Travel Hacking: How I Visited 5 Countries with Credit Card Points and Saved $4,000
Hey there, fellow traveling friends! If you’ve ever wondered how to use travel rewards points to visit dream destinations without breaking the bank, you’re in the right place. Last year, I traveled to five countries and saved over $4,000 on flights and hotels, all thanks to strategic credit card points and airline miles.
Last year I explored several African countries, flew domestically in the USA, and zip lined through Costa Rica, but I paid close to nothing. Well, not nothing, but let’s say I wouldn’t have been able to afford it if it weren’t for using points.
Want to know how I made it happen?
In this guide, I’ll share my step-by-step strategy for earning and redeeming travel points, my favorite credit cards for (nearly) free flights and hotels, and the insider hacks that made my budget-stretching adventure possible.
Ready to learn how to travel the world on points and save big while doing it? Let’s dive in!
Watching elephants drink water from the watering hole at Elephant Sands in Botswana
What Is Travel Hacking? (Beginner’s Guide 2025)
Travel hacking is basically using your everyday spend on credit cards to rack up points that you can then transfer to airline and hotel partners to book flights and hotels for free (or nearly free). It’s an incredible way to save money on trips and travel more. And as long as you have decent credit, and are responsible with your credit card spending (i.e. you can pay off what you spend every month), it’s a great way to see more of the world for less of the cost!
How I Started My Travel Hacking Journey
Visiting the Old Souk in Dubai and being treated to an spontaneous photoshoot by the owner of the shop!
Choosing My First Travel Credit Card: Chase Sapphire Preferred
So I first started my travel hacking game in 2023. As a teacher, I don’t make the most money, although I make a fairly decent NY teacher salary, and don’t have any student loans. My cost of living in NY is still high, but I am privileged to not have a lot of other bills to pay, like student loans, that take up all my other money. So while I can afford to travel more often I was still finding it difficult to travel as much as I wanted to. I started spending more time figuring out how I could travel more often, for more cheaply. The thing is, even if you do have expenses and bills to pay, you can still sneak in some trips for lower costs using the points game.
The stunning Frietham Hotel in Flam, Norway, where I used my Chase Sapphire Credit Card’s $50 travel credit
My first step was to apply for Chase Sapphire card. There are two: the Preferred and the Reserve. Seeing as the Reserve had a hefty annual fee, and I wasn’t sure that this was going to work out, I went with the Preferred card. After spending diligently on the card, I earned 60,000 points. I also got a $50 credit automatically for a hotel I booked through Chase’s Travel Portal. I was able to use this to contribute to the stunning Freitham Hotel in Flam Norway (this was 1.5 months after receiving the card). I used those points to be able to fly from Dubai to Scotland, and from England to New York in 2023. I also visited Kenya and Tanzania on the same trip, without using points, but using the points for Dubai, Scotland, and England meant I could also do Kenya and Tanzania.
Feeding a giraffe at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi, Kenya
These were my first little attempts at travel hacking. I was quite chuffed with this as it only cost me $395 for two international flights! After this trip… I was sold! Travel points had my soul and I was ready to go all in!
Hiking in Scotland - Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye in Scotland
Taking Travel Hacking Seriously (My First Wins)
Adding the Chase Freedom Unlimited
Sold on two international flights for $395, I decided to take this stuff seriously. I did a lot of research into travel hacking, credit cards, and traveling with points. I read multiple blogs and watched videos. There are truly some great people out there. Just under five months of opening my first card, I opened up my second Chase card - this time the Chase Freedom Unlimited. Again, there are two (maybe three now?) options with this type of card. One of them has rotating categories (e.g. From Jan to March extra points on groceries, from April to June, extra points on gas etc), and one was just straight up extra points on certain categories. The sign up bonus was 20,000 points if you spent $500 on the card. Super quick and easy! I replenished my travel points from the summer, and now had 20,000 points hanging around for the next trip.
I also referred a colleague at work who signed up for the card (Thanks Tom!), and at that time got an additional 20k points (now it is only 10k for referrals). Meanwhile, putting all my expenditure on my credit cards meant I was racking up points weekly.
But again, 40k is not enough for how much I want to travel. It was time to open the next credit card.
A bucket list moment that wouldn’t be possible without points: Seeing the Okavango Delta from a helicopter
Leveling Up: Business Credit Cards for Travel Points
How I Qualified for a Chase Ink Business Card
Three months after my second card, I applied for a business credit card through Chase. Before I started teaching in NY I had a tutoring company, so I already had a business relationship with Chase. I also operate my blog as a business, and make small income on the side through TPT and through other avenues. It’s not a lot of money, but it is a little tiny bit of money and that qualifies. For this one, I could make 90k if I spent $6000 in 3-4 months (can’t remember which one it was).
