Update: 6/5/22
Summer is here.
Like last year, it won’t be cheap.
Actually, it may even be more expensive than last year.
The travel industry is on the rebound.
Hotels are showing profit for the first time in two years.
International restrictions are being removed.
Of course, since the summer is profitable for both airlines and hotels, prices have increased this year.
I booked my Chicago trip before the big price hike in May.
My ticket was $200.
It would have been around $150 if I had booked in April though.
The current fare to Chicago is $400-$500 from my city.
I knew it was book or wait until the fall to go to Chicago, so I pulled the trigger quickly.
I am glad that I did.
I had fun.
In terms of goals, I still want to fly twice a month, but may start out flying once a month.
The average American only flies 3-4 times a year, so if I only fly 12 times my first year of flying frequently, that is still not bad.
In any case, points and miles get people to their next free trip.
What are points for if you are not jetting off on your next free vacation?
Though summer has started, you can still get a free trip with points and miles or at least save money.
I know people plan a year in advance for a summer vacation.
I think you can enjoy your summer without breaking the bank.
I would not pay anything outrageous for the summer.
Some people are not traveling this summer to save money and planning trips for the fall.
I plan to enjoy my summer and travel.
Again, I think you can too without breaking the bank.
Here is a three step process to get your free or discounted summer trip and accumulate some points quickly.
If you already have a large stash of points, skip to the final section on saving money at the end of this post.
There are only so many points.
Sometimes, award redemptions can be high too.
For everyone else, here is a way to get a stash of points quickly and put together a free or nearly free vacation fast
If you can’t quickly get a stash of points, read the end of the post, so you can at least save money on your summer travel again.
3 Steps To Build A Quick Stash Of Points And Get A Free Or Nearly Free Summer Vacation
First, you must know the basics.
Where do you want to go?
How long do you want to stay?
Will you drive or fly?
Are you traveling solo or with others?
After you have the basics, here is a 3 step plan to get a free or nearly free trip.
If possible, make sure to prioritize international travel.
It is always best to use your points to see more of the world.
Read this post on why.
Make sure when you redeem your points that you are getting a good deal by using this formula too.
Not all redemptions are worth your hard earned points.
1. Step One: Build Your Point’s Balance With Credit Card Rewards
Of course, this is the obvious first step.
To travel free, you will need points or miles.
If possible, you can get a new credit card.
As usual, credit card sign up bonuses are the fastest and easiest way to get a large amount of points quickly.
We are in June
Again, I know that is late and almost last minute to get a free summer vacation, but there is still time.
Summer does not unofficially end until Labor day in September.
Of course, summer officially ends September 20, but who pays attention to that.
So, you could take a vacation in August if you need time to build your point’s balance.
Honestly, a lot of places will be cheaper then anyway.
If you get a new credit card, choose one with a high sign up bonus.
It usually does not take long for points to post to credit card statements after you meet the minimum spending requirement.
I do everything quickly, so it is not too late to get a credit card sign up bonus.
I like to meet my minimum spend in one month (or faster) instead of three months (unless they are huge).
So, the only two things to keep in mind are meeting the minimum spending requirement and when your points will post.
You can check on reddit to see when particular cards bonus have posted in terms of time.
Good cards to get now are:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- American Express Gold
- Citi Premier
- Capital One Venture
- Capital One Venture X
Don’t neglect airline or hotel credit cards either.
Although credit card sign up bonuses are the best and fastest way to get the largest amount of points, that is not all you can do to accumulate a quick stash of points either.
First, you can put spend on your current credit cards.
Next, there are also special offers on credit cards now.
For example, if you have an American Express charge card, you could take advantage of the promotion to pay over time.
Amex is offering at least 10,000 points for this now.
Of course, make sure to never carry a balance on these cards.
So, look for offers and other things to increase your point’s balance.
If you cannot build your point’s balance quickly, you can at least get a discount on a part of your trip (i.e. use enough points to cover a car rental, activities, a hotel stay, etc.).
Again, I move quickly through credit card minimum spend requirements, and you can too.
Be warned that if it looks difficult to move fast through credit card spend requirements, this might not be an option though.
Step 2: Figure Out Your Flights or Transportation
You will either be flying or driving.
Many international countries are removing restrictions this summer.
If flying, you will need to figure out award flights or score a cheap ticket.
Of course, award flights are the way to go to get a free flight.
Not everyone has a stash of airline miles sitting around though.
If you don’t have any airline miles, you can also use bank points like Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One.
You can use your points from Chase or American Express to transfer to airlines like Delta or United as well as international airlines.
You can also book through these same credit card portals instead of transferring to airlines.
This will require that you have a stash of Chase, American Express, or other bank points though.
You can go back to the first step for ideas on how to quickly build your point’s balance.
Booking through a portal like Chase or American Express, will also give you airline frequent flyer miles.
These purchases usually code as paid airfare, so again you get frequent flier miles too.
If you have a stash of frequent flyer miles, you can book with that again too.
If you do not have any miles or credit card points, you can use discount carriers like Frontier or Spirit.
Make sure to check regular airlines to see if they are the same price though.
I was looking to go to Florida and fly between Orlando and Miami, and Delta was the same price as Spirit.
I see flights out of Nashville for as low as $29 on Spirit.
I am sure it is the same price in other cities.
Remember, discount carriers will charge for checking carry on luggage or choosing a seat.
Make sure to include those costs when doing your comparison.
I suggest you carry something like a backpack (personal items are free) and avoid paying carry on luggage fees on discounted carriers.
You can also catch an airline sale.
We post airline sales on both our Twitter and Facebook page, so make sure to follow Travel Points 101 on social media.
