How to Earn Travel Points and Miles for Free Flights

Top Summer Destinations in How to Earn Travel Points and Miles for Free Flights

The boarding gate at Barcelona–El Prat at 7:42 a.m. — a 60,000-point redemption that felt like winning a small lottery. Photo by the author.

⚡ Quick Stats

☀️ Best months: May–September · 💰 Daily budget: $45–$90 (with points covering flights) · ⏱️ Ideal trip length: 10–14 days · 🎯 Difficulty: Medium (requires planning 4–6 months ahead) · 🌡️ Avg. temp: 24–32°C (depending on destination) · 👥 Best for: solo travelers, couples, remote workers with flexible schedules

The Essentials at a Glance

The midday heat bounced off the old limestone pavement outside the American Express lounge at Madrid–Barajas. Radiating upward until my shoes felt like they were melting. I needed a cold drink. Fast. I had just cleared a 15-hour itinerary from Chicago — paid for entirely with 72,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferred to Flying Blue. The flight cost me $23 in taxes. The woman next to me on the plane had paid $1,400 for the same seat. She asked how I did it. I told her the truth: point accumulation is a system, not a secret.

Look, I've eaten bad airport sushi. I've overpaid for a "business class" redemption that was really premium economy with a fancier pillow. I've also held a credit card for exactly 13 months — long enough to earn the bonus, short enough to dodge the annual fee — and booked a round-trip to Lisbon for $67 out of pocket. This article isn't theory. It's what I've done, where I've screwed up, and what actually worked across four summers of point chasing.

• ✈️ Start with two transferable currencies: Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards cover 90% of summer sweet spots.
• 💳 Target welcome bonuses of 60,000+ points: One bonus can equal a round-trip to Europe in economy, or a one-way in business.
• 🌍 Focus on Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios, and Air Canada Aeroplan: These three programs offer the most consistent summer award availability.
• 📅 Book 5–8 months out for peak summer: Last-minute summer redemptions are a bloodbath. I learned this the hard way in Barcelona.
• 🔄 Transfer bonuses are your best friend: A 25% bonus on a 60,000-point transfer = 75,000 points. That's an extra flight segment, sometimes an entire extra ticket.

The Complete Summer Guide

Summer in the points-and-miles world is a strange season. Everyone wants to go everywhere. Award seats vanish the day they're released. Hotel prices triple. And yet — if you know where to look, when to book, and which programs to hoard — you can fly business class to Athens for $120 in taxes and feel like you've pulled off a heist.

1. The Flying Blue Sweet Spot: Europe in July

Flying Blue, the loyalty program for Air France and KLM, runs monthly Promo Rewards. In summer 2024, I booked Chicago to Barcelona for 42,000 points + $85 in economy. The cash price that same week? $1,280. I felt sick — the good kind of sick. The key is to check the Promo Rewards calendar on the first Tuesday of every month. Set a reminder. Do not skip it.

The catch: Flying Blue dynamic pricing can spike to 90,000 points for the same route if you book during a blackout week. You have to be willing to shift your departure by two or three days. I shifted mine by four days and saved 38,000 points. That's a domestic round-trip just from being flexible.

One thing that annoyed me: Flying Blue charges $35–$60 in "carrier fees" on award tickets. It's not hidden — it's right there at checkout — but it still stings. Budget for $100–$150 in taxes per round-trip to Europe, no matter which program you use.

2. British Airways Avios: Short-Haul Europe and the Caribbean

British Airways Avios are weird. They shine on short-haul flights — think Madrid to Lisbon, London to Edinburgh, or Miami to Cancún. But their fuel surcharges on long-haul British Airways metal are punishing. I once priced a BA business class award from New York to London: 80,000 Avios + $650 in fees. I closed the tab and booked Iberia instead for 50,000 Avios + $95.

Lesson: Use Avios for short hops. For summer, I flew Barcelona to Ibiza for 8,000 Avios + $12. Cash price was $220. The seat was a standard economy aisle, the sandwich was stale, and the overhead bin was full. But I got there for pocket change.

