How To Travel For Free As a Non-Influencer

How does a normal person like me get a free trip to Egypt, a free 3-night stay in an all-inclusive resort by the Red Sea, hotels in Europe, a week-long vacation to Hawaii, and notoriously expensive tickets to Bali for free for two? Come along with me to find out how you, yes you, can travel for free as a non-influencer.

I know this sounds absolutely too good to be true and you may be thinking that this is a gimmick, but it’s not. I’m just a 25-year-old girl who loves traveling and loves traveling for free even more, thus I want to share my secrets with you that has thus far taken me and my husband on 3 vacations in the past 2 years and has paid much of our expenses. You don’t have to be an influencer to get free things. Instead, you can be a normal person, just like me. For fool-proof budgeting and money-saving tips, check out my blog listings.

Using a travel credit card, I have managed to rack up enough points over relatively short periods of time to pay for entire trips to Hawaii, flight tickets to Bali for 2 (which are pricey), weekends in Spain for 2, and much more. Once again, I am just a normal person who loves traveling and wanted to share one way I make travel possible for myself and my hubby (he is much more willing to go on frequent adventures when they don't cost him anything).

If you want to read about my nearly free trip to Egypt, check out my blog listings for tips and travel recommendations like what to wear, tours, and scams to be wary of. (coming soon)

Check out my post on budgeting and money-saving tips that helped me put aside over 20K just for travel on a waitress's salary!

Chase Reserve Credit Card

A few years ago I was in the market for a travel card because I wanted to get points for money I spent and I came across the Chase Reserve card. The ultimate, number one, most elite credit card I have ever had and I will never ever give up. I cannot live without this card or its benefits which include lounge access in airports where food and drinks (including alcohol) are free of charge and I have not found anything of similar value.

Use your points for anything!

One of the most incredible things, among many, about the Chase Reserve card is that you do not have to stick to one airline as you do with American Express, which I find incredible as there are so many more options to choose from and I can choose the best flight according to my needs rather than having to stick to one airline and its flight schedules. Not only that, you can use the points you earn to pay off the credit card itself, book hotels & flights, or even rent a car as long as you book through the travel portal of the banking app. The points are just worth more when you use them towards travel which is why I prefer to utilize them that way. For example, you get 1 point per dollar spent on regular expenses, but 5 points per dollar on flights and 10 points per dollar on hotels, Lyft, and car rentals. You also earn more points, 3 per dollar to be exact, when you buy things related to travel which includes gas for your car. I am so in love with this card, you have no idea and I do not know how I would travel without it.

Sign-up Bonuses and Lounge Access

Upon signing up, you get 60k points if you spend 4k in 3 months, which is not difficult to do and you can use those points for whatever you like, as I mentioned above. Along with the card, you also get incredible benefits like a Priority Pass giving you access to airport lounges where food and drinks are free. This pass also allows you to bring two guests and it's such a deal because purchasing the pass yourself is quite expensive and doesn’t come with as many benefits as it does

when you get it through your Chase reserve card. For instance, if you purchase the pass yourself, you still have to pay a fee to enter the lounges. If you bring more than two guests, they just have to pay $20 a pop. However, I took myself and my family, a total of 6, to two airport lounges, one in Istanbul and one in Qatar where I was not charged and we sat for around 6 hours. In addition, many of the lounges place a 3 hour limit on your stay, but I have never been asked to leave. Since my husband and I typically travel together, I find this pass to save me so much money on airport food which can be enjoyed while sipping on top-shelf alcohol. The lounges also often have showers in which they provide you with a shower pack that includes items like soaps and a toothbrush.

Travel Credit and Customer Service

The Chase Reserve card also includes other amazing benefits like no foreign transaction, travel insurance, $300 yearly towards travel (including gas), and amazing customer service. For example, one of my flights had been delayed by two days and would have completely ruined my travel plans. When I booked said flight, it was the cheapest one I could find and I booked it with all the cheapest options like no travel insurance or seat selection. Upon contacting Chase to let them know that I should be entitled to a full refund and that I wanted to book with a different airline, the Chase team answered the phone within a few minutes and handled the situation for me. They even tried to look for new flights that would suit my schedule better. Now, that's service.

Time for the Cons

So, what's the catch? When it comes to this card, I wouldn’t say there is a catch. The annual fee seems a bit steep, a whopping $550 USD. However, when you take into account the $300 you can use towards travel, the lounge pass, and TSA or Global Entry, the benefits CERTAINLY outweigh the cost of the card by far. Think about the last time you bought a dry, crusty airport sandwich and an orange juice for $27.50; or when you had to pay $6 for a bottle of water. Multiply that by however many people you travel with and the amount of times you visit an airport. For me and my husband, we save a fortune and can have as many mimosas and cups of coffee as our hearts desire as well as unlimited food from the buffet. In addition, the APR can be a bit on the steep side (22-29% annually), which is why it is a good idea to pay off your credit card each month as it will also help keep you in the “excellent credit” category.

How to Get this Card

First and foremost, you have to qualify for this card. In order to do that you need to have excellent credit (700 or over) or make a lot of money; I qualified due to the former. Unfortunately, you also have to have an address in the USA and be a US resident or citizen. It is said that this card is difficult to get approved for, however, I have had it for about four years and I qualified when I was around 20 years old working as a waitress at a beach restaurant. In light of that, I do not consider it to be overly difficult but, again, my credit score was something I was very proud of and still am. You can find all of the information to apply here so you can start traveling for free.

You may qualify according to a variety of different reasons and this is not an absolute list.

The application process is quick and simple and, in my case, I was approved right away after I upgraded from the Chase Preferred card (the less glamorous cousin of the Chase Reserve).

Don't think your credit is quite high enough?

I had the Chase Preferred card before applying for this one, which I am quite sure helped me build enough rapport to qualify for its more fortunate cousin, the Chase Reserve. Just make sure to pay it off and keep yourself in good credit standing. The Chase Preferred is also a great travel card to start with but does not come with lounge access, however annual fee is significantly lower as is the APR rate.

Key Takeaways

You can travel for free. You can get free flight tickets to Asia. You can get roof-top hotels in Spain for free. If you enjoyed this article and found it useful, please leave a comment and follow my page! Thank you for reading!