A very common question Andy and I get asked is “where are you traveling to next?”.
Travel is a constant, nagging itch for me — something hard to explain. It’s not that I'm not grateful for all that I have, or that I’m trying to escape my life, traveling just makes me feel alive in a way a 9-5 can’t. I get to submerse myself in the world instead of be reactive to it. I get to learn new things, experience new cultures and gain new perspectives that I wouldn’t have otherwise.
I am itching to travel more. Like really travel. Not just a quick vacation to an all-inclusive. I want to see new lands and cultures and totally immerse myself. But the thing is, almost since the beginning of Andy and I’s relationship (maybe about 3 years in), we started paying attention to our money- how we were spending it, what was necessary, what things actually brought us happiness. The answers to those questions are always evolving but travel is always on the list, and truthfully it has kind of fallen off a bit lately. Probably due to life just being busy, wanting to save money, not having a lot of time off (America, please step up your game) and us having a few trips on the horizon already.
After listening to some podcasts, I’ve been introduced to the practice of travel hacking. A way to use credit cards to travel, mostly for free, by redeeming sign on bonuses with your usual spending routine. I’m excited (and optimistic) about it and think maybe it would be fun to update as we go, that way if anyone wants to join along and plan some sweet trips, they can! For much less money.
All I really know as of now is that I want to travel more, so this is my plan to maximize money, get time off somehow and travel more.
TRAVEL HACKING.
Travel hacking was a term I only heard about a few months ago. It’s the motion of opening credit cards and spending the minimum amount necessary to receive the bonus. Repeatedly. Sure there are some questions and concerns I had, but so long as you pay your balance in full each month, there is very little risk associated.
Some pointers I picked up:
It shouldn’t hurt your credit score by more than 2-5 points per hard inquiry, which goes away in a few months.
Only do this if you plan to pay off your credit card in full each month.
Transfer your monthly bills to the credit card, where possible.
Do not spend more than normal. If you need to spend more to reach the spend limit, pay ahead on bills or buy gift cards places you regularly shop out of necessity, like the grocery store.
I have some experience with this, although little. For our honeymoon, both Andy and I opened Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserved credit cards. We put all of our expenses from the wedding on these cards and received sign-on bonuses upwards of 320,000 points- the equivalent of $4,000 dollars in travel rewards. But after the wedding, we stopped using credit cards and paid off all of our debt. As followers of Dave Ramsey, we starting doing cash budgets, the idea being it is more painful to spend cash than it is to swipe a card.
About a year and a half later, I think we have developed enough self-control to use cards and not spend more than normal. Given our monthly expenses, we know how much we are guaranteed to spend each month, which gives us an easy calculation to determine whether or not we will reach the spending limit for the sign-on bonuses. If you do not think you will reach the spending limit, it is not worth opening the card.
THE PLAN.
1 . Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
I have started with one of Chase’s business cards. ‘Business’ has a pretty loose requirement. It can range from side jobs, blogging, coaching, Airbnb, etc. You can even be ‘thinking’ about a business that doesn’t exist yet. When I applied, Chase wanted validation of the business name and physical address, which we had to provide in order to be approved.
Word of advice: It is possible to put your name as the business name. This allows you to use your license as validation for the business name and physical address— if your business will reside from your home. I made the mistake of listing my tentative business name and ended up having to register my business with the town clerks office, which would have been avoided if I did not include a business name at all.
Chase has a few rules to be aware of, which play into why we are choosing to start with Chase and not other companies like American Express. Chase has a 5/24 rule, which means you will not be approved for a Chase card if you have applied or opened 5 cards in the last 24 months. I have opened 2 in the last two years, which makes me available for 3 Chase cards. So this is where we will start.
Chase also has a rule that the Sapphire cards can only be redeemed once every 4 years- this combines both the Preferred and the Reserve as one. Andy and I have both redeemed sign-up bonuses for the Reserve in the last two years, so we are unable to apply for these two cards, as we would not receive any bonuses. All of these factors play into the order in which I plan on opening cards.
Minimum spend: $5000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 80,000 points
Annual fee: $95
Timeline: About 3 months
2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority Credit Card
Next, we plan to go after the Southwest Companion Pass. This is a killer deal! If you are able to accumulate 110,000 rapid reward points, you receive the Southwest Companion Pass, which enables you to bring a ‘companion’ on any Southwest flight you go on. Essentially, it’s a two for one deal for any Southwest flight. And depending on how you time this, you could have the companion pass for almost two entire years. We plan on opening this card in January, because it will enable us to take advantage of the pass for as long as possible.
The easiest way to accumulate points towards the companion pass is to open both a personal and a business account and get the sign-on bonuses. This is available to us because we are not current Southwest Rapid Rewards cardmember holders and we have not redeemed bonuses in the last 24 months. This is the personal card we plan on opening to redeem 40,000 points towards the 110,000 necessary to obtain the companion pass.
Minimum spend: $1000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 40,000 points
Annual fee: $149, but $75 in travel credit
Timeline: <1 month
Application month: January
3. Southwest Rapid Rewards Performance Business Credit Card
Combining the points from the Southwest Priority card and this business card, we will total 110,000 points, enough to redeem the Southwest Companion Pass. You have an entire year to accumulate the 110,000 qualifying points, and then you will receive the companion pass for the next year. Since we will open the first rewards card in January and finish the second card by April, we will have the companion pass from April/May 2020 through December 2021. But be sure to time this correctly, as it is a calendar year and not a year after you open the card. It would be optimal to begin accumulating points using one of the two Southwest credit cards in January, giving you the maximum amount of time to utilize the companion pass.
With the companion pass we could plan to do a lot of travel within the US, or wherever Southwest flies… which now includes Hawaii. Two round-trip tickets to Hawaii for the price of one! Say no more.
Minimum spend: $5000 in 3 months
New cardmember offer: 70,000 points
Annual fee: $199, but $100 for global access
Timeline: About 3 months
Application month: February
We do plan on opening the Southwest cards in Andy’s name, to prevent any mishaps with the 5/24 rule. It would make sense to open cards depending on where we want to travel to (different cards have different travel partners, etc.). It is likely that we will be able to get good use out of the companion pass and travel locally within the states relatively frequently.
I have very little experience with this, but all I know is I want to travel more, so here goes nothing! I hope to update as we go and maybe share some of our travel plans and how we intend to use our points.
Questions/comments are welcomed below!