How To Travel First Class for Free

Traveling around the world for the last eight months has been incredible. I’ve seen places I never imagined existed, met people I surely would never have crossed paths with, and (perhaps most excitingly) have eaten foods that I am now absolutely obsessed with. Hello, bun thit nu’ong! While I know I’m really fortunate to be able to travel the world for such an extended period of time, and am often reminded by friends who express their “I wish I could do that!” sentiments, I haven’t talked much about how easy it was financially. SE Asia is so inexpensive once you’re here, that the only big cost is airfare: how do you get here affordably?

Let me fill you in on a big not-so-secret: we flew here for free. And we flew home for free when we visited in September. FIRST CLASS. For free! Thank you Chase Ultimate Rewards!

Ultimate Rewards lets you accumulate points from your everyday purchases via Chase Freedom, Sapphire, and Ink cards. Chase Freedom was my very first credit card, nearly ten years ago, and I’ve been in love with the Ultimate Rewards program ever since. I’ve since grown my collection to have all three cards, and genuinely cannot recommend them enough. At first, I just took advantage of the cash back option. You accumulate points on every purchase you make, and once you have enough points you can redeem them for cash — which can be applied directly to your credit card balance. That’s a great option, and you can also buy gift cards, merchandise (like all of your holiday gifts!), etc. but you really get the most bang for your buck with travel. When else would I be able to afford an $8,000 ticket? Um, never. But with my Ultimate Rewards points, I just traded 65k points for my first class ticket to Vietnam. {The airlines prices have since changed to require 80k for first class tickets, I believe}.

I’m always surprised when friends of mine say they don’t have any rewards credit cards — because they are missing out on such a great opportunity. Any of the Chase credit cards with Ultimate Rewards  are *perfect* for your first card (especially the Freedom), and come with a hefty chunk of bonus points when you sign up. Of course, I encourage being smart about your spending habits and level of responsibility — don’t get yourself in to debt or ruin your credit, please!

I recommend signing up for one of these cards ASAP, and making the effort to meet your minimum spend — that’s where you get the bonus points (which can be up to 70k points — that’s A LOT!). For me, that meant signing up at a strategic time (like right before I bought a new computer and paid for yoga teacher training) so I would be able to meet the minimum.

You know what’s another good time to spend a lot of money? THE HOLIDAYS! I’m sure you have a few gifts on your list that could help get you to that minimum — OR you may need help spending any money you’ve received as a gift. Seriously, don’t spend that money without having a Chase credit card with Ultimate Rewards. Without one, it is literally like throwing money away.

Clearly, I’m passionate about this topic. I’ve been really happy with Chase, their easy online user experience (seriously, I’ve cancelled credit cards before simply because they have a terrible website for paying my bill. Chase is SO easy to use!), and I love that they have seasonal promotions to get extra points. Um, okay double-points at restaurants this month! I’m in! I could go on and on about the awesome experience of traveling first class on a transoceanic flight, but let me just summarize by saying: It was SO worth it. Seriously, I’ve never been so well fed, well rested, and taken care of during an other-wise uncomfortable 32 hours of travel. I’m absolutely not bragging here because you can do it too. For free! Just get the Chase credit card with Ultimate Rewards of your choice, and start racking up points. Then, trade them in for a ticket to anywhere! It’s really easy, and you’ll kick yourself for not signing up sooner.

You can find out more details, and sign up for the credit card that best fits your lifestyle at UltimateRewards.com!

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