Savvy Traveler: How to Get Free Flights

You read that right… you can actually get free flights without selling your first born child, or having to do something illegal. And no, I don’t mean cheap. I mean actually FREE.

If you’re like me, your travel bucket list goes on for days. Someday, I would love to hang out on the beaches is Thailand, whale watch in Alaska & drink beer at Octoberfest. But the reality is that traveling is expensive! I’m not going to try to pretend like I’m one of those uber rich Instagram influencers who can afford to fly first class around the world all year. I’m an average girl, with an average budget. But, I don’t want to discourage anyone. I know it doesn’t seem possible to be able to travel (like, ever) when you’re on a budget. But I’m being 100% honest when I say you can actually get free flights. Not discounted, FREE. No, this isn’t just click bait. I’m going to share some legit tips and tricks for getting free flights so you can start traveling and ticking experiences off that bucket list! 

How to Get Free Flights

Let’s talk about travel hacking for a second. Getting a free flight isn’t magic, it just comes down to knowing the rules. A travel hack means you know how to work within an airlines rules, credit cards or hotels. Basically, using them to your advantage to early free flights, hotels & upgrades. There are tons of sites and accounts dedicated to travel hacks too. Even better? It’s totally legal and you won’t get into trouble! Not to mention it’s pretty simple and straight forward once you know a few secrets.

Pick One Travel Credit Card

I know getting a credit card can sounds a little intimidating, but the first thing I recommend doing is picking one single card so that you won’t overspend and your credit score will stay protected. Having one card with a single maximum will help keep your spending in check. There are a TON of cards to choose from.

Personally I like the American Express Platinum Card. A few travel perks:

• Uber VIP status and $15 in ride credits a month
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel
• $200 Airline Fee Credit per year to go towards checked bags and in-flight refreshments.
• Free credit for Global Entry & TSA Pre.
• Room upgrades, daily breakfast for two, guaranteed late checkout & more at FINE HOTELS & RESORTS.
• Upgraded status with Hilton Honors & Starwood Preferred Guest.
• Car Rental upgrades.
• No foreign transaction fees.
• Travel accident insurance.
• Free Boingo Internet.
• Lower rates on international flights.
• Use Membership Rewards to pay with points for all or part of your fares, plus you still get miles from the airline.
• Free access to airline lounges like The Centurion Lounge, Delta Sky Club, Priority Pass Select, Airspace and hundreds of others. You even have the option to enroll in Priority Pass Select so you can bring two guests for free!

If you spend $5000 in the first 3 months of having the card, you get an additional 60,000 points! I waited until I got my card to pay off a few bills & bought a new computer! I even pay my taxes with it! Also, I have money set aside in my checking account, but pay using the card initially to earn points. In addition, I make 90% of my monthly payments, from going to the grocery store to my Netflix subscription with it.

When you have points, you can transfer them to 20 airline and hotel partners. Redeeming points to pay for a flight gives you a value of 1 cent per point and you also earn miles with the airline. So, if you have 25K points, you can get a $250 flight for free. OR if you get the 60k bonus points, you can get a $600 flight for free!

It’s also worth checking out airline specific credit cards. For instance, if you fly Delta regularly, it may be smart to get a Delta Skymiles Card. Not only do you get bonus miles when you sign up, but you earn miles with your purchases. With Delta’s Blue Card, you get 10k bonus miles when you spend $500 in the first 3 months.

Pay OFF Your Credit Card Balances 100%

My biggest tip in having a credit card is to treat it like a debit card. Pretend the money is coming directly out of your account instead of on credit. Make sure you pay off your balance 100% at the end of every month. This ends up saving you money in the long run because you won’t rack up interest charges.

Join Rewards & Frequent Flyer Programs

Did you know it’s free to join travel rewards and frequent flyer programs? That means, you shouldn’t travel anywhere before signing up! Any time you stay with a hotel chain, fly on an airline or rent a car, sign up for their program so you can earn credits. NEVER fly without earning miles!

I love using Award Wallet, a service that helps you manage all of your loyalty program accounts. It’s a great way to keep track of all of your random logins for rewards and airlines. It also alerts you when your points or miles are about to expire.

I also sign up for email alerts so that when airlines or hotel chains are running promotions, I can book to earn additional miles and points.

Pick An Airline & Stick With It

It’s important to fly on the same airline and stay at the same hotel chain as much as possible. Loyalty programs are based on being a repeat customer. Find an airline and hotel chain you like and stick with them. Take into consideration your home airport and whether or not they are a hub for a certain airline. A lot of times, certain airlines will generally have more routes and better rates in different cities. Over time, your points will add up and earn you free travel!

Don’t Forget Dining Rewards

I bet you didn’t know that most frequent flier programs also offer dining rewards! Link your card and you’ll earn miles when you dine out at participating restaurants!

The American Airlines AAdvantage dining program lets you earn up to 5 miles per dollar you spend dining at participating restaurants! You also get a 1000 bonus miles if you spend $30 in the first 30 days! I fly Delta pretty frequently, so I use their dining rewards. You get 3000 SkyMiles just for signing up and 5 miles per dollar you spend! Be sure to check to see if the airlines your fly have a dining rewards progra.

Keep An Eye Out For Companion Fairs

A really easy way to get a free flight is when you sign up for credit cards and programs that offer free companion tickets. Generally, you have to pay for the first ticket, but the second one is free! The Platinum Card from American Express gives one companion ticket per year. A few notes though: you have to fly internationally with the companions and the ticket has to be either business or first class. The British Airways Visa Signature Cards also offers a free companion ticket to cardholders. If you spend at least $30k on your card in a calendar year (just think of how much you could account for if all of your payments for the year were on a single card), you get a Travel Together Ticket.

Frequent Flyer Mile Gifts

Technically not free, but a great reminder! Ask for frequent flyer miles for gifts! Instead of birthday and Christmas presents, as family members to buy or transfer miles to you. A lot of times, people who fly infrequently will have some miles, but not enough to use towards a free flight or upgrade. Before they disappear, ask you grandma to transfer her unused miles to you! Every point counts when you’re earning towards a free flight!

Stay Social

If you follow airlines on social media, you’ll notice that they regularly offer bonus miles just for liking a post. They’ll also run contests that you can enter towards miles or free travel. Twitter is one of the best networks to spot deals. If you’re looking for networks to follow, here are some of the biggest domestic airlines to follow:

Follow your favorite airlines on social media. Often times, they’ll offer bonus miles for liking a post, or they’ll run contests that you can enter with the click of a button. We don’t recommend spending hours of your life entering contests you may never win, but if you’re already on Facebook, and the contest takes two seconds, why not?

• Southwest Airlines – @SouthwestAir
• United – @United
• Alaska Airlines – @AlaskaAir
• Frontier Airlines – @FlyFrontier
• Virgin Atlantic – @VirginAtlantic
• Virgin America – @VirginAmerica
• Delta – @Delta
• American Airlines – @AmericanAir
• JetBlue – @JetBlue

It’s not always easy and can be a little time consuming at first, but there are some really easy ways to earn free flights! I recommend starting simply by signing up for a few frequent flyer rewards programs, then picking a credit card to consolidate all of your spending on. If you strategize and focus your spending, you can easily get a ton of free flights!

Want more travel tips? Check out my 12 Must Have Carry On Essentials!