It’s never been easier to find a cheap flight. From deal finding websites like Going to points & miles tools like Point.me, travelers have plenty of options for finding cheap tickets.

There are a lot of options for searching fares (head here to check out all my articles on booking flights, along with my favorite resources). I mean you have Google Flights, Expedia, Orbitz, Momondo, and so many other websites touting that they will find the cheapest fares.

There’s no one best flight search website. They all have their blind spots.

But, out of all the search engines I’ve used, Skyscanner is my all-time favorite. It always seems to find the best deals more often than the other websites and their ability to search globally means that they leave no stone unturned. It’s my favorite.

While Skyscanner is very straightforward to use, because of all its features, it helps to have a bit of a primer so that you can be sure you’re taking advantage of all its capabilities.

In this Skyscanner review, I’ll show you how to make the most of the site so you can always find the best deal!

What is Skyscanner?

Skyscanner is a travel search engine that allows you to search for cheap flights around the globe, as well as the best deals for car rentals and hotels.

It started in 2003 when three IT professionals became frustrated with how difficult it was to find cheap flights. Budget airlines were just beginning to pop up, but there was no central place to search across all airlines at once for the cheapest prices. So, they took matters into their own hands and created Skyscanner.

In recent years, they’ve added the ability to search for hotels and rental cars, and today, more than 100 million people worldwide use the app and website every month, with 80 billion prices searched every day.

How Skyscanner Works

As it’s predominantly a flight search engine, to use Skyscanner you simply input your desired travel dates (you can search by specific dates or by month) and destination, and voila — all your flight options appear. You can search by airport, city, or even an entire country.

If you’re flying to and from major cities with multiple airports (such as New York and Paris in the example below), you don’t have to search between all the different airport combinations as it will sort them all out for you automatically.

I recommend using the month calendar view because you can immediately see the cheapest days to fly. Even if you have specific dates, it might be helpful to take a quick glance at the month view, because if you’re able to shift your dates even by a couple of days, you could save hundreds of dollars:

(Note: If a date doesn’t have a price, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any flights that day. It just means that no one has searched for that flight recently, so Skyscanner doesn’t have updated data available. These dates are still searchable and a price will be added as soon as you search.)

Once you choose specific dates, you’ll get your results and can start refining your search even more until you find your perfect flight. At the top of the results, Skyscanner gives you a helpful breakdown so you can immediately see the best, cheapest, and fastest flights. It automatically displays the best overall flight first, but you can toggle that to sort by cheapest, fastest, or time.

You can also filter your search in a variety of ways, including:

• Number of stops
• Departure times (on outbound and inbound)
• Trip duration
• Airlines and airline alliances (Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and Oneworld)
• Airports (and for cities with more than one airport, you can toggle on the option to fly out and back using the same airport)
• Carbon emissions (toggling this on will only show flights with lower emissions)

Let’s say that you’ve sorted and filtered your results and found a flight that you want to book. Just hit “Select” and you’ll be brought to a page that shows you all the websites where you could book that ticket. Skyscanner calls attention to the airline itself with a little green box next to that result:

It’s always best to book directly with the airline, even if it’s slightly more expensive (in this case, it’s actually cheaper than third-party sites), as should something go wrong (such as a flight delay or cancellation), they’ll be on the hook to make it right. If you book with a third party (such as Expedia or MyTrip), it adds another layer of difficulty when it comes to getting refunds or changing/cancelling a flight.

(But no matter who you book/fly with, you should still get travel insurance as it’ll protect you against unexpected expenses that arise when things go wrong on the road, including delays and lost luggage.)

If you’re not happy with the current search results or aren’t ready to book yet, you can set up a price alert and receive an email if the price changes. With the recent addition of their “saved” feature, all you have to do is click the heart next to your top flight result, and Skyscanner will automatically create a price alert (you have to create a free account and be logged in to use this feature).

And even though Skyscanner will send you an email whenever the price changes on one of your saved flights, they’re all saved to your account in one place so you can look back for easy reference.

Skyscanner’s Everywhere Feature

The coolest feature on Skyscanner is the Explore Everywhere option. It allows you to search the entire globe from any chosen airport for the cheapest flight. This is a great option if you have a certain time frame in which you’d like to travel but are open to going wherever the cheapest flight will take you. You can search by specific date or an entire month for even greater flexibility:

Once you’ve chosen your time frame, you’ll be brought to the results, ordered by country. Let’s say you’re searching in November for cheap flights from New York. You can see that the cheapest flights are elsewhere in the continental United States, with Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Canada, and El Salvador all coming up next (and for super cheap!).

If you’re open to traveling anywhere, this is an invaluable tool. I use it all the time and can’t recommend it enough!

Multi-City Trips

If you’re considering a trip with multiple destinations, Skyscanner has a handy “multi-city” feature where you can add up to six legs on one itinerary. This is perfect for anyone planning a trip around the world who wants to book their main flights in advance and have everything in one place for simplicity.

You can even use the multi-city tool to find and book flights where not all legs are connected. For example, say you want to go NYC-Madrid-Paris-London and then back to NYC — but you want to take the train from Paris to London so you don’t need a flight for that leg. You can skip legs with the multi-city tool, meaning that you can mix-and-match flights with other forms of transportation as you travel, giving you a lot of flexibility as you plan and book.

Hotels and Rental Cars

While Skyscanner is mostly known as a flight search engine, they offer hotel and car searches. I personally think there are better options for both so I’d probably stick to just using the service for flights but it never hurts to check to see if their prices for either are cheaper than their competitors.

And that’s it for my Skyscanner review! It’s where I start all my flight searches, and I recommend you do the same. It’s a vital tool for finding the best and cheapest flights. Whether you need a flight on exact dates or are open to going anywhere the cheapest flight will take you, Skyscanner has you covered.

You can use the widget below to start planning your next trip:

The post Skyscanner Review: The Best Website for Finding Cheap Flights appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

One of the biggest barriers to entry when it comes to travel is airfare. It can be prohibitively expensive — especially in this post-COVID travel boom.

As anyone who’s spent time searching for flights knows, finding a cheap one can be an arduous and time-consuming task. Unlike other aspects of travel (say, museum entry fees or walking tour prices), flight tickets don’t have a set price. Instead, tickets are volatile and unpredictable. We can’t expect a nonstop journey from NYC to Tokyo to always cost the same amount (though that would be nice!).

And even if you find an affordable deal, it can be easy to get caught in decision paralysis, questioning whether you should really book it, or if you could find something even cheaper (this is something that happened to me a lot when I first started traveling).

But this volatility in pricing can actually be used to a traveler’s advantage — with the right tools.

That’s where Going comes in. It’s a tool designed to help you find cheap flights.

Formerly known as Scott’s Cheap Flights, Going is a membership-based website and newsletter that finds flight deals to over 900 destinations around the world. Most deals are 40-90% off normal prices, meaning members save an average of $550 USD on international economy seats (first-class flyers save $2,000 USD on average).

That’s a huge amount of savings!

Going started back in 2013 when Scott Keyes found an unbelievable deal from NYC to Milan: just $130 USD round-trip. He immediately booked the ticket, went to Italy, and had the time of his life.

When he came back, friends and family kept asking how he found such a great deal. So, he started sending a regular email to friends with the deals he found. By 2015, Scott’s Cheap Flights was born.

Many years — and over two million members — later, Scott’s Cheap Flights rebranded as Going. Same company, new name. Going encourages its members to take a reverse-booking approach to travel, which means choosing your destination and dates based on the flight deals that are available rather than deciding when and where you want to go and then looking for a bargain. It seems counterintuitive at first, but it means you can find incredible deals if you’re flexible.

I’ve known Scott for years and love what he has done with the company. I think he’s created one of the best tools for finding cheap flights there is. But don’t just take my word for it — here’s everything you need to know about Going to decide if it’s right for you!

How Going Works

At its core, Going is a membership website, meaning you have to sign up for some sort of plan to access its deals (one of the options is free, and all the plans offer free trials).

After signing up, it’s a super simple process to set up your account and get deals landing in your inbox:

There are three membership tiers: Limited, Premium, and Elite. While Limited is entirely free, you can take advantage of a 14-day free trial of both Premium and Elite before signing up.

New users can also get 20% off Premium with the code NOMADICMATT20.

The tiers break down as follows:

Limited (free):

• Small selection of deals on economy-class tickets for international travel, 1-2 days after they are found
• Can follow five US departure airports (but you can’t filter flights in any other way)

Premium ($49/year):

• Immediate notification of both international and domestic economy-class deals
• Alerts about rare mistake fares from your home airport (when the airlines incorrectly price a flight)
• Weekend Getaway alerts (for flights departing within the next month)
• Ability to filter what alerts you get
• Can follow up to 10 US airports

Elite ($199/year):

• Everything in Premium
• All mistake fares Going finds
• Deals on all ticket classes
• Unlimited number of departure airports
• Deals on award flights (for booking with points)
• Priority support

Here’s a full breakdown of the plans:

If you’re just looking for the odd flight deal, chances are the Limited plan will suffice for you. However, if you’re looking to travel more and want to really save money, Premium is a must. It has way more perks and offers a lot of value. And if you want deals on booking with points, you’ll need to sign up for the Elite plan as it is the only plan that includes award flight deals.

(If you’re a new user, don’t forget to use the promo code NOMADICMATT20 for 20% off Premium.)

Once you pick a plan and sign up, you’ll want to enter your home airport, as well as any additional airports that you might be willing to travel to for a great deal.