After I earned the sub, I got super strategic at this point. On the Business Ink Cash, you can buy gift cards through Staples to earn points, at x5 per dollar. I would wait for Staples monthly discount where there are no fees to activate gift cards, and buy a couple, and use these to pay for purchases. A handy trick here is if you are an airbnb fan, you can buy the gift cards at Staples and earn x5 points to put towards your other travel matters.
Exploring Namibia in part thanks to the points game!
Expanding My Strategy: Capital One Venture X
At this point, it’s early 2024. I have over 200k points saved up and counting. I am busy planning my adventures for the year.
But I still want points. More points! More travels!
I sign up for the Capital One Venture X in March - this one has the heftiest fee so far for me $395. BUT - I get access to lounges, and a $300 credit for hotels through the Capital One Travel Portal each year. I even used the access to lounges to visit the Chase Sapphire Lounge in LGA on my way to West Virginia to see my partner act in a show. As of December 2025, I still haven’t even utilized all the points on this card!
How I Used Travel Points to Visit 6 Countries in 2024
So I have roughly 250k points saved up, thanks to card sub bonuses, maximizing my point expenditures, and using my credit cards for all my purchases. I rarely use my debit card now, if at all. Why use a debit card when I can responsibly pay off my credit card and get points to use for travel??
In April 2024, I used points to travel to Costa Rica. I booked a GADventures tour for Costa Rica. The tour itself cost around $2000, but the flights to and from Costa Rica cost me $5 and some points on JetBlue. Well worth it! After my Costa Rica trip, I moved into high gear planning and booking my summer trip.
Visiting Costa Rica thanks to points
For the summer, I wanted to go back to Africa, specifically Southern Africa. It’s where I’m from, I hadn’t been home to South Africa in five years, I missed it, I needed it. But I also wanted to explore more of the region, since it is such a long trip to South Africa to start with. I decided to book an Intrepid Trip to Botswana and really maximize my time there. I was able to visit South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia on this trip - five different African countries in one big trip! I utilized points for my flights and hotels to the max. The most expensive part of this trip was the Intrepid Travel Tour, costing me $3,200. With the exception of flights from Johannesburg to Zambia and back, I utilized my credit card perks and credit card points!
Lion cubs playing in the early morning in the Chobe National Park, Botswana - all thanks to the points game.
Here’s the break down of how I traveled to five African countries using credit card points:
I flew from JFK in NYC to Johannesburg directly on United Airlines. This is a killer of a flight, over 14 hours. The original cost of this flight was $1178, one way. Who has that kind of money for 14 hours in economy? Not me! So that’s why I spent $16.60 and 79,000 points. The flight was actually $5, but I paid $11 to hold the flight while I transferred points and to choose my seat. $16 for a four hour flight. Like at this point I feel like I am doing something illegal! I am not! But it gives me a thrill like it I’m sure!
Using points to travel allowed me to check off seeing elephants from a helicopter in the Okavango Delta in Botswana
Next up, I spent a total of 10 days in Johannesburg. Five days at the start of my trip, and five days at the end of my Southern Africa explorations. I spent five nights at the Melrose Arch Marriott. Stint 1 in Johannesburg cost $1193. I spent 54,000 points and zero $. At the time Chase had a transfer bonus to Marriott so I was able to use a lot less points for this stay. Stint number 2 in Johannesburg cost $1136. I spent 64,000 points and zero dollars, again with the transfer bonus. That’s $2329 in savings! And that hotel is nice. Its nothing incredibly fancy, but the location is great. Plenty of restaurants and shops in walking distance in a relatively safer area of Johannesburg. It was a treat! Breakfast included, staff were great, room was wonderful. Highly recommend!
10 nights at the Melrose Arch Marriott Hotel in Johannesburg - free, thanks to using points!
Then I flew from Johannesburg to Zambia and back - for the life of me, no hacks were found! BUT - I did use my Capital One Lounge Access to have free lunch and drinks in the lounges in Johannesburg and Zambia. The flights cost me $200.
I got to return to Victoria Falls, where I hadn’t been since I was a little kid. This is the view from the Livingstone side in Zambia.
Before my Intrepid tour, I spent two days in Livingstone, Zambia. I spent two nights at the stunning Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort. This is on the Zambezi, and is fantastic. The original cost of this was $483, and I paid $183! I was able to use my $300 Capital One Venture X annual credit in the travel portal for this. Well worth it! It was the perfect location to chill out in Zambia, and I was able to do a sunset cruise and a rhino walking tour from this spot.
