Airline Travel Unites the World

Air travel is something that really unites the world in ways no one ever thought conceivable a century ago. Airline travel has made it possible to travel from one continent to another in a matter of hours on what has proven to be a routinely safe, reliable and very rapid form of mass transportation. Airline travel also makes it possible to unite people and their cultures in ways never anticipated while also facilitating international business. 



Airline Travel Unites the World

One of the best ways to use airlines is to take trips to distant places and enjoy activities that are unique to that area. Soon After finishing college some years ago, I had a friend who demonstrated the best way to take advantage of airline travel miles on his credit cards. He would do things like pay for the gas I put in my car with his credit card while I just gave him my cash. He would do the same thing with ordering out pizzas and picking up dinner tabs. At the end of the month, he’d just pay off most or all of the balance in cash and build up a lot of rewards miles very fast.



Once my friend had his rewards miles up, he’d take a free trip to someplace fun, like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Miami, Chicago or New Orleans. If there was a special airlines bonus incentive going on, he’d be sure to take advantage of that too? A lot of cards also offer hotel discounts and incentives, and still others have free rental car insurance coverage. So I would drop him off at the airport, and he’d fly to some fun place for a weekend, get a discounted or even free room and just pay for a rental car. Of course, he’d use his card to pay for food, gas, car rental and other expenses and already be ahead on his next bonus miles by the time I picked him up at the airport from his return flight. 



When done right, it is possible to earn one or more free trips per year to truly great places. There might be some restrictions in place, such as having to fly during off-peak times and seasons. But knowing which credit card has which type of mileage plus credit card offer might take some research before applying. When the right card is used for a trip, it could end up being a mostly free excursion to some fun place with the flight and hotel room costing close to nothing. 



A lot of companies have some sort of mileage plus credit card offer for new customers that will give them additional travel miles for spending so much money in a specific amount of time. An example is the highly regarded Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, which provides up to 40,000 travel points when cardholders charge at least $3,000 in three months. And if using the credit card to help pay for travel or eating out, cardholders will receive two bonus points for every dollar spent on travel. Travel spending includes using the credit card to pay for taxi service, car rentals, parking, public transportation, flights and other types of travel. Each point is worth 1.25 cents when people redeem them for airline travel miles.




Once the many options are narrowed, it’s just a matter of choosing the one that looks the most promising and interesting. A flight to someplace along the ocean during the summer or perhaps to another part of the world at any time of the year are among the many possibilities from which people can choose. And when it’s a credit card picking up the tab for free travel, the trip is a lot more fun.


Have you ever used credit card miles to pay for an airline ticket or vacation? I’d love to hear!