I don’t like traveling, said no one ever.

Ok, ok, that’s not true. For those who get faint-hearted just from the thought of leaving their comfort zone to check out the beauties of the world around them, here is a proposal.

How about I help you plan a perfect mid-winter vacation that will cost you zilch? Yup, you will fly, lodge, and drive, all free and clear!

How quickly would that get you onto a plane?

In this post I present you with two strategies that will pave your way to free vacations.

Strategy One is a plan that consists of 3 credit cards. With each card, you will earn welcome bonuses that will help you accumulate enough points to travel for free. Strategy One is a budget friendly plan because while you will be earning great welcome points, the spend requirements for the offers are still relatively low. Strategy One is doable if you want a free basic vacation and don’t want to spend too much to reach your goal.

Strategy Two is made up of 3 credit cards with even higher welcome bonuses. I planned Strategy Two towards earning a free luxury vacation. A free luxury vacation requires more bonus points which you can earn if you can afford the higher spend requirements for these welcome offers. Strategy Two is for you if you or your business spend a lot on credit cards and will manage to meet the high spend required to earn huge welcome bonuses.

Both Strategy One and Strategy Two consist of 3 credit cards that will add the most value to your vacation with the welcome bonuses they have. One card for each strategy will accumulate enough points for airfare, another card will accumulate enough points for lodging, and the third card will accumulate points for car rentals.

The reason I chose each of these specific cards, besides for them being terrific picks, is that each group of 3 cards work well with each other. Meaning, these are 3 cards that you can get approved for all at once. There may be other good travel cards that I don’t mention but those would not necessarily work when you apply for them one after the other. 

Let’s explore the first strategy.

Strategy one - low spend

Total spend: $4,099 within 6 months

Your free, basic vacation for two is about to be uncovered! 

This strategy is your path to a free, budget friendly vacation while only spending $4,099.

Please note

Make sure you apply for the cards in the order I list them so that you can get approved for all the cards.

✈️ Barclays AAdvantage Aviator World Elite Mastercard

Welcome bonus: Earn 70,000 miles after making a purchase and paying the annual fee within the first 90 days.

Annual fee: $99

What can you book with 70,000 AA Miles?

The 70,000 miles is enough for two people to fly almost anywhere in the USA. And if you are lucky, you can even get a business class ticket. Check out many flights here. 

🛏️ card_name

Welcome bonus: Earn 100,000 points after spending $2,000 within the first 6 months (terms apply). 

Annual fee: $0

What can you book with 100,000 Hilton points?

You can book approximately $500 worth of free nights in any hotel under the Hilton brand. This will give you 2-4 free nights.

Hilton hotel brands include:

• Waldorf Astoria
• LXR
• Conrad
• Canopy
• Signia Hilton
• Hilton
• Curio Collection
• DoubleTree
• Tapestry Collection
• Embassy Suites
• Tempo
• Motto
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hampton
• Try
• Homewood Suites
• Home Suites 2
• Hilton Grand Vacations

🚘card_name

Welcome bonus: Earn a $200 statement credit after spending $2,000 within the first 6 months. 

Annual fee: $0

What can I book with $200 cash?

Anything. But in our case, you can book yourself a car for your free vacation. 

Strategy two - high spend

Total spend: $54,240 within 6 months

Strategy two is a travel plan for people who can afford more. You may be spending the required amount anyway so here’s a way to get a free vacation out of it.

Here’s your path to a free, luxury vacation for two!

Please note

Make sure you apply for the cards in the order I list them so that you can get approved for all the cards.

✈️card_name

Welcome bonus: Earn 250,000 points after spending $20,000 within the first 3 months.

Annual fee: $695

What can you book with 250,000 Amex miles?

The sky is the limit (no pun intended). You can book two tickets in business class to 100’s of destinations around the world for free with the 250k bonus (plus another 20k you earned in the spend). Check out 100’s of options here.

🛏️ card_name

Welcome bonus: Earn 165,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 6 months (terms apply).

Annual fee: $150

What can you book with 165,000 Hilton points?

You can book approximately $825 worth of free nights in any hotel under the Hilton brand. This will give you 3-5 free nights.

Hilton hotel brands include:

• Waldorf Astoria
• LXR
• Conrad
• Canopy
• Signia Hilton
• Hilton
• Curio Collection
• DoubleTree
• Tapestry Collection
• Embassy Suites
• Tempo
• Motto
• Hilton Garden Inn
• Hampton
• Try
• Homewood Suites
• Home Suites 2
• Hilton Grand Vacations

Before you apply for the next card, freeze your Experian report here.

🚘card_name

Welcome bonus: Earn 150,000 miles after spending $30,000 within the first 3 months.

Annual fee: $395

What can I book with 150,000 Capital One miles?

You will earn an additional 60k miles for your spend so you have a total of 210,00 points to book a luxury car for your vacation (up to $2,100 value).

Let us know how your vacation goes!