Unlock Free Flights: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Booking with Points & Miles

Traveling the world using credit card points and airline miles isn’t just for frequent flyers or savvy finance nerds—it’s accessible to beginners too. With the right strategy, you can fly for free (or nearly free) just by leveraging everyday spending.

This beginner’s guide walks you through how to book flights with points and miles, from earning them to redeeming them like a pro.

What Are Points and Miles?
Points and miles are travel rewards earned through:
- Airline frequent flyer programs
- Credit card spending (via travel or general rewards cards)
- Hotel loyalty programs (convertible to airline miles)
You can redeem them for flights, upgrades, hotels, and more.

Types of Travel Rewards Programs

1. Airline Miles
Earned directly through airline loyalty programs like:
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Delta SkyMiles
- United MileagePlus

You earn miles by flying or transferring points from credit cards.

2. Credit Card Points
Flexible points that transfer to multiple airlines:
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Capital One Miles
- Citi ThankYou Points

These are often more valuable than airline miles due to flexibility.

3. Hotel Points (Optional)
Some hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors allow point transfers to airline partners—but usually with lower value.

How to Earn Points and Miles

1. Welcome Bonuses
Sign up for a travel rewards credit card and earn 50,000–100,000+ points after meeting a minimum spend in the first 3 months. Examples:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Capital One Venture X
- Amex Gold or Platinum

2. Everyday Spending
Use your card for groceries, dining, travel, and bills to accumulate points passively.

3. Online Shopping Portals
Many airlines and credit cards offer bonus points for purchases through their online shopping portals (e.g., Rakuten, Chase Offers).

4. Airline Flights
Join a frequent flyer program and enter your number every time you fly.

Step-by-Step: How to Book a Flight with Points and Miles

Step 1: Choose Your Rewards Program
If you already have points with a card issuer (like Chase or Amex), see which airlines they partner with. Decide if you want to transfer points or book directly through a travel portal.

Step 2: Search Award Availability
Use the airline’s website or a tool like Point.me or AwardHacker to check award seat availability. Each airline has its own pricing model.

Step 3: Calculate the Value of Your Points
A good redemption value is around 1.5–2 cents per point. Formula:
(Value of ticket in $ ÷ points required) × 100 = cents per point

Example: A $500 flight costs 40,000 points → 1.25 cents/point

Step 4: Transfer Points (if needed)
If booking with an airline but your points are in a credit card portal:
- Log in to your card account
- Navigate to “Transfer Partners”
- Select the airline and transfer the desired number of points
- Transfers are often 1:1 but are irreversible

Step 5: Book Your Flight
- Book directly through the airline’s award portal, or
- Use your card’s travel portal (e.g., Chase Travel, Amex Travel) if redemption value is better

Step 6: Pay Taxes and Fees
Even free flights require payment of taxes, fees, and sometimes surcharges. Budget ~$5.60 for domestic flights and $50–$200+ for international ones.

Best Ways to Maximize Value

1. Fly Off-Peak
Book midweek or during shoulder seasons for lower award prices.

2. Use Airline Alliances
Book with partner airlines through programs like Star Alliance, Oneworld, or SkyTeam.

Example: Use United miles to book Lufthansa or ANA flights.

3. Set Alerts for Award Space
Use ExpertFlyer or airline tools to get notified when award seats open up.

4. Stack with Promotions
Sometimes airlines or card issuers run promotions for point transfers or reduced mileage awards.

Mistakes to Avoid

- Letting points expire (always check expiration policies)
- Booking poor-value redemptions (less than 1 cent per point)
- Transferring points before confirming availability
- Ignoring taxes and surcharges

Beginner-Friendly Credit Cards to Start With

1. Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Great transfer partners
- 60,000+ point welcome bonus
- Low annual fee

2. Capital One Venture
- Easy-to-use “erase travel purchases” feature
- 2x points on all spending

3. Amex Gold
- 4x points at restaurants and supermarkets
- Valuable for frequent spenders

What About Booking Hotels or Rental Cars?
Most travel rewards portals also allow you to use points for hotels and rentals—but flights usually provide the best value per point. Use hotels only when it gives 1.5+ cents/point or to save cash during peak times.

Final Thoughts
Booking flights with points and miles is one of the most rewarding (and addicting) parts of travel hacking. Once you understand how to earn, transfer, and redeem points strategically, you’ll unlock a world of affordable travel.

Start small: choose one card, earn a welcome bonus, and plan a trip using rewards. It won’t be long before you’re flying first class for the price of a sandwich.