How I Afford To Travel: booking flights with points

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I guess I'll start off by covering how I book all my flights. I honestly don't think I've actually spent money on any domestic flights in awhile...but as for international flights, they've been super cheap these recent years. We booked our upcoming Korea flight for around $500-600 round trip with only 1 stop in Peking! I know Delta also have deals for $500, but you make 2 stops which is a huge pain (our group did this 2 years ago). So I'd rather pay that extra $100 for 1 less stop. 

I book my flights with travel points earned from credit cards. I'll start off with Chase Sapphire as it has become one of my favorite cards these past 2 years. [REMEMBER] Never book flights straight with your credit card company. Why? For example, if you want to book a flight for $400, they will convert the points over directly to take 40k points or equivalent. However, a $400 flight might not require 40k points. If you actually compare the two when you're searching for flights, the points are usually way lower. A $100 flight might only be 6k points, a $200 flight might only be 12k points...if you catch my drift. So always always transfer to your rewards account. There is a tab in the rewards home page once you log into chase that lets you transfer to their partners (Southwest, United, etc.). Another awesome thing about Chase is if you also have Chase Freedom, those 5% monthly points can be transferred over to Sapphire as well to be converted for 1 point : 1 mile. So if you get the Sapphire card (always get referred! & make your referee buy you boba or food or something! because you are getting the same amount of points whether they refer you or not), remember to get that 50k points and use it wisely! 

Wait for sales! They come so often anyway! I remember seeing $49 one ways to places like LA, SD, LAS, & Portland from SF/SJ. And when you see that, remember to always check how many points it requires because sometimes you can book a one way for as low as 2k points! That averages to be around $30 or so? So with your 50k, you have the potential to book up to 10 one way flights! I feel like I definitely booked around 10 one ways with mine.

Onto my next favorite travel card: Amex Platinum. I just want to say that this is a huge luxury card! I did get a lot of random benefits like free food reimbursement at Coachella this year. Besides that, you get pretty much upgraded to gold status at hotels for free, complimentary Pre-Tsa, and $200 airline fees reimbursed at one airline (can change up to twice a year) - this includes bags, food, drinks, anything with the airline attached to it on your statement (even the $5.60 fees when you book with points!). So it was definitely pretty nice to get so many things comped and waived. The card does come with a huge annual fee of $450, but you can always call in to get it waived or lowered. I got it deducted to $250. Now I did get this card when they offered 100k points - that's $1000 in flights!!! So paying $250 was definitely worth it for me. With this card, you can transfer points to airlines that Chase does not partner with. For example, I use this card for all Delta and Virgin flights. They also have a huge selection of partners compared to Chase. I do know that Chase just came out with a competitive card called the Sapphire Reserve! Sounds like a great card, but do keep in mind that you will still be limited to the Chase airline partners. Having Amex gives me flexibility to book with other airlines. 

I know this may all just be words to you guys, so I'll give examples from my own personal trips this past year!

  • My best friend and I booked a New York trip in Feb. We booked during the Cyber Monday sale last November! It was around $79 one way I believe and I booked with points! What would've been an almost $150 round trip to NY (which is already amazing by the way) turned out to only cost me around $112 with points!
*Screenshot of my flight with Virgin to NY! 10k points +11.20 = ~$112

*Screenshot of my flight with Virgin to NY! 10k points +11.20 = ~$112

  • In March, my girlfriends and I booked our Vegas trip for Halloween weekend. Southwest was having a sale for $49 one way, so we booked on the fly! What would've been around $100 round trip for me turned out to only be around $70 round trip with points/fees!
Southwest flight SJC to LAS! 2k points + 5.60 fees = ~$30

Southwest flight SJC to LAS! 2k points + 5.60 fees = ~$30

Delta flight back! LAS to SFO! 3.5k + 5.60 fees = ~$40

Delta flight back! LAS to SFO! 3.5k + 5.60 fees = ~$40

I know a lot of people get freaked out by huge annual fees, but if you calculate out what you get in return, it may be worth it depending on how much you travel. I definitely think the Amex Platinum was worth it for me. I paid $250 for the annual fee and in return, I got 100k points (equivalent to $1000 in flights), my Pre-Tsa ($80), and those random airline fees reimbursed! You also may have noticed that even with my 100k points, I stretched that to the maximum amount of trips I can book (hehe). Also a quick warning, this may not be for everyone since not everyone travels as often as I do. So you really have to be realistic in terms of how much you'd utilize this card and travel benefits. And so there you have it! How I've booked my flights for the past 2-3 years without spending $$!!!