While the major benefit of being a member of Going is that you can just sit back, do nothing, and wait for a bargain to show up in your inbox, you can also search the Flight Deals page:

Here’s an example of what you can see on this page on the Limited Plan vs. the Elite Plan:

The Limited (free plan) view:

The Elite plan view (as you can see, there are hundreds more deals here, and this is filtered for Economy flights only):

How Going Finds Deals

It might be surprising to hear, but most of Going’s deals are found by their (human) Flight Experts using a set of criteria to determine what makes for a “deal.”

That means that they don’t just send you any and every cheap flight, but instead curate a selection of deals. They won’t send you a flight with several long layovers or an overnight layover, and they don’t send deals on budget airlines.

Instead, Going deals consist of nonstop or one-stop flights on full-service airlines with manageable layovers. They also make sure that a deal has at least ten different departure dates, so you’ll never encounter one that requires to you travel on a specific day. In short, they only pick decent flights, which I really appreciate.

On every deal, you’ll see a breakdown with a bit about the flight and destination, as well as sometimes a write-up including helpful tips and information from the Flight Expert who found the deal:

You’ll also see a price history for the flight, so you can see exactly how good of a deal it is. To me, this is super interesting:

Once a deal comes up that you want, all that’s left is to book it. Simply hit the “book” button on Going, which will then take you to the booking site. Usually it’s Google Flights, but sometimes it might be Skyscanner or similar platforms.

As you can see, when you click through, Going has already set all the filters so that the deal it found comes up:

When booking, you’ll want to act fast. Flight prices change all the time, so snag that fare while it still exists. That’s especially the case with mistake fares, as they’re rare and get scooped up or fixed quickly.

Remember, in the US you legally have 24 hours after purchasing a flight to cancel it, so book first and then quickly figure out any required logistics (time off, pet care, etc.), knowing you can cancel within a day if needed.

And that’s all there is to it!

Pros and Cons of Using Going

Pros:

• Getting cheap-flight alerts delivered to your inbox (saving you a ton of time)
• Simple and easy to use
• Great, hands-on customer service
• Affordable tiers (including a free one)
• Allows for a variety of departure options to streamline your searches

Cons:

• Paid membership is necessary for the best deals
• Only works if your home airport is in the US (including the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam)
• Award-flight availability is limited (in beta version for the Elite plan)

Should You Use Going?

Going is for travelers who want cheap airfare and can be flexible on dates and destinations in order to get the best deals. Going calls this its “reverse-booking” approach.

Going is for people that don’t have the time or inclination to constantly check for cheap fares, and would rather pay a small fee (the $49/year Premium plan is sufficient for most people) to unlock a world of deals.

Going also works best for travelers who can act quickly once a deal becomes available. While most deals are for travel 2-9 months in the future, since prices change so quickly, you’ll need to be able to book as soon as you get an email alert (but: remember the blanket 24-hour free cancelation policy on all US airlines).

On the flip side, Going is not a tool that will help you find cheap fares to a specific destination for a specific time. (If that’s all you want, simply set up a Google Flights alert for your required dates and destination.) The very nature of the service requires flexibility in order to take advantage of the best deals.

Going is also not for people who would rather spend the time searching for deals themselves rather than pay for a membership. You can find the flights that Going discovers on your own, as they’re publicly available on search engines like Google Flights, Skyscanner, and Kayak. However, that takes (a lot of) time, and one person would never be able to find all the deals that Going’s team of over 50 people can! Even I get tired of searching for flight deals sometimes!

I think Going is a great resource to help budget travelers find incredible flight deals all over the world. While you can certainly learn the tips and tricks for doing so on your own, Going saves you the time and energy it takes to look for deals so that you can keep living your life, wait for the perfect one to arrive in your inbox, book it, and get going.

Sign up with promo code NOMADICMATT20 to get 20% off a Premium Plan!

The post Going (Scott’s Cheap Flights) Review: Is This Flight Tool Worth Using? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I’m a huge fan of collecting points and miles. It’s transformed my travels and saved me lots of money over the years. By signing up for travel credit cards, you can collect points and miles that you can cash in for free flights, flight upgrades, hotel stays, and more — all without any extra spending. In short, it’s a way to get more for less.

I’ve enjoyed countless free upgrades, free flights, free hotel stays, and other perks — all without any extra spending. Collecting points and miles has helped open the world to me, so I’m a huge advocate for it, as I’ve seen what a difference it’s made in my travels.

Through the many years I’ve been writing about the subject, I’ve seen tons of newbies make countless mistakes — mistakes that impact their ability to travel for free.

Here are the biggest points and miles mistakes that I see people making so that you can avoid them, save your points and miles, and make your travel dollar go further:

1. Not Starting at All

When I ask most people why they don’t collect points and miles, they just shrug their shoulders and say, “I don’t know. Seems hard, I guess.”

The biggest reason that people don’t start is that they think it’s too complicated, it’s only for people who travel often (or are big spenders), or that it’s a scam.

But side-stepping the points-and-miles game entirely is the biggest mistake you could make. It’s akin to saying no to free money. If you pay off your credit card each month, you’re losing out if you aren’t earning points and miles, which are simply perks that you get for being smart about your spending. Just start. (Not sure how? This post goes into great detail on how to do so!)
 

2. Not Having a Goal

Before you sign up for your first card, the most important thing to do is make a goal. Think about the trip you want to take, where you want to stay, and how you want to get there. Then get the travel credit cards that will help you get there.

Without making a goal, you’ll have no idea what card (or cards) are best for you, as each offers different benefits that will fit different lifestyles, budgets, and travel goals.

Remember: there is no perfect card. There is only the perfect card for you.

Are you interested in loyalty to a brand, free rewards, or avoiding fees? Do you want free flights and/or hotel stays? Is elite status the most important perk for you?

If you just want points to spend wherever you choose, get cards with transferable points (Chase, Capital One, Bilt, Citi, and American Express all issue these kinds of cards) because you can use these points with a variety of travel companies. They each have their own rewards programs and points that can be transferred to multiple airlines or hotel partners or used to book travel directly through their own travel portal websites.

Determine your goal(s) and then find the cards that match it/them, as well as your spending habits.
 

3. Not Getting Cards with an Annual Fee

When it comes to choosing a travel credit card, many people balk at high credit card fees, which can sometimes be hundreds of dollars per year. Surely the credit card companies are just taking your money, right?

Not exactly.

While it’s true that you’ll have to decide whether cards with higher fees are worth it for you, cards with annual fees are usually much better than no-fee cards: they offer more value, better bonus categories (so you can accumulate points faster), and other perks, such as better travel protection and access to special offers. For me, even the cards with the highest annual fees are worth it, as I have saved more money on travel than I have ever spent on fees.

But you don’t have to go for the cards with the highest annual fees right off the bat. There are many “starter” cards that waive the fee the first year, and after that are just $95 per year. That way, you can see whether it’s worth it to you. Here’s a list of my favorite cards.

If you really don’t want to pay an annual fee but still want to get in on the game, the Bilt Mastercard® is my favorite no annual fee card. This game-changing card is the only card that lets you earn points by paying your rent (up to 100,000 points in a calendar year), plus 3x points on dining and 2x points on travel. It offers solid travel protections too. If you’re just starting out (and pay rent), this is a must-have card. You just have to use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points (see all Rewards & Benefits here).

Additionally, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is also a great no fee card to consider.
 

4. Not Meeting Signup Bonuses

The best travel cards offer a sizable introductory offer, also called “welcome offers” or “sign-up bonuses.” This is when you earn many points at once by spending a certain amount of money within a certain time period after opening your account (e.g., spending $3,000 in the first three months might earn you 60,000 points).

These welcome offers are how I earn one million points each year. They’re super important, as they jump-start your account and immediately get you closer to a free flight or hotel stay. Sometimes these offers are even big enough to get you a free flight right off the bat!

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not taking advantage of these bonuses. Again, it’s like leaving money on the table (I hope you’re seeing a pattern here).

With that in mind, only apply for cards if you can meet their minimum spending requirements for the welcome bonus with your normal spending. If you are spending more money than you usually do just to get these points, then the points are no longer free. Only spend what you normally would and not a penny more.

If you find yourself close to reaching a sign-up bonus but are still falling short, these are some things you can do:

• Ask friends or family if they have any large purchases coming up. You can then pay for the item on your card and get them to pay you back.
• When out to eat with friends, put everything on one bill and pay it with your card. Then get everyone to pay you back individually.

5. Not Paying Off Your Credit Cards Monthly

This is a central tenet not only of points and miles but credit card use in general. Do not ever carry a balance on these cards, as the sky-high interest rates will wipe out any potential benefit you’d get from them. If you’re paying interest, the points are no longer free.

If you can’t pay off your balance in full, you shouldn’t be collecting points and miles.

6. Thinking That Points Have Intrinsic Value

Once you start looking at signing up for travel credit cards, it can be easy to get excited at huge sign-up bonuses and spending categories where you can rack up a lot of points quickly. Hotel credit cards are notorious for this, regularly offering sign-up bonuses of over 100,000 points and bonus spending categories that can be up to 26x points per $1 spent.

But what’s important to understand is that one point will go further in some programs than others. The value of a point is not fixed. It is not the same across programs. One IHG point is not the same as one United point, just like one Chase point is not the same as one Hyatt point.

When assigning a value to points, the math is actually pretty simple: take the cash price (what you would pay if you didn’t have points), divide by the number of points required, and multiply by 100 to get the per-point value in cents. I find The Points Guy’s monthly valuation chart to be the most accurate as a handy cheat sheet to use as a baseline for what is considered a good per-point value.

