5 Easy Ways to Travel for Free!

Earn credit card points, airline miles, and hotel points with these 5 expert tips; save or go free on flights, hotels, & vacations for international or domestic travel.

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When frequent flyer programs took off in the 1980s, we could accumulate miles by traveling on our favorite airline. Now, these programs have evolved into systems that include travel credit cards, hotels, rental cars, shopping, dining and much more.

Flying can still be one of the best ways to accumulate airline miles, travel points, or both, but now it’s possible to boost miles in many other ways as well. Here are five hacks to boost miles, travel points, or both, that I use myself:

1. How Miles Work on a Credit Card for Easy Free Travel

Determining the miles earned from a trip used to be simple: all you had to know was the distance. Today, airlines often use confusing fare classes and codes to determine how many base points you earn from a trip. Often, these travel points are combined with the distance flown. Now, we can receive 7 to 11 miles or points per dollar spent.

Bottom line: Concentrating on one or two airlines and using branded travel credit card points to help boost your status can multiply miles/points accumulation.

The three primary airline alliances are Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance—and many smaller ones. The right alliance not only makes things simpler for travel and flight connections on partner airlines—including preferred seats and priority boarding—it can magnify your rewards. This may include short flights in other countries that you might easily overlook. Not surprisingly, alliances aren’t all the same. Some include top-tier airlines with extensive routes in Europe, Asia or the Middle East, while others include smaller airlines with limited routes and schedules.

Bottom line: By reviewing the partner list within an alliance and matching it to where you expect to fly, it’s possible to concentrate bookings within an alliance—and build your points pool faster.

3. Use Sign-Up Bonuses and Companion Fares for Free Travel

My favorite travel hack is getting sign-up bonuses (SUBs) for airline, hotel, or travel credit cards. In some cases, this can net you 50,000 or more miles or travel points. If you get a co-branded credit card for an airline, the miles from that card may easily generate a free ticket. One card I have netted me over $1000 in travel; another gave me 12 free nights at luxury hotels! It’s important to research factors such as the annual fee for a card, when the travel points are available, and what other benefits it offers. Some cards even offer two-for-one annual companion tickets – I have one for Southwest Airlines. 

Bottom line: The right travel credit card bonuses can create a multiplier effect for your miles. ➡ Detailed information for Travel Credit Cards

4. Use Partnerships to Accelerate Points

Most rewards programs offer hidden and overlooked ways to hack your way to extra travel points. For example, airline mile credit cards typically serve up two miles or points per dollar spent on a flight (versus the typical one mile per dollar). Another strategy for defraying the cost of travel is to use cards that accumulate hotel points, which can be redeemed for discounts and free nights.

Still another highly effective hack is to book vacations and cruises directly from the airline. This is how I booked my stay in Dominican Republic in March (3 weeks at a resort + flights for $1200). Travelers sometimes overlook that many airlines operate their own travel agencies that offer package trips and tours. These include exotic destinations like the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe, often at excellent prices. These bookings can net you 30,000 points/miles or more—along with other benefits. 

Bottom line: When booking a cruise or other vacation, it can be worth checking with your favorite airline to see if they offer a package deal – and bonus points/miles.

5. Double Dip Your Way to Travel Points & Miles for Free

Frequent flyer programs and airline miles credit cards are often associated with shopping, dining, hotels, ride sharing services, taking surveys, and car rental providers. These and other programs can drop lots of miles into your account—even while they accumulate reward points of their own. Combined with a travel credit card, it’s often possible to gain double or triple miles for a purchase. 

Bottom line: Incorporating partners into your purchases and using a co-branded travel points credit card can help you fly free.

Other notable perqs for travel

There are premium credit cards which give you free Global Entry and TSA pre-check (you’ve got to get these if you’re a serious traveler!), and airport lounge access.

The days of accumulating frequent flyer program miles based solely on distance are gone. But if you take the time to understand how today’s programs work, you can gain an edge. Know how you can accelerate rewards through the effective use of a travel credit card—and which program works best for you—and you may add hundreds of thousands of extra miles or travel points into your frequent flyer account every year. You could find yourself headed to paradise more often!

Related: Where can US citizens travel right now? Plus: Considerations for long-term travel in Europe: the Schengen Agreement

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What are some tips I’ve missed? Let me know in the comments below.