How to quickly earn a free vacation with credit card intro bonus miles -- no flying required

Posted March 24, 2008

You can earn free roundtrip domestic airline tickets for 2 and 2-5 free hotel nights by applying for two credit cards that feature high introductory point bonuses and having your spouse/travel companion do the same.

1. Earn your free plane tickets
The American Airlines Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® has a special offer that gives you 25,000 miles when you use the card for $750 in purchases within 4 months. That is enough for a roundtrip ticket in the 48 mainland United States on American Airlines or its partner Alaska Airlines. In addition there is no annual fee the first year. You can apply for the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World MasterCard® using this link .



We have generally found American Airlines miles to be among the easier to redeem for domestic tickets. If you want 2 roundtrip tickets, have your travel companion apply for a card separately. The credit card carries an annual fee, but it is waived for the first year, so you could cancel later if you choose and pay no fee.

2. Earn your free hotel nights
Apply for the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express using this link  (earns points for Sheraton, Westin, W, Le Meridien, Four Points, and St. Regis hotels). You will receive 10,000 points after your first purchase. That is enough for 1-3 free nights at most Sheraton, W, Westin, Le Meridien, and Four Points hotels. If you want 2-6 free nights, have your travel companion apply for the card separately as well.

10,000 points gets you a free night at upscale properties like the Dolphin resort at Walt Disney World, the W hotel in New Orleans, or Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. 3-7,000 points gets you most other Sheraton/Westin/Four Points hotels in the U.S. Best of all, there are no blackout restrictions. If a standard room is available for sale at one of these hotels, you can book it with your points.

Click here for a complete list of 3-4,000 point per night hotels

Click here for a complete list of 7,000 point per night hotels

Click here for a complete list of 10,000 point per night hotels



The credit card carries an annual fee but it is waived for the first year, so you could cancel later if you choose and pay no fee. However, this is our highest recommended credit card for earning points, so it's likely you'll want to keep it. Learn more about it here. You can apply for the card with the special bonus at this link.


3. Start planning a vacation. Here are some examples of how you can use your free points.

Luxury weekend -- 2 nights on the beach in Florida

- 2 roundtrip coach tickets to Tampa on American Airlines (25,000 miles each)

- 2 nights at the Shearton Sand Key Resort on the beach in Clearwater Beach, Florida -- just 20 miles from Tampa (10,000 points each night).


Desert golf and sun -- 5 nights in Arizona

- 2 roundtrip coach tickets to Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona.

- 5 nights at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel & Suites or the Four Points by Shearton Phoenix Metrocenter (3-4,000 points each night).


Disney magic weekend -- 2 nights at Disney's top hotels

- 2 roundtrip coach tickets to Orlando on American Airlines (25,000 miles each)

- 2 nights at the Walt Disney World Dolphin or Swan resorts (10,000 points each night).

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