Fly Around the World For Under $2200

I rarely talk about points programs on this blog, but clever collecting and strategic credit card spending means there *can* be a way to attain luxury travel without paying full price.

Full Disclosure: I don’t want to open a bunch of credit cards in order to travel, so I save my money and look for deals using the links on my Resources page, but if you’re interested in getting started with travel points programs, the following story may be right for you!

Via PRNewswire:

The team behind Upgraded Points (https://upgradedpoints.com/) doesn’t just talk the talk when it comes to saving lots of cash while traveling; Alex and Erin recently put their bold strategies into practice by taking an unforgettable trip around the world. Flying business and first class on top-rated airlines, Alex and Erin spent a total of only $2,173 on tickets that normally would have cost over $55,000. And they did this all by leveraging the power of reward points and miles.

“Anyone can travel for pennies on the dollar with points,” says Alex. “At Upgraded Points, we’re assembling a library’s worth of free resources to show you how. Our team carefully researches every bit of content before publication to ensure quality and reliability, and to give our readers the best information possible.”

The Millers embarked on their remarkable three week adventure in early October 2017, departing from Austin, Texas. The couple spent time in amazing settings like Singapore, Saigon, Melbourne and Dubai, staying at various luxury hotels. They flew on some of the world’s elite airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines.

Six separate credit cards were used for Alex and Erin’s trip: The Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Ink Business Preferred, The Platinum Card from American Express, AMEX OPEN Business Gold Rewards and the AMEX Starwood Preferred Guest (Personal and Business Card).

Collectively, these cards provided 311,000 reward miles that reduced airfare charges by about 95%. Other numbers reveal just how remarkable this trip was from a logistics perspective. The couple spent 54 hours flying “butt-in-seat”, travelling over 28,000 miles, which is slightly more than the Earth’s circumference.

“We don’t expect anyone to replicate our trip, though they’re certainly able to or even just replicate one of the routes we flew,” concludes Alex. “Travelers can save quite a sum on even a modest vacation, and all those savings can help make a trip that might otherwise be out of reach totally affordable.”

So readers, what do you think? Are you interested in using reward miles from credit cards to fund your dream trip?