In May 2021, I had a pretty crazy idea: I was going to travel hack my way to one month in Europe, completely free.

I already had a well-established American Airlines Citi card, but I needed to diversify my travel cards for the hack to work. After some research, and many travel hackers recommending it, I decided the best travel card to start with is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The card offers a whopping 80,000 sign-up bonus, which equates to an advertised $1,000 travel credit. To receive the sign-up bonus, you have to spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. And unlike some travel rewards cards, the Chase Sapphire includes a wide variety of airlines and hotels you can book.

As a casual traveler, I opted to travel hack with the Chase Sapphire Preferred instead of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. I decided this because some benefits, like the airport lounge access, weren’t going to be utilized often. And although the Sapphire Reserve card offers a $300 travel credit and more points per dollar spent, the sign-up bonus was less. Plus, the annual fee of $550 wasn’t appealing. In the future, I’ll probably swap for Reserve (you can only choose one) once I’m a more frequent traveler.

So far, I’ve been extremely happy with the card and its benefits. I earned over 3,500 points on a recent trip to Maine, started receiving credit (up to $60 a year) for my Peloton Digital membership, and I love exploring the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. It’s super convenient and easy to use – you can even use your points for hotels you see on Expedia.

Breakdown of the card benefits

Incredibly flexible on when and how you use your points
Points can transfer to other airlines and hotel rewards programs
Works well for frequent and casual travelers
Rental car and other travel insurance benefits
Low annual fee
2x on restaurants and travel purchases
1x on all other purchases

The travel hack plan

• Meet the $4,000 spending requirement to receive the 80,000 sign-up bonus
• Make all dining purchases with the card (2x)
• Use the card for all other purchases (for now) until I can add another card and diversify spending categories

I haven’t decided how I’ll use the points accumulated during the year. But I’m considering purchasing one-way tickets with them either through their system or moving points to a partner airline. More on that in the coming months!

• Stay up to date with my one month in Europe completely free journey.
• Sign-up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and receive 80,000 miles when you spend $4,000 in your first three months. That’s $1,000 worth of travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

Explore on. -K