Difference between revisions of "TravelStrategies: *Get Started"

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{{Page|article|Home}}  
 
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'''TravelStrategies.com helps you become an expert at saving money on all your trips, getting the most from travel reward programs, and unlocking free travel and valuable benefits from travel and reward credit cards.'''  
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'''TravelStrategies.com provides the information you need to save money on all your travel, get the most from travel reward programs, and unlock valuable benefits from travel and reward credit cards.'''  
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This page will help you find your way around the site.
 
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
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*[[Save money on all your reservations|Save money on all your reservations]]
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*[[#Getting started: 8 simple steps for cheaper and better Travel|8 simple steps for cheaper and better travel]]
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*[[Get the most from travel reward programs|Get the most from travel reward programs]]
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*[[#Collecting credit card signup bonuses|Collecting credit card signup bonuses]]
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*[[Unlock free travel and valuable benefits with travel and reward credit cards|Unlock free travel and valuable benefits with travel and reward credit cards]]
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*[[#Get the most from travel reward programs|Get the most from travel reward programs]]
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*[[#More advanced strategies|More advanced strategies]]
 
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{{Main|article}}
 
{{Main|article}}
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=== Getting started: A simple plan for everyone ===
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=== Getting started: 8 simple steps for cheaper and better travel ===
  
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Not everyone wants to spend a lot of time and energy becoming an expert. Our simple plan includes four to five basic strategies that require very little effort, can make a big impact, and work for almost everyone. It is a great place to get started.  
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Not everyone wants to spend a lot of time and energy becoming a travel expert. But it doesn't take much time and effort to follow a few simple strategies that can make a big impact on your travel expenses. These 8 simple strategies are a great way to get started.  
  
 
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{{Tile|Companion Pass|(Possibly) Get 2 for 1 Travel with the Southwest Companion Pass}}
 
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=== Collecting credit card signup bonuses ===
 
=== Collecting credit card signup bonuses ===
  
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If you are willing to move beyond our simple plan, the most valuable "next step" is to start collecting signup bonuses. You can sign up for one credit card, after another, to earn their often lucrative signup bonuses. Contrary to popular belief, it wont' kill your credit rating—it is more likely to improve it.  
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If you are willing to move beyond our beginning strategies, the most valuable "next step" is to collect credit card signup bonuses. You can sign up for one credit card after another and earn their often-lucrative signup bonuses. Contrary to widespread belief, it's easy to do and won't kill your credit rating—it is more likely to improve it.  
  
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As long as you don't have a problem handling credit, it is the easiest way to generate hundreds of thousands of reward points that can be used for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms.  
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As long as you don't have a problem handling credit, this is the easiest way to generate hundreds of thousands of reward points that can be used for thousands of dollars of free airplane tickets and hotel rooms.  
  
 
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Frequent flyer and hotel programs let you travel more often or more luxuriously. But, frequent flyer programs, in particular, can be difficult to take advantage of. Our '''{{Link|booking awards}}''' provides the advice you need to actually find available award space and get the most out of your frequent flyer miles. If you don't already understand the basics of frequent flyer miles and airline alliances, read the background information in our '''{{Link|award tickets 101}}''' guide first. And '''{{Link|earn miles}}'''.  
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Frequent flyer and hotel programs let you travel more often or more luxuriously. But frequent flyer programs, in particular, can be difficult to take advantage of. Our '''{{Link|booking awards}}''' provides the advice you need to uncover available award space and get the most out of your frequent flyer miles. But if you don't already understand the basics of frequent flyer miles and airline alliances, read the background information in our '''{{Link|award tickets 101}}''' guide first.  
  
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Fortunately, taking advantage of hotel reward programs is a lot easier. '''{{Link|Award Nights 101}}''' provides all the details you need to use hotel loyalty programs to book free nights.
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Fortunately, taking advantage of hotel reward programs is a lot easier. '''{{Link|Award Nights 101}}''' provides all the details you need to effectively book free hotel nights using points.
  
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=== Unlock free travel and valuable benefits with travel and reward credit cards ===
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Beyond the basics, there are many other, more advanced, strategies that can help you get extra value out of frequent flyer and hotel programs.
  
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The easiest way to get access to travel benefits that are usually reserved for "true frequent travelers", and to earn huge amounts of reward points that you can use for free airline tickets and hotel rooms, is to take advantage of travel and reward credit cards.
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=== More advanced strategies ===
  
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Credit card benefits and reward are the core of many of our travel strategies. As long as you can handle credit, signing up for a bunch of new credit cards won't destroy your credit rating—it just may improve it. '''{{Link|Credit Cards 101}}''' provides the basic details for taking advantage of travel and reward credit cards.  
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When you are ready to dig a little deeper, you can learn about some of our advanced strategies for cheaper and better travel.  
  
