Two Years of Earning Travel Rewards – Update #2
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I started getting into the world of travel rewards about 2 years ago. Initially, I was skeptical about “travel hacking” and “travel rewards,” thinking it was too complicated and not worth the effort involved.
That quickly changed when I read about the Mad Fientist traveling around the world to 14 countries for under $1,000. This sparked me to go through the Travel Miles 101 email course.
Those resources completely changed my thinking, and I dove in head first. Now I have a deep understanding and excitement for travel rewards. We’ve earned a significant number of points over the last two years and have enjoyed dozens of free flights. By far, our biggest win with travel rewards has been earning the Southwest Companion Pass in June 2017.
What are Travel Rewards?
If you haven’t read my introduction to travel rewards, I would highly recommended checking it out. Put simply, travel rewards are points and miles that you can earn from signing up and using certain credit cards. Some cards have lucrative signup bonuses, for meeting a minimum spending requirement within the first few months of owning the card (for example: a 50,000 point signup bonus for spending $3,000 within the first 3 months).
Our Travel Rewards Plan
Our first goal was to earn the Southwest Companion Pass, then build up Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and then continue on from there. In total, we’ve opened up 11 cards over the past two years. We’ve been spacing them out about 3 months apart as we work on one minimum spend requirement at a time.
To stay organized, I carefully track what cards we open, when they were opened, and what bills are being paid with each card.
We do almost all of our spending on credit cards, and then pay off the balance in full every month without fail. I track our spending closely to make sure we’re not overspending, and all the cards are set to autopay. We have never paid a cent in interest. If you’re currently struggling with credit card debt, I would strongly advise you make that your highest priority and avoid travel rewards until you’ve paid it all off.
My Current Credit Cards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred – $4,000 minimum spend to earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points + 10,000 Ultimate Rewards points for referring my wife
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus – $1,000 minimum spend to earn 40,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards
- United Mileage Plus Explorer – $3,000 minimum spend to earn 50,000 United miles + 10,000 United miles for referring my wife
- Chase Ink Business Preferred – $5,000 minimum spend to earn 80,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
- Starwood Preferred Guest Personal – $3,000 minimum spend to earn 75,000 SPG/Marriott points + 20,000 for referring my wife (this card is no longer available to apply for)
My Wife’s Current Credit Cards
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus – $2,000 minimum spend to earn 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards + 10,000 Rapid Rewards for referring me
- Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier – $2,000 minimum spend to earn 50,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Chase Sapphire Preferred – $4,000 minimum spend to earn 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points
- United Mileage Plus Explorer – $3,000 minimum spend to earn 60,000 United miles
- Starwood Preferred Guest Business – $3,000 minimum spend to earn 75,000 SPG/Marriott points (this card has been re-branded to the Marriott Bonvoy Business card) + 20,000 for a referral
- Starwood Preferred Guest Personal – $3,000 minimum spend to earn 75,000 SPG/Marriott points (this card is no longer available to apply for)
Total Points Earned
- Chase Ultimate Rewards: 190,000
- Southwest Rapid Rewards: 150,000
- United miles: 120,000
- SPG/Marriott: 265,000
Total = 725,000 points/miles from signup bonuses
Not bad for two years!
What’s Next?
Some other cards on our radar for 2019 are the other Chase business cards (Ink Business Unlimited and Ink Business Cash), British Airways Visa from Chase, Amex Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, and the Hilton cards from American Express.
Where to Start?
If you’re brand new to travel rewards, I would recommend checking out Travel Miles 101 to learn more about how this all works. It was extremely helpful to me when I was getting started out. After that, determine what are your travel goals? Where do you want to go? What airlines/hotels do you enjoy most?
My recommendations would be to get the Southwest Companion Pass and the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The Companion Pass acts as a buy-one-get-one free for all Southwest flights you take with your companion. The Chase Sapphire Preferred lets you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. These points are extremely valuable because they can be used to transfer to various partners including: Southwest, United, JetBlue, Hyatt, Marriott, among others.
Rules to Keep in Mind
- Chase only approves new applicants that have signed up for less than 5 new credit cards (with any company) within the past 24 months. This rule is commonly called the 5/24 rule. If you are new to travel rewards, this probably won’t be an issue for you, but it’s something to keep in mind if you start signing up for additional cards.
- You can’t hold two Southwest personal cards at the same time.
- Avoid applying for more than one Chase personal card and one Chase business card within a 90-day period. When possible, apply for one card and then wait 30 days before applying for the other card. This helps maximize your chances of being approved.
- Avoid applying for more than 2 American Express cards within 90 days.
Remember that you are a customer and you want to cultivate a healthy long-term relationship with these banks. Don’t apply for too many cards too fast. Also, be sure to keep the accounts open and continue to use the cards whenever possible.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been loving this world of travel rewards, and I’m looking forward to all the trips we’ll be able to take as a result of these efforts. I’d love to hear from you with any questions or comments down below!
What cards have you gotten? How are you going to use your points?
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