How to Travel for Free Using Credit Card Points (Canada + USA)

THE GEN X WANDERER / How to Travel for Free Using Credit Card Points

TABLE OF CONTENTS

>> If you haven’t checked out my article on Best Travel Credit Cards Canada: American Express Bonvoy, Cobalt & Platinum, make sure to give it a read.

How to Travel for Free Using Credit Card Points

I’ve been earning and redeeming travel points for the past 15 years. If you’ve been listening to people talk about how you can travel for free using credit cards and thinking “Ok, but how does that actually work for me?“, then this one’s for you. Forget everything you’ve seen on socials about travel hacking.

Think about everything you’re already been paying for every single month. I’m talking groceries, dining out, Netflix, gas, gym membership, any and all subscriptions, car insurance, literally everything and anything under the kitchen sink.

Debit Card? I Use to Know Her.

I get it, there’s nothing like having a credit card balance of $0. And for the majority of my adult life, I have been trained by the older generations that credit cards are bad. Well of course they are, if you are using them wrong.

I’m teaching you how to use them to your advantage.

That new coffee maker you put on your debit card… why? 😫 All of that money was going to leave your account anyway but you were just letting it disappear through a debit card without getting anything back.

Swap your method of payment!

Use a credit card. You’re not taking on new debt. You’re simply redirecting your existing spending through a credit cards because it rewards you for it!

Change How You Think About Spending. That’s the Mindset Shift. I cannot scream this more from the rooftops.

You’re not spending more money. You are just paying for your regular things differently. And in Canada, the best tool for that? Hands down the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, the American Express Platinum Credit Card and the American Express Cobalt.

THE GEN X WANDERER / We used our Bonvoy points to stay here free for 7 days! ~ Royalton Blue Waters, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Places that I’ve Stayed at Completely for Free

• Royalton Blue Waters in Jamaica
  ~ Free 1 week all inclusive vacation for my family of 4. All I had to pay was taxes and my kids portion of food.
• Bisha Toronto
  ~ Toronto Luxury Boutique Hotel
• JW Marriott Marquis Miami
  ~ Luxury Hotel in Miami
• Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach
  ~ Luxury Hotel in Miami
• Courtyard by Marriott Oceanside Fort Lauderdale Beach
  ~ Post Cruise Stay
• Courtyard by Marriott Miami Downtown Brickell
  ~ Pre Cruise Stay
• and countless other times with the Marriott brands like Delta and Sheraton and Hyatt (Fine Hotel’s and Resorts from American Express Platinum)

So, How Do You Actually Earn Travel Points?

Super Easy. Use the Marriott Bonvoy American Express, the American Express Platinum Credit Card and the American Express Cobalt to pay for stuff that you ALREADY HAVE TO PAY. You aren’t acquiring new debt. You are merely paying for monthly bills through another form of payment. Ditch the debit card, ditch the automatic chequing account withdrawals from vendors.

Monthly subscriptions? American Express Cobalt
Groceries? American Express Cobalt
Gas? American Express Cobalt
Marriott Bonvoy Stays? Marriott Bonvoy American Express

In my free downloadable PDF, I dive in and tell you how to use each of these cards strategically and which specific expenses to put them on to maximize your points earning.

The bottom line: if the merchant accepts American Express, you should be paying your expense with your rewards card. If they don’t, I also tell you the backup cards that I use to earn other points that can also transfer to each other and other partner airlines and hotels.

Which credit card should you pick? Download the PDF to find out! I go into detail on the differences.

Change the Way You Pay for Things

This is really the whole idea behind how to earn Marriott Bonvoy and American Membership Rewards points fast: you’re not adding new expenses, you’re just moving money you were already spending onto a card that pays you back for it. Every grocery run, every subscription renewal, every bill you already owe becomes another step toward a free hotel stay.

Most people who ask how to earn points assume it takes some complicated system or a finance background. It doesn’t. It just takes swapping your debit card for the right credit card and letting your normal life do the work.

If you’re still swiping your debit card at the grocery store, you are leaving some serious points on the table every single week. Each time you tap your debit card instead of a rewards credit card like the Amex, that transaction is gone. No points, no cashback, no free hotel nights, just money out the door.

I haven’t used my debit card in about 10 years because I realized that it has absolutely zero benefits. Your chequing account can pay the mortgage (yeah, you usually can’t put that on a credit card, ya I know, painful). Everything else? That’s fair game. (Note: if you are a Canadian, you CAN pay your rent and property taxes through Chexy with your Credit Card. Note: they accept Visa, MasterCard and Amex. More in another post.)

Download My Guide (Free for a limited time)

Start Earning Free Stays Anywhere in the World!

I put together a FREE PDF guide below “How to Travel for Free Using Credit Cards” that walks you through exactly how to start earning points as a Canadian or an American, and how to travel for free using points, step by step. This 19 page PDF is packed full of information.

There’s an action guide, a worksheet, and even a visual roadmap.

What You Will Get

• A 19 page guide on the best credit cards to get for maximizing travel points earning.
• An actionable step by step plan on how to get started.
• A worksheet to map out your current spending and figure out where your biggest point-earning opportunities are.
• A full visual roadmap diagram (for those who need to see it drawn out).
• A list of all the credit cards that I use (not only the Marriott Bonvoy American Express but more) which allowed me countless free stays throughout the past decade and more, (like the one featured above for my family of 4 at an all inclusive week in Montego Bay, Jamaica at the Royalton Blue Waters).
• And a guide for my American friends! I have a list of cards for you too, the strategy is the same.
• Tips and tricks I’ve learned from years of doing this myself.

I’m not selling a $1997 course (aren’t you sick of those btw?) and there is absolutely no upsell. Just the actual information you need to start turning your everyday spending into real travel!

If you’re ready to actually see how to earn Marriott Bonvoy and American Express membership reward points step by step and turn your everyday spending into free flights and hotel stays, grab my free guide below. It walks you through exactly how to travel for free using Marriott Bonvoy American Express, the American Express Cobalt, and the American ExpressPlatinum, the same way I do it.

Get it free now!