1. Credit card sign-up bonuses
For someone who enjoys traveling like me, the lucrative credit card sign-up bonuses in the US are amazing. We have been strategically applying for credit cards and have earned over 1 million points and miles over the past few years. These sign-up bonuses have helped us reduce our travel expenses significantly and allowed us to strive for a balance between enjoying the present, and still saving for the future. We do not engage in any manufactured spend and rely solely on organic spending to meet the minimum spend by timing any big purchases (i.e. we don't intentionally spend more just to meet the minimum spend). I'd also like to clarify that we ALWAYS pay off our credit cards in full before the due date, and we DO NOT carry any credit card balance. For us, credit card is just a form of payment and a tool that allows us to travel cheaply, not a source of cash flow.


2. Volunteer for work travel
Apart from earning travel rewards with credit card bonuses, I've also accumulated a good bit of points and miles through work travels. Even though I dont't get paid more to travel for work, I consider these points/miles earned as 'bonuses' for spending my time and energy on the road. I've also been able to leverage corporate promotions and partnerships for status matches and fast track opportunities.


3. Use sweetspots to stretch our points/miles
When it comes to putting our hard-earned points and miles to use, I'm constantly looking for ways to optimize and stretch them to get more value on our redemptions. For example, I used stopover and open jaws during our Round-the-World trip and  to see more destinations for the same price. I do spend quite a good bit of time planning our trips with points and miles, but I don't mind it at all because I enjoy the process of strategizing and maximizing our points.


4. Read, learn and stay informed
I enjoy travel hacking so I don't mind spending the time and effort to learn more about various frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. The websites I browse to stay informed on points and miles information includes The Points Guy, Travel Is Free, and Frequent Miler.  It has been a learning process and I've made my fair share of mistakes along the way, but I've also been able to take advantage of several good deals by continuously reading, learning, and staying informed of latest updates on the points and miles space. 

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5. Earn and burn
Ever since I started exploring the rabbit hole of travel hacking, airlines and hotels have been constantly devaluing their programs in attempt to make more money but that’s how the points and miles game go. Therefore, I try to earn points and miles with a plan to use them within for trips within the next 1 or 2 years. Even though I keep a healthy stash of points and miles in various frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs, I'm certainly not hoarding them knowing that they will lose their value fairly quickly.
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