I opened my first credit card during my sophomore year of college. Having taken several family trips with the helps of points and miles, I was already familiar with the value of credit card rewards and ready to start earning some of my own. While certainly not a starter card, I went with the *amex gold card* and its bigger welcome offer to earn enough miles for a business class flight to Japan.
Now, just a year after graduating, I passed a milestone that I didn’t even think was possible for someone on a college student’s budget: 1 million credit card points and airline miles earned. Something I had no intention of doing when I first set out with my first card.
Does that sound a little crazy? Maybe. But all those points and miles have added up to tens of thousands of dollars worth of unforgettable travel experiences – and I still have a few hundred thousand left over to use for future trips. And most importantly, I did it all responsibly by paying my balance in full each and every month, never once incurring debt along the way.
I’m here to share what I’ve learned over the past several years (including mistakes I’ve made along the way), tips for how to earn points on a tight budget, and some of my favorite redemptions so far.
How I Earned 1 Million Points and Miles
First, I want to be clear that nothing here should be taken as financial advice. I’m not a certified financial professional – just someone who’s picked up some useful lessons along the way. My path to earning 1 million points and miles won’t (and shouldn’t) be the same as yours.
Second – and I can’t stress this enough – while credit card points can be an incredible tool for unlocking high-value travel experiences, they’re also very serious business. My top priority is always financial responsibility.
Since opening my first card, I’ve never carried a balance or incurred debt, and I only use a credit card when I know I can pay off the charge in full (and on time) every single month.
Welcome Offers are King
The easiest way to earn hundreds of thousands of points and miles each year is by scoring big welcome offers on travel rewards cards.
I’ve earned anywhere from 20,000 to well over 100,000 points for opening each card I have. That’s often enough for multiple economy trips, a roundtrip in business class, or even a one-way first class ticket. By being strategic – opening just a few cards a year and spacing them out – I’ve boosted my points balances, expanded my travel opportunities, and maintained a near-perfect credit score.
Since most cards come with minimum spending requirements – like $4,000 in the first three months – it’s absolutely critical that you’re meeting that spend with your normal day-to-day purchases. Don’t spend extra just to hit a welcome offer and put yourself at risk of carrying debt. Credit card interest rates are brutal, and that’s something I never want to pay.
Related reading: How to Hit the Minimum Spend (& Earn That Bonus) Responsibly on Credit Cards
Fly the Friendly Skies
The “butt-in-seat” method is one of the simplest – and for me, most fun – ways to earn miles. The more you fly, the more you earn. And if you have airline status, those earnings add up even faster.
In 2023, I hit my first level of airline elite status: Delta Silver Medallion. So, while a regular SkyMiles member earns 5 miles per dollar spent with Delta, I was now earning 7 miles per dollar as a low-level elite.
Fast forward to the present day, and I’ve climbed the status ranks to the Delta Gold Medallion level, which gets me 8 miles per dollar spent on each and every Delta flight. By the end of the year, I’ll have reached Delta Platinum status, and that boosts my earnings to 9 miles per dollar. Meanwhile, my dream status – Delta’s top-tier Diamond Medallion – earns a whopping 11 miles per dollar, more than double what a general SkyMiles member earns.
And when I’m not flying? I’m still at the airport, plane spotting. As a University of Minnesota alum, “Fly–U–Mah” remains one of my favorite planes to spot.
Sun Country’s University of Minnesota livery
Shopping Portals Help Multiply Your Points … Fast
The number one question I get from friends and family is: “How do you earn thousands of points without spending thousands of dollars?”
For example, if you’re looking to earn 60,000 points for a business class flight, it would require $60,000 worth of spending on a card that earns 1x points per dollar. Even if you’re spending on a card with strong bonus categories, like the Amex Gold’s 4x multiplier for U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $25,000 per year) and dining worldwide, it would require $15,000 in purchases just to reach that mark. I don’t have the budget – or the desire – to spend that much.
That’s where shopping portals come in. Rakuten offers extra cash back on purchases at hundreds of popular online retailers … but instead of getting cash back, you can choose to earn rewards in the form of Amex Membership Rewards® points – or even Bilt points.
Rakuten offers huge promotions throughout the year that can earn you thousands of points
Last year alone, I earned more than 100,000 Amex points on Rakuten from purchases I planned to make anyway. Banks and airlines offer similar portals, giving you even more opportunities to multiply your points.
