Here’s how to travel the world for almost free using only a credit card

Let’s dive into the world of air miles. Frequent flyer miles, also known as air miles, are points earned by making purchases with a specific airline or its partners. These points can be redeemed for free or discounted flights and other rewards. For frequent travelers, air miles can be a great way to save money on travel expenses. Although they may seem complicated at first, they are straightforward once you understand how they work. Air miles refers to loyalty program points offered by major airlines.

There are three ways to earn air miles:

Fly & Earn: By flying with a particular airline or its partner airlines, you can earn air miles. For example, when you book Vistara tickets, you can earn Club Vistara, or CV, points based on the amount spent.

Co-branded credit cards: Many banks and airlines offer co-branded credit cards that allow you to earn air miles through your spending. For example, using Axis Bank’s co-branded credit card with Vistara can earn you CV points.

Transfer of Credit Card Reward Points: Many banks allow their customers to transfer credit card reward points to different airlines which convert into frequent flyer miles. For example, HDFC, Axis, and AMEX enable their customers to transfer credit card reward points to more than 15 airlines.

You can use your air miles to get free flight tickets or upgrade your travel class. Here are some examples for your better understanding: Using 63,000 United airline air miles, you can get a return ticket in economy class from India to almost any European destination. For a business class return ticket on the same route, you’ll need approximately 116,000 United miles.

Using 110,000 Air Canada air miles, you can get a return ticket from India to almost any North American destination in economy class. For a business class return ticket on the same route, you’ll need about 180,000 Air Canada miles.

Vistara’s CV Points program can be a great option for domestic travel. Using 10,000 CV Points, you can get an economy class return ticket from Delhi to Kolkata or Mumbai. For premium economy, you need 17,000 CV points, and for a business class return ticket, you need 36,000 CV points.

It is important to note that while booking flight tickets with air miles, you will have to pay the tax amount from your pocket. The tax amount varies depending on the airline and destination.

There are several air miles-focused credit cards available in the Indian market, and you can check out Technofino for credit card recommendations. By using the appropriate credit card and channeling all my spending towards the same, I have accumulated over 2.5 million air miles over the years.

Although the idea of ​​air miles may be tempting, it’s important to understand their limitations. Here are some factors to consider:

Limited Award Seat Availability: Award tickets, which are flights booked with air miles, have limited availability. Airlines make available only a certain number of seats in each class for air miles booking. Therefore, you may need to be flexible with your travel dates and book well in advance to secure award tickets on your preferred travel date.

Air miles expire: Air miles have an expiration date, which varies by airline. If you don’t use them within a certain time frame, you run the risk of losing them.

Devaluation: Airlines may change the number of air miles required to redeem a reward for a specific destination over time. This can make it more difficult to get the rewards you want with your air miles.

Overall, air miles can be very useful if you are a frequent traveler and want to experience the luxury of air travel. However, it’s important to choose the right credit card and airline program based on your travel destination. In other words, you need a proper plan just like your investment plan. First, decide your destination, then look for the best program for that destination, and finally, choose the best credit card for the purpose and your spending categories. If you plan and follow carefully, it’s possible to accomplish one luxury international trip each year.

Sumanta Mandal is the founder of Technofino.