4 Min Read | Updated: January 19, 2024
Originally Published: March 18, 2020
How to Earn a Beach Vacation with a Credit Card
When you plan your next vacation, consider paying for it with your travel credit card. Here’s how to save and earn almost-free flights and hotel stays using your points.
At-A-Glance
Travel credit cards earn points toward flights and hotel stays—two of the biggest costs of a beach vacation.
You may also be able to use points for car rentals.
Some credit cards provide perks like no foreign transaction fees and a free checked bag.
Dreaming of soaking up the sun with a beach vacation this summer? As desirable as that may sound, costs can add up quickly when you factor in flights, hotels, meals, and other travel expenses. Fortunately, with travel credit cards and some careful planning, you may be able to avoid some of the costs and perhaps even earn yourself a beach vacation that’s almost free. Here’s how.
Use Credit Card Points for Flights and Hotel Stays
With travel credit cards, you earn points as you spend with the card; then you can redeem those points towards travel and related perks.1 You generally earn one point for every dollar you spend, with some cards offering higher earning rates of several points per dollar for specific travel-related expenses.2 Some cards offer sign-up bonuses of tens of thousands of points—which may be enough for some round-trip domestic or even international flights—if you spend a certain amount within the first few months of getting the card.1 Travel credit cards generally have annual fees.1
When it comes to redeeming points for travel, experts estimate that the credit card points in many rewards programs are worth about 1 cent each.3
There are three main flavors of travel credit cards:
Airline miles credit cards. You generally earn miles (“air miles”) if you’re enrolled in the airline’s loyalty program.1 You can convert those air miles into free flights with the airline or its partner airlines, although you’ll likely still have to pay taxes and government fees.4 Airline miles credit cards may also include other perks that cut the cost of your beach vacation:
- A free checked bag, in-flight entertainment, and priority boarding1
- Premium airline miles credit cards may include an annual “companion” flight for a family member or friend1
Hotel credit cards. You earn points if you’re enrolled in the hotel company’s loyalty program, and you can redeem those points towards free stays in the company’s network of properties, although you may still have to pay resort fees and local taxes where applicable.1 That network may include thousands of hotels and resorts worldwide, operating under several brand names.5 Some hotel credit cards also have features that cover other beach vacation costs:
- Room upgrades and Wi-Fi5
- Premium hotel credit cards can get you additional nights’ stays and credits for purchases made at the hotel’s properties1
General-purpose travel credit cards. You earn points if you’re enrolled in the credit card company’s membership program, and you can usually use them to pay for different kinds of travel expenses, including flights and nights at participating hotels.1 Other pros may include:
- Elite membership in hotel loyalty programs and credits against certain airline fees
- Premium credit cards may include airport lounge access and other perks
Pick Your Beach Vacation Priorities
Think about where you want to go for your beach vacation and the kind of accommodation you’d like. Armed with an understanding of how travel credit cards work, you can think about which types of credit cards work best for you, and how you can use the points and perks to pay for your beach vacation. Depending on your plans, one or more—potentially different—travel travel credit cards might help cover the costs:
- Flight: If you’re planning to fly to your destination, an airline miles credit card could help get you there.
- Hotel stays: If you’ll be staying in a hotel, then think about a hotel credit card.
- Flexibility: A general-purpose travel credit card gives you the most flexibility, because you can use the points for either flights or hotel stays—or more.
If you get multiple types of travel credit cards, you’ll have more options for earning and redeeming points—but you’ll need to balance that against the additional annual fees.6
Discover Small Ways to Save
Although it makes sense to focus your strategy on the biggest expenses, like hotels and flights, look for opportunities to use travel credit cards to pay for other beach vacation expenses too:
Car rental and ride-share services: Need a rental car to ferry you from your hotel to the beach, or even to drive from your home to your destination? With some travel credit cards, you can pay for a rental car with points.7 Some credit cards may also offer a rental car insurance benefit, even if you’ve rented the car using points.8
Baggage fees: You may be able to avoid the checked-baggage fees that most airlines charge with some airline miles credit cards.1 Other travel cards give you credits towards checked-bag fees or other airline fees.1
Foreign Travel Expenses: Maybe you fancy an exotic location for your beach vacation. If so, travel credit cards can you help you avoid some of the additional fees associated with foreign travel. For example, some credit cards eliminate the foreign transaction fees that are commonly charged on each purchase.9 Some credit cards also give you credits against the cost of government pre-screening programs, which are designed to whisk you through passport control a little faster.5
Start Planning Early
It pays to start planning your points-earning strategy and accumulating points as soon as you can. This gives you more time to earn sign-up bonuses and enough additional points for flights and hotel stays. An additional incentive is that many airlines and hotel chains are moving to “dynamic pricing” in which the number of points you need for flights and hotel stays is based on the cash price of those flights/rooms, which varies depending on demand and availability.10 Generally, the earlier you book, the greater the availability and the lower the price.
The Takeaway
A beach vacation is all about de-stressing—so you shouldn’t have to worry about the financial stress of paying for it. With careful planning, you can use credit cards to cover the biggest costs, like flights and hotels, and maybe even earn a beach vacation.
1 “How Do Travel Credit Cards Work?,” Experian
2 “Are Rewards Credit Cards Worth it?,” Experian
3 “Vacationing With Points: When to Redeem Points and When to Pay Cash,” Experian
4 “Credit Card Miles and Points: How Do They Work?,” Experian
5 “Maximize Your Travel Rewards With These Tips,” Experian
6 “How to Manage Multiple Rewards Credit Cards,” Experian
7 “The Best Ways to Redeem Credit Card Rewards,” Experian
8 “6 Ways to Save Money on Car Rentals During the Holidays,” Experian
9 “What Is a Foreign Transaction Fee on Your Credit Card?,” Experian
10 “Dynamic Price Competition: Theory and Evidence from Airline Markets,” Federal Trade Commission
Mike Faden has covered business and technology issues for more than 30 years as a writer, consultant, and analyst for media brands, market-research firms, startups and established corporations.
All Credit Intel content is written by freelance authors and commissioned and paid for by American Express.
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