For Miles: “Hacks” You Know

Travel “Hacks”: The One You Expect

Let me start this off by saying: if you’re not responsible enough for a credit card, for the love, do not get one. They’re incredibly dangerous tools that, when used improperly, can saddle you with a lifetime of debt.

Travel Credit Cards are the biggest “hack” in the game. You know this, I know this, every travel blogger on the internet knows this. But I wanted to break down my personal experience with them.

My first travel credit card was the Gold Delta American Express. I chose this particular program for a couple of very practical reasons:

1. My father’s preferred airline is Delta.
2. I live within a three-hour drive of Atlanta—Delta rules the majority of my flight options.
3. American Express legally protected me during a $5,000 mechanic dispute and I wanted to continue my business relationship with them after my initial non-Delta AmEx card agreement ended.

My sign-on bonus was 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in 90 days—of which I planned some big purchases (ie, tires) and had some help from my parents (I think we bought a washer) to hit. I didn’t do any reckless spending, but I waited to pull the trigger until I knew I could hit the mark.

The annual fee for this card is $95 after a free introductory year. However, your first checked bag on Delta/its partners is free; and as checking a bag round-trip is usually $60 each way on an international flight, one round trip flight covers this cost. You also get priority boarding (at minimum Main 1, with increasing perks on medallion levels), guaranteeing that you will be able to put your carry-ons into the overhead bins on crowded flights.

I’ve suckered/begged/coerced my Mom, a cousin or two, and like ten friends into getting this card via my referral, kick-backing 10,000 to 12,500 miles to myself each time. They cap how many miles you can earn from referral at 55,000 a year, which is just shy of a trip to Europe. (I flew to Italy on 59,000 miles, for example.)

My second travel credit card was the United Explorer MileagePlus Chase Visa. I chose this particular program for these reasons:

1. United likes to undercut Delta out of Knoxville, so I wanted the next best option out of my home airport.
2. Flying Lufthansa to Europe is wonderful and they’re United’s main European partner.
3. I wanted a Visa card to accompany my AmEx so that if one place doesn’t take one, I had the other major credit option.

With this program, the sign-on bonus was 40,000 miles with $2,000 in the first 90 days. Again, I waited until I had purchases to make—in this case, a trip to Iceland and its related clothing needs for a Southern boy, as well as a trip to Florida a few weeks after that. Again, my Dad stepped in and bought new suits for work on my card to help get me there, though I could’ve hit the $2,000 needed between the two trips I’d budgeted for.

This card also carries a $95/year fee after the first year and free checked bag, but also offers two United Lounge passes a year and will cover the cost of TSA Pre-Check once every five years. So that instantly negated the $95 I spent this year (my first year with the fee) when I got the $85 pre-check for “free.”

My third travel credit card is the American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Select Citi MasterCard. As you can see, I completed the trifecta of the three major US airlines/world airline alliances and credit card providers.

But the main reason I got this card was in prep for an upcoming trip to Peru. American runs the best routes down to South America (though Delta has since begun to undercut this by stealing American’s partnership with LATAM) and the sign-on bonus more than covered the upcoming round-trip mileage I’d need for the trip. So, while the initial reason for this card is now more up to chance, American still have a global reach where I know these miles will get used.

The sign-on bonus was 50,000 after spending $2,500 in the first 90 days. My grandmother’s funeral happened in the last month, and the funeral home was willing to wait until I applied for and got this card for us to pay, so I was able to instantly hit my bonus.

After the first free year, this carries a $99/year fee and also provides a free checked bag.

All three cards waive foreign transaction fees, offer discounts on aspects of their respective airlines, and provide opportunities for double miles—such as 2x for gas and groceries on America, Delta partnered with Lyft, United with Uber, etc.

I don’t have any hotel rewards credit cards simply because I don’t travel in the United States for business. I also know that there are more credit card options like the Capital One Venture Card where you’re not tied down to any one airline, but the annual fees are higher to accommodate the freedom. I personally didn’t feel the need to go this route, but feel free to do the research for yourself and your needs.

If you want a referral of any of these programs—please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. They all kickback miles to me, and I horde those like a dragon hordes gold.