Using credit cards to earn travel
Just by buying gas, paying your cell phone bill, or getting lunch at work, you could take your next trip for free.
We all spend money every day on housing, food, transportation, entertainment, and other things. Some people pay cash, use a debit card, or just apply for the credit card their bank offers them at the time of account opening.
But, by shifting all your spending to certain credit cards strategically, you can maximize your ability to travel and travel the way you want. Here are the cards I currently use and how they fit into that strategy.
The goal is to get the most points on every purchase. I do that by having multiple cards to cover as many categories as possible, and earning the vast majority of those points in one flexible currency.
My currency of choice is Chase Ultimate Rewards. UR can be redeemed inside Chase's own Travel Portal or transferred to one of Chase's hotel or airline transfer partners.
Earning points
Everyday spending
The CSR is the anchor for all my other cards. It earns 3x for each $1 spent on travel worldwide. It currently earns 10x on Lyft rides. It also earns 3x on restaurants, including delivery services and take out.
The Chase Freedom Unlimited Card also earns 3% on dining. Plus, it earns me 3% on drugstores and 1.5% on any purchases not covered.
The Chase Freedom Flex earns 5% on up to $1,500 in spending categories that rotate every quarter. For Q2 of 2023, for example, I earn 5% on all spending at Amazon or Lowes. And, for the first year, it earns 5% on grocery.
Finally, the Chase Ink Business Cash credit card earns 5% on office supplies, internet, cable and phone services. It also earns 2% on gas.
So, you can see that using the right card at the right place maximizes the points I can earn for travel.
Then Freedom and Ink cards above are $0 annual fee cash-back cards by themselves. But, when combined with the Sapphire Reserve, the cash back can be converted to UR!
So, typical spending might look like this:
Go to the grocery store, spend $150 - use Freedom Flex, earn 750 points.
Go to the gas station, spend $90 - use Ink Business Cash, earn 180 points.
Go to Starbucks, spend $15 - use Sapphire, earn 45 points.
Pay your cable and internet bill ($75) - use Ink, earn 375 points
Pay a $100 medical bill - use Freedom Unlimited, earn 150 points
Total earnings: 1500 Ultimate Rewards points
One night in the Hyatt Regency Paris Etoile today is 15,000 points. So, just this bit of everyday spending gets you 10% of the way there.
Today, if you're using a debit card, writing checks, or using a random card issued by your bank, you'll missing out on the ability to help pay for your trips.
Sign-up bonuses
Just for signing up for these cards, Chase will reward you with a bonus if you meet a minimum required spending amount.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve currently pays 60,000 after you spend $4,000 in the first three months after opening the account.
The Freedom Unlimited and Freedom Flex both pay a $200 bonus after you spend $500 in the first 3 months after opening the account. When converted to Ultimate Rewards points, that's 40,000 more points!
So, signing up for these three cards in your first year of points collecting gets you 100,000 points. These sign-up bonuses alone get you 6 nights of hotel in Paris with points to spare in your account!
Disclosure: The above combination of cards is what I currently use to maximize points for travel or cash back on the things I spend the most on. If you purchase or sign up for some of the services below, I may receive a referral bonus of some kind. You pay no additional cost for this.