Earning Free Travel the Hard Way (and How to Make it Much Easier)

I had no intentions of earning free travel on this particular day. “We have a medical emergency on board. If you are a medical professional, please press your call button or alert the nearest flight attendant.”

I was a 31-year old newlywed heading to Alaska with my bride to start our honeymoon, 13 months removed from residency graduation. I pressed my button. United Airlines was kind enough to reward both my wife and I with $600 vouchers redeemable for future travel.

There are easier ways to earn free flights, as I’ll detail in this post, but this was my first time getting free travel money without volunteering to be bumped for a later flight.

How to Earn Free Travel the Easy Way

Arrow

When an airline asks for volunteers to take a later flight, you might want to wait for them to sweeten the deal. They will often up the ante several times after the initial announcement.

Take a Bump!

If flying out later that day, or even the next day, isn’t going to mess up your life, you can earn hundreds of dollars in vouchers for taking the bump.

If you’re not a physician eager to volunteer your services mid-flight and you don’t like to be inconvenienced by flight delays, fear not. There’s an easier way to earn free travel and anyone with a decent credit rating can do this a number of times.

Hitchhiking!

Many credit cards offer welcome bonuses worth $500 to over $1,000 or more in free travel after meeting a minimum spend, typically in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 in three months.

SWIPE UP NOW TO READ MORE