   (Note that it isn't truly cash back but rather credits against your bill but super easy and few strings attached.)


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## VegasBella (Jan 6, 2015)

akp said:


> You also should keep in mind that you get far better purchase protection by using a credit card vs cash.  I bought a resale timeshare on ebay last year and had a major problem with the company not delivering what I paid for.  With one simple call to Chase, I had my money back.


Well yes of course. When I said cash I didn't really mean I used cash for large purchases. I was in the habit of using a debit card, which often has similar protections against fraud. And in some instances I'd use a store's credit card to get 5% off or something (example, Lowes and Target credit cards give 5% off purchases). Anyway, I'm already changing habits. Started using a cash back card we had sitting in the safe and applied for another (approved) that will earn awesome cashback on groceries (we spend a lot on groceries compared to an average American family).

It's just that these miles and points things are not at all intuitive. 5% off or 3% cash back is much more simple.

I'm definitely going to spend time trying to learn these things. And you're right, there's a natural crossover between timesharing and mile-earning.


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## VegasBella (Jan 16, 2015)

OK to make things easier, here is a list of the websites mentioned in this thread so far... a list of resources:

http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/

http://thepointsguy.com/

http://loyaltylobby.com/

http://www.kayak.com/

http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/

http://www.milevalue.com/

http://millionmilesecrets.com/

http://mommypoints.boardingarea.com/

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/

http://www.nerdwallet.com/

http://www.flyertalk.com/

There is a steep learning curve here and things keep changing, too, making it more complicated.


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## Rent_Share (Jan 16, 2015)

akp said:


> There are tons of opportunities to earn miles.
> 
> Last year, we flew a family of five to Aruba and Europe on FF miles and also used hotel miles to stay for 12 nights (2 rooms!). My husband and I also went to Maui twice on award tickets.
> 
> ...



Am I correct in assuming that you are self employed and earn miles on all business expenses. There is not enough household spending to generate the points needed to support the travel, unless your getting points on your mortgage and vehicle expense.

5 RT to Australia minimum ~ $5,000/.02% = $250,000 spend to earn the free tickets

 My award travel was earned BIS (butt in seat)


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## akp (Jan 17, 2015)

Yes and no.

I am self-employed but only a little bit of my miles were earned on spend for business expenses.

the 5 round trips to australia were based on the following:

- 100K sign up bonus for Citi AA card last feb
- 100k from sign up bonuses for 2 cards the previous years (2x50k each)
- misc miles from online shopping 
- 80k miles from Bank Direct bank account over the past year and a half.

here is the breakdown of the best ways to earn miles:

1) credit card signup bonuses (i.e., 50k miles for AA or US Air credit cards, 45k for Chase Sapphire preferred, and so and and so on...some can be earned multiple times.

2) online shopping portals.  for example I earned 5 miles per dollar for all walmart purchases in December by shopping through online portals.  Best was 33 miles per dollar for ebags...I bought about $2000 worth of stuff and resold it at cost.  

3) bonus categories (ie, 5 miles per dollar on cell, cable, and office supply with Chase Ink)

4) financial products bonuses.  I have the Suntrust Delta debit card (no longer available) that earns 1 mile per dollar.  Quarterly estimated taxes earned 1 mile per dollar (cost is $2.69 per payment).  American Airlines bonus through bank direct earned 60,000 last year.  Cost was $144 per year ($12 per month) with $50,000 on deposit.  (yes could have invested but interest rates stink, and that income would be taxable.  my 60,000 bonus miles were not taxable.  

You get 1000 miles per month for every $10,000 on deposit, up to 5000 per month.  So deposit $50,000 and you'll generate 5000 per month or 60000 per year.  monthly fee is $12 or $144 per year.  60K miles gets you way more than $144 in value.

Link if you want to sign up for the Bank Direct account is below. Please use my name and email as a referral as we both get a bonus then.  Anita Parsa, akparsa@me.com.  

https://www.bankdirect.com/manage/manage_newaccount.aspx

4) every day spend.  

5) butt in seat

Most people only think about everyday spend or butt in seat but there is little opportunity there.


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## x3 skier (Jan 17, 2015)

One plan I use is to book a short haul flight using British Airways Avios I have gotten from their Chase Credit Card signup bonus so I can get to Chicago or Atlanta or New York where there's better availability for Business or First Class international flights. 

I first check availability from my home airport and if it doesn't suit my plans, then I go to major airports where I can usually get a flight. 

This has always worked to get me where I want to go every year when I want to go and I still have a bunch of Avios left. 

Cheers


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## Rent_Share (Jan 17, 2015)

akp said:


> Yes and no.
> 
> I am self-employed but only a little bit of my miles were earned on spend for business expenses.
> 
> ...


 
 I guessed 250K you list 280+

I am not a churner, I have redeemed at least 35 domestic round trips, but mostly from corporate paid travel and loyalty bonus levels. Since I couldn't chose the funding, the ability to churn the cards wasn't there. Regardless of the sign up bonus, all of the cards require a certain amount of usage to earn the sign up bonus IMHO


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## Jimster (Jan 17, 2015)

*tips*

The first tip I have is there is no short hand tip.  Since this is ALWAYS changing, you need to invest a substantial amount of time and continue to do so in order to reach the desired result.  I am sure I have had millions of miles in fight redeptions but it is because i read the bloggers every day and work at it.  The second tip, is you need to be diversified.  You will be amazed how many times a program you didn't think would  help you, does just that.  FInally, it is one thing to get the miles and yet another use them.  Many people have miles, but that's only half the battle.  Using miles and using them efficiently, is the other half of the equation.


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## Timeshare Von (Jan 18, 2015)

Jimster said:


> <<snipped>> Using miles and using them efficiently, is the other half of the equation.



And for me, this has increasingly become a challenge. Making it work for what you want/need can be a full-time effort.


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## elaine (Jan 18, 2015)

I spend A LOT of time managing FF tickets and TS trades. For a family of 4+, you have to be able to commit at 11 months out and also to consider alternative airports and be very flexible.  For 2 tickets, it's much easier to get seats a few months out. We only travel with lower miles coach awards at peak times--summer--but we have flown a family of 6 to Europe 3X and Hawaii 2X.  We have had to fly into airports and then trained/flew to our location in Europe, and flown into a different Hawaiian island than we wanted (spent a few days exploring there before hopping on inter-island flight). We have rented a car and driven 5 hours to a different airport in the US, and flown home from London vs. Paris.  Next year, I will be trying to get 5 seats to central Europe. I am prepared to fly out of DC, Phil, or NYC and into Zurich, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, or Venice. I also am willing to fly in up to 2 days earlier than I want.  But, we would never have been able to travel like this without using FF miles, so we are willing to be flexible.  We never use our miles for US flights--we save our miles for Europe.
Agree with PP about diversifying, esp. for Europe. Since you can book one way on AA, USair, United and now Delta, you have a lot more chance to get where you want to go if you have at least 2 options.


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## bobpark56 (Jan 18, 2015)

*Steep Learning Curve?*

[QUOTE <snip> There is a steep learning curve here and things keep changing, too, making it more complicated.[/QUOTE]

"Steep?" When it comes to learning curves, steep is good (fast learning). It's shallow that is bad. You, like many others, have it backwards.


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