How to Fly to Europe for FREE
After a few years of travel and a whole lot of mistakes later, I have slowly figured out how to fly for free. Yes… Free..
It all started after watching a few YouTube videos on credit card hacking. At the time I had one credit card and the idea of having more than one seemed a little crazy, but after much research, I decided it was okay to have more than one. The key is just being good about paying them off on time.
So here we go.
STEP 1.
United Explorer MileagePlus Credit Card
With this card you will earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. It is free for the first year.
Okay, so what does this mean? Think of 60,000 like $600 dollars. You now have $600 dollars in flight points, but wait it gets better. A $600 dollar flight typically only costs 50,000 points. Points equate to more when used for flight points. You now have a free one-way ticket to Europe. I will explain how to find cheap flights as we continue.
United was my second travel credit card. I flew from Rome to Chicago for free. What was nice was they also allowed me to bring a bag for free. This saved me anywhere from $50 to $100 dollars.
Step 2.
With this card you will earn 100,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. Cost is $100 dollars.
Points transfer to United. This is so helpful.
I said I could get you to Europe for free, but you might want to come back. This card does cost $100 dollars, but if you manage to spend $4000 dollars in 3 months, you get 100,000 points, think of all the one-way tickets!!! This ends up being close to 1250$ in airline points, that transfer to your United account. If you combine points from both cards that brings you close to 160,000 points. Bring a friend or fly to Europe twice. The choice is yours. All for $100 dollars.
If you are intimidated by spending that much money in three months, trust me I get it. My income is fairly low and I don’t typically spend 4,000 in three months. I try to open cards when my car insurance is due. That’s $800 on a card every 6 months. I also ask family if they have any large purchases. I put my brother’s $1250 computer program on my credit card once.
Step 2. Option 2.
With this card you will receive 60,000 bonus points after spending $3,000 in three months.
I also have the capital one venture card. At the time I needed to put 3,000 on the card in 3 months, but it was right when Covid hit, and I was unable to do it. It is still a great card, but it doesn’t transfer to United. It partners with other companies. I included it in case you prefer flying different airlines. What is nice about Capital One Venture card is you get 5x more points on hotels and travel. Allowing you to rake up points easily.
Step 3. Finding Cheap Tickets.
Now the part explaining how to use these precious points.
1.Go to Google Flights and select the Explore option.
2. Select your airport. I typically select one way, because I don’t know when I am going to come home.
3. Then I select the month I plan on going.
4. Then I hit the map button.
5. If you are only planning on using United points. Go to the airlines. Unselect all.
6. Then select star alliance. The dots on the map now show you all the countries you can fly to using your United Points.
7. Now search for flights under $500
I hope this article helps you to afford international travel. It does contain my refer friends and family links. If you happen to use one, just know that I am entirely grateful! From one fellow traveler to another.
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ― St. Augustine.
-Happy Travels -Emily