That said, a lot of redemption comes down to the personal value that you assign to those points. Would you rather redeem them for flying in first class, or would you rather take two economy flights for the same number of points? Would you rather stay in a five-star hotel for a weekend or stay in a three-star hotel for a week?

Point value is in the eye of the beholder.

(Just never redeem points for cash. This is the least valuable use of points.)
 

7. Not Maximizing Bonus Categories

Speaking of point value, seeing that a flight “costs” 30,000 points can be intimidating, thanks to another common mistake: thinking that you have to spend $1 to get 1 point.

But it’s never about getting only one mile or point per dollar spent. It’s easy to get 2-5x (or more!) for every dollar you spend. This helps you earn points much more quickly.

For example, I use one card when dining at restaurants (4x points), a different card for office spending (5x points), and yet another card for airfare (5x points).

Never accept one point per dollar spent. Otherwise, it will take way too long to accumulate enough points for free travel.
 

8. Not Taking Advantage of Card Benefits and Perks

Collecting points and miles is not just about just getting points and miles. It’s also about what else comes with the card that can make your life and travels easier. Many cards (especially premium travel cards) give you a special elite loyalty status or other extra perks. Don’t make the mistake of getting a card and then not taking full advantage of everything that it has to offer.

Here are the perks I personally prioritize:

• No foreign transaction fees
• Free hotel stays
• Lounge access
• Free checked baggage
• Priority boarding

You might have different priorities, but no matter the case, be sure to explore the benefits of your chosen card(s) and actually use those that come with it.
 

9. Not Getting Transferable Points

As I mentioned above, transferable points are those that you can transfer to different programs and they are at the heart of every good points and miles strategy. You want points with the banks because you can then take those points and transfer them to a plethora of different airlines and hotels. That makes it easy to take advantage of different rewards programs and deals.

However, many people shy away from using them, as it seems too complicated. They might get a card with transferable points but redeem them through a travel portal or choose to get cash back instead (which you shouldn’t do).

Transferable points are how you can get amazing value. You can earn transferable points and miles with credit cards issued by Chase, Capital One, Bilt, Citi, and American Express, though keep in mind that these are all separate “currencies.” With Chase, you earn Ultimate Rewards points, while you earn Membership Rewards points with American Express.

It’s generally better to get transferable points than, say, airline-specific points (such as you’d get with an airline credit card), as those can’t be moved anywhere. Delta points can only be used on Delta flights (or their alliance partners), and if you find a better flight with United, that’s too bad — you can’t use your Delta points to take advantage of it.

While it might seem complicated, it’s easier than you think — it’s just about finding the right card for your needs, moving points to an airline or hotel partner, and then booking. This process is easier than ever thanks to the new points-booking search engine, point.me.

(I also go more in-depth into transferable points and how to use them in my Points & Miles Guide.)
 

10. Hoarding Your Points

Many people, once they amass some points, are afraid to use them at all. They either don’t know how to use them or want to wait for the “best possible value.”

But points burning a hole in your virtual pocket aren’t going to help you. The value of points changes all the time as credit card companies, hotels, and airlines alter their programs. Unfortunately, that means your points could lose a significant amount of value overnight (don’t worry, this doesn’t happen frequently, but it does happen).

Points are meant to be used. They’re a vehicle for getting you free flights and hotels so that you can get out there and see the world. Don’t sit around watching your points balance climb higher and higher — use those points, get out there, and start traveling!

It’s never been easier to earn free flights, hotel stays, and other travel perks. And while there are some common mistakes to avoid and the learning curve can seem steep, once you get started, it all comes into focus quickly, and you’ll be wondering why you didn’t start sooner.

As long as you make concrete goals, pay off your bill each month, and focus your spending on the right card(s), you’ll be able to enjoy time-saving perks and free travel in no time — and all just by spending the money you would have spent anyway!

To get you started, here’s a link to a list of my favorite card offers.

Stop paying full price for travel!

Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you:

• How to Pick a Credit Card
• How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending
• How to Redeem Your Points
• And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips!

Get the guide

The post 10 Points & Miles Mistakes to Avoid appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

I’ve been collecting points and miles for over a decade and usually rack up around one million miles per year. The art of collecting points and miles that you can use for free travel or travel perks is hands-down the best way to transform your everyday spending into free flights and hotel stays so that you can travel more, without spending more.

But, while maximizing earning points and miles is something I enjoy, for most travelers, it can come off as complicated and time-consuming. Managing different points and miles programs and finding the best redemptions can be overwhelming if you’re new to the practice.

Enter point.me.

point.me aims to streamline the process of finding the best redemptions so that you don’t have to spend valuable time searching for them. It helps you get the most bang for your buck with the points and miles that you have.

But is it worth the price? And does it actually work?

What is point.me?

point.me is a search and booking engine that helps you find the best ways to use your points and miles. It searches 30+ loyalty and 100+ airline programs to find the best value possible.

Here are just some of those airlines, credit cards, and loyalty programs:

point.me works like airline booking tools like Skyscanner: you put in your desired flight details (location, dates, etc.) and it brings up all the available award flights that you could book for that journey.

The interface is sleek and easy to use, and it walks you through every step of the booking process, making it great for newbies.

How Does point.me Work?

Say you want to book a flight from New York to Paris.

An optional first step is syncing your awards programs with point.me. You do this by connecting point.me with AwardWallet, a free points and miles tracking tool that syncs with almost 700 rewards programs, from airline to hotel to car rental programs.

If you already use AwardWallet, all you do is hit a button and you’re all set.

If you don’t already use AwardWallet, you’ll have to sign up (it’s free) and connect all your award programs there first. To do this, you’ll have to allow AwardWallet access to your accounts.

Note: If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, you can always manually filter by your awards programs or preferred airlines. You can choose to manually filter by a few programs or only a specific program:

Next, it’s time to search for flights.

Once your results are up, you might want to play around with filters and sorting, to get a good look at your options. Here is the finished search from above, sorted by “point.me picks” (again, which uses an algorithm to deliver the best overall flight):

However, you’ll notice that while the number of points required is quite low (just 10,000 points), the fees are quite high ($147 USD). This is where you probably will want to start playing around with dates. There might be better options on other days, as reward flights can vary drastically by day.

In this case, this was the next day’s result:

You’ll notice that while the points required are higher, the fee is lower. To see which is a better deal, you might want to use a points calculator such as the one offered by The Points Guy, which is constantly updated with current point valuations.

The right choice also depends on your personal situation. For example, you might have tons of Chase points but not many Citi points (or vice versa). For this example, let’s assume you have a ton of miles and prefer to use less cash. That means the second option is clearly the better one for you.

Once you’ve picked your redemption option, hit “view booking options” and you’ll see this:

Choose your preferred option, and it’ll bring you to a page that gives you an overview of the three main steps in the booking process and what you need to do:

Next, point.me walks you through each step of actually booking the flight, with screenshots and even videos on the right-hand side that show you exactly where you need to click. Here you can see the step for learning how to transfer from a credit card (American Express Membership points) to an airline rewards program (Flying Blue):

All you have to do is follow the steps and book your preferred flight. Anyone that’s already familiar with the process can simply click to skip through these steps.

point.me’s Explore Tool

point.me recently launched an innovative new feature that’s akin to Skyscanner’s Everywhere search option, except for points. With the Explore tool, simply put in your departure airport and set “Anywhere” as your destination to see where you could go for the fewest points.

This is a fantastic tool to use if you just want to go somewhere with points but are flexible with where you go. And if you’re new to points and miles, using this tool can help you get an idea of how far your points can take you. It’s very user-friendly. Here’s what it looks like:

If anywhere in the entire world is a bit broad for you, you can narrow down your search with the available filters. You can select/deselect entire continents or individual countries, or click on point.me’s curated destination categories. These include “Beach,” “Culture,” “Adventure,” “Cityscape,” and more. The best part of the Explore tool is that it’s available to all point.me users, including those on free plans!

point.me Membership Options

point.me has a few different tiers of service. While I like that they offer a free option, to get the most out of point.me, you’ll want to pay to subscribe.

Here’s what you get depending on what option you choose:

Basic Plan:

• Free
• Access to the Explore tool
• Sync your account balances

Standard Plan:

• $12/month or $129/year
• Everything in the Basic Plan
• Unlimited searches
• Real-time award flight search*
• Step-by-step booking instructions

Premium Plan:

• $260/year
• Everything in the Standard Plan
• 10% discount on all concierge services
• $100 credit towards concierge services
• Free points strategy consultation ($200 value)

*Search is for personal use, and is subject to fair use policies. point.me reserves the right to limit or otherwise constrain searches in case of excessive use.

While most people will likely be fine getting their Standard plan, if you want more personalization and hands-on help, go for the Premium Plan. You’ll get a free points strategy consultation and discounts on their concierge services. These are full service options where you can pay for personalized consulting. You can even get one of their experts to find and book the best award flight for your trip.

Now that we’ve gone over the process and features, you may have already figured out some of the pros and cons. But this wouldn’t be a comprehensive point.me review without a full breakdown, so let’s take a look.

Pros of point.me

1. The ability to search across many programs at once
The most obvious pro of using point.me is pulling up all available award flights for your desired journey. Without this tool, you’d have to search across all the programs in which you have points and miles. That involves logging into each website, finding the award charts, factoring in any fees, and comparing across all programs. It’s not that hard, but it does take time.

2. Enhanced search features
point.me includes enhanced search features that aren’t available elsewhere. This includes the Explore tool I talked about above, as well as a variety of features and filters you can use when searching normally. One that I like is the ability to search by mixed-cabin flights. That means you’ll be in different fare classes on different legs of the route (such as economy on one leg and business on another). This can be a great option if you’re taking a long journey and want to pay a more comfortable (and more expensive) class on the longer leg, but still want to save money by traveling in economy class on shorter legs.

