How to Use Credit Card For Free Travel?

Are you tired of budgeting for expensive air tickets and hotel stays every time you plan a vacation? What if I told you that there’s a way to travel for free?

Yes, you heard that right!

You can earn complimentary air tickets and hotel stays, by choosing the right credit card and using it wisely.

How to Use Credit Card For Free Travel (Ticket + Hotel)

#1. Use Credit Card for Complimentary Air Tickets

You can choose a credit card that offers complimentary air tickets to save money on your travel expenses. Many credit cards offer complimentary air tickets as a welcome gift or to hit the milestone benefits.

A. Welcome Offer for Complimentary Air Tickets

You can apply for those credit cards that offer complimentary air tickets as a welcome benefit. To get the complimentary welcome benefits, you need to pay the joining fee of the credit card.

For example –

• Axis Vistara Infinite Credit Card offers 1 complimentary business class ticket voucher as a welcome gift on the payment of a joining fee of Rs. 10,000.
• Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME offers 1 premium economy class ticket as a welcome benefit on the successful payment of the joining fee of Rs.
• Axis Magnus credit card offers you a free domestic flight ticket worth 10,000 as a welcome gift.

B. Achieve Milestone Benefits to Get Complimentary Air Ticket

Many credit cards offer complimentary air tickets as a reward for hitting a spending milestone. Hitting the milestone means that you have spent a certain amount on your credit card within a specific period.

For instance,

• With Axis Vistara Infinite Credit Card, you get up to 5 business class tickets on annual spending of Rs. 12
• Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME also offers 1 premium economy class ticket each on achieving annual spends of 1.5 Lakhs, Rs. 3 Lakhs, Rs. 4.5 Lakhs, and Rs. 8 Lakhs.

C. Convert Your Reward Points into Airmiles for Booking Airline Tickets

You can convert your earned credit card reward points into airmiles for booking airline tickets. You can transfer the reward points through the reward redemption credit card’s online portal.

For example,

You can use the Axis Magnus credit card to get the highest reward conversion ratio. Axis Magnus credit card offers 25,000 bonus EDGE Reward Points on monthly spends of Rs. 1 lakh. You can convert these EDGE reward points to partner hotels and airlines like Vistara, Etihad, ITC, Marriott, and Turkish Airlines at 5:4, for 20,000 points.

You can book airticket worth upto Rs 15000 using 20,000 points.

#2. Choose Credit Card for Hotel Booking

Hotel bookings can be a significant expense while traveling, but credit cards that offer complimentary hotel vouchers or great reward redemption returns can help reduce these costs.

A. Credit Card for Complimentary Hotel Vouchers

In addition to air tickets, you can also use credit cards for complimentary hotel vouchers. For example,

• American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card offers complimentary Taj Stay vouchers worth Rs. 10,000 on an expenditure of Rs. 4 lakhs in a membership
• Club Vistara SBI Card PRIME offers 1 hotel e-voucher worth 10,000 on achieving annual spends of Rs. 8 lakhs.

B. Credit Card with Great Reward Redemption Return

For free travel booking, you can also choose a credit card with a great reward redemption return. You can redeem the reward points for free hotel booking.

For instance,

• You can redeem your american express points for free Marroit hotel booking. You get an average redemption value of 0.50 paisa per reward points. In some cases, you can get redemption value of upto Rs
• You can redeem your Axis Magnus credit card bonus 25000 EDGE reward points to partner hotels like ITC and Marriott at 5:4, that you can use for free hotel booking worth up to Rs 20,000.

#3. Credit Card with Dining Discount Benefits

While traveling, dining can be a significant expense that can add up quickly. Credit cards that offer dining discount benefits can help reduce these costs.

Mostly premium credit card offers a 20% discount at 4,000+ restaurants across India.

#4. Credit Card with Other Travel Benefits

Apart from complimentary air tickets and hotel vouchers, you can enjoy other travel benefits that can enhance your travel experience. These benefits include,

• Unlimited complimentary domestic lounge access all over
• Unlimited complimentary international lounge access
• 24×7 concierge
• Complimentary Club Vistara membership

For example, the Axis Magnus credit card offers unlimited complimentary domestic and international lounge access, airport concierge service.

With Axis Vistara Infinite credit card, you get a complimentary Club Vistara Gold membership.

Conclusion

Pardeep Goyal, founder of CashOverflow, believes that using credit cards for travel is an excellent way to earn rewards and save money.

He says, “If you are a frequent traveler, using credit cards to book your flights and hotels can help you save a significant amount of money. Moreover, with the right credit card, you can earn reward points, which can be redeemed for free flights and hotel stays.”

Keep in mind the annual spending milestones, welcome offers, and reward redemption options while selecting a credit card for complimentary air tickets and hotel booking.