Want to Fly for Free? Here's How I Do Just That!

Apr 12
07:36

2005

Glen Hopkins

Glen Hopkins

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"Travelling is so expensive! How on earth can youafford to travel so many times in a year Glen?"

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With a bewildered look on my face I reply,Want to Fly for Free? Here's How I Do Just That! Articles "Whatdo you mean it's expensive. I fly for free. Don'tyou?"

I have had this conversation so many times withfriends and colleagues that I decided it was abouttime that I share with the rest of the world whatI thought was obvious. ...That pretty much anyonecan fly for free.

Let me explain something you probably alreadyknow, but chances are don't fully capitalize on.

Flying is FREE!

How? With Air Miles of course.

What are Air Miles you ask? Those are the'points' that most major credit card companieswill GIVE you when you make purchases with yourcredit card.

I can hear you already. "Whoop dee doo Glen, tellme something I didn't know!"

Well, although you may have known that you can getfree air miles using your credit card to redeemtowards free flights, did you know most people(maybe even you) don't capitalize on this?

Did you fly for free 6 times last year? I did!

Yes, that's 6 as in 'six' times - free. And Icould have flown even more but I didn't need orwant to.

Now if you flew that many times or more last yearyou probably need not read any further. But if youdidn't you need to learn how to maximize thenumber of air miles you can squeeze out of yourcredit card company.

Here's how I did it.

Obtain and use a 'Gold' Credit Card

All major credit card companies offer a 'Gold' orequivalent credit card to their customers whichincludes several benefits including, freeinsurances, loss and theft protection of purchaseditems, and of course free air miles!

Yes, I know, they charge you a yearly fee to havea Gold card. Yup, I paid $120 last year for myGold card and I flew six times. That means I paida whopping $20 for each flight I took. Okay, yougot me, I don't fly for free but rather at a99.9999% discount!

More Air Mile Points, Equals More Free Travel

Maximize the number of Air Mile Points you receiveby using your credit card for everything! And I domean everything.

Here are a few ways I use my card. See if youcan't think of some more.

Personal Use:

- groceries
- clothes
- diapers
- gas
- dinning out
- movies
- entertainment
- school, tuition
- books
- CD's
- health insurance
- home insurance
- car insurance
- life insurance
- down payment on new car
- car leases
- computer equipment
- phone bill
- Internet bill
- television bill
- water bill
- gas bill
- electrical bill
- property taxes
- and everything and anything else!

Business Use:

- Internet purchases
- paying affiliates
- paying suppliers
- paying contracted employees such as accountants, programmers, support staff
- paying for advertising campaigns
- office equipment
- hotels
- rental cars
- food
... and anything and everything else you can think of.

So you see, the possibilities on how and where youcan make purchases with your credit card areunlimited. And because they are unlimited, yourfree travel should be virtually unlimited to.

Think about it. At the end of the year, how muchof your salary is left in your savings account?Ten, maybe even 15 or 20%?

Okay, let's say you are an exceptional saver andare able to save 20% or your yearly income. Thatmeans 80% was spent on everything and anythingelse. Spend it on your credit card and get thefree Air Miles!

Let me do the math for you...

Based on the example of spending 80% of yourincome,

If you earned $50,000 that means you spent $40,000If you earn 1 Air Mile for every $1.00 you spend,that's 40,000 Air Miles every year.

But Wait!

If you run a business and had expenses of say$50,000 that would mean an additional 50,000 AirMiles every year.

How many flights could you take with 90,000 AirMiles every year?

What if you earn and even larger income? What ifyour company expenses are larger than $50,000?

Do yourself a favor. Pick up a pen and paper andstart brainstorming all the ways you can startpaying via credit card and of all the places youcan start travelling for free!

Remember though, what you pay for using yourcredit card MUST be paid off each and every monthin order to avoid paying absorbent interestcharges. I know, you knew that. But likemaximizing your Air Miles, most people don't doit. Make sure you are not 'most people' and enjoyyour free flights!