There is also a “point.me picks” filter, which ostensibly uses an algorithm to find the absolute best options across the board. It shows you the most comfortable flight available (i.e., the fewest transfers and shortest layovers) for the best point redemption. Sometimes this is the same as sorting by “points low to high” (that is, from the lowest to the highest number of points required), but not always. It’s nice to see at a glance what you’re working with.

Finally, it highlights programs that are currently offering transfer bonuses, which is when programs offer more points if you transfer between programs before a certain date.

3. You can connect your awards accounts
I love the ability to connect all your awards accounts to point.me by syncing with AwardWallet. For our purpose of tracking airline points, you only need to connect your airline and travel credit card programs, but if you want to use it to track everything, go wild!

4. The interface is easy to use
The website is very straightforward and easy to use, walking you through every step of the process, with screenshots and tips.
 

Cons of point.me

1. The subscription fee
point.me has a monthly fee. The Standard Plan is $12 per month, or $129 a year (there’s a 10% discount when you pay yearly), while the Premium Plan is $260/year (no monthly option).

However, if you’re new to points and miles and haven’t quite memorized the ins and outs of each program, $12 is a bargain when you consider the potential savings point.me offers.

And, as a Nomadic Matt reader, you can 20% off standard and premium plans with the code NOMADICMATT20.

It’s also worth noting that if you have the Bilt card, you can use the point.me search engine integration right within the Bilt app (it only searches for Bilt transfer partners though, so if you have cards other than Bilt, you’ll likely want to subscribe to use point.me’s full capabilities.)

2. The search options need some improvement
Another drawback is that, as of the time of writing, you can only search by specific airport, with no ability to search by city.

For cities with just one main airport, this isn’t an issue, but if you’re looking to fly between cities with more than one airport, like in our example search from NYC to Paris, for example, there are various airport combinations that you might be open to. Right now, you must search separately for JFK to CDG and JFK to ORY, and possibly even include EWR (Newark) to cover all your bases.

You also can’t use flexible dates or a date range to search, something that’s key when booking award flights, as they can vary drastically depending on the day (this is even a tip that point.me highlights in the pointers offered while you wait). For now, you have to search by individual dates, which can get tedious.
 

Who is point.me For?

point.me is especially geared toward travelers that are newer to redeeming points for award flights. If that’s you, using it is a no-brainer, as it makes the entire process straightforward, saving you time (and money) in the process.

But even experienced points and miles users can get a lot of value out of the website, as it really does speed up the process of finding award flights. If you’re a pro that already has a process down pat for booking award flights, then you might not see the benefit of using a website like this.

point.me is a powerful booking tool that streamlines the award-booking process. It helps you find the best award flights, including some that you might not have even considered. It’s a great addition to the toolbox of anyone looking to travel with points and miles, especially if you’re a newbie that doesn’t want to spend tons of time going down the points rabbit hole.

And while it is a paid service, you can easily recoup the price on one flight alone, making it well worth the monthly fee.

Get 20% off standard and premium plans with code NOMADICMATT20.

Stop paying full price for travel!

Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you:

• How to Pick a Credit Card
• How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending
• How to Redeem Your Points
• And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips!

Get the guide

The post Point.me Review: Why This Points and Miles Tool Is Worth It appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

After over 15 years of traveling the world, I’ve lost count of how many free flights and upgrades I’ve had. By collecting points and miles, I’ve been able to enjoy free flights, free hotel stays, upgrades, lounge access, and more — all without any extra spending.

One of the main tools that has helped me accomplish this is having a points-earning airline credit card.

While the perks of airline cards aren’t often as impressive as high-end travel cards, you always want to have the card of a few airlines so you have free bags, extra points per dollar spent, lounge access, and more.

Airline credit cards are pretty straightforward: they are co-branded cards meant to incentivize users to stay loyal to one airline. By giving you extra points when you spend with airlines as well as bonuses when you hit certain spending milestones, airlines want you to use their card as often as possible.

There are two rules to know when picking an airline credit card: first, always get the card of the airline you fly the most. You always want the perks that come with it. Second, when looking for a new card, go with the biggest bonus. Once you have the card of your favorite airline, when you want another, find one that has a big bonus since you’re just using it for the points for a free flight not because you’re loyal.

With every airline having more than a few card options to pick from, I laid out my favorite card for each airline below.

Below, you’ll find a detailed review of each card, including the perks and cost, so you can pick the best airline credit card for your travel style and budget.

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express

I like this card for the double points earned on Delta purchases. This is a great card for earning free flights (even if you’re not flying all the time like I am). If you’re a casual Delta flier or live near one of their hubs (including ATL, JFK, LAX, SLC, and DTW), this is a great choice for a low-fee Delta card. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150 (See Rates and Fees).

This card offers:

• Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• 2x points on Delta purchases
• 2x points at U.S. supermarkets and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• Free checked bag on Delta flights
• $200 Delta flight credit after you spend $10,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year
• 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app (discount not applicable on partner-operated flights or on taxes and fees)
• Take up to $50 off the cost of your flight for every 5,000 miles you redeem with Pay with Miles when you book on delta.com.
• $100 Delta Stays Credit: Get up to $100 back per year as a statement credit after using your Delta SkyMiles(R) Gold American Express Card to book prepaid hotels or vacation rentals through Delta Stays on delta.com.
• No foreign transaction fees.

If you want a Delta card that offers lounge access, check out the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. It’s $650 a year (See Rates and Fees) but is the top-tier choice for Delta loyalists who want lounge access.
 

Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®

For frequent fliers of American Airlines, Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® offers 2x points on American Airlines purchases and includes a lot of perks when you actually fly, such as priority check-in, preferred boarding, free checked bags, and more. A lot of the perks apply to your traveling companions too, making this a good card if you often travel with friends or family. It has a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99 per year after that.

This card offers:

• 75,000 American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles after spending $3,500 in purchases within the first 4 months of account opening
• 2x points on American Airlines purchases
• 2x points on restaurants and gas stations
• First checked bag free on domestic flights (for you and up to 4 companions traveling on the same reservation)
• Priority check-in (where available)
• Preferred boarding (after priority boarding but before economy boarding)
• Earn a $125 American Airlines flight discount after you spend $20,000 or more in purchases during your card membership year and renew your card
• No fees for authorized users
• No foreign transaction fees

United^SM Explorer Card

The United^SM Explorer Card is a great all-around card for anyone who regularly flies United. As with all airline-specific cards, there are a variety of benefits to take advantage of when flying United flights. This is a solid option if your home airport is a United hub (there are 8 hubs in the U.S., including Newark, SFO, LAX, O’Hare, and Dulles). $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then it’s just $95.

This card offers:

• Earn 50,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open.
• 2x points on United purchases
• 2x points on dining
• 2x points on hotels when booked directly
• Free first checked bag – a savings of up to $160 per roundtrip. Terms Apply.
• Priority boarding
• Visit the United Club^SM with 2 one-time passes each year for your card anniversary
• Up to $120 credit for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
• 25% back on United inflight purchases
• No foreign transaction fees
• Earn 25 PQP for every $500 you spend on purchases with your Explorer Card (up to 1,000 PQP in a calendar year)

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card is best for domestic U.S. travelers, as Southwest does not fly to a ton of international destinations. But the high welcome offer compared to a relatively low spend, great earning categories, and other Southwest perks make this a solid choice if you fly within the U.S. a lot or to Mexico and the Caribbean frequently. It has a $149 annual fee, but the $75 annual Southwest travel credit wipes out a lot of that, effectively bringing the annual fee down to an affordable $74 per year (presuming you use the credit, of course).

This card offers:

• Limited-time offer: earn Companion Pass® good through 2/28/26 plus 30,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
• $75 Southwest® travel credit each year
• 3x points on Southwest purchases
• 2x points on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming
• 2x points on local transit and commuting, including ridesharing
• 2x points on Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners (includes Best Western, Hyatt, Marriott, Avis, and Hertz, among others)
• 7,500 anniversary points each year
• 10,000 Companion Pass® qualifying points boost each year
• 25% back on in-flight purchases
• 4 upgraded boardings per year (when available)
• Earn 1,500 tier qualifying points towards A-List status for every $5,000 spent annually
• No foreign transaction fees

While the Priority is the best Southwest card, if you want a cheaper option, the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card is a great card and is just $69.
 

Regardless of which airline you prefer (I’m a Delta guy, myself), don’t leave free flights on the table. Pick up one of these cards and start collecting points and miles today so you can enjoy free flights, perks, and upgrades for your next trip!

For a full list of all my favorite points-earning credit cards, visit this page here.

Stop paying full price for travel!

Download my free guide to points and miles and learn how to use points and miles for free travel! It's how all the pros travel so much! In this guide, I'll show you:

• How to Pick a Credit Card
• How to Earn Up to 10x Miles on Your Spending
• How to Redeem Your Points
• And a Ton of Other Money Saving Tips!

Get the guide

Non-Affiliate disclosure: All information about Chase Cards has been collected independently by Nomadicmatt. Chase Cards are no longer available through Nomadicmatt.

The post The Best Airline Credit Cards appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Scott’s Cheap Flights is one of the biggest and best deal-finding websites on the internet. I check them regularly when I’m on the hunt for a new trip. They are just unmatched in the deals they find (at least for the US market). Its founder, Scott Keyes, recently wrote a book sharing all his insider tips and tricks called Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World. (Disclosure: I blurbed it. It’s really good.)

