Internet savvy travelers, sometimes called travel hackers, who are willing to do a little online research are able to get airline tickets at a greatly reduced cost or even for free. By applying a few simple techniques used by experienced travel hackers, almost any traveler can get airline tickets at prices that will make traveling by air a pleasurable experience. A relatively simple way to get airline tickets for free is through promotions on credit cards, especially airline credit cards.
Most modern travelers already participate in a form of travel hacking when they visit online reservation sites such as priceline.com or orbitz.com. By using aggregate sites like these to compare prices, travelers can reduce the cost of their airline tickets by twenty five percent or more. Experienced travel hackers take the concept of reduced prices a step further by seeking ways to get an airline ticket for free.
Finance companies are constantly seeking out new credit worthy applicants by offering marketing promotions such as zero or low interest rates for the first year, no annual fees, or even free frequent flyer miles. A simple search on Google for "credit card frequent flyer miles" will yield over a million results. Many of these websites will display comparisons of the various companies currently offering mile promotions. Companies typically entice new applicants by offering promotions for twenty thousand, thirty thousand, or even fifty thousand frequent flyer miles. Travelers can then use those frequent flyer miles to get free airline tickets.
When comparing credit cards for the best frequent flyer miles deal, travelers need to ask the following questions:
1) Is there an annual fee? If so, then a wise traveler may want to avoid applying for the credit card since many companies do not require an annual fee.
2) Can the frequent flyer miles be used on multiple airlines, or are the miles specific to one airline? Southwest Airlines offers a twenty five thousand frequent flyer miles promotion on its credit card, which is good for a free roundtrip flight, but the traveler is limited to Southwest Airlines.
3) What are the interest rates? Even if the card holder has good intentions to pay off a card each month, unexpected things do happen. Consequently, potential applicants may want to avoid cards with high interest rates.
4) Is there a minimum purchase requirement? Some companies require card holders to make a certain amount of purchases within a specific timeframe in order to qualify for the frequent flyer miles.
5) Last but not least, how many miles does the company offer, and does the company offer any additional ways to earn frequent flyer miles? In addition to the initial free miles, many finance companies will award the card holder with one or two miles for each dollar charged to the credit card.
Although acquiring free frequent flyer miles is enticing, a wise traveler knows that credit cards can be dangerous if used unwisely. Anything a traveler charges to a credit card must eventually be paid. A true travel hacker knows their limits and controls their spending.
Using the techniques discussed, anyone with reasonable credit has the ability to acquire enough frequent flyer miles to fly for free. Why wait? Become a true travel hacker and apply for a credit card today.
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