For all the Frugal Travel Rookies, after you’ve read through our Rookie Guide this is the best place to start. We’ve put Rookie Tips and Frequently Asked Questions together so you can find your answers quickly.
- Q: I want to apply for travel credit cards. Where do I start?
- A: Know your credit score and how far it can take you.
- Q: Besides using points, how do you cut your hotel room costs?
- A: We use one of two techniques: the Priceline/BiddingForTravel technique, and the Expedia Best Price Guarantee – Travel consolidators can really help.
- Q: What is your primary credit card for your everyday spending?
- A: For the last 10 years it had been the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card (American Express is a sponsor of FrugalTravelGuy.com). The annual fee is $95 (and waived for the first year) but worth every penny. Recently we’ve been also using the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. These two cards together have us covered with access to points and miles in almost every program we could want. Another card we’ve been using a lot recently Barclaycard Arrival which is effectively a 2.2% back card towards all travel.
- Q: What programs should I join (Frequent Flier, Hotel, etc)?
- A: All of them! THEY’RE FREE! You never know when you’ll be staying at a hotel, or flying an airline that you hadn’t thought about before. When you join their programs, you earn points every time you stay. Don’t waste those points.
- Here’s a list of popular hotel programs, and what you need to know about them…
- Q: What should I do as a Rookie with little credit history?
- A: Read the specific posts on December 20, December 21, December 22, 2010.
- Q: The miles I earn when using my credit card; do they count for elite status with airlines or hotel programs?
- A: In general no. There are a few rare exceptions such as the Delta Reserve credit card which offers a bonus 15,000 Medallion Qualifying Miles (MQM) when you spend $30,000 in a calendar year
- Q: I have 50,000 miles in my account and my spouse has none. Can I book 2 – 25,000 mile tickets from my account; one for me and one for her?
- A: Yes absolutely. While you need to actually fly in the seat to earn the miles (meaning your wife couldn’t pay for a ticket, fly the flight, and then you earn the miles), but when you redeem you can “pay” for the ticket with miles from someone else’s account
- Q: Can I book a hotel room using my points for someone else?
- A: Yes absolutely; you just need to contact the program or hotel to make sure their name is on the reservation
- Q: If I book a hotel room for someone else, will they receive elite status benefits and will I receive credit for the night
- A: In general no. Some hotels do pass on benefits but it usually happens accidentally with front-desk agents that ignore rules or are not attentive. Airlines on the other hand absolutely know who is where and when on each flight, which allows for easily policing of policy.
*Terms and Limitations Apply
May 28, 2012 at 10:02 pm, Jenny said:
I was watching the Philadelphia news and saw you.Live in Delaware never heard of you before Thanks for the tips.
June 30, 2012 at 11:38 am, juyd said:
I had the Continental credit card, and it was transferred to United. Is it possible to apply and get a free with miles new credit card from United when the original term ends ?
July 26, 2012 at 2:39 pm, Carolinejfl said:
Just found your site, do you have help for u.k. readers or just u.s. followers.
August 16, 2012 at 2:53 pm, PdxSailor said:
Experience with British Airways?
A year or so ago I did the BA deal for 100 or 150k miles which was supposed to be good for 2 round trip tickets to Europe. Well, this is impossible according to their Executive Club. I live in Oregon but even using JFK as the starting airport it won’t even let me fly to London on my points. Has anyone successfully used their points or was this a complete scam?
August 20, 2012 at 8:08 pm, Canuk said:
Not a scam, but you do have to go through one of their major gateways from the US and then also fly through London. Here is the catch, the fees and everything when you fly into London Heathrow are at least $500pp (approx) So it’s not going to be free no matter which way you look at it. I used miles from that promotion this summer to go to Italy (flying through LHR) and it was fine, the problem is, there are like 8 award seats for every flight, so I booked 320 days in advance (or whatever the max is). Another way I’ve found to use them domestically is through a partner like American. In this case, AAdvantage miles took 35k to get from LAX to Hawaii. Booking through BA, but using their partner, American, I went to Hawaii for 25k miles. Hope this helps.
