What if I told you that you could fly on Jet Blue (love that leg room) 4 times, round trip from BOS to MSP for free in a 2 month span?? Would you be interested?
Yeah me too, so I did it.
I can thank all of my friends for getting married as to the why I needed to home that many times in such a short period of time.
So, how did I do it?
I did it through travel hacking, or using credit cards safely, to get maximum return on my every day purchases. And I did it using my favorite credit card for newbie travel hackers or people who are nervous about the redemption process/technology involved.
Capital One Venture Card
This card usually offers a 50,000 point bonus (which is what I received), when you spend $3,000 dollars in 3 months. However, I have seen this bonus go as high as 75,000 points at times. It offers 2x points on every purchase making it a great card for in between purchases when you are cycling credit cards. This card does have a $95 annual fee but this fee is waved the first year.
Full Disclaimer: I get nothing for promoting this card. The card doesn’t even offer a referral bonus. I just love this card and want to help others maximize their money.
Other Bonuses
$100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre Check: Just sign up, pay for it using your Venture card, and watch as the charge is erased by the next pay period.
With these feature alone, your next year of using this credit card is paid for and if your like me, your life is forever changed. There is no chance I can go back to being a commoner having to stand in long lines, anxiously assuming you are going to miss your flight, and running through the airport with your belt in hand and only one shoe on because TSA took forever. Nope, never again.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: Which makes it a great card for traveling outside of the country with.
10x miles on Hotels booked using Hotels.com: Purchasing a $100 dollar hotel for a night this way, returns 1,000 points back into your account. An instant 10% cash back.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Automatic insurance covering a rental car accident or theft on approved cars. No more feeling guilted by the rental car salesmen selling you 5+ forms of insurance.
No expiration on your points: As long as the account is open, your points are yours. No rushing to fit in a vacation just so your points don’t expire by the end of the year.
Side Bonus: Metal card Nothing more satisfying than throwing down a metal card. You’ll feel like a G, it’s basically one step down from a black card.
This is on top of the normal benefits that we have come to expect from all credit cards such as auto pay, 24/7 customer service, $0 fraud liability, security alerts, credit monitoring, touch/face ID, etc.
But why is this a great starter card???
What makes it so easy on beginners is how easy it is to redeem points.
I hear people all the time who understand how to earn points. That’s easy: Spend money->Earn points.
But these same people tend to be a little more nervous about how to redeem these acquired points. This is the biggest barrier I see to people who want to travel hack but don’t understand how or are nervous to start.
You can research online about “sweet spots”, online redemption portals and people earning greater than 2 cents per mile. But what does all of that really mean?
Yes, these are amazing things to learn about with other cards as a way to maximize points but this can often be very confusing, especially if you are new to credit card rewards or travel hacking.
This confusion surrounding the redemption process then makes people that much more likely to use their Cabela’s credit card offering 1% return on purchases that can only be used on in store purchases from now until the end of time…sorry for that dad.
Did I mention I had an 18% return on my purchases using the Capital One Venture Card???
How the Capital One Venture Card simplifies this process
With this card, you simply purchase your travel expense how you normally would, whether that be a plane ticket, a train ticket, an Uber/Lyft, a cab etc. using your Venture card.
Once the statement posts, you go into the app or onto the website and simply go to the charge and hit erase.
THAT’S IT! You hit erase and your charge is gone. Even my dad can understand that!
Done. Your points will automatically update and you are flying somewhere for free without even paying for the tax or transaction fees on the flight like you do with many of the other redemption processes.
No mapping and planning your trip to best maximize your miles, no transferring your miles to participating airlines, and no waiting to see if you can get a better redemption rate. Just click and erase. Simple.
This flexibility and simplicity made it an amazing first card for me. And once I was hooked on how amazing traveling hacking was and how simple it could be using the Venture card.
I was then motivated to learn more about these other redemption processes that I listed above which I plan to break down in the future.
Conclusion
Yes, sometimes you can get better returns on your points using some of the above strategies that other cards require, but it isn’t worth it if it creates more of a headache and turns you away from travel hacking all together.
This defeats the entire purpose of travel hacking altogether.
Start with a simpler card to get the feel for it, then branch out in to some of the more advanced redemption processes. And remember, I still purchased 4 round trips using the Venture card so it’s not like the rewards are too shabby either.
Capital One Venture Card Application Link
Let me know what you think? What credit cards would you recommend to start with?
As always, comment or message me directly with any questions you may have!
One Comment
Trey
Thanks for breaking it down so simply!