In an earlier post, I wrote about how to use credit cards help to save on family travel. I listed three major reasons why I highly recommended the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the best travel rewards credit card. The 50,000
Click here to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred
First of all, I charge basically all of my
Smart Ways to Use Your Chase Sapphire Preferred
1. Transfer extra Chase points into your Southwest Airlines Rewards Account
Southwest often has excellent sales on flights (I have subscribed to their newsletter so I know when their sales are). When I am planning a trip, I start looking at destinations from my home airport and if I find something extremely cheap on points, I pitch the idea to my husband and we try to make it work! Example: I once found ROUND TRIP tickets from FLL to Nashville for 4,000 points! Which means that my husband and I could travel for a weekend in Nashville for 8,000 points – that is ridiculous!!!
To see some of what we did there, check out my posts – Nashville Long Weekend Itinerary, Weekend Getaway in Nashville, and Best Day Trip from Nashville. To see how I have maximized my points on Southwest by transferring from the Chase Sapphire, click my post – How to Get Cheap Flights on Southwest Airlines.
2. Look at what cities airline companies have as their hubs
It is always cheaper to fly into a hub city. Here is a list I compiled:
- Denver – United, Frontier, Southwest (if you planning a ski trip – try those out)
- Phoenix – Southwest, American
- Baltimore – Southwest
- Fort Lauderdale – Southwest and Jet Blue
- San Francisco – American, United (it is usually cheaper to fly into Oakland or Sacramento and drive)
- Miami, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte, Philadelphia – American
- Atlanta – Delta, Southwest
- Boston – Jet Blue
- Orlando – Southwest
- NYC, LA,
and Chicago – have various airports that service these cities
Check out: Best Cash Back Apps
I often base my trips to hub city airports because it is cheaper to fly there! We use that as a home base airport, and do a road trip to areas around there. By doing this, I have saved a lot of money! Here is a great guide on how to get cheap flights to anywhere.
For example: We wanted to visit the Northeast and do a road trip, so I looked at NYC and Boston as potential airports. Then I decided to check Baltimore (because I knew it was a Southwest hub) and sure enough, it was by far the cheapest option. So, we decided to start our road trip in Baltimore, check out the city, and drive north to hit the NE states! To read about this trip, check out our Northeast Road Trip Itinerary.
One of my next planned options is flying to Las Vegas to do a road trip to the Utah National Parks and northern Arizona. Most people would likely fly into Salt Lake City, but those flights are expensive! If you are on a budget, please do your homework before you book and always try to find a cheaper option by using a hub or an alternative airport.
3. Get an airline travel credit card
By applying for an American, Southwest, or United credit card, you can use their sign-up bonus to get you where you want to go! Here’s why:
Option 1 – Most cards waive the annual fee for a year, and then on year 2 you can cancel it if you choose.
Option 2 – If the credit card does not waive the annual fee for the first year, it could still be worthwhile to pay it due to the savings you will get from it anyway. Here is why… if the
4. Use your card for dining
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also has double the points when dining at restaurants. This can easily add up if you eat out often. In addition, if you happen to own other hotel branded credit cards, there are dining rewards programs that can offer up to 10x the points for eating at participating restaurants. Airline credit cards such as American, Qantas,
I hope these travel suggestions help! All the suggestions I mentioned above are the ways that my family of 4 have traveled so much for very little. Most of my travel on this card has been domestically, yet the strategies listed work on international flights as well. There are many ways to save up for travel besides using credit cards, but if you take the time to plan out your next trip, using the Chase Sapphire Preferred can really help you get to your destination for less.
Click here to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Travel Hacking E-Book
I recently wrote a short
If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to DQ Family Travel. I send monthly emails about my latest posts which include places we have visited and travel tips.
Please follow me on Facebook and Twitter for post updates and travel advice. If you would like to see daily travel pictures of where we have visited, follow me on Instagram. If you would like a place to keep of these travel posts organized, consider using Pinterest and following my boards.
DQ Family Travel is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees. Your price does not change when you click on these links, but it does provide me with a small commission.
