I’m pretty sure that no matter who you are, finding money around that you could add to your travel funds is always welcome. Over the years we have gotten free travel including free flights, free hotels and just about anything associated with travel whether it is for business or pleasure. It is so fun findinng free money to travel. You will become addicted.
Where to Get Free Money to Travel
My all time favorite way to earn money for travel is with my Capital One Venture card. We all have monthly expenses and instead of paying with cash, a check or debit card, we put everything and I do mean everything that we possibly can on our Venture card. For every dollar you spend with your Venture card you will get 2% back in travel miles. Doesn’t matter what you purchase, just use the card.
When you have accumulated enough miles you simply go make your plans where, when and with whoever has the best deal. There are no blackout dates. You purchase your plane or train tickets, your hotel rooms, etc with your Venture card and then when they appear on your statement, you can simply erase their costs using your miles. You can use all of your miles or just part of your miles. Pay for your entire air fare for a free flight with your miles or you can just knock a few hundred bucks. Get a free hotel room. It’s all up to you.
The key is, and this is extremely important…..you must pay off your balance on time every month. Otherwise the very steep interest rate charge wipes out all of the gains you make and then some more.
A similar card is offered by Chase Bank.
Another place where we accumulate money for our travel plans is with our Discover card. Discover offers 5% cash back on specific purchases. That’s 3% more than we can get from Capital One’s Venture card. The way it work with Discover is that every quarter they switch it up. As an example, during the last quarter of 2017, you could earn that 5% cash back when you shopped online at Amazon and when you shopped at Target. I don’t know about you, but we shop at Amazon all the time. It adds up.
There is a bit of a catch though. They only offer that 5% on up to $1500 per quarter. So that amounts to $75 per quarter. But hey, that’s FREE money. During the first quarter of 2018, you can earn that 5% of gas purchases and wholesale clubs like Costco. For my husband, that works out very well, he drives a lot in a van. In my case, not so much, I drive a Prius.
Also, the first you have your Discover card, they will match your money earned. So if you manage to earn the max of $300 and they match it, that’s $600. Nothing to turn a nose up at. You can also receive that money in straight up cold hard cash!
Also, don’t forget about booking hotels on Expedia or Booking.com. Not only are the prices good on these sites but, when you accumulate enough points, you get free stays. Just recently booked a beautiful hotel room on a golf course for an upcoming trip to Portugal. It was FREE through Expedia!
Don’t forget when you book with your Venture card you not only receive points from places like Expedia or Booking.com, but you also get that 2% for those purchases on your Venture card. It adds up really fast. You will be racking up that FREE money for travel in no time at all.