How I Flew to Paris Business Class for Free
USE MY FREE 8-STEP GUIDE FOR BOOKING TRAVEL W/ POINTS
The secret is out- I'm a points girly! (Are you surprised?) And seeing as I just flew to Paris business class for FREE using rewards, I wanted to pop in your inbox to teach you how I did it. Class is in session!
And remember- points aren't just for big spenders or frequent flyers, they're for everyone — including you. Stop hoarding them, start using them! Okay- let's go.
(I am using Amex as an example here but this info works for any rewards card!)
I run everything through my business so my go-to is the American Express Business Platinum card! It has a $695 annual fee but I get credits for my cell phone, Adobe, Indeed and others… so it ends up “paying for itself.” I also love the Amex gold card! It has a lower annual fee than platinum & great rewards for dining.
When you open an Amex, there's a “welcome bonus” which says if you spend X amount in the first 3 months, you'll get Y amount of points. For my Amex Business Platinum, the welcome bonus was 130,000 — which rocks. But I have heard of welcome bonuses as high as 150,000! So look out for an awesome welcome offer if you're thinking of opening an Amex Rewards Card.
A transfer bonus is when you move your Amex Rewards Points to an airline partner but instead of transferring at a 1:1 ratio, a transfer bonus lets you convert your points at a higher rate. I consider a “good” transfer bonus to be 30%. If you can move Amex points to an airline carrier for 30% more points, it's a great deal IMHO! To search for these — Google “Amex Transfer Bonuses April 2024.”
Once you identify the transfer bonus, sign up (for free) for an account with that carrier. And remember, many airlines are owned by the same parent company. So like if you sign up for an Avios account, you can use Avios points to book on Iberia Airlines as well as British Airways!
People like to use Google Flights but recently I have been using Roame Travel to find flights too & think it's FAB! Also- if you're an Amex card member, they just announced we get access to point.me for FREE. LOVE them too!
Now that you have your flight and transfer partner picked out it's time for the moment of truth! Transfer points from Amex to the airline partner. This is easy to do on the Amex portal. And remember — don't transfer ALL your Amex points. Just transfer the amount you need for this transaction!
Book your flight of choice & use the points you
transferred to pay for it.
Feels good, no?
I know there are levels to this game tho so if I'm missing anything, let me know :)