Over the years, Scott and I have become friends because of our mutual love of saving money when we travel. I sat down with him to talk about his book, the secrets to finding cheap flights, and what to expect in a post-COVID world. (While some of his tips are US centric, for those outside the states, there’s still some information here you’ll find useful.)

Nomadic Matt: Tell everyone about yourself. How did you get into this?
Scott: After I graduated college and began working as an underpaid journalist, I realized that my hopes of traveling overseas were entirely dependent on my ability to find cheap flights. I threw myself into the subject, researching and testing and figuring out why airfare behaves the way it does and all the things one can do to get the best possible price on flights.

It all culminated in 2013 when I stumbled upon the best deal I’ve ever personally gotten in my life: nonstop from NYC to Milan for $130 roundtrip. Though I’d had no plans to visit Milan, when I saw that fare it was, of course, a total no-brainer. There’s nowhere in the world I wouldn’t go for $130 roundtrip!

When I got back from that flight, word had spread to my friends and coworkers, and one-by-one they kept coming up to me with the same request: “Hey Scott, next time you find a deal like that, can you let me know so I can get it, too?” By the time the 8th person had asked me, I realized I wasn’t going to be able to remember everyone I needed to let know, so I turned to the simplest solution: start a simple little email list. I had no idea at the time, but in that moment, Scott’s Cheap Flights was born.

Why did you write this book?
There’s this weird conundrum in our lives: we all want to travel more than we actually do.

I figured there could be two possible causes: time and money. Not enough time is certainly the case for many, but I don’t think that’s the case for most people. Turns out more than half of Americans don’t use all their vacation time, and collectively we leave around a billion vacation days unused every year.

Instead, it’s the expense and hassle of booking flights that stymie so many of our travel dreams. And that’s because airfare is the most uniquely torturous thing we buy. The fact that this thing we need in order to travel is so volatile and incomprehensible leads us to overpay for flights or, worse, pass up would-be trips.

Think of it this way: if you had a promo code that made all your future flights just $200 roundtrip, would you travel more than you do today? For most of us, that answer is yes.

In other words, unless you happen to have a trust fund, cheap flights are the key that opens up the world.

Who do you think Take More Vacations will be helpful for?
Anyone who dreams of traveling more than they actually do, and anyone who gets anxious every time they buy tickets because they have no idea how to avoid overpaying.

One of the biggest misconceptions in my world is that cheap flights have to be inconvenient flights. Not true! The flight that led to me starting Scott’s Cheap Flights, for example, was a nonstop United flight I found from New York City to Milan for $130 roundtrip, including two checked bags.

Similarly, another major fallacy is that cheap flights are only for people with complete flexibility. I devoted an entire chapter of Take More Vacations to the subject of flexibility because so often I see travelers unwittingly sacrifice their ability to get cheap flights by telling themselves “I don’t have flexibility.”

Of course, someone with complete flexibility has better your chances of scoring a good deal than someone whose dates and destinations are locked in stone. But one of the costliest mistakes people regularly make is thinking about flexibility as an on/off switch rather than a dimmer switch. “I don’t have flexibility” is a self-imposed trap that will ensure your travel dreams never become more than that. The more flexibility you can find for yourself, the better your odds of getting a cheap flight.

This book isn’t just for 22-year-olds taking a post-graduation trip to Europe. It’s for anyone hoping to travel more and better.

If it’s true that we’ve been living in the Golden Age of Cheap Flights, why do people so many people still overpay for airfare?
First and foremost, it’s because airfare behaves like nothing else we buy. When you buy bagels, the price is essentially the same on any given day, and it mostly depends on how many you buy. But when you buy flights, the price is extraordinarily volatile. The same flight that costs $800 today may cost $300 tomorrow and $1,300 the next day. And the price of a flight bears little relation to how far you travel. It generally costs more to fly from New York to Des Moines than from New York to Barcelona, for instance.

Given the complexity and volatility of airfare, cognitive biases cause us to overpay for flights. For instance, most of us employ loss aversion when we’re booking flights; we fear a $300 increase more than we relish a $300 drop, so we pull the trigger on an expensive flight because we’re worried it’ll get even more expensive.

Recency bias is another one; if the fare stays put for a while, we may pull the trigger because we figure that’s just what the trip costs, without realizing that fare is likely to soon change. There’s also sunk cost fallacy—we get invested in the idea of a specific trip, and despite expensive flights, refuse to consider elsewhere.

And finally, good old procrastination! We put off buying tickets too long and wind up booking flights last minute when they are, invariably, expensive.

Why do you think so many false myths about cheap airfare (buy on Tuesday, clear your cookies, etc) persist when they are so clearly wrong? 

I think it’s because airfare is so confusing. Prices are constantly jumping around, seemingly at random, and sometimes fares seem to make no sense at all, like recently when flights from Pittsburgh to Tokyo were available for $316 roundtrip while a flight from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia cost $312 roundtrip.

That confusion leads people to see patterns that aren’t actually correct or helpful but seem to be a reasonable enough explanation. In the same way, a penny that comes up heads three times in a row isn’t actually “due” for tails on the fourth flip, people make inferences about airfare because it offers some solace for a difficult-to-understand purchase.

And, so even though, as I explain in Chapter 9, it’s not the case that clearing your cookies makes flights cheaper, and it’s not the case that flights are cheapest to book on Tuesday at 1pm, these myths persist because they explain what seems inexplicable. Fortunately, you and I are out here doing our best to mythbust!

In Chapter 3, you discuss how the way we’ve been searching for flights is backward. Tell us more about that.

Almost every overseas vacation I’ve taken in the past decade has been a trip I didn’t plan to take.

Roundtrip to Milan for $130. Osaka for $169. Barcelona $222. Brussels $225, twice.

I hadn’t planned to visit Italy or Japan or Spain before buying flights to those very countries. It’s not that I wasn’t interested in seeing those places—come on, it’s Europe and Japan—but, like most people, I have thousands of places I’d love to visit if airfare was no concern.

What prompted my interest in those specific trips, in other words, was the fact that fares had dropped so precipitously.

The way most of us book our flights is a three-step process that probably sounds familiar:

• Step 1: Pick your destination
• Step 2: Pick your dates
• Step 3: Check for flights

We say we want cheap flights, but by setting airfare as the least important priority, is it any surprise that so many of us end up overpaying for flights? Knowingly or not, the most expensive mistake we make when booking flights is choosing a trip rather than choosing a fare.

Fortunately, there’s a better way, and it’s elegantly simple: Take that same three-step process and flip it on its head.

• Step 1: See where there are cheap flights departing your home airport
• Step 2: Pick one of those cheap destinations
• Step 3: Pick one of the cheap dates

You’re allowed to have preferences, of course. I’m just encouraging you to put airfare in context. Few of us would go to a restaurant, reject the waiter’s offer to look at the menu, and order the ribeye with zero consideration for price or other options.

But that’s exactly what many of us do with flights.

We set our heart on one specific vacation, price be damned. If Prague is at the top of your list, would you still pay $1,000 for flights if you knew there were $250 flights to Paris?

What are three things you want people to take away from this book? 
First, the way we traditionally search for flights is harming your ability to get a good deal. We all say we want cheap flights, but our normal way of searching for flights inadvertently undercuts our ability to get cheap flights.

Instead, in many cases, the secret to getting cheap fares—and thus getting three vacations for what you used to pay for one—simply boils down to making them the top priority. That doesn’t mean only traveling to nearby cities or taking inconvenient flights; on the contrary, with a better approach, you can fly almost anywhere with cheap (and good) flights.

Second, recognizing that airfare is exceptionally volatile. Destinations don’t have a single, stable price. Flights to Japan aren’t normally $202 roundtrip, except occasionally when they are (like they were just a few weeks ago). Today’s expensive flight may be tomorrow’s cheap one, and vice versa.

Finally, cheap flights don’t just save money; they lead to better trips by letting you experience more at your destination. They lead to more trips and boost your interim happiness because you know the next one isn’t far off. And they expand the types of places you visit and let you discover places that appeal to you personally, rather than the average tourist.

You’ve searched millions of flights. What are some of the crazy insights you’ve learned about airlines in that time? 
My favorite part about airfare is the funny anomalies. For instance, we all think of Thanksgiving as an exceedingly expensive time to travel. And it is—for domestic flights. But Thanksgiving is actually a hidden gem for cheap international flights. That’s because all those people flying home to visit family and eat turkey are, by definition, not flying overseas. With less competition for international destinations, the fares are often quite cheap.

Similarly, I love the anomaly of how when you’re traveling somewhere remote, it can be cheaper to split your trip into multiple itineraries rather than one. I call this the Greek Island Trick.

Say, for instance, you want to fly from NYC to Santorini. If you search that route on Google Flights, fares often come back upwards of $1,600. But if you search for flights from NYC to Athens, those regularly go on sale for as little as $350 roundtrip. And once you’re in Athens, you can hop a ferry or budget flight on to Santorini for as little as $50. So by splitting your itinerary, you can wind up saving 75% off normal prices, and even take a few days to visit Athens before heading over to Santorini!

Where do you see airfare going in a post-COVID world? I see short-term deals but long-term increases. What are your thoughts? 
There’s a lot of concern that as travel demand rebounds, that’ll be the end of cheap flights. But here’s why, on the contrary, I think the future of cheap flights looks really bright.

First, while the pandemic certainly woke many people up to how far airfare had fallen, what many people missed was that since 2015, we have been living in the Golden Age of Cheap Flights. The pandemic didn’t cause cheap fares. The pandemic *illuminated* cheap fares. So if a resurgence of travel interest leads to pre-covid airfares, we should be so lucky!

