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For me, the best part of traveling with points and miles is the planning. I love choosing a place I want to go and then carefully selecting cards with rewards that can take me there.
Recently, I set my sights on London. Even with the best points and miles strategy, I knew it would be a challenge to cover my trip costs in full. However, after researching and analyzing multiple approaches, I settled on one that would work for me.
I felt a surge of triumph when I could finally book my London trip and fully cover my flight, hotels, baggage fees, and train travel with points and miles. Even better, I paid for my trip entirely with the sign-up bonuses from three cards, only one of which carries an annual fee.
My travel philosophy
I learned to travel with points and miles during my previous life as a high school teacher with a very limited budget and schedule. Even though I have more flexibility now, I still look for ways to stretch my points and miles as far as possible instead of using them to splurge on nicer plane seats or hotel stays.
My London trip is no different. Far from glamorous, I'm flying economy round trip and staying at a midrange hotel just outside the city. Still, I'm going to London without having to pay anything in out-of-pocket travel expenses, so I consider this to be a major redemption success.
My flight to London
After monitoring flight prices, I knew I could probably pay for my flight with the sign-up bonus from the Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® (see rates and fees). I got the card when it was offering an impressive bonus of 75,000 miles, feeling confident I could find a flight that would work for me within that miles budget.
I was right. I ended up booking a round-trip economy flight from Nashville to London for 50,000 AAdvantage miles plus just under $200 in taxes and fees.
Currently, the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select is offering a sign-up bonus of 80,000 AAdvantage miles after you spend $3,500 on purchases within the first four months of account opening.
The information for the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
AA.COMThis card also has an annual fee of $99, which is waived for the first twelve months. Its perks include preferred boarding and a free checked bag on domestic flights, and it also earns 2 points per dollar spent on eligible American Airlines, restaurant and gas station purchases. With these benefits, I'm planning on keeping this card in my wallet for quite some time.
Related: Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® review
My hotel in (well, just outside of) London
The superstar of my hotel credit cards is my Hilton Honors American Express Card. With this card, I received a good chunk of Hilton Honors points as well as complimentary Silver elite status. This status allows me to utilize Hilton's fifth-night-free perk, helping me further stretch my points. This card brings a lot of value, especially since it doesn't carry an annual fee (see rates and fees).
The current welcome bonus allows new cardmembers to earn 100,000 bonus points and a $100 statement credit after spending $2,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.
My hotel selection process was trickier than booking my flights. Even though 100,000 Hilton points is a good bonus, it's a tight budget for multiple nights anywhere, given Hilton's dynamic award pricing structure.
However, after some searching, I landed on a Hampton in Croydon. Technically, the hotel is just outside of London, but it's near a train station, so I'll easily be able to get to wherever I want. And with such reasonable prices, I could cover my five-night stay there with the offer from the Hilton Honors card.
Related: Hilton Honors American Express Card review
Covering taxes, fees and train tickets
I would still feel great about my budget-friendly booking if I only used the bonuses from my Hilton and AAdvantage cards. But being able to use a third bonus really sealed the deal for me.
One of my favorite strategies to pay as little out of pocket as possible for my travels is to use cash-back rewards to cover what my points and miles typically don't. In this case, I'm using a $300 cash-back bonus I got from my Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card (no longer available to new applicants) to cover the taxes and fees on my flight ($192.87) as well as a seven-day transit pass (around $90).
Even though this particular card is no longer available to new applicants, the same idea works with any cash-back card that offers a welcome bonus. If I were implementing this strategy today, I would probably choose the U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card, which is currently offering a bonus of 20,000 bonus points (worth $200 cash back) after you spend $1,000 in eligible purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. Since this card has no annual fee, the bonus would cover the cost of my flight taxes and fees as well as my transit pass, with some money left over for plenty airport snacks.
The information for the Wells Fargo Propel and U.S. Bank Altitude Connect has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: U.S. Bank Altitude® Connect Visa Signature® Card review
Bottom line
I firmly believe that there is no wrong way to travel with points and miles. We all have different approaches and goals; to me, that's part of the fun.
If you're new to points and miles travel and feel overwhelmed, be sure to check out our beginner guide. If you're less new but still unsure which card to get next, we can help with that too. No matter where you want to go or how you want to get there, you can put together a points and miles plan with the right credit cards to make your next travel dream a reality.
Related: Best travel cards of 2024
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card please click here.
