We recently asked, “What keeps you from traveling with points and miles?” The majority of people mentioned time. I’m here to tell you—don’t let time stand in the way of traveling with points and miles! How many times have you wished you started something (that ended up being great for you) sooner? I get it. Time is precious. But so is creating family memories, couple memories, or just getting away with a friend for a nice relaxing vacation.

I had heard about using credit card points and miles for travel before I started, but didn’t have a beginner’s resource to teach me how to do it, so I kept putting it off. When I finally dove in about seven years ago, I’ve never looked back, never regretted the time it took me to learn about it, and can only say – Why didn’t I start earlier????

Here are five things you can do to earn points and miles that won’t take too much time. Learning about it is the easiest part. Redeeming does take a little more expertise, but we continually hear from readers who have booked their first trip and are so proud of themselves. And once you book that first one, it gets easier and easier.
 

Award Travel Academy Course

We have a TON of free content on our website and Instagram. However, if you want to learn quickly and without searching, our Award Travel Academy is just the course for you. You have access to it forever for reference, and you get some amazing bonus materials and a dedicated Facebook Group. It is only the price of a domestic flight, but when used, it will save you thousands of dollars in the first year. I would have loved to have it at my disposal when I was learning.
 

 

Travel Freely App

Download the Travel Freely App and put all your credit cards there. It will keep track of your 5/24 status, when annual fees are due, and even help you decide what card you should get next. 

 

 

Start Slow

We open 4-8 credit cards each year. You don’t have to. Start slowly, open a card or two, and book an easy vacation. Try it out before you go crazy, as we do. I guarantee that you will be hooked and will want to do more. Just do it slowly, though. You don’t have to be like someone else who’s going to the Hyatt Ziva, where all lodging and flights are booked for free. Maybe you just want to save money when your child goes to their soccer tournament out of town. You do you.

 

 

 

Use a Search Engine

You don’t have to start from scratch when it comes to booking award travel. You can use a subscription service like AwardLogic or PointMe. Each has monthly and even daily plans to check out award booking possibilities until you become more confident finding and booking flights. They even offer a concierge service that will book the tickets for you for a price. Read this post about search engines we love – many are free!

 

Use Our Transfer Partner Cheat Sheet

When booking partner award flights, check out our transfer partner cheat sheet.  You can check out each travel partner to see if you can find flights that will work for you. We do this all the time, and after a while, you will know which partners will most likely have the flights that will work for you. You can grab the chart here if you don’t have it yet.

 

Bottom Line

Don’t let time stand in the way of traveling using points and miles. I think of all the ways we waste our time. By just being a little more disciplined, you can learn about points and miles, and I promise, you will never, ever regret the time you spent!

 

Related Posts

• Podcast 77. New to Points & Miles? Start Here!
• Beginner’s Guide to Points & Miles
• The 10 Commandments of Points & Miles