Do you wish to discover ways to journey the world utilizing miles and factors? In the present day, I’m sharing an thrilling interview with Megan, an professional in journey bank card rewards who has mastered the artwork of utilizing miles and factors to see the world for much less. Megan has traveled to unbelievable locations just like the Maldives, Europe,…
Do you wish to discover ways to journey the world utilizing miles and factors?
In the present day, I’m sharing an thrilling interview with Megan, an professional in journey bank card rewards who has mastered the artwork of utilizing miles and factors to see the world for much less. Megan has traveled to unbelievable locations just like the Maldives, Europe, and even taken a Mediterranean cruise—saving tens of 1000’s of {dollars} alongside the way in which.
Megan’s ardour for journey began in her twenties, and she or he rapidly realized how miles and factors might make her dream journeys a actuality, even on a funds. Now, as a part of Daily Drop (based by the very talked-about journey YouTubers Kara and Nate), a web site devoted to serving to others maximize their rewards, Megan teaches miles and factors methods by lessons and a podcast.
In at present’s interview, questions answered embrace:
- How did Megan get monetary savings on journeys just like the Maldives and Europe?
- What are the perfect bank cards for learners seeking to earn factors?
- How can somebody maximize factors with out overspending or entering into debt?
- What errors ought to learners keep away from when beginning with journey rewards?
- What are some fashionable locations you may simply go to utilizing miles and factors?
Whether or not you’re simply beginning out or seeking to take your journey rewards to the subsequent degree, Megan’s ideas and experiences will encourage you to begin planning your subsequent journey at present!
If you wish to discover ways to e-book your subsequent journey for nearly free, the Every day Drop e-newsletter is a superb useful resource. It’s a free e-newsletter that teaches you easy methods to earn and redeem miles and factors, discover low-cost flights, and journey smarter—all in just some minutes a day. Click on right here to affix over 1 million readers and begin saving in your travels at present!
How one can Journey the World for (Nearly) Free Utilizing Miles and Factors
If you happen to’re prepared to begin touring with miles and factors, selecting the correct bank card is step one. The suitable card may also help you earn factors quicker and get monetary savings in your journeys. Click on right here to check out the Greatest Journey Rewards Playing cards to search out the perfect playing cards for incomes journey rewards.
1. Inform me your story. Who’re you, and what makes you an professional with regards to journey miles and factors?
Hello! I’m Megan and I grew to become obsessive about journey in 2015 once I lastly took my first worldwide journey in my twenties. I knew I wanted to make extra journey occur however my recent out of school funds wasn’t so positive.
That’s once I got here the world over of miles and factors. I began, the place many individuals start testing miles and factors, by reserving a couple of journeys utilizing the bank card journey portal. However once I met a pair in an airport lounge who have been additionally touring the world utilizing miles and factors I began to discover ways to make my factors go even additional utilizing switch factors and since then I’ve saved tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in journey.
It’s allowed me to see areas of the world that I as soon as solely had on my Pinterest boards and studying alongside different vacationers has been my favourite technique to be taught and turn into an professional in touring utilizing factors.
Since immersing myself on this planet of journey rewards I landed a job at Every day Drop, a media firm all about maximizing miles and factors. Now I get to show individuals the methods that proceed to assist me to journey the world by our neighborhood areas permitting different individuals to grasp the advantage of studying collectively. I additionally train all of our miles and factors 101 lessons, and co-host our podcast alongside our Head Author, Mike.
The miles and factors world is all the time altering so I immerse myself in it day by day and proceed to be taught as I am going. Largely by Every day Drop as a result of our writing group makes it so easy to be taught however I lean on our neighborhood areas quite a bit too!
2. What are the perfect journeys you’ve taken attributable to miles and factors? How a lot cash did you spend?
I went to the Maldives in 2017 and spent lower than $300 on the whole journey, together with flights, inns, meals, excursions… all the pieces!
This yr I did a two-month journey to Europe my flights there and again price about $200 in taxes and costs. For this journey, I combined level stays at inns with a couple of housesits and for the whole 2 months, I spent lower than $1,000 on lodging.
In 2023 I took a Mediterranean cruise with Virgin Voyages for $0.00. Because it was a cruise, all meals was included and I took benefit of that. We went to Athens, Greece, Break up, Croatia, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Kotor, Montenegro, and Crete, Greece. To be honest we did need to e-book a flight to get to the cruise. We have been already within the UK so we grabbed an affordable EasyJet flight over to Greece which price about $300 roundtrip. General for a seven-night cruise and visiting three new international locations $300 will not be dangerous in any respect!