August 18, 2012 at 9:03 pm, Save Money with Frequent Flyer Miles & Points « Trips with Tykes said:
[…] Frugal Travel Guy Rookie Tips & FAQ […]
September 25, 2012 at 7:38 am, watergirl said:
Thanks for lots of useful tips here, got most of this in process. Regarding current offer from Citibank: open a checking account and have 2 direct deposits put into it for 30K American miles. But I work for myself as a consultant, so no employer direct deposit available…I called Citibank and they just said sorry. Know of any workaround for this? Could really use those miles! Thanks in advance. 🙂
November 04, 2012 at 10:08 am, Eken Ekensson said:
Toy Story-1995-Disneys
November 16, 2012 at 11:16 am, JB said:
I clicked Awardwallet.com and it wants to give credit to a Howard Rappaport for my signup. I haven’t done it as I want to know what Howard has to do with it-shouldn’t this be “Rick” who gets credit? Is this just a gimmick benefitting “Howard” or is Awardwallet useful?
November 16, 2012 at 11:31 am, Frugal Travel Guy said:
Howard is “Howie” here on the blog. AwardWallet is quite useful!
December 01, 2012 at 1:03 pm, Gary said:
Very new at the mileage game, what is some of the best mileage runs out of Chicago usually? Just booked to la in feb.
December 03, 2012 at 11:28 am, AKMooselover said:
Rick, I thank you very much for all your advice so far.
February 10, 2013 at 1:38 pm, Jerry said:
Signed up for AwardTravel, but it seems many of the major carriers (United, AA, Southwest) don’t work, so this has limited value for me except for hotels. Perhaps the other (non-US?) carriers have more success.
February 12, 2013 at 11:20 am, Tobias R. Koehler said:
hey there! i would like to know if there is something similar in europe too? i live in austria and did some research but couldn´t find such special offers as you have on your side of the world. is there a way to get a us creditcard as an european guy or are there offers in europe which i just didn´t find… help would be appreciated very much!!! all the best tobias
March 01, 2013 at 8:29 am, Carol said:
Great site! This is truly a newbie question: Say you purchase merchandise like clothing with your credit card (for instance through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Mall) and the rewards post to your account. Later you find the clothes don’t fit and you want to return them. Are the rewards points associated with that transaction deducted from your account?
June 21, 2013 at 10:36 am, Ken Kallusky said:
The two credit score co’s you advised to get your free score do not work if outside the USA..Have any that do ?
June 28, 2013 at 11:17 am, gregillinois said:
Everyone is touting various Chase products without the warning that you can only get one bonus per product per lifetime. Correct/
July 23, 2013 at 4:04 pm, kellie S. said:
Awesome information but the link to contact you is dead.
August 06, 2013 at 6:17 am, Chris Sch said:
I’m getting the chase sapphire preferred card and was wondering if there was a way to get the balance off my two cards ( about $3000) onto the sapphire card with out paying transfer fees. I have the money to pay it off but want to pay it off on the sapphire so I can meet the $3000 in 3 months requirement. Any ideas?
August 06, 2013 at 7:11 am, Chris S said:
I am getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and I am wondering how I can transfer the balance of my other two cards (around $3000) over to my Sapphire and avoid transfer fees so that I can meet my $3000 in 3 months requirement. I have the money to pay it off but i figured i would try to get it on to my new card to get the points and meet the requirements. Can you use pre-paid debit cards or amazon or paypal or something? This might be a stupid question but any help would be appreciated.
August 07, 2013 at 3:44 pm, deeNice said:
Anyone know how to get your landord to accept a credit card. that would get me to that $3000 mark in no time. Can credit card companies issue checks with the cards?
August 08, 2013 at 7:59 am, Frugal Travel Guy said:
deeNice, some credit cards do come with checks, but those will not earn you points. See if your landlord accepts money orders. You can buy these with a mile-earning debit card.
August 08, 2013 at 5:37 pm, deeNice said:
That’s super smart. I’ll try that. Thanks!