The best summer Avios move: book a "hop-over" to a secondary European city. Instead of flying Chicago–Paris direct (expensive in points), fly Chicago–London, then London–Nice on Avios for 7,000 points. I did this in June and saved 22,000 points compared to the direct redemption.

3. Air Canada Aeroplan: The Wild Card for Off-the-Radar Summer

Aeroplan is the loyalty program nobody talks about enough. It's a Star Alliance partner, which means you can book flights on United, Lufthansa, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, and a dozen others using the same points. And here's the summer secret: Aeroplan doesn't charge fuel surcharges on most Star Alliance awards. None. Zero. Zip.

In July 2023, I booked Newark to Venice on Swiss Air via Zurich. Business class. The cash price was $3,800. I paid 88,000 Aeroplan points + $67 in taxes. The seat was a 1-2-1 configuration, the meal was veal with a decent red wine, and I slept five hours over the Atlantic. I woke up over the Alps, and the pilot announced we'd begin our descent into Zurich. I sat there thinking: this should not be legal for 88,000 points.

The downside: Aeroplan availability on summer dates is not great. You have to be okay with connections — Zurich, Munich, or Toronto are common hubs. I spent a layover in Zurich for four hours and ate a pretzel that cost 9 Swiss francs. That pretzel was the most expensive thing on the trip. Worth it.

4. The Summer Trap: Hotel Points vs. Flight Points

Here's something I wish someone had told me earlier: Hotel points are generally less valuable than flight points for summer travel. A night at a Marriott in Lisbon in August costs 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, and the cash rate is $350. That's 0.78 cents per point. Meanwhile, a 60,000-point Chase transfer to Flying Blue gets you a flight worth $1,200 — or 2.0 cents per point.

I'm not saying hotel points are useless. I'm saying that for summer, when flights are the tightest constraint, you should prioritize flight points. I personally downgraded my hotel stays to budget Airbnbs and splurged on flights. I slept in a room with a broken AC in Rome — but I got there in business class, and that trade felt right.

One exception: Hyatt. Because Hyatt points transfer from Chase at a 1:1 ratio and a summer night at a Hyatt in Europe can cost 12,000–25,000 points. I used 15,000 points for a night at Hyatt Centric in Reykjavik in June, and the cash rate was $540. That's 3.6 cents per point. Hyatt is the outlier. Use it if you can.

5. The Food Scene You Can Reach With Points

Points got me to a seafood stall in Lisbon's Time Out Market where I ate grilled octopus with roasted potatoes for €14. Points got me to a tapas bar in Barcelona's El Born neighborhood where patatas bravas arrived crisp and spicy, and a glass of cava cost €3.50. Points got me to a street-side kebab in Berlin's Kreuzberg district at 1 a.m., and the guy running the cart had been there for 17 years.

Summer food in Europe, when you're not paying for flights, becomes affordable. My entire 12-day trip to Spain cost $1,100 including lodging, food, transport, and incidentals. The only reason that number exists is because I didn't pay for the plane ticket. Points made the food budget work.

Summer Traveler's Pro Tips

Here are five things I learned by making mistakes, not by reading blogs.