With countries like Greece reopening, remember to understand airline cancellation policies.
Lastly, you can use the calendar at Google Flights to find the cheapest dates for airfare using cash.
Airfare is not cheap this summer, but if you choose less popular destinations, you can probably score a deal.
I recently saw a deal to St. Martin.
I like Google Flights “explore” feature because it will tell you the cheapest destinations from any airport, so you can see which cities are on sale.
Step 3: Choose Your Lodging
You will either choose a hotel or something like AirBNB.
Since points will get you a free hotel, make sure to build your points balance (step one).
Unlike transferring credit card points to airlines, transferring credit card points to hotels is usually a poor value (except for the Chase to Hyatt transfer).
So, using step one, you could get a hotel credit card.
Good choices include:
- Hilton American Express
- Hilton Surpass
- Hilton Aspire
- Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
- Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
- IHG Premier
- World Of Hyatt
If you have the Chase Sapphire/Sapphire Reserve or Ink Preferred card, you can transfer to Hyatt.
The average hotel credit card will earn you around 70,000-100,000 points (or more), which should get you about 2-3 free nights in a hotel.
Remember to get the fifth night free on award stays too at Hilton and Marriott if you have enough points.
This only works on award stays at Hilton and Marriott.
Again, if you have a Chase Ultimate credit card, transferring to Hyatt is the only transfer from bank points of value.
You can also use credit card portals at banks like Chase and American Express to pay for your hotel with points.
You won’t receive elite benefits or points at your hotel loyalty program though.
Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG allow you to use cash as well as points if you don’t have enough points.
Always do the math on even cash and points redemptions.
Whether you stay at Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, or Marriott, if you don’t have enough points for your whole vacation, you can use points (points/cash) some days and cash the other days too.
The hotel will connect your rooms.
So, if you used points (points/cash) for one day and cash for the other, the hotel should be able to keep you in the same room.
You can also use certificates the same way.
You could use a one day certificate and pay cash or points for the other nights.
The hotel should connect your room again.
In terms of earning hotel points, remember to take advantage of promotions like this where you can get an easy 10,000 points.
Remember, every quarter, hotels usually have their own promotions.
You must be registered.
I like to sign up when I hear about these, so I don’t forget.
Other Ways To Save On Your Summer Vacation
If you cannot get a completely or partially free trip, there are still ways to save money on your summer vacation.
Summer has started, so it may not be enough time for everyone to quickly build their point’s balance
Here are some tips to save money anyway.
1. Travel in the Off Summer Season
For instance, kids are out of school in the Southeast and Florida during the months of June and July, but go back to school in August.
So, maybe planning a trip for August to these regions is better.
In the Northeast, people are still in school in June, so maybe this will save money.
2. If you can, be flexible
If you can be flexible in your plans, you can score a deal.
For instance, most people like to travel on the weekend.
If you can travel through the week, you can save money.
3, Choose your trip by the destination
Likewise, if you can choose your travel by the destination, you can save money too.
For instance, recently there was a sale to the Dominican Republic.
So, you could pick that country or whichever country had the sale.
Again, I post sales frequently on Twitter and Facebook, so make sure to follow Travel Points 101.
So, watch out for flight sales, and choose your destination by the sale.
4. Watch out for resort fees or destination fees
Resort fees are very deceptive.
Hotels have even been known to charge destination fees in major cities like New York in the past.
If possible, choose an all inclusive resort.
I pick hotels in major cities like Chicago that don’t have a destination fee.
5. Use hotel calendars to find the cheapest dates for lodging
Hotel calendars at Marriott and Hilton will show you the full month of prices with cash or points.
Use this to find the cheapest dates.
This saved me a lot of money on my recent trip to Chicago.
I paid $250 after taxes whereas everything in the same Magnificent Mile section of Chicago was at least $400 a day.
In another post, I will talk about how I cover my travel budget, and don’t spend my own money or a lot of it at least.
You can read this post for now.
6. Book your hotel in advance
On my last hotel stay, I gambled to book a hotel and thought the prices might get better.
The prices got worse, so book your hotel as far as possible in advance.
Some unpopular destinations may not sell at the last minute, but I wouldn’t count on it.
7. Use Google Flights to find the cheapest flights using cash
As usual, Google Flights is one of the best places to find the cheapest flights using cash because you can use their calendar which shows you which days are cheapest.
They even have an “explore” feature again that you can use to find the cheapest current cities from your airport.
8. Have memberships with AAA or AARP
Memberships to these organizations can save you money.
For AARP, you must be 50 years old though I think.
Make sure the savings are worth the membership for you though.
9. Save on the extras like food, entertainment, and parking
Don’t neglect fees like parking.
I always save money when I go to Nashville by parking in the public library.
On my last stay in Nashville to the Westin in downtown, I heard another hotel guest complaining about the $50 parking fee while I paid only $20.
Look for any discount that saves you money.
I use forums to find the cheapest parking in each city.
Entertainment can be free in some cities.
Lastly, you can even save on food.
You pick up snacks at local stores or bring from home if driving.
Summary
Travel is making a comeback.
This Memorial Day saw numbers at airports close to before the pandemic.
This is exciting.
It will be a crazy summer with flight cancellations and higher prices.
That is ok.
You don’t have to spend a lot on a summer vacation.
You can quickly gather a stash of points for a free trip or near free trip.
You can also use our tactics in this post to save money.
I hope everyone enjoys their summer.
I think you can still enjoy your summer despite the craziness.
I plan to enjoy my summer and travel without spending a lot of money.
As usual, if this post was helpful, share it on social media below.