3. Are you able to share your first expertise utilizing miles or factors to e-book a visit? How did it really feel?
My first expertise utilizing miles and factors to e-book a visit was to The Maldives, I began out setting a excessive bar for factors journeys to come back. I booked by the journey portal that the majority journey bank cards give you, nonetheless, after studying all that I learn about miles and factors now I do know that this usually isn’t the perfect worth or use of your factors.
On the time it was extremely price it to me as a 20-something who had solely ever been to Mexico and Central America.
I positively thought The Maldives was someplace I might be capable of go on a honeymoon or for retirement, so whereas it wasn’t the perfect use of my factors, I’ll by no means remorse that journey. it’s nonetheless one among my all-time favourite miles and factors recollections.
4. How would you outline “incomes miles and factors” for somebody utterly new to the idea?
I might outline incomes miles and factors as utilizing your on a regular basis spend to earn rewards that you should use for journey.
5. What are a number of the greatest forms of bank cards for learners seeking to earn factors?
I feel the perfect sort of bank cards for learners to take a look at are playing cards which are going to let you earn versatile journey factors.
For instance, in case you have a Delta bank card, this looks like the proper path to go as a result of it’s journey targeted. Nevertheless, that is what known as a “co-branded card” (it’s a financial institution + journey firm partnership) and your factors are then locked into solely getting used with Delta.
Versus in case you have an American Express® Gold Card, now you should use your factors with Delta however you may additionally use them with Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, Air Canada, Hilton, and a number of other different journey companions.
So that you wish to search for playing cards that earn versatile journey factors, due to this fact you’re not restricted to utilizing these factors in just one means.
At Every day Drop, we preserve our Prime Playing cards Web page updated with the perfect provides. You’ll positively discover co-branded playing cards on there when there’s an superior provide as a result of there’s house for these in your pockets as you develop your miles and factors abilities! This web page may also help you filter out what provides are too good to overlook on the time you’re in search of a brand new card.
6. What ought to somebody take into consideration earlier than signing up for his or her first rewards bank card?
Effectively, the very very first thing somebody ought to take into consideration is; can I be accountable with my bank cards? Incomes factors whereas racking up debt is extraordinarily counterproductive. You may solely maximize journey rewards on playing cards in case you’re paying off your card steadiness in full.
If that appears like one thing you may handle, then I feel the three most essential questions somebody can ask can be:
- What airways do I fly usually?
- What airways does my residence airport serve?
- Is there a visit that I take into account that makes it make sense to earn a selected sort of factors?
We now have a free useful resource referred to as the Transfer Partner Cheat Sheet that exhibits you immediately what sort of factors you need to be incomes primarily based on the airways and inns you wish to earn with.
7. How do sign-up provides work, and the way can learners benefit from them?
Signal-up provides are one of many best methods to rapidly earn an enormous lump sum of factors that will not in any other case be accessible by on a regular basis spending.
Principally, in case you’re new to the world of bank card factors, a sign-up provide is an incentive the banks provide so that you can be a part of them.
Typically these provides are elevated, providing you with much more factors.
It’s usually hooked up to a minimal spend in a sure time-frame. Oftentimes it is sufficient to cowl your whole journey or to land you a enterprise class seat if that’s one thing you might have been dreaming about!
8. Are there any widespread errors learners make when attempting to earn miles and factors?
I all the time like to consider starting “errors” extra as classes with regards to miles and factors. Usually, even whenever you make a “mistake” with miles and factors there’s a journey on the finish of it.
That being stated, listed below are some issues to look out for:
- Not studying easy methods to use Switch Companions.
Switch Companions are basically particular journey companions that let you switch factors from financial institution to airline or financial institution to lodge. These factors usually provide you with extra worth than in case you e-book in a portal.Whenever you e-book in a portal your factors are fastened at sometimes one thing like 1 cent per level. Whereas in case you switch out you may land offers which are 2 cent per level all the way in which as much as 17 cents per level and past. So now out of the blue your factors go even additional.
For instance, in case you have been a $500 flight in a portal and the worth in that portal was 1 cent per level you then would wish 50,000 factors for that flight. Nevertheless, if that very same flight is on the market straight with the airline for 20,000 factors, you’re now getting 2.5 cents per level and you’ve got 30,000 extra factors to make use of at a later date than in case you had gone by the portal.
- Not taking step one.
There can actually be quite a bit to be taught on this planet of miles and factors however one of the best ways to be taught it’s taking it one step at a time and beginning with incomes.Lots of people can get caught up with what’s the perfect card, or am I doing this the suitable means? The reality is there are such a lot of “proper methods” to do that you simply have to search out the technique that works for you and never be afraid to start incomes. All of it begins with incomes.
9. How can individuals maximize their factors with out overspending or entering into debt?
This one’s simple as a result of it’s the primary rule within the miles and factors world you might be solely placing in your playing cards what you’re already spending.
