We started our recent Japan trip with the Shimanami Kaido, a 42 mile bicycle ride across Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. I’ll write more about the Shimanami Kaido in another article, but it required us to relocate to northwestern Shikoku after landing in Tokyo.
Domestic flights in Japan are known for being inexpensive. For the most part, they are priced the way that domestic flights within Europe used to be priced before COVID. Unfortunately, we quickly ran into an exception. The only option to fly from Tokyo to Matsuyama was $151.
THE POCKET CHANGE OPTION
Within 5 minutes of searching, I found an excellent alternative. United was offering a seat on the exact same flight for a mere 5,500 United MileagePlus miles and $2.50!
This is an absolutely massive savings! Additionally, when you book a flight with points instead of cash, you will usually get main cabin economy instead of basic economy. This has several benefits. My favorite of these is the ability to choose your seat for free! I like to choose a window seat over the wings to minimize turbulence and provide a view of the landscape.
The fees required in addition to the miles (in this case $2.50) give you an opportunity to pay with your favorite travel credit card. I choose the word “opportunity” here intentionally.
Paying for airfare with certain travel cards provides several types of complimentary travel insurance. For example, you will get trip delay reimbursement, lost or delayed luggage reimbursement, and others.
EARNING MILES WITH EASE
Now, you might be asking, how hard is it to get 5,500 United miles? In short, it is easy, but let’s dive just a bit deeper. There are many ways to earn airline miles and credit card points that can easily be converted into airline miles. Let’s take a brief look at 3 of them.
THE FIRST METHOD
The quickest way to earn a large amount of miles is credit card welcome bonuses. The smallest welcome offer currently available that would earn you United miles is a surprisingly hefty 30,000 miles. There are also several larger offers that would net you north of 100,000 miles.
THE SECOND METHOD
If you don’t want to apply for a new credit card, there are simpler and more passive ways to earn miles. For example, in quarter 1 of 2024, the Freedom Flex card from Chase is offering 5 points per dollar spent at grocery stores. Spending $1100 across these 3 months would net 5,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
The Freedom Flex has no annual fee and is easy to get approved for. This makes it a great long-term option for earning points without needing to get new cards.
Chase points can be converted into United miles at a rate of 1:1. Simply changing which credit card you use at the grocery store can get you a free flight! Small changes in how you allocate spend can yield tremendous results.
THE THIRD METHOD
You can earn a significant amount of points without spending any money. Most credit cards have a refer a friend program, and referral bonuses can be as high as 40,000 points!
We’ll write more about this outstanding 40,000 point offer in another article, but that can be as much as $400 cash, or $600 towards travel. This is a great win-win as you earn a referral bonus, and the person you refer can earn a generous welcome bonus.
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you take anything away from this article, it should be the value of making small changes in how you pay for things. Spending a small amount of time to create a credit card strategy can yield significant results over time.
It doesn’t get much better than getting free flights from using a different credit card, or referring a friend!
