When traveling, airfare can use up a large portion of your travel budget. What if you could fly practically for free? If it were possible, then you would probably travel more, right? With frequent flyer programs, you can! While it may seem like a lot of work to accrue miles, it’s pretty easy when you know how.
Sign up for mileage programs – You can’t gain miles if you don’t sign up. Join frequent flyer programs, so you can start accruing those miles. Pick one or two airlines that you use most often and try to funnel all your points into those programs either by flying with them or their code share partners.
Buy gifts and dine out – Most mileage programs have a merchant list where you can register several credit or debit cards and then earn miles for each purchase you make through their participating shops or meal you have at restaurant partners. You’re probably doing these things anyway, so why not make it count toward future travel?
Use your credit card – Look for a card that gives you rewards. There are a ton of credit card companies that offer mileage cards that give you miles for each dollar you spend. In fact, you can get a free plane ticket just for signing up and using certain ones. Get a lump of up to 50,000 miles just by charging a minimum amount in the first three months. Use it for bills, groceries, gas and anything else you would normally use your bank account for and then pay it off at the end of the month. It’s an easy way to accrue miles and can add up really fast.
Rent a car – Whenever you rent a car, you have the choice to include your frequent flyer member number. Some will charge a nominal fee, but it can be more beneficial to pay less than a dollar a day to earn one or more miles per dollar spent on your rental. If you are a member of the rental club, you can double dip by also getting points for your rental.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to rack up miles just by doing things you’re already doing. You just need to start taking advantage of the programs that allow you to use everyday purchases and regular travel to get future travel for free. You’ll be surprised by how quickly your mileage balance grows, getting you a reward seat that much sooner.
