If you are not travel hacking in 2023, let this be your cue to start now! The Bros got you covered with all the basics on How to Hack Your Way to Cheap Flights. Once you understand the nuts and bolts about how it works (it’s easy, trust us!), you are ready to get started with the best credit cards to earn cheap flights in 2023.
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What is Travel Hacking?
Travel hacking is the process of scoring cheap flights simply by signing up for credit cards that offer incredible sign up bonuses. Many credit cards will offer a hefty bonus of points/airline miles as long as you hit a certain spending threshold within a given period of time.
The key is to pick the card with the spending threshold that is right for you. You don’t want to start spending beyond your means, just to get the bonus miles. You want to hit the spending threshold with your normal, everyday spending. If you start buying flatscreen TV’s and buying drinks for the whole bar to ensure you hit the threshold, those bonus miles aren’t really free, are they?
🌎 BROS TIP: The Bros utilized some of our stockpile of miles in 2022 to score cheap flights. Check out some examples below of flights we actually took along with the cost and amount of miles used:
- Delta Airlines: San Jose, Costa Rica –> Oaxaca, Mexico (17,500 miles & $75.93)
- United Airlines: Mexico City –> Houston, Texas (9,000 miles & $83.05)
- United Airlines: Houston Texas –> Oaxaca, Mexico (39,500 miles & $37.46)
- Delta Airlines: Oaxaca, Mexico –> NYC (19,500 miles & $59.37)
The Best Credit Cards To Earn Cheap Flights in 2023
The Bros have done the research for you, and we’ve been in the travel hacking game for over 7 years now. We’ve scoured the internet for all the best offers, and without further ado, here are the best credit cards to earn cheap flights in 2023.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Earn 60,000 bonus points, equivalent to $750 towards travel
- Must spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of opening
- Annual Fee: $95
- No foreign transaction fees
- For cards with large spend thresholds like this one, you can still be creative to find ways to hit the $4k spend in 3 months. Do you have a family member who has to make a big purchase? Find ways to use your card for others and have them venmo you the money back.
Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Earn $200 bonus
- Must spend $500 within the first 3 months of opening
- No Annual Fee
- 3% foreign transaction fee on each purchase
- Nice to earn the bonus, and stack points, but not good for using internationally while traveling; Always use a card with ‘No foreign transaction fees‘ while traveling internationally
Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $3,000 within the first 6 months of opening
- Annual Fee: $250
- Free domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your card
- Check your first bag free on Delta flights booked with your Card for yourself and up to 8 others on your reservation
- Priority Boarding
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- The combination of 90k miles + 6 months to hit the $3k spending makes this a great value card
Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $2,000 within the first 6 months of opening
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99
- First Checked Bag Free on Delta flights
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- The lower annual fee makes this a more economical option than the Platinum above
United Airlines Explorer MileagePlus
- Earn 60,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $3,000 within the first 3 months of opening
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95
- Free 1st checked bag
- Earn an additional 10,000 bonus miles after you spend $6,000 total on purchases in the first 6 months your account is open
- Priority Boarding
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- United also has a great mileage redemption program with global partners across the globe
United Airlines Gateway MileagePlus
- Earn 30,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of opening
- No Annual Fee
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- No annual fee and low spending threshold make this a quick way to earn 30k miles, a great introductory card for travel hackers!
Capital One Venture Rewards
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $4,000 within the first 3 months of opening
- Annual Fee: $95
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Easy to cash in miles for any travel related purchases, also have a lower range card with lower spending threshold
Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Priority
- Earn 50,000 bonus points
- Must spend $1,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
- Annual Fee: $149
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $75 Southwest Annual Travel Credit
- 4 Upgraded Boardings per year when available
- 7,500 bonus points each year on anniversary of membership
- Great card for those who do a lot of US domestic travel
American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum Select
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles
- Must spend $2,500 within the first 3 months of opening
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $99
- First checked bag free on domestic American Airlines flights for you and up to 4 travel companions
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Great mileage program, as AA has many partnerships with global airlines and you could redeem your miles to fly almost anywhere
What’s the Deal with Annual Fees?
Many of these credit cards carry an annual fee, and some of them are pretty hefty. The Bros hold a couple credit cards long term (with approx. $100 annual fee on each), while cancelling others after we’ve reaped the rewards of the sign-up bonus, and before the annual fee is due after the 1 year anniversary of applying for the credit card.
In many cases, it’s just not worth paying the annual fee anymore and keeping the card now that you won’t be receiving the large sign-up bonus again. Furthermore, each bank has its different rules, and some will allow you to reapply for the card and repeat the process after sitting out for 2 years. Rinse and repeat!
What About My Credit Score?
How a credit score is determined is often misunderstood. Signing up, and later cancelling credit cards will not impact your credit score negatively if you are smart about how you use credit cards. If you use the cards in the following way, you’ll have nothing to worry about:
- This is the most important rule; If you use these travel credit cards, or any credit card for that matter, you should be paying your bills on time and in full to avoid extra interest fees. If you are carrying credit card debt and not paying in full, those miles and points are not free.
- If you cancel a card, ask if you can transfer the credit to a separate account you may already have.
- The length of time of your credit history matters. Maybe hold onto one or two cards long term to establish some longer history if you don’t have much established credit card history already.
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