The reason I’m so bullish on the continued long-term availability of cheap flights is that airline business models have been revamped over the past few decades. Go back 40 years ago and airlines made most of their money on economy fares. Today, airlines make most of their money from other revenue streams: selling credit cards and miles, premium tickets like business class, corporate contracts, cargo, and so on. In other words, airlines can afford to sell you $250 flights to Europe or Japan because those fares are far less consequential to their bottom line than they used to be.

I think it’s likely we’ll see headlines over the next few months about average fares going up. Indeed, Airlines for America’s analysis already shows that average fares have been steadily increasing since February.

And yet, during that time period, we’ve found roundtrip fares like $124 to Hawaii, $378 to Greece, and $202 to Japan. The key point to remember next time you see a headline about flight prices increasing is this: You can’t book average fares. You can only book available fares.

Last question: You’re a man who takes a lot of flights. Do you have a favorite experience?
This is going to be sappy so I apologize in advance, but my favorite flight experience is flying with my young daughter. I’ve taken thousands of flights in my life, and while I still love being in the air, the magic has faded just a bit. But not for her! Everything about flying, from the seats to windows to the noise to the turbulence to the liftoff to the majestic views from 30,000 feet, getting to be reminded by her how special it is, and getting to experience it through her eyes, is incredibly fun.

Scott Keyes, is the founder and Chief Flight Expert of Scott’s Cheap Flights, a website that finds and shares the best flight deals on the web. He’s also the author of Take More Vacations: How to Search Better, Book Cheaper, and Travel the World, which is available on Bookshop and Amazon. When he’s not on a plane, you can find him at home in Portland, Oregon.

The post Take More Vacations: Advice from Scott Keyes appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Things don’t always go as planned on the road. Lost luggage, delayed flights, travel scams — there are tons of things that can derail your trip.

While serendipity, mishaps, and surprises are part of the allure of travel, the one mishap no one likes is a delayed flight.

There’s no fun in missed connections and long delays, especially after little sleep and long travel days.

As someone who flies regularly, I’ve experienced pretty much every hiccup there is. Delays, cancelations, lost or delayed luggage, overbooked flights — the list goes on.

While I always buy travel insurance before I go abroad, there is actually a company out there designed specifically to help travelers secure compensation when flight delays and cancelations strike.

It’s called Airhelp.

Since its founding in 2013, AirHelp has helped over 16 million people get compensation for delays and canceled flights arriving in or departing from the European Union.

I used them recently when I was on my way to Paris. My connecting flight was delayed over eight hours and, thanks to EU rules, I was entitled to get compensation from the airline.

The problem was that I didn’t really want to chase TAP Air Portugal for months on end. People said that they drag the process out in hopes you’ll give up (which many do). As someone who was only in Europe for a short time, I realized the last thing I wanted was to spend my little time in Paris on the phone with TAP. I mean, who wants that kind of stress in the land of wine and cheese?

So I decided to use AirHelp.

In the end, it took about five months before I was refunded my money. But it was refunded and all I had to do was fill out a small form. AirHelp took a considerable percentage, but I got everything the EU said I was legally entitled to receive and all it took was a couple minutes of effort. That’s it.

So, if you’re traveling to/from Europe on a European carrier and there’s a mishap and you’re wondering what to do, here’s an overview of how AirHelp can help you get compensated for delayed and canceled flights:
 

What Does AirHelp Cover?

The EU has strong consumer protection laws, which means that if you have a flight arriving in or departing from the European Union and it is delayed or canceled, or if you experience certain other circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation up to $700 USD, depending on the severity of the delay.

Note: If your flight does not originate or arrive in the EU, or if the carrier is not headquartered in the EU, you’ll be unable to apply for compensation.

Here’s a quick overview of what is covered by AirHelp:

• Delays of over three hours where the airline is at fault (i.e., no weather delays)
• Flights canceled within 14 days of departure and no suitable alternative is offered
• Overbooked flights
• Missed connections due to delay, cancelation, or overbooking
• Lost or damaged luggage

For an in-depth look at AirHelp’s coverage policies, check out its detailed guidelines.
 

How Do I Submit a Claim?

To make a claim, simply visit AirHelp.com and follow the prompts, with your flight details and boarding pass at hand. It takes two minutes and is super easy. The site will tell you right away if you have a claim.

You can apply for compensation for delayed flights up to three years after the date, which means if you’ve had a flight to or from the EU with a three-hour delay (or more) sometime in the past three years, you can still make a claim for compensation.
 

Does AirHelp Cost Money?

Making a claim is free. You only pay AirHelp if it wins your compensation claim. It will take 35% of the compensation, however (50% if they have to go to court).

While that is a huge percentage, remember, you only have to do two minutes of work. Not a bad trade if it wins you a couple of hundred bucks!

AirHelp also has a new member-centric platform called AirHelp Plus wherein you pay an annual fee of 19.99 EUR and in turn get unlimited claims with 100% compensation — no more losing out on that 35%!. While this won’t be worth it for the occasional traveler, if you take a lot of flights to/from the EU, this will pay for itself in no time considering how often flights are delayed.
 

Does AirHelp Work for Flights in the US?

In the US government’s own words, “There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed.”

In order to apply for compensation via AirHelp, your flight must take off from the EU or land in the EU and be flown by an airline with headquarters in the EU.

Unfortunately, if you’re flying a US airline, you won’t be entitled to compensation unless that airline has its own policy stating otherwise.
 

How Do the Compensation Rules Work in the EU?

EU Regulation EC 261 is the main protective piece of legislation that protects passenger rights in Europe. It’s the driving force behind your ability to make a claim.

Under EC 261, you are entitled to file a delayed flight claim for $700 USD (600 EUR) if:

• You arrived at your destination more than three hours late.
• The flight took off in the EU (from any airline) or landed in the EU (provided that the airline is headquartered in the EU).?
• You checked in for your flight on time.
• Your flight operated no more than three years ago.?
• The airline is responsible for the delay (operational circumstances, technical difficulties, etc.).?

It doesn’t matter whether the airline has already provided you with food or travel vouchers — they will still owe you compensation. As long as you meet the above requirements (even if you’re not an EU resident or citizen) you’ll be covered and eligible to make a claim.
 

Why Not Just Do It Myself?

You can definitely chase down an airline for compensation if you have time. Some airlines make it relatively easy while others will make you jump through hoops. If you have the time and patience, you can do it yourself and keep 100% of your compensation.

I didn’t want to do it myself. Time is money!

And I certainly don’t need more stress in my life.

AirHelp’s fee is pretty big but 35% to not have to deal with this was worth it to me.

You’ll save a ton of time and increase your chances of getting compensation by using AirHelp. It has a proven track record and knows how to get your money as quickly and conveniently as possible.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AirHelp legitimate?
Yep! I’ve used them before — and so have lots of my readers. They are legit and can help you get compensation for your delayed flight!

Is AirHelp free?
AirHelp is free in the sense that you don’t have to pay anything. Instead, they take a cut of any compensation they collect for you. If you don’t get compensated, they don’t get paid.

What percentage does Airhelp take?
AirHelp takes 35% of your compensation.

What is considered a significant flight delay?
In order to qualify for compensation, you need to be delayed by at least 3 hours.

Can I be compensated for a canceled flight?
Yes! As long as the flight was canceled within 14 days of departure and you were not offered a suitable alternative, you may be owed compensation.

The next time your flight is canceled or delayed, don’t just settle for a voucher. Take two minutes and run a claim through AirHelp. A few hundred bucks in your pocket is better than nothing, especially when you could be spending that money on your next trip!

Note: This isn’t a paid advertisement. AirHelp did not provide me any compensation to write this. This is just a review of the service as many readers keep asking me about my experience using them.

The post How to Get Paid When Your Flight is Delayed appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

As people become more conscious of their environmental impact on the world, there’s been an increased focus on air travel — and, over the past couple of years, a corresponding increase in “flight shaming.” The term is coined from the Swedish flygskam, which means “flight shame” i.e. you personally feel shame about flying but, unsurprisingly, it has devolved into shaming others for flying due to its carbon footprint.

After all, there is no denying that flying increases your personal carbon footprint — a lot. My carbon footprint is undoubtedly through the roof because of all my intense flying habits.

But what can we do? And is focusing on this issue really the best use of our efforts? Just exactly how bad is flying really?

Air travel accounts for 2.5% of global carbon emissions. In the US, flying accounted for 8% of transportation emissions, but less than 3% of total carbon emissions. It’s a drop in the bucket when compared to other industries in the United States:

• Transportation: 27%
• Electricity 25%
• Industry 24%
• Commercial/Residential 13%
• Agriculture 11%

So, when looking at the math, flying isn’t really the worst climate offender out there. There are far worse industries out there. Shouldn’t we focus on them?

Cutting down carbon emissions from flying isn’t going to make a big dent in total emissions.

And you can’t just shut off air travel. The world economy relies on it to function. We live in a globalized economy — and benefit from that — because of air travel. Ending all flights would end our modern economy.

Moreover, there are instances where flying is required. I mean, are we going to take boats across the ocean all the time? What if we have to rush to a sick loved one’s side? Driving might take too long.

Not only that, but even if we all cut back on our flying — as we did during COVID — the industry itself will still fill the gap. Policies are in place that require flights to happen regardless of who is flying. In the winter of 2021, for example, Lufthansa alone flew over 21,000 empty flights (known as “ghost flights”) just to maintain its airport slots. (Due to the shortage of airports, airlines compete for spots at airports and need to maintain a certain threshold of flights to keep those spots).

