How To Upgrade Your Travel With Upgraded Points
One of the most frequent questions I receive is “how do you afford to travel so much?” While I save most of my money for travel, one of the biggest ways I afford to travel often is by booking travel through miles and points I’ve accrued via travel rewards credit cards and hotel and airline loyalty programs. There is a TON of information online about “travel hacking,” but one of the best resources I’ve found is Upgraded Points.
What is Upgraded Points?
Upgraded Points is a FREE website launched in 2016 with a mission to show travelers the real value of points and miles with insider strategies to maximize rewards. Upgraded Points experts spend between 5-20+ hours researching on every single topic posted on their website. From free content resources, points strategies, travel guides to packing lists, Upgraded Points is a one stop shop for all your travel planning needs!
How do I utilize Upgraded Points?
Over the past decade I’ve stayed in more than a dozen countries for FREE by being a member of a hotel loyalty program and by using hotel loyalty points. Often, I’ve accrued more than enough hotel loyalty points to stay for FREE for more than 6 weeks throughout the year!
By utilizing my hotel loyalty credit card, with every purchase I make I earn points. Those points are deposited into my hotel loyalty program account until I use them for a hotel stay in an amazing location. From Portugal, Spain, France, Israel, South Korea, to a dozen more countries my hotel loyalty points have given me a nightly retreat for FREE in cities around the world! And by using the researched content on Upgraded Points, I’ve learned how to maximize my hotel points to get the most stays for as little points as possible.
We stayed in this hotel in Paris, France for FREE by using hotel loyalty points!
Not only do I utilize a hotel loyalty credit card, I also use one of the best (in my opinion) travel rewards credit cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This credit card gives me 3X the points on travel and dining (which is amazing because my life revolves around travel and eating! 😉 ), covers the $100 application fee for the Global Entry program (a must-have for frequent international travelers), there’s no blackout dates when redeeming my reward points, no foreign transaction fees and access to airport lounges worldwide! Having the right travel rewards earning credit card is highly beneficial to your travel planning!
Flying to Europe with Virgin Atlantic, love to accrue airline loyalty miles to use for upgrades or FREE flights!
By joining airline loyalty programs and using an airline loyalty credit card, I accrue miles every time I purchase a flight and when I fly. Then I can redeem those miles for free flights (with a small fee) or use those miles to upgrade to business or first class. Another benefit of airline loyalty programs is earning member status by frequently traveling with one airline. Having status allows members to enjoy elite travel experiences whenever flying. Depending on your level of status you can receive complimentary upgrades, lounge access, waived baggage fees, priority check-in, priority boarding, priority security line access and expedited baggage services.
We flew roundtrip to Milan, Italy for less than $200 per person by using airline loyalty miles and used hotel loyalty points to stay for FREE our entire trip!
Once you’ve figured out which loyalty programs and travel rewards credit cards are best for you, knowing how to redeem those points wisely to get the maximum benefits will help you travel more. You’ll find all the information you need to maximize your travel reward benefits from the experts at Upgraded Points!
Thanks to Upgraded Points for sponsoring this post! As always on Ohio Girl Travels, all thoughts and opinions are my own!
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