Shopping smarter – not spending bigger – is the key.
Be a Hero and Pick Up the Tab
Whenever I’m out with friends, I’m the first to volunteer my card for the group bill and have everyone else pay me back. Yes, it requires trust and a little extra work … but it also earns a lot more points. Not to mention it’s more convenient for the server – a win-win!
Once, I happily covered a $500 bill for myself and 13 friends – even though my portion was only $30. Instead of earning 120 points by paying with my Amex Gold Card, I earned more than 2,000.
Programs like Bilt Dining and Rakuten Dining can stack even more points on top of your credit card earnings if you dine at participating restaurants.
Rakuten Dining
So next time the tab comes around, offer to pick it up – and thank your friends for helping you earn more points.
Start a Small Business
Ready to take your point-earning to the next level? Business credit cards are the secret weapon you may not be aware of.
In 2024, I launched a small media business to share my photography and videography work, which opened up a whole new avenue for earning points. That’s right, even though my business was brand new (and quite small), I still qualified for business credit cards and their bigger bonuses.
Having access to a new set of welcome offers and spending on a passion project that I’ve been able to turn into a profit has been incredibly beneficial to me.
For example, I’d been wanting to buy a second cinema camera for a while … but hadn’t yet pulled the trigger. Then Black Friday rolled around and Canon discounted the one I was looking at by $500. To sweeten the deal further, Rakuten was offering 15x points on the purchase, making it the perfect time to buy.
By pairing a new business card welcome offer with the extra points from Rakuten, my new $4,000 camera earned me:
- 100,000 points from a business card welcome offer
- 4,000 points from the purchase itself
- 60,000 points from Rakuten
That’s nearly 165,000 points from one purchase – and the camera helps me grow my business!
Should you start a small business of your own just to earn points? Maybe not … but you don’t need a large operation to start earning. By turning a small passion into a side business, I’ve been able to access business credit and use those points for even more unforgettable trips.
Related reading: You Might Be Eligible for Business Cards (& Bigger Bonuses!)
Ask and You Shall Receive Miles (Maybe)
Things go wrong in travel … and when they do, it’s OK to politely ask for compensation – especially in the form of miles. To be perfectly clear: This isn’t permission to berate customer service agents (who aren’t to blame) – but a courteous request for your troubles can go a long way.
Here’s the easiest example: I regularly take advantage of Delta’s 20-minute checked bag guarantee, which offers up to 2,500 miles per direction if your bag doesn’t arrive on time. Requesting compensation is quick and easy with a simple online form.
Photo courtesy of reader Jess A.
But sometimes you’ll need to advocate for yourself a little more. Earlier this year, I flew Delta One suites to Seoul and found my seat hadn’t been cleaned very thoroughly before getting on the plane – crumbs on the seat and tray table, used slippers in the footwell – not at all what I was expecting. I let the flight attendant know and submitted a customer service request afterward for which Delta awarded me 20,000 SkyMiles as a way to say sorry.
Another situation where you can (and should) ask for points or miles is when your credit card’s annual fee comes due. Retention offers are the banks’ way of convincing you to stick around, hoping you’ll remain a customer (and pay another year of annual fees) if they sweeten the deal.
They come in all shapes and sizes: Some banks will offer up a stash of bonus points or a statement credit for customers considering closing the card, while others will discount (or waive) the annual fee. For example, my latest retention offer was for 30,000 points after spending $2,000 in three months.
Not nearly as big as a new card welcome offer, but it’s sure better than nothing and made the decision of whether or not I should keep the card a whole lot easier. When asking for a retention offer, there are no guarantees – but if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
My Best Tips for Earning & Redeeming Miles
Start Small
If you’re just getting started with points and miles, consider a no-annual-fee card that you can keep open indefinitely. One of the most significant components of your credit score is your length of credit history.
Having a card that you can keep for the long haul, even if you don’t use it often, will help boost your credit score overall. In my case, I jumped the gun and chose a mid-tier card with an annual fee that I will have to downgrade later if I decide it’s no longer worth it.
With some banks (and cards) there are no-annual-fee versions you can downgrade to and keep your credit history, but this isn’t always the case.
Timing & Flexibility are Key
Just like in life, timing is everything when it comes to earning and redeeming points and miles. If you time a new card application around a big upcoming purchase (that you already planned to make), you won’t be tempted to spend more than normal in order to earn a big bonus.
