Have you ever been on a flight and the flight attendant gets on the loudspeaker and begins to announce all of the latest flight deals, and promotions that they currently have?
If you are anything like me, you probably popped your headphones off or woke up long enough to make sure there was not a true emergency and once the coast was clear resumed what you were doing to pass the time. When I finally decided to listen to one of those speeches I was mad I had not done so sooner!
I was on an American Airlines flight when they announced the following promotion:
“ladies and gentlemen, American Airlines is offering 40,000 bonus miles when you sign up for our Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select Mastercard. There are no foreign purchase fees, and the annual fee is waived for the first year. The card comes with great perks, such as first checked bag free for domestic flights and also group 1 boarding….”
Turned out, all you had to do to earn the miles was spend $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of the account opening.
Now hold up wait a minute… Do you know how easy it is to spend $1,000 in 3 months? On bills, gas, groceries, Etc. (Not that we want to spend it, but money can just go that easily!)
My hand shot up in the air “ I’ll take an application please!”
In 3 months time I received my points and booked my free flight!
Note: This specific deal was offered through American Airlines and was a special offered in flight. Other airlines offer similar in flight promotions so I would suggest paying attention the next time an announcement is made!
Tips for taking advantage of a similar offer:
***Keep in mind you’re opening up a new credit card; make sure this is something you are OK with. You wouldn’t want to hurt your credit score just for the sake of a free trip.
***Spending $1,000 in 3 months–It would be a good idea to use your card to purchase things that you would normally buy if you didn’t have the card. Especially your necessities like utility bills, gas, and groceries. Those three alone should get you really close to the goal in three months time. This helps because it’s not like you are incurring additional debt just to spend $1,000. You want to begin purchasing things that you know you can pay back right away because they are already planned into your budget.
***Some of these cards can come with high interest rates, so I would suggest paying it off quickly and only using it to accumulate points or when traveling on that specific airline, because the points usually double when you make purchases within the airline.
***Even if traveling on another airline and your trip is worked into your budget, using your card and paying it back on the next due date will earn you points.
Click here to see American Airlines current offer. This is not a special promotion, this is a normal offer, specials are usually offered in flight; therefore if you plan on applying for a card I highly recommend signing up when they are running an in flight promotion.
Glass half empty: Free flight…but you have to pay taxes and fees
Glass half full: FREE FLIGHT!
If you had a chance to earn a free flight to any Caribbean island where would you go and who would you travel with? Leave a comment below.
I literally just signed up for the JetBlue card and I feel like it’s so worth it if you plan to travel often. We’re thinking of going to Columbia first!
Nice! I have a friend who works for Jet Blue and I think he said there is no annual fee for their card? Which is good! Have fun in Columbia!
Turks and Caicos would be my choice!!!! My husband would be my first choice to travel with, also my kids as a bonus! Has anyone given you any other feedback on any of your other social media posts about additional ways to earn free trips- air, hotels, or cruises? Very curious while I still have paid leave left LOL
Nice! I received a comment that jet blue airlines has a similar program with no annual fees for their card!