Just finishing up some assignments while staying at the Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya, Livingstone Resort which I used my travel credit with Capital One to afford.
Then I booked a rather pricey trip around Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia with Intrepid. $3200. There were no hacks for me around that one. On Capital One, I believe you can reimburse yourself with points/cash, but I don’t always think this is the best bang for your buck/points. Having said that, the only way I could afford this tour was by making all my other logistics so much cheaper!
Finally getting to experience the Okavango Delta from a mokoro
Before heading back to Johannesburg, I spent one more night in Livingstone. This time just at the Protea Marriott - Original Cost: $192, Points: 16,000. Another Chase transfer bonus. Nothing spectacular to write home about at all, but a good way to chill after a pretty hectic tour and an early flight the next day (and homework assignments for grad school).
After another five nights in Jo’burg, seeing friends, I flew back to New York via London. The Virgin Flight Original Cost was $844 and in points and cash: $393.34 and 34,000 points.
Living it up in the Shongolo Lounge in Johannesburg at OR Thambo Airport in South Africa - thanks to my priority pass via the Capital One Venture X card.
Lounge Visit Count: 4 visits on this trip utilizing my Capital One Lounge Access.
Shongolo Lounge in OR Thambo, Johannesburg, South Africa
ConnieK Lounge in Livingstone, Zambia
Aspire Lounge in OR Thambo, Johannesburg, South Africa
No1 Lounge in Heathrow, London, UK.
Sunset on a Chobe River Cruise
Total Savings using Credit Card Points for Travel: $5,226 Trip for Only $592
So… if you’re keeping track, and I am able to do math adequately: Not including the cost of my Intrepid Tour, I should have paid $5,226 for all my flights and accommodation. Instead, I only paid $592.
See what I mean about it feeling illegal? That’s a massive amount of savings for a monumental trip. What should have been over $8000 for this three week adventure around Southern Africa was only $4000.
Travel Hacking Tips for Beginners (What I Learned)
Without travel points, there is absolutely NO WAY I would be able to travel this extensively over the summer and throughout the school year breaks. Travel hacking with credit card points have honestly opened up the world for me. It has also allowed me to travel more and see more, but also focus on more niche experiences, such as the expensive Intrepid trip to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. I got to see so much of Costa Rica, a bucket list country for so long. While on my Southern Africa trip, I was able to fly over the Okavango Delta in a helicopter, stay at Elephant Sands where wild elephants were less than a stone’s throw away from my room for the night, meet tons of incredible people from all over the world, ride the waters of the Okavango in a mokoro, and see all of my favorite animals from Southern Africa. It allowed me to go HOME! I got to see my beautiful South African sunsets and sunrises and see my wonderful friends, and eat all my favorite foods. Without points, these adventures would not be happening - or not be happening as frequently or cheaply!
By now, I have hopefully convinced you on this travel hacking game. I want to also teach you and others on how to travel the world for much cheaper and more often! I plan on making a much longer post about this, but here’s how you start (reach out to me for more info!):
Start with 1–2 beginner-friendly cards.
Always hit the sign-up bonus spend requirement.
Put daily spending on credit cards (not debit).
Use transfer bonuses for maximum value.
Leverage referrals and business cards if possible.
Exploring Dubai
FAQs About Travel Hacking in 2025
Is travel hacking worth it? - Are you not convinced yet? Of course it is worth it - especially if you’re serious about traveling more for cheaper.
Does travel hacking hurt your credit score? - As long as you use your cards responsibly and pay them off on time, then no. I have multiple cards and my credit card has stayed roughly the same. My score is pretty good to start with, and it has maintained that level for just as long as I’ve been doing this.
What’s the best credit card for beginners? - Hands down, the Chase Sapphire Preferred. It’s a flexible point system where you can transfer to many domestic and international airlines, and hotel brands like Hyatt. Guys, if you’re gonna go ahead and apply for any of these cards PLEASE MESSAGE ME FIRST! I can get referral points if you sign up with my link, at no extra cost to you, so please help me travel more by messaging me for a link.
Can I travel hack if I don’t travel internationally? - Yes. Definitely you can travel hack domestically in the US too. I just think you get better bang for your buck (point?) when you do it internationally. Also, why wouldn’t you want to leave the USA and see other countries right now??
Sunset views of the Chobe River in Chobe National Park
Anyway, I hope this post inspires you to get in on the points game and travel hack your way around the world. I’ll be following this up with more detailed guides about how to get points and use them to travel the world. I just want everyone to see that travel is far more accessible to them than what they believe, and I am so ready to help everyone realize that and get adventuring.