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While many of our travel strategies revolve around credit cards, the ones you should use, depend on how comfortable you are at singing up for new cards, and how much effort you want to make.
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<li>'''Level 1: Get a good rewards card and use it whenever you can'''. The simplet place to start is to make sure you get a credit card that offers a good reward rate, and start using it, instead of cash or checks, whenever you can. By simply using a good general-purpose reward card, you'll slowly and surely earn enough points for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. If you make an effort to use your card to pay for as many expenses as you can, you'll increase the amount of free travel you can earn each year. '''{{Link|general purpose}}'''.</li>
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<li>'''Level 2: Put together a credit card collection that works for you'''. Many credit cards provide valuable travel benefits. Most people should gradually build up a core collection of credit cards that provide worthwhile benefits, based on the ways they travel and spend their money. For example, based on your travel patterns, you might want to get a premium card that offers airport lounge access, the credit card for your favorite airline (in order to get free checked bags), and a card that provides free breakfast at Hilton hotels. Along with the ongoing benefits, you'll also earn bonus points for signing up for each of these cards. '''{{Link|core collection}}'''.</li>
 
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<li>'''Level 3: Sign up for credit cards just to earn their signup bonuses'''. Rather than only signing up for the cards that have valuable ongoing benefits, you can continue to sign up for new cards, just to earn their lucrative signup bonuses. It is surprising how many cards you can get before banks start staying no, or your credit rating starts going down. With very little effort you can earn enough points for dozens of free hotel rooms and frequent flyer tickets. '''{{Link|signup intro}}'''.</li>
 
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<li>'''Level 4: Use multiple cards to optimize the points you earn from your spending'''. Many credit cards provide bonus rewards for purchases in certain categories. For example, a card may earn 3x rewards on travel and restaurants, or 2x rewards on gas and groceries. To fully optimize the number of points you earn, you would get and use the cards that earn the highest possible rewards, in each different category. Because signup bonuses are a much faster way to acquire points, not everyone wants to make the extra effort to move on to this level. Some people don’t want to worry about remembering to use the right card for each type of purchase. But, other people wouldn’t dream of missing out on the extra points. '''{{Link|Optimize Rewards}}'''.</li>
 
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<li>'''Level 5: Increase your credit card charges, without spending any more of your money ("Manufactured Spending")'''. Advanced reward point enthusiasts generate large amounts of extra points by taking advantage of opportunities to generate additional credit card spending, without really spending any of their money. For example, they may buy Visa gift cards, use those gift cards to purchase money orders, deposit their money orders in their bank account, and then use the funds to pay off the gift card purchases. In the end, they are really only spending a small amount of fees, but they are generating points on large amounts of purchases. Most of these approaches require lots of research and effort and aren't recommended for most travelers. '''{{Link|Manufactured Spending}}'''.</li>
 
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{{Next|Airfare 101}}
 
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{{Next|Hotels 101}}
 
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{{Next|Signup Intro}}
 
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Latest revision as of 21:21, 11 February 2021

  Home

TravelStrategies.com provides the information you need to save money on all your travel, get the most from travel reward programs, and unlock valuable benefits from travel and reward credit cards.


Jump to

TravelStrategies:*Get Started/TOC


Getting started: 8 simple steps for cheaper and better travel

Not everyone wants to spend a lot of time and energy becoming a travel expert. But it doesn't take much time and effort to follow a few simple strategies that can make a big impact on your travel expenses. These 8 simple strategies are a great way to get started.

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SWCompanionPassX.png
(Possibly) Get 2 for 1 Travel with the Southwest Companion Pass

Collecting credit card signup bonuses

If you are willing to move beyond our beginning strategies, the most valuable "next step" is to collect credit card signup bonuses. You can sign up for one credit card after another and earn their often-lucrative signup bonuses. Contrary to widespread belief, it's easy to do and won't kill your credit rating—it is more likely to improve it.

As long as you don't have a problem handling credit, this is the easiest way to generate hundreds of thousands of reward points that can be used for thousands of dollars of free airplane tickets and hotel rooms.

CreditCards1.jpg
Credit Card Signup Bonuses: The Easiest Path to Free Airplane Tickets and Hotel Nights

Get the most from travel reward programs

FrequentFlyerCards.jpg

Frequent flyer and hotel programs let you travel more often or more luxuriously. But frequent flyer programs, in particular, can be difficult to take advantage of. Our Step-by-Step Guide to Booking Award Tickets provides the advice you need to uncover available award space and get the most out of your frequent flyer miles. But if you don't already understand the basics of frequent flyer miles and airline alliances, read the background information in our Award Tickets 101: The Basics guide first.

Fortunately, taking advantage of hotel reward programs is a lot easier. Award Nights 101: Using Your Hotel Points provides all the details you need to effectively book free hotel nights using points.

Beyond the basics, there are many other, more advanced, strategies that can help you get extra value out of frequent flyer and hotel programs.

StepByStep.jpg
Step-by-Step Guide to Booking Award Tickets
Airplane1.jpg
Award Tickets 101: The Basics
HotelRoom2.jpg
Award Nights 101: Using Your Hotel Points

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More advanced strategies

When you are ready to dig a little deeper, you can learn about some of our advanced strategies for cheaper and better travel.

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TravelStrategies:*Get Started/Main

TravelStrategies:*Get Started/Page
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