You all the time wish to match a sign-up provide with both your day-after-day spend or a big buy you might have arising.
For instance, if a sign-up provide will get you 90,000 factors (simply to offer you an concept of how far 90,000 factors can go, I booked 2 enterprise class seats to Europe for 89,000 factors) after spending $4,000 in 90 days the query turns into – Do you already spend about $1,333 every month ($4,000/3)? Or do you might have a big invoice arising that you simply’re already paying?
Typically individuals will have a look at issues like whether or not they will pay sure payments in bulk, like paying their full yr of insurance coverage upfront.
In terms of a big expense an important instance of this and a means that folks earn tons of factors is in case you’re planning a marriage or one other occasion. As somebody who simply did this and earned a whole lot of 1000’s of factors, I can let you know it’s completely price it.
Let’s say you’re happening a gaggle journey. You would be the one to place the lodging in your card and everybody sends you cash.
There are such a lot of methods to get inventive with hitting your minimal spend with out entering into bother!
10. How essential is it to repay your bank card steadiness in full when incomes rewards?
It’s crucial rule. Typically I really feel like I sound like a damaged file with the quantity of instances I say this one nevertheless it actually is so counterproductive in case you’re incomes factors and never paying off your steadiness.
11. What are some misconceptions about incomes miles and factors that you simply’d prefer to clear up?
It is a enjoyable query I might say my prime three are:
- Bank cards are dangerous – There may be completely a means to do that responsibly as I’ve talked about earlier than. There may be additionally a technique to have a number of bank cards whereas nonetheless sustaining an ideal credit score rating.
- You must journey on a regular basis so as to get the advantages – You may actually maximize on journey it doesn’t matter what your journey model is! Since you might be maximizing in your on a regular basis spend, you don’t need to journey in any respect so as to earn tons of factors!
- That miles and factors equal free journey — The reality is there are occasions it’s free however you might be nonetheless going to come back up towards some unavoidable charges, particularly airline taxes and costs. However usually even when it’s not free you’re saving 80%… 90%… or extra on a visit.
- You may get into the entire airport lounges – A giant perk that always will get talked about within the bank card reward house is accessing airport lounges. Oftentimes premium journey playing cards embrace lounge entry. What this doesn’t imply is you could enter each lounge in each airport. It’s essential to arrange your expectations accurately for this perk.

12. What are some fashionable locations individuals can simply journey to utilizing factors and miles? Are you able to give some examples of journeys individuals can take and what number of factors it might price them?
Wow, we might be right here without end with this one! Our Every day Drop Neighborhood has wins shared inside virtually each single day. Our head author Mike travels full-time virtually completely utilizing miles and factors. So, truthfully, your potentialities are limitless however only for the sake of giving a couple of examples listed below are a few of my favorites that I’ve seen in our neighborhood.
- Chicago, USA to Edinburgh, Scotland enterprise class for 69,000 factors
- Seattle, USA to Dubai, UAE enterprise class for 95,000 factors
- New York, USA to Madrid enterprise class for 34,000 factors
- Chicago, USA to Amsterdam, Netherlands enterprise class for 56,000 factors
- Tokyo, Japan to Los Angeles, USA enterprise class for 50,000 factors
- Toronto, Canada to Florence, Italy enterprise class for 50,000 factors
- Michigan, USA to Hawaii, USA for 20,000 factors
13. What ideas do you might have for somebody who needs to dive deeper into this world of rewards and journey with factors?
Outdoors of taking it sluggish and one step at a time, earn factors first. I do suppose Every day Drop has a number of the greatest instruments on the market within the miles and level house! Everybody on our group implements what we train and we attempt to preserve all of it so simple as attainable so that you can be taught. Listed here are 3 methods we may also help:
- Undoubtedly join the Every day Drop e-newsletter, 5x per week we preserve you updated on the world of miles and factors together with educating you easy methods to earn and redeem alongside the way in which! (Oh and it’s free!)
- Discover some journey buddies you may be taught alongside! It’s all the time enjoyable to share offers and ideas with one another!
Check out Daily Drop Pro for free here, this offers you entry to money flight offers and in addition offers you 5 searches on the free plan so you may experiment with discovering journeys utilizing factors that give you the results you want!
Do you utilize rewards bank cards to journey the world for (virtually) free utilizing miles and factors? What different questions do you might have?
Really helpful studying:
Disclosure in regards to the feedback part beneath: The responses beneath aren’t supplied or commissioned by the financial institution advertiser. Responses haven’t been reviewed, accredited, or in any other case endorsed by the financial institution advertiser. It’s not the financial institution advertiser’s duty to make sure all posts and/or questions are answered.