August 20, 2013 at 8:50 am, mia said:
My husband needs to take a trip to Africa the 3rd week of October, I have excellent credit and was wondering if there is a best way to get a great deal on the flight with either a credit card or other reward program, or is it too late?
Thanks
September 03, 2013 at 9:33 pm, Jessica said:
I have an old AAdvantage credit card that I downgraded to a gold membership to avoid paying yearly fee. I don’t use it as I have other travel credit cards that are better at accruing points. Should just close it and open a different card or are ways that I could get mileage bonus with it? PS thanks for the great site!
September 18, 2013 at 10:03 am, fishmom80 said:
So – I’m new and trying to figure this all out. We don’t do a lot of traveling, but with on daughter out of state at college and a second that will be in college in two years I would like to be able to go see them or bring them home now and then as inexpensively as possible. First question – so you sign up for all these credit cards and keep them year to year paying the annual fee because the value in rewards outweighs the annual fee? Or do you cancel them after the first free year to avoid the fee for the second year?
September 19, 2013 at 11:49 am, Ariana said:
Thanks for commenting, and welcome to FTG! There are several credit cards that offer benefits outweighing the annual fee. We’d love to give you a more detailed consultation. Simply click “Start here” on the upper right side of the page and we can make recommendations based on your situation.
September 29, 2013 at 2:10 am, edward hill said:
Hi, I am a UK citizen, can I apply for some of these cards ect from the UK? Any advice for a frugal travel wannabe from the UK?
September 29, 2013 at 8:10 pm, Ariana said:
Edward, some of these cards are indeed available in the UK. Unfortunately, the sign-up bonuses aren’t quite as generous as in the US.
October 15, 2013 at 9:58 am, Edward Brown said:
Rick – I host a popular radio show called The Best of Investing.
I would like to have you on as a guest. Please email me at [email protected] if you would like to be on our show. Thanks! Edward Brown, Host
October 17, 2013 at 8:35 am, PURE NAILS said:
hi, i currently have 43,632 skymiles, 53,385 southwest rapid rewards, 64,489 marriott points, and 46,255 ultimate reward sapphired preferred. Could you please help me and my fiance to maximize our points/miles to go to paris, france, possibly next year departing from ft lauderdale/miami. thank you!
October 17, 2013 at 3:18 pm, Ariana said:
Hi there! You can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to United, which requires 60,000 miles per person roundtrip to Paris. The same goes for Delta. My recommendation is that you focus on accruing UR points/United miles, as those are much easier to redeem than Delta. Is your fiance able to get a credit card? The Ink bold has a combined 55k sign-up bonus (after $5k in spend is met), so that might be a nice quick way to meet your goal. You can also get the United MileagePlus card – there is a version that comes with 55k points after $1k is spent: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credit-card-programs/1330475-ua-mileageplus-explorer-card-up-60k-miles-now-65k-50-statement-credit.html
As for hotels, your marriott points will get you 1 night at a hotel in the heart of Paris. I’d recommend picking up the Chase Hyatt Visa (which gives each of you 2 free nights at the Park Hyatt Vendome), or the Club Carlson Premier Visa. Club Carlson has 4 hotels in Paris and since cardholders get their second night redemption free, the sign-up bonus is enough for 3 free nights. Hope this helps!
October 17, 2013 at 7:19 pm, PURE NAILS said:
Hi, Thank you for the quick reply, how do i transfer to united? should i sign up for a credit card first or sign up on united? I have a credit score of around 740 which I think might be easy to apply for another card, which United card should i get, the United mileage plus w/$1000 spent 55K points or Ink bold which is $5000 spent 55k points, or both? =) and also which hotel credit card would you get first, the hyatt visa or club carlson? also what should i do with my delta? should i just use it as a 1 roundtrip-bc i think that is whats enough for.thank you again for your help!!
October 17, 2013 at 10:56 pm, Ariana said:
You can transfer your points to United by logging into your ultimate rewards account. If you don’t already have a United account when you get the credit card, they will assign one to you.