A few examples of the kind of big purchases I’ve taken advantage of include paying college tuition and rent, picking up the tab at a big upcoming dinner, and even putting a down payment on a new car.
But this also applies to earning points through shopping portals. Knowing exactly what you want to buy and waiting for a higher offer from Rakuten (or any other portal) can make your purchase all the more rewarding.
Timing is also imperative when you go to redeem your points and miles for free(ish) travel. I often use big transfer bonuses to reduce the number of miles needed to book flights and hotels. Since there’s no telling when the next big bonus will land, it’s important to remain flexible and strike while the iron is hot.
This won’t be possible for everyone (or in every situation), but if you can be flexible with dates, you’ll have far more luck redeeming your miles for great value.
Spend Carefully
Choose credit cards that earn bonus points for your top spending categories, that way you’re getting the extra points for your most common expenses. For me, it’s groceries, dining, travel, and tech for my small business.
Since the Amex Gold earns a bonus on both groceries and dining, this card never leaves my wallet. For my travel purchases, I lean on my *chase sapphire preferred* to earn 2x points on every dollar I spend. And I rely heavily on a card like the *blue biz plus* for my business purchases because it earns 2x points (up to $50,000 each year) in any category.
If you pay rent, the Bilt Mastercard allows you to earn points on rent, without paying any processing fees, making it a no brainer.
Take Advantage of Sweet Spots
When it comes time to use your points and miles for flights, there are plenty of options – but in most cases, the price will almost always be highest with the airline you’re planning to fly. Crazy, right?
Instead, I most often book through partner airlines for better rates. For example, if I’m looking to fly Delta, I will typically book through Air France/KLM’s Flying Blue … or if I want to fly American, I’ll book through Japan Airlines Mileage Bank for a better deal. The same goes with booking ANA through Virgin Atlantic.
If you’re having trouble using your points and miles, be sure to subscribe to Thrifty Traveler Premium. I say this not just as a biased employee, but as someone who has used the service for years … well before joining the team. Nowhere else have I found a service that gets you the quantity and quality of flight and hotel deals that Thrifty Traveler Premium delivers.
Rebook When Prices Drop
Book a flight using miles? If changes are allowed and the mileage price drops, call the airline (or rebook online) and have them refund the difference.
I just saved nearly 50,000 SkyMiles by rebooking a flight to Australia next year after our team found an incredible deal in Delta One. That’s enough miles back in my pocket for another round-trip flight!
My Favorite Mileage Redemptions
1. Roundtrip Delta One Suites from Minneapolis to Tokyo for 170,000 Skymiles
My very first redemption — and still one of my favorites. Japan remains one of my top destinations, and the Delta Sky Club® in Tokyo is fantastic.
Delta One Suites to Tokyo with my mom
2. Singapore Airlines Business Class for Just 24,000 Miles
A lie-flat seat on a three-hour flight? Yes, please. Singapore Airlines excels in nearly every category, and at just 24,000 KrisFlyer miles – transferred from nearly any of the big banks – this flight from Singapore (SIN) to Bangkok (BKK) offered outstanding value.
Plus, Singapore’s Changi Airport is a treat in and of itself: incredibly efficient and so much to do and see.
Singapore Airlines Business Class on the Boeing 787, Changi Airport’s The Jewel, & The Gardens by the Bay
3. Korean Air Business Class on a 747
OK, I didn’t use points for this one – but it deserves a spot. I paid $935 (the only time I’ve paid cash for a business class fare) to fly on the upper deck of the Boeing 747, a dream of mine as the aircraft becomes increasingly rare. Nearly every other flight on that Asia trip was booked with points, which made this splurge for the 6.5-hour flight from Seoul (ICN) to Singapore totally worth it.
Korean Air Prestige Business Class on the Upper Deck of the 747
I’ve earned more than a million miles, but I haven’t redeemed them all yet. I still have a healthy stockpile for future trips. Bucket list redemptions on my radar include Emirates First Class, Qantas First, ANA “The Suite,” Qatar Qsuites, and LATAM Business Class.
I don’t often redeem points for hotels – I prefer to save them for getting to the destination and using my cash for experiences on the ground. But don’t let your points sit too long: Airlines continually devalue their programs.
Bottom Line
When earned responsibly, credit card points and airline miles can be an extremely valuable way to to see the world for almost free. Earning this many miles certainly isn’t easy, but with a little bit of strategy, you can efficiently earn enough points to use for your next trip … no matter your budget.