This month the Boy and I were on 14 flights in 17 days. A trip to Texas for our nephew's 1st birthday, a trip to Hawaii for one of my best friends weddings and then a trip home to Alberta, Canada to see my family for Christmas. And in between all that I also made it to Kansas City for a year end sales meeting, but I jumped in my car for that trip.
As you can see we do a lot of traveling, and flights aren't cheap. But we've been able to afford it because we can usually book the Boy's flight for free on AirMiles points. So what is the secret to earning those free flights? He are some pointers.
1. Stick to one airline. Delta is my airline of choice and that is what we fly 95% of the time. Even if the flight is $20-$50 more we'll still go with Delta. That's because it allows our points to build with one airline. It also allows me to build status with one airline and over time that leads to earning more points.
2. Look into an airline branded credit card. Since Delta is our airline of choice we chose the Delta American Express. After the first year there is a yearly fee, but for the amount we save by not having luggage fees more than pays for that cost. Also, for every dollar spent we earn one point. We run EVERYTHING through our card to capitalize on earning points. However, we are very careful to completely pay off the balance in full EVERY month. If you are incurring interest you aren't really getting a free flight.
3. Shop through the airline webisites. Delta has a SkyMiles shopping site. When you visit this you can see all of their partner site. Lots of popular stores like Sephora, Macy, Lowes, Nordstrom, etc are affiliated. Once you have logged into your SkyMiles account, you pick your store and you are redirected to their website. You create your online order on the store website like normal, but when you make your purchase points are credited to your miles account. For example, on my most recent Sephora purchase I earned three Delta SkyMiles points for every dollar spent. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines both have these programs too. Since starting to shop through the Delta site this spring I have earned nearly 10,000 points and every little bit helps.
If you are looking for more ways check out this really neat blog completely dedicated to travel points.
And don't forget to check out my 6 Tips for Better Air Travel if you are hopping on a flight soon.
I love Delta! Great tips Crystal!
ReplyDeleteYes, they are my absolute favorite!
DeleteSuch great tips! I really need to do this since I travel so much for work. This would be great for when we do family vacation!
ReplyDeleteI figure if you are already spending the money you mind as well get some perks!
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