With all that in mind, it seems that we could get bigger wins elsewhere. I mean, just eliminating ghost flights alone would be the equivalent of removing 1.4 million cars from the road.

But I’m not a scientist. So I called one up to ask about the environmental impact of air travel.

Michael Oppenheimer is a professor at Princeton University, co-founded the Climate Action Network, and has been a leading scientist on climate change for over 30 years. He was one of the principal participants of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He said:

If you’re a traveler, you have to worry about four things from aviation. One is just the carbon dioxide emissions…number two, you have to worry about the fact that particulate matter from jets can provide surfaces for the formation of clouds, and that that reflects some sunlight…the third thing would be…the production of tropospheric ozone [a greenhouse gas] through the emission of nitrogen oxides…and then there’s a fourth thing, which is that high-flying jets that actually enter the stratosphere can produce some…ozone, and at some altitudes, they may release particulate matter, which would encourage the destruction of ozone.

My conversation with Prof. Oppenheimer gave me pause. It’s just not our carbon footprint we need to worry about when we fly, which makes the total cost of our flights pretty bad. (But, since the carbon effect is the easiest documented, we’re going to focus on that here.) Further research showed that flying is pretty bad.

Most of the time.

While you can say that, generally speaking, flying is worse than any other mode of transportation, the science is tricky because, since there is a surprising number of variables, there’s really no good apples-to-apples comparison. Depending on the make, model, distance, and the number of passengers in your car, driving might be better — or worse — than flying. The same is true with a bus. How many passengers are on that bus? Is it gas-powered or electric?

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a round-trip flight from NYC to LA produces 1,249 lbs. (566.4 kg) of carbon per person. A car getting an average of 20 miles per gallon produces 4,969.56 lbs. (2,254.15 kg) for the same trip for one person.¹

If you’re driving alone, especially over a long distance, it might better to fly. Yet, on that same trip, if you carpool with three other people, you can get your numbers down by a fourth, making driving the better option.

So it turns out there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. You can’t say “flying is bad, never fly” because sometimes it’s better to fly.

That said, a round-trip flight from Paris to London creates 246 lbs (111.5 kg) of carbon while taking the Eurostar (train) will create about 49 lbs (22.2 kg) of carbon.

From Vienna to Brussels, a flight creates 486 lbs (220.4 kg) while the new night train (which takes around 14 hours) creates 88 lbs (39.9 kg) per person.

The International Council on Clean Transportation also came to the same conclusion when they looked into it. It turns out figuring out what mode of transport is quite complicated. As you can see from their chart, no one transportation option is the best every time:

So what’s a traveler to do? I felt overwhelmed just researching this article and doing the math on all these example trips. I didn’t realize how complex this was. And, as I explain later, depending on the carbon calculator you use, your numbers can vary wildly.

So what can you do?

Here are some tips I learned in this process to help reduce the carbon footprint of flying:

1. Avoid short-haul flights – Multiple reports, including from NASA and The University of San Francisco have shown that a significant portion (an estimated 10-30%) of airplane emissions occur during takeoff and landing. This means that if you take a lot of short-haul flights, you tend to have a higher per-pound footprint. Flying nonstop rather than a bunch of connecting flights is the better option environmentally.

The longer the distance, the more efficient flying becomes (because cruising altitude requires less fuel than any other stage of flying). If you’re flying a short distance, consider driving or taking a train or bus instead.

2. Buy carbon offsets (or don’t actually) – Carbon offsets offer a way to balance out your pollution by investing in projects that reduce emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. If you used one ton (2,000 pounds) of carbon, you can support a project like planting trees or clean water initiatives that would produce a saving in carbon equal to what you use (so the scale balances).

Websites such as Green-e, Gold Standard, and Cool Effect can give you a list of good projects to support.

But, while these programs help, they aren’t super effective. For example, it takes 15-35 years for trees to grow big enough to capture carbon.

And carbon offsets just shift the burden of what you’re doing to somewhere else. It’s not an actual reduction in carbon emissions; you’re just investing in something that you hope will take as much out as you put in.

In fact, in a 2017 study of offsets commissioned by the European Commission found that 85% of offset projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) had failed to reduce emissions.

Much of my conversation with Prof. Oppenheimer centered on carbon offsets. He said,

Offsets are good if, and only if, they’re accountable, that is, you’re sure they’re producing the greenhouse gas benefit that they’re advertised at, and that’s sometimes hard to figure out because the emissions are not direct, they’re somewhere else…so, you want to only do offsets and count that as part of your greenhouse gas budget if they’re from an accounting system that’s comprehensive and reliable. Secondly, offsets are good if some have been designed to stimulate technological change or other changes that would not have happened so easily without the offset.

He also said that he could “imagine situations where offsets are fine, even beneficial, but there are a lot of situations where they are not and where they’re…far worse than doing the reduction at…the direct emission site.”

I think this is the point. Offsets don’t have strict controls, so you don’t know if they are really working. And it’s far better to force more efficiency from airlines and build up alternatives to flying in the first place. Much of my research showed that offsets, while making you feel good, aren’t as effective as fighting for reductions directly at their source.

So, you can buy them, but be really careful and do your research into the projects you’re supporting.

3. Fight for better flying – We need to put pressure on airlines to improve fuel efficiency through new aircraft designs and operations, like implementing the usage of biofuels and planes that run on clean electricity, plus modernizing their fleets. For example, the new Dreamliner has very fuel-efficient engines that reduce CO2 emissions by about 20% in comparison to the planes it replaced. Pressure airlines and fly newer, more fuel-efficient planes when you can. Additionally, try to fly an airline that is generally fuel-efficient.

4. Calculate your footprint – As we’ve seen, sometimes it’s better to fly. Sometimes it’s not. Use a carbon calculator for your trip to see which mode of transportation has the lowest carbon footprint for your trip. If flying is a bad option, look for alternatives like trains, ridesharing like BlaBlaCar, or the bus. Some suggested carbon calculators are:

• IACO
• Atmosfair
• FlyGreen
• CarbonFootprint.com
• Less.ca

However, I want to put a big caveat here. My team and I used a lot of calculators for this article. We each found a bunch and tested them ourselves to see if our numbers matched. Like peer review scientific papers, we kept checking each other’s work. We were incredibly shocked to find out just how much variation there was between the carbon calculators. My suggestion is to use multiple calculators to find out what your exact footprint is.

Prof. Oppeniemer concurred, saying, “If the calculator shows that the car is worse, I would believe that, because all this is very sensitive to the load factor. And also…since a lot of fuel is burned on takeoff and landing, the longer the flight, you may sort of amortize the trip if you’re in an airplane.”

5. Fly less – At the end of the day, flying less is the best way to reduce your carbon footprint. Taking lots of flights a year, even if you do some of the lifestyle changes we mention below, is still going to cause your personal footprint to be huge.

In fact, the majority of emissions come from just 1% of travelers — avid fliers who take multiple flights per month. So, if you’re only taking a couple flights per year for your standard vacation, you shouldn’t beat yourself up. There are worse offenders out there who we should be focusing on.

I think we should all fly less. I look for ways to fly less all the time. We all need to be more aware of our carbon footprint. But it’s also important to understand, total flight emissions are small compared to other industries. There are so many factors that go into personal carbon footprints that I think we can make a bigger difference through the day-to-day actions we take since, as we’ve seen, most industries have a bigger impact on emissions! Do things like:

• Buy things that last a long time
• Buy secondhand
• Buy local, not online (so much packaging waste)
• Reduce your plastic consumption
• Drive less
• Switch to a hybrid or electric car
• Eat less takeout to avoid the plastic and other waste that comes with it
• Eat less meat or go vegetarian or vegan
• Switch your home heating to renewable energy
• Change your incandescent light bulbs to LEDs
• Install low-flow showerheads and toilets

If you don’t fly a lot generally, the things you do every day can have a huge impact on your carbon footprint and help the environment. Let’s not lose the forest through the trees.

In today’s “cancel culture,” we’re all supposed to be perfect people — but those who cast the most stones are imperfect too.

We all are.

I don’t believe in flight shaming because, when does shaming someone ever work?

When people feel like their values are attacked, they harden their positions. If you shame someone, they will just do more of the same and become entrenched in their positions. Study after study has shown this to be true.

Telling the person they are bad — when no one ever wants to think of themselves as a bad person — won’t get you anywhere.

That’s not how human psychology works.

Instead, I believe in finding and presenting alternatives.

That’s how you affect change.

I’m not going to judge people who fly. Nor will I judge people who have decided the best way to live their values is to fly less.

If you’re worried about the environmental impact of flying, reduce your own footprint, educate your friends on why they should fly less and find alternative transportation, and contribute to some good organizations that are out there fighting for a greener world:

• 1% for the Planet
• 350.org
• Alliance for Climate Education
• Alliance to Save Energy
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Greenpeace USA
• Natural Resources Defense Culture
• Ocean Conservancy
• Oceana
• Pew Charitable Trust
• Union of Concerned Scientists

The world needs immediate climate action. And there’s a lot you can do to help. If you want more effective change, donate to NGOs and sociopolitical groups that are pushing climate crisis action immediately — because the longer we wait, the worse it will get.

Support green-energy projects.

Fund the planting of trees.

Donate to land reclamation.

Vote for politicians that support climate action.

Fast action will get you more bang for your buck than anything else.

But whatever you do, don’t shame people for flying. That’s not going to do anything.
 

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The post Flight Shaming: Is Flying Bad for the Environment? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

With so many choices out there, it can be difficult to choose the best travel credit card. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of options out there — and so many of them seem to be the same! How do you know which one is right for you? Or which one gives you the best rewards? Are the fees worth it? Which gives you the best perks?

