{"id":465,"date":"2014-06-04T19:04:28","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T00:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shaleewanders.com\/?p=465"},"modified":"2018-11-01T11:53:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T15:53:45","slug":"how-to-get-a-free-flight-too-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shaleewanders.com\/how-to-get-a-free-flight-too-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get a Free Flight to Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Facebook-header\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\tHOW TO GET A FREE FLIGHT TO EUROPE
\n\t<\/h1>\n

\"IMG_0160\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Americans have two favorite words. The first being bacon, and the close second is the word \u2018free\u2019.<\/p>\n

If you have been dreaming of visiting the castles of Germany or the Alps of Switzerland, getting over there without spending thousands of dollars is entirely possible. Actually, getting over there without spending $100 is possible.<\/p>\n

So what’s the secret?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A good investment of a travel credit card.<\/p>\n

I know you may be thinking; \u201cA credit card? No way, that\u2019s all a scam and I would rather stay debt free.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well if that\u2019s your opinion I am going to love proving you wrong (with my personal example of course).<\/p>\n

Earlier this year when I got serious about travel blogging, I knew I was way overdue to invest in a travel credit card. Of course, I had my doubts. I had one credit card that was issued from my bank, which I rarely used and was skeptical of investing in another one. I mean, I mainly used my debit card and was afraid of stocking up on too much plastic in my wallet.<\/p>\n

I finally decided to make the change after getting one of the many credit card offers from American Airlines in my mail. The package stated that if you signed up for the card with the specific code, you were eligible to receive up to 50,000 bonus miles. And for those of you who don\u2019t know how airline miles work; round trip tickets in the U.S. cost about 25,000 miles and a round trip ticket to Europe is usually around 40,000 with American Airlines (These costs rise around peak flying times).<\/p>\n

Of course, the offer came with circumstances. The first 40,000 miles would only be incurred if you spent $1,500 in purchases in the first three months and the last 10,000 would be awarded if you spent $3,000 in the first year. The amount scared me for the longest time and when I had received previous offers like this, it was the reason I always held back. However, I finally realized that it was entirely possible because I had always spent that much on my normal budget but never through credit.<\/p>\n

With the offer I also got the first year fee waived. Normally credit cards with points have an annual fee, for the AAdvantage card I use it\u2019s around $90, but with the deal, my first 12 months were completely free.<\/p>\n

So I got the card, stopped using my bank one and started purchasing everything on it. I didn\u2019t care if it was a $2.00 bag of Candy or a $1,000 camera investment.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also important to remember that every dollar you spend is also a point. $1,500 dollars in purchases is also 1,500 points toward an award ticket.<\/p>\n

I started using the Citibank American Airlines AAdvantage card in February and now less than four months later, I\u2019ve received my bonuses and incurred over 60,000 miles. Which is more than enough points for a round-trip ticket to Ireland, or many other places around the world.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_2966\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So when looking to start a travel credit card:<\/p>\n