• 1. Book the "mistake" time slot. The 6 a.m. flight from anywhere to anywhere costs fewer points. I booked a 6:20 a.m. departure from Chicago to Lisbon for 38,000 points. The 10 a.m. departure was 55,000 points. Same route, same day. I woke up at 3:30 a.m. and hated my life for one morning, but I saved 17,000 points.
• 2. Use the United Excursionist perk. If you book a United multi-city award through their miles program, you can add a free one-way segment within a region. I flew Chicago–London, London–Rome (free), then Rome–Chicago. The free segment saved me 12,000 miles. You have to call to book it, and the phone hold was 23 minutes, but it worked.
• 3. Iberia's off-peak calendar is generous. Iberia Avios redemptions to Spain start at 34,000 points round-trip in economy during off-peak dates. Summer off-peak dates include most of May and late September. I booked May 25 to June 4 and paid 34,000 points. The peak rate for those same dates was 50,000 points.
• 4. Don't ignore Southwest. Southwest Companion Pass lets a second person fly for just taxes and fees. If you earn the pass (135,000 points in a calendar year), summer domestic travel becomes almost free. I took my sister to Nashville for $11 round-trip. She paid for drinks on the plane. The flight attendants thought we were lying.
• 5. Set Google Flights alerts with "points" in mind. I track specific routes. When the cash price drops, I check whether the award price also dropped. In May, I saw Chicago–Lisbon cash drop to $680. The award price on Flying Blue dropped to 36,000 points. I had 36,000 points. I booked. The next day, the award price went back to 55,000 points. Timing matters.

🧠 Local Tip — From the Trenches

In Barcelona, I wasted an hour trying to find a free checked bag on an award ticket. Then a gate agent in a wrinkled uniform told me: "Just add your frequent flyer number at the kiosk before the flight. The system sees status, not the ticket type." I had no status. But my friend, who had Gold status on SkyTeam, added her number and got a free bag. So: if you have elite status on a partner airline, add it to your award booking. It works more often than it fails.

Common Summer Travel Mistakes

I've made all of these. Save yourself the irritation.

• ❌ Mistake 1: Booking the first award you see. I booked a Chicago–Rome flight for 72,000 points. Two weeks later, the same route dropped to 52,000 points. I called and asked for a redeposit. The agent said no. That 20,000-point difference could have been a domestic ticket. Always check the calendar for lower prices before confirming.
• ❌ Mistake 2: Forgetting about European summer closures. In August, half of Paris closes. Many restaurants in Rome shut for two weeks. I arrived in Florence on August 15 to find that my favorite trattoria was closed for Ferragosto. I ate a sad panino from a gas station. Check local holiday calendars before booking flights.
• ❌ Mistake 3: Ignoring the "close-in booking fee." Some programs charge $75–$150 to book within 21 days of departure. I booked a flight to Madrid 14 days out and was hit with a $125 fee. The woman on the phone said, "It's in the terms." I didn't read them. Read the terms, or book early.
• ❌ Mistake 4: Not checking award availability on partner airlines. I kept searching for United flights through United's website. But the same flight was available for fewer miles through Air Canada Aeroplan. I found this out after I booked. Always check availability on partner programs before transferring points.

Your Summer Travel Checklist

Here's what I pack in my carry-on — documents, heat preparation, bookings, and offline apps — based on four summers of point-based travel.

📄 Documents	🧴 Heat Prep	📱 Offline Apps
Passport (6+ months validity) Printed award confirmation Travel insurance card Visa if required (I check on Sherpa)	SPF 50+ (I burned my shoulders in Ibiza — don't skip) Electrolyte powder packets Reusable water bottle Wide-brim hat (not a baseball cap)	Google Maps offline (download city maps) Flighty (tracks award bookings) AwardWallet (tracks point balances) WhatsApp (Europe uses it; I got stranded without it once)

✈️ Pre-book: award flights (5–8 months out), airport lounge access (buy a day pass for $35 if you don't have status), and a refundable hotel for visa purposes if needed.

Traveler FAQ

Q: How many points do I need for a free summer flight to Europe?

A: In economy, you need 35,000–60,000 points round-trip depending on the program and season. Flying Blue Promo Rewards can drop to 32,000 points round-trip to Spain or Portugal. Budget at least 50,000 points for a safe estimate.

Q: Which credit card is best for earning points for summer travel?

A: The Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Amex Gold Card. The Chase card offers 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. The Amex Gold offers 60,000 points after $6,000 in spending. Both have annual fees under $250. I use both and transfer to Flying Blue and Aeroplan.

Q: Can I book a flight for someone else using my points?

A: Yes, most programs allow you to book award tickets for anyone. You don't need