Free Flights, 5-Star Hotels, & First-Class Upgrades: How to Book Luxury Travel Using Credit Card Points with Megan Lanford
Episode 930: Show Notes
If you have ever wished that you could afford to travel more, then today’s episode is for you! Today, we are joined by Megan Lanford, a woman who cracked the code for traveling for free (or close to free) to tell us exactly how she saves her family $20,000 a year! Megan has always been a huge travel junkie and eventually discovered travel points and she took six vacations that year because of them!
Everyone was asking how she did it so she decided to start a business out of it and help more people travel more affordably. I know my audience is filled with ambitious people who would love to travel more, especially without breaking the bank. The results Megan gets for her clients are absolutely phenomenal! Traveling shouldn’t feel impossible and clearly, Megan has found a way to make it possible for everyone. So let’s hear how!
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The Biggest Myth About Using Credit Cards to Go on Vacation
This method is really accessible to everyone! All you need to do is start using a credit card that gives good travel reward points to buy things you buy on an everyday basis. A lot of people think that having credit cards means that you have debt and are financially irresponsible, but that’s simply not true because if you are on top of your finances, pretend that your credit card is the same as your debit card, buy what you can afford, and pay it off every month, you’re just making a really smart change in the way that you buy things. This will actually increase your credit score as well!
How to Select the Right Credit Card(s)
There are tons of credit cards out there for travel points, but Megan always recommends people start with flexible point cards that you can use the points for hotels and airlines. With four major banks, there are a lot of options to choose from! For business owners, the Chase Inc. business card is a great way to maximize points. Using a credit card for everyday business expenses can earn you massive amounts of points that you can use for travel. If you have both personal and business Chase cards, then you can combine your points and take phenomenal vacations.
Getting the Points
Unlike with cashback cards, travel points credit cards work on multiplying the amount you spent by a certain number to obtain points. This is a really simple process and Megan wants you to focus on making it fun and enjoyable. The main goal is to take advantage of sign-up bonuses on the card. So essentially, you should be signing up for a new card every three months! But if you don’t want to do that, simply making that switch from using your debit card for purchases to only using your credit card makes the world of difference. Megan and her husband also double up their points and take advantage of sign-up and referral bonuses all the time.
How You Go About Spending the Points
Flexible points are fantastic because they actually never expire and you can just use them years down the line. Banks often encourage you to book your vacations using their travel portal, but that often makes you lose a lot of value. Instead, you can transfer your points to travel partners and you will almost always double or even triple the value of those points. Using the travel portal to book vacations is the biggest mistake Megan sees people make. There are so many different variables that go into picking a card, but Megan suggests that we all start with flexible points. It’s also important to be aware of elevated offer times and if you want to be alerted to them, make sure to follow Megan!
What to Keep in Mind When Traveling with a Family
If you have bigger families, you should always keep that in mind when booking hotels and potentially book extra rooms. You can also book suites with your points! All-inclusive resorts are really great for families because you can get an entire experience for $0 by using your points. Megan’s favorite trip was their recent one to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico that cost them a total of $500 for the whole family for four nights, including first-class plane tickets! That was something they never would’ve been able to do without points. You can actually travel for $11 per person! That’s virtually free.
The One Thing You Need to Know About the Travel Points World
If you take anything from this episode, Megan wants you to make sure that you stop using your debit card and only use your credit card for purchases so that you can start earning the points. Even if you have no intention of going on a vacation this year, Megan guarantees that down the road, you will want to! There are so many ways to save thousands of dollars just by doing this so be sure to get started today!
Megan has a Travel Points Academy for anyone who wants to learn whatever they can about travel points, go at their own pace, and ask questions along the way. She also has one-on-one coaching for clients to plan their first vacation and get started with their travel points credit cards!
Quote This
“There’s just so many ways to save literally thousands of dollars on your next vacation just by doing this.”
—Megan Lanford
Highlights
The Biggest Myth About Using Credit Cards to Go on Vacation [0:06:20]
How to Select the Right Credit Card(s) [0:09:00]
Getting the Points [0:13:37]
How You Go About Spending the Points [0:17:21]
What to Keep in Mind When Traveling with a Family [0:21:25]
The One Thing You Need to Know About the Travel Points World [0:25:45]
Our GUEST:
Megan Lanford
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Podcast
Megan Lanford has mastered the art of traveling on a budget. She has transformed her family's travel experiences and her business by leveraging credit card points. Once struggling to afford even one vacation a year, she now takes over six trips annually, saving an incredible $20,000 a year. Through her journey, she's discovered the secrets of maximizing travel rewards and is passionate about teaching other women how to do the same.
OUR HOST:
Abagail Pumphrey
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail hosts the twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, which is recognized by INC and Forbes as one of the best podcasts for entrepreneurs.
Key Topics:
Travel, Travel Points, Credit Cards, Cheap Vacations, Travel Hacks