You’re in good shape with that credit score. The United mileageplus has a more attainable sign-up bonus, while long-term, I think its good to have an Ink Plus for the benefits.
You don’t need both the Hyatt and Club Carlson cards for this trip. I’d personally get the Club Carlson if you want more nights covered, or the Hyatt Visa if you want to stay at the Park Hyatt, which is the main tourist attraction in Paris for points & miles fanatics these days. 🙂 I’d top off the Delta account and use it for two domestic roundtrips. That is totally dependent on your travel needs, though.
October 18, 2013 at 9:09 am, PURE NAILS said:
thank you again! i just approve for the hyatt visa and the united mileageplus but that is only giving 30k points, should i SM chase for the 50k or 60kthat i saw?
October 28, 2013 at 10:23 pm, Gar Quock said:
I just signed up for my first card (Marriott Rewards Visa). We have a young family, but I want to start planning for vacations a few years from now. I thought I read somewhere that you can pay your mortgage with a credit card, is this true? If so, how? It’d be a great way to accrue points!
January 16, 2014 at 10:09 am, Jessica Doench said:
How do you balance the 90-day rule for credit card application with these incredible bonus offers I keep seeing? I just know they’ll be gone before my 90 days is up. Any advice?
March 19, 2014 at 7:21 pm, Brad said:
Need some advice about accepting offer from Citi to keep my AAdvantage Visa open. I called to close to avoid being charged the annual fee ($95). To keep me they offered me two things. 1st was a $95 statement credit to offset the $95 annual fee that will post in 1 month. No brainer there. The 2nd was 1000 bonus miles every month I spend at least $1000 (net effect is 2000 miles for spending $1000) for the next 16 months. If I accept this offer and a new signup bonus offer comes around like the original one I accepted (50K miles) when I opened the account in May 2012, will it preclude me from getting Citi to offer me the new sign up bonus (churn is the term I think) because I took this 1000 bonus for 16 months?
April 03, 2014 at 11:20 am, Colleen Neil Carroll said:
Hi Rick, Just stumbled upon this site. I’ve been using Capital One Venture Card 2 miles-$1 for years now and make a yearly trip to Boston with my husband ( free of course ) I also have a Delta Skymiles that I use less frequently to get a free RT to San Diego yearly. I will be adding more cards to take advantage of the offers out there however I have ( right now ) one question. Do you recommend paying your mortgage with a credit card ? It seems that there are ways to do it. Thanks and thanks so much for the site.
April 20, 2014 at 10:32 am, Andrew said:
Hi! I love to the site! I have a question that I haven’t seen much talk about on your website. In the 14 months I’ve applied (and was approved) for 6 credit cards, 4 of those being in the last 4 months. I’m monitoring my credit score and after my last application I saw a credit score drop from the 772 to the 739!!! I have no other negative marks on my credit score. Is it possible I’ve applied for too many credit cards in too short of a period of time. How many is too many for a period of time??? Should I hold off on any more applications?
May 07, 2014 at 5:57 am, Lanee said:
Rick, great site and has been very helpful. Quick question and hopefully you can answer. Background, we have a Hilton rewards account. We don’t stay often but when we do, we have our points automatically deferred to our American Airline Rewards. We have a Citi Thankyiu Premier Card with 20,000 points. We can defer these points to the Hilton Rewards….. so the question, do you think that they will then defer over to our American Airline rewards. We would like for them to but since new to working with points and rewards, we are unsure about how to go about finding out.
May 14, 2014 at 7:29 am, Eileen Romano said:
Hi, thanks for adding me. I will be staying in Trestavere, Rome, Italy, from Aug. 24 through Dec. 13. My nephew is an exchange student at john Cabot. My sister (his mom) is hoping he and I could find frugal rooms near the university instead of going through the university housing (which is outlandeous) I have seen where there are some convents that rent for frugal prices. Are you aware of any rooms for rent on a long term basis for 3-l/2 months in the above stated time frame? We need to make decisions pretty quickly, so I would so appreciate a quick response. Thanks for what you are doing to help folks. Great idea.