Attention: this post is long overdue! I’ve been wanting to share some of my travel secrets for quite a while now and since we will be taking a free family vacation to Hawaii in just a few short months, I thought now is the perfect time! Two years ago I decided to open my first travel rewards credit card and it’s the best decision I have ever made – next to marrying my husband, of course – because after taking seven trips (soon-to-be eight) in 24 months, we have not paid for a single hotel or plane ticket.
So, what’s the secret? Travel credit cards have incredible sign up bonuses that can earn you completely free vacations. Although it has taken some planning on my part and required both Scott and I to open several travel rewards credit cards, it has been totally worth it for the number of free flights and hotel stays we’ve earned. Tip: If you do open a credit card, make sure to pay off your balance each month to avoid paying interest.
So, without further ado, here’s a list of my top 5 travel rewards credit cards:
If I had to recommend one card to anyone, this is it – the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card! You can book travel (flights, hotels, rental cars and more) directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and you can also transfer points to another member in your household – this works well if you and your partner both want to open a card. Chase offers various travel rewards credit cards and they are the hardest to get approved for as Chase has the 5/24 rule. The rule states that you can’t open more than five credit cards in 24 months. You may think five cards in 24 months is a lot, but this also includes being added as an authorized user to another card, such as a partner or family member’s card.
Sign-up Bonus: 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. The 60,000 points is worth $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Rewards Rate: 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $95
Transfer Partners (1:1): In addition to being able to transfer points among household members, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card allows you to transfer your points (1:1) to hotel and airline partners. I like transferring my Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to my World of Hyatt account because Hyatt’s point redemptions are seriously a steal – you can get a free night for as little as 5,000 points (that’s 12 free nights at certain hotels if you transfer your 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards sign-up bonus to your World of Hyatt account).
Airlines
Aer Lingus, AerClub
British Airways Executive Club
Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
United MileagePlus®
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels
IHG Rewards Club
Marriott Bonvoy
World of Hyatt
Real-life Rewards
Three nights at Hotel Hive in Washington, D.C.
34,918 points
Three Nights at DoubleTree by Hilton at the Entrance to Universal Orlando
21,194 points
Lexington to San Diego on Delta
32,738 points
Apply here.
Although I don’t actually have the World of Hyatt Credit Card, I hope to add this one to my wallet soon. We almost always book a Hyatt hotel when we travel because we are able to transfer our Chase Ultimate Rewards Points to our World of Hyatt account. And like I said before, you can redeem a free night for as little as 5,000 points – a serious steal!
Sign-up Bonus: 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months and an additional 25,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 total on purchases within the first 6 months. The 50,000 points could earn you up to 10 free nights.
Rewards Rate: 4X points on purchases at all Hyatt hotels; 2X points at restaurants, on airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, local transit and commuting as well as fitness club and gym memberships; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $95
Other Perks: One free night every year – after your first year, you receive one free night at any Category 1–4 Hyatt hotel or resort every year that you renew your card, making the $95 annual fee worth it.
Real-life Rewards
Hyatt Centric Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco, CA
15,000 points per night
Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch
St. Louis, MO
8,000 points per night
Hyatt House across from Universal Orlando Resort
Orlando, FL
8,000 points per night
Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach
Honolulu, HI
15,000 points per night
Apply here.
The Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card is great option if you want to book free flights but don’t want to pay a fee for a credit card. The card’s sign-up bonus (currently available until July 31) is one of the best because you earn 60,000 miles after you spend only $2,000 in the first three months. You can also receive a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase in the first three months and the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. If you open the card and decide it’s not for you after the first year, or you simply don’t want to pay the annual fee, you can close the card. If you are worried about the account closure impacting your credit score, call and ask to downgrade to the Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card (which has no annual fee) and your credit score won’t be affected.
You will get the most out of your airline miles if your travel dates are flexible – I’ve seen flights from Atlanta to New York City, San Antonio, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. for as little as 9,000 miles per person this fall.
Sign-up Bonus: 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months and a $50 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase within the first 3 months.
Rewards Rate: 2X miles on Delta purchases, including flights booked on Delta.com, Sky Club membership or passes, Delta Vacations packages, seat upgrades, or in-flight purchases like food, beverages, and audio headsets and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
Other Perks: First checked bag free – a savings of up to $60 on a round-trip Delta flight.
Real-life Rewards
Atlanta to Honolulu
48,000 miles per person
Lexington to Washington, D.C.
18,000 miles per person
Cincinnati to Orlando
15,500 miles per person
Apply here and select “View all cards with Referral Offer” and choose Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card (offer available until July 31).
Scott and I both had the Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card but after the first year we each decided to close our accounts and open the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card instead. Here’s why: We were going to have to pay an annual fee to keep our Gold cards but we knew we wanted a Delta card to earn extra miles. Although the annual fee for the Platinum card is $195, the sign-up bonus offers a $100 statement credit when you make a Delta purchase in the first three months. Since Scott travels frequently with his new job, we knew we could easily meet that requirement on both cards, bringing the fee down to $95 – which is what we would have paid for the Gold card anyway. I think the card is worth it after the first year, especially for families or those who travel frequently, because every year that you renew the card for $195, you receive a companion certificate that is redeemable for one domestic main cabin round-trip flight for a person of your choice.
Sign-up Bonus: 70,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases in the first 3 months as well as a $100 statement credit after you make a Delta purchase within the first 3 months.
Rewards Rate: 2X miles on Delta purchases, including flights booked on Delta.com, Sky Club membership or passes, Delta Vacations packages, seat upgrades, or in-flight purchases like food, beverages, and audio headsets and 1 mile per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $195
Other Perks: Annual Companion Certificate redeemable for one domestic main cabin round-trip flight for a person of your choice and first checked bag free – a savings of up to $60 on a round-trip Delta flight.
Apply here.
My last travel rewards credit card recommendation is the IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card. I opened this card simply because I love visiting Wilmington, North Carolina, and I knew we could use the sign-up bonus to redeem five free nights of hotel in my favorite city. There is an $89 annual fee, but after the first year you get an Anniversary Free Night which makes up for the fee.
Sign-up Bonus: 80,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in purchases within your first 3 months.
Rewards Rate: 10X points on IHG hotel stays; 2X points on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants; and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
Annual Fee: $89
Other Perks: Anniversary Free Night at one of the eligible hotels worldwide every year and fourth reward night free when you redeem points for any stay of four or more nights (Tip: you have to have enough points in your account to redeem the fourth night, but they only subtract three nights worth of points).
Real-life Rewards
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Wilmington-University Center 20,000 points per night *Combining the 80,000 sign-up bonus points and the fourth night free perk, we stayed five nights free.
Apply here.
There you have it – my top 5 travel rewards credit cards and the secret to our free family vacations. Where will you travel to next?
#livingtheritchlife #lifestyleblogger #travel #vacation #freetravel #hawaii #familyvacation #traveler #seetheworld #worldtravelers #travelbugs #creditcardrewards #rewardtravel #atl #freebie #atlantablogger #atlblogger #atllife #oahu #visithawaii #waikiki #oahuhawaii #freevacation #chasesapphire #ihg #worldofhyatt #delta #flyfree #flyforfree #vacay
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