How to get started earning and using miles

Trying to get started earning and using miles can seem quite daunting. The reality is very different. There are two ways to jump in: 1. Have a trip or points use already in mind and plan your cards to make the trip happen. 2. Select a starter points card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred which will give you 100,000 points after spending $4000 on purchases within the first 3 months. The Chase Sapphire Preferred does come with a $95 annual fee for having the card. Chase offers several perks to having the card that will offset that annual cost. You are probably asking, “What can I do with 100,000 points”? The answer is a lot. Chase is a major points transfer partner with several airlines and hotels where each Chase point can be transferred 1 to 1 for airline miles. 100k miles can be 2 round trip economy flights to Europe. All for spending what you would normally spend during a month, but using the Chase Sapphire Preferred. There are other cards you can start out with the Citi Premier offer 80k points after $4,000 in spending in the first 3 months. The Capital One Venture card offers 60k points. As you can see Chase offers the best intro deal. There is another caveat to wanting to get your Chase Sapphire Preferred first. This is the infamous 5/24 rule. I will explain in more detail in another blog. Once you have met the Sign Up Bonus (SUB) minimum spend then you can start looking for your next card for that sign-up bonus. We can work together to determine which card works best for your needs and ensure you can rack up the points and take the dream trip you want for almost nothing.