For someone who isn’t deep into the credit card industry, it can be very confusing — and a bit nerve-wracking — to figure out which card to get.

But let me say this: there is no “best card.” The best travel credit card is the one that aligns with your travel goals.

Are you interested in loyalty to a brand, free rewards, or avoiding fees?

Do you want to milk the rewards and bonus system to get free flights, or do you just want a card that won’t charge you a fee for using it at that restaurant in Brazil?

Is elite status the most important perk for you? Do you want points you can use like cash for anything?

You get the cards that match your goal.

I have an entire post on picking the best travel credit card.

Obviously, the airline and hotel cards you’ll pick are going to be based on those you use a lot. For example, I have a Marriott card and a Delta card because those are my brands of choice.

But, for those general points credit cards, some are way better than others. If you don’t have any specific goals in mind and are just looking for some you can use in your day-to-day life, here’s a list of what I think the best travel credit cards are, their features, and why and when you should have them.
 

MY TOP PICK: Bilt Mastercard®

The Bilt Mastercard is the only credit card that allows you to earn points by paying your rent (up to 100,000 Bilt Points each year). It’s what I use to pay my rent each month as you can earn Bilt Points without any transaction fees just by making your regular rental payments. It’s also the only card that transfers to Alaska Airlines. And there are no annual fees either!

This card offers:

• 1x points on rental payments (up to 100,000 points per year)
• 2x points on travel
• 3x points on dining
• 5x points on Lyft rideshare when you link your Bilt account and pay with your Bilt card
• Alaska Airlines as a transfer partner (the only card that does)
• Rent Day benefits: monthly giveaways and challenges as well as 6x points on dining, 4x points on travel, and 2x on other spending on the 1st of the month (excluding rent, up to 1,000 bonus points on Rent Day)
• Access to the Bilt Milestone Rewards program (where you get more perks and earning power the more points you accumulate)
• No foreign transaction fees

It’s a simple card with no annual fee that’s a must-have for anyone paying rent. It’s important to note that you must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points. Click here for a full breakdown of Rewards and Benefits and Rates and Fees.

American Express® Gold Card

This card is a great choice for travelers who enjoy dining out, as you’ll earn more points dining at restaurants (up to $50,000 on these purchases per calendar year) and US supermarkets (up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year). You’ll also get related statement credits (see specifics below). With this card, you’ll earn Membership Rewards® points, which you can transfer to any of their 16 travel partners.

This card offers:

• Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 3x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com
• Earn 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com
• Earn 1x Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases
• $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made at restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
• Up to $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Up to $84 Dunkin’ Credit: With the $84 Dunkin’ Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express(R) Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations
• Up to $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
• No foreign transaction fees

If you are a foodie, this is a great card to have in your wallet. It does come with a $325 annual fee, but if you make use of the credits and other perks, it’s more than worth it. See Rates and Fees.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of my favorite credit cards. I absolutely think you should get this card, especially if you’re looking for an easy-to-use card with a high earning rate on everyday purchases.

This card offers:

• Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
• 2x miles on every dollar spent
• 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• Transfer miles to any of their 15+ travel partners
• Up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
• No foreign transaction fees
• $95 annual fee

With 2x miles on all purchases (a rarity in a travel card) this is a card that should be in your wallet. When they relaunched it, I liked it so much I got one myself!

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Notorious as the premium travel card with the highest annual fee ($695 See Rates and Fees), this one of the best premium cards out there — if you take advantage of its luxury benefits. This card unlocks a ton of lounge access, elite status benefits (enrollment required), travel perks, special hotel discounts, and luxury goods and service credits. (If you’re a business owner, there’s a business version, with many similar perks as well as statement credits more geared towards business owners.)

This card offers:

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5x Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on the first $500,000 spent per calendar year)
• Earn 5x Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
• Travel insurance coverage including secondary car rental insurance, trip interruption and cancellation, lost luggage reimbursement
• Up to $200 in airline credit (on one qualifying airline, must choose airline in advance, on incidentals only, not airfare)
• Up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.)
• Up to $199 annual CLEAR® Plus statement credit (covers an annual membership) per calendar year (subject to auto-renewal)
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. (Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.)
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
• Up to $50 biannual Saks Fifth Avenue credit
• Up to $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month (enrollment required, includes Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal)
• Up to $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.

This card is best for people who value luxury travel, lifestyle perks, and statement credits over everyday points earning capabilities.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best all-around travel cards out there. It’s the “starter” version of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (one of my favorite premium travel credit cards). This award-winning card is great for the more infrequent traveler (it’s the card I got my mother) or anyone who is dead-set on not paying a high yearly fee (this card is only $95 a year).

This card offers:

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• 2x points on travel purchases
• 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out), online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
• 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel^SM
• Earn up to 5x on Lyft rides through March 31st, 2025
• 10% anniversary points boost (earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year)
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription when you activate by December 31, 2027
• $50 Annual Chase Travel^SM Hotel Credit
• No foreign transaction fees

It’s a simple, easy-to-use credit card. I wrote a comprehensive review of the card here if you want to read more about it.

If you’re looking something more specific, be sure to check out the lists of all my other favorite cards (I update them regularly):

?The Best Hotel Travel Cards
The Best Airline Credit Cards?
?The Best Premium Travel Cards?
?The Best No-Fee Credit Cards?

One thing to remember is that there’s not one card to use for all occasions. Each card has its perks, so you want to maximize your point earning by sticking and matching your spending. I use three or four cards for all my spending. Chase for travel and restaurants, American Express for groceries, Delta for travel perks on the airline, and Marriott for my hotel stays. That way I always get the most points possible for every dollar I spend without spreading my points around too much.

So, if you’re looking for a travel credit card, pick one of the above. They are the best in my opinion.
 

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Years ago, I wrote a post about joining frequent flier programs. At the time, I was in the process of picking one to join, but now I feel the post is a bit dated, and my thoughts on the subject have changed as I’ve started to get more into mileage programs and accumulating frequent flier miles.

Which means it’s a good time to write a new post on the topic.

Back in 2008, I was going to join the JAL awards program because it partnered not only with Oneworld but also a few other airlines I enjoy, like Emirates. In the end, I joined American Airlines, which is also a Oneworld partner.

I joined American over JAL because I realized that when you don’t fly that much (and back then, I didn’t), it’s much harder to earn airline miles when you aren’t racking up points by using a travel credit card.

So I picked American since it partnered with JAL, and I could use its credit card to get bonus miles and miles from my day-to-day spending.

Now, close to ten years after that first post, I believe that unless you are a super flier, you shouldn’t stick to one airline or airline alliance.

Using credit cards and special offers will get you all the extra points and miles you need to get free flights on any alliance. There’s no need to be loyal. The only thing gained by being loyal to one airline is elite status and the amazing perks that come with it.

(But if you spread out your flights among too many different carriers, you’ll dilute your mileage balance. It will take you ages to earn enough miles to redeem them for a free flight, and you definitely won’t fly enough on one airline to gain elite status — it takes 25,000 miles on most airlines to get the lowest elite status, and nowadays, they require a certain level of spend with the airline or on their credit card too. Most people don’t fly or spend that much per year.)

That said, elite status is all I care about. I want the extra perks: the free baggage, airport lounges, priority boarding, and free upgrades. I will pay more for a ticket and be loyal, because, in the end, the perks make the higher price worth it. For me.

For the casual flier, I don’t believe loyalty is worth it.

I used to say that if you can fly 50,000 miles or more, it’s worth focusing on one airline and alliance because the perks are worth the extra price (especially the international lounges). But now, the major airlines in the United States do not value your loyalty anymore. They are only rewarding their high-spending clients with deep pockets — not their frequent clients.

Travel 100,000 miles a year, but on just a few cheap tickets? Great — that will earn you a pat on the back. Spend $20,000 USD on a few high-priced tickets? The red carpet is rolled out for you!

So with the heightened spending requirements, reduced benefits, and overall “F U” attitude airlines have, it doesn’t make sense to be loyal to an airline if you aren’t a high-spending traveler.

Right now, I have no airline status. Most of my flights for the rest of the year are long-haul international flights — the kind I always use points on, so I can fly for free in business class. Most of my paid, status-earning flights will be cheap domestic flights. I’m simply not going to be able to meet the new spending requirements for status — for any airline.

I’m flying Alaska/Virgin, JetBlue, and Southwest a lot more lately. These airlines don’t have baggage fees; they do have friendlier staff and better in-flight products (hello, free gate-to-gate wi-fi on JetBlue!), and the experience is leagues better than the big three!

So, it makes sense to be loyal when you’re a high-spending road warrior. If you’re always staying in hotels or flying tens of thousands of miles per year, staying loyal will get you a lot of added benefits.

But why pay more if you’re only going to fly a few thousand miles per year?

Don’t be loyal. Just go on price.

If you know you aren’t going to meet the elite status threshold, why pay extra? Unless you have a real affinity for one airline, the benefits you get for your “loyalty” aren’t worth the added price you’re going to pay for your fare.

There are so many ways to get free miles these days that if you’re just a casual, few-times-per-year flier, you’re better off using those methods to get free business or first-class tickets, which give you all the elite perks for that one flight anyway.

I do think everyone should sign up for frequent flier programs. That way, when you use a company, you’re accumulating rewards. Never miss a chance to get rewards! I’m a member of every airline and hotel loyalty program for this reason.

But if you’re only taking a couple of trips per year, there’s no reason to be loyal to one program.

Save yourself money and go with the cheapest ticket.

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