One of the best ways to earn miles and points for free travel is by signing up for new credit cards when they offer large welcome bonuses. When multiple members of your family are also eligible for new credit cards, you can double or triple your welcome bonuses by each signing up separately. This is commonly known as “Player One” and “Player Two” strategy.
My oldest son just turned 21, and he has dreams of traveling to Thailand next year with a buddy. So, we decided it was time for him to become our “Player Three” so that he can help earn those miles and points he will be redeeming for this trip.
First Credit Card
A few years ago, I added my son as an authorized user on one of my oldest credit cards. A year or so later, I added him as an authorized user on another credit card. I checked his FICO score recently, and I was pleased to see it was in the mid-700s.
My son had a job this summer, so he’s starting to earn his own paycheck. Plus, after turning 21, he’s eligible to include other people’s income on his application as long as he has reasonable access to the funds (i.e. partner, spouse, or parents’ income). Both of those factors would make him more attractive for a credit card approval.
But which credit card? He needed a card with a high welcome bonus of points and a low annual fee. Since this is his first credit card on his own, he should keep it for many years to build good credit. So, applying for a card that he can’t afford to renew for many years is not practical.
The choice was a no-brainer: the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (see my referral link here and Leana’s referral link here). The current bonus is 75,000 points after spending $5000 in the first 3 months. The annual fee is $95. We have a car insurance bill coming up that will cover a chunk of the minimum required spending.
We worked on the application together, and I was a bit bummed that his application went to pending status. However, later that night, he received an email that he was approved. Yay!
Using Chase Points for Travel
He will have a lot of options on how to use those Chase points for his trip to Thailand. He can transfer points to:
- Airlines:
- AerClub, loyalty program of Aer Lingus
- The British Airways Club
- Emirates Skywards®
- Air France KLM – Flying Blue
- Club Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Air Canada Aeroplan®
- Hotels:
- IHG® One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- World of Hyatt®
I can easily see him transferring points to British Airways to fly to Tokyo and then onto Bangkok on partner Japan Airlines. He could also transfer points to Hyatt for a hotel stay in Bangkok.
Welcome to the hobby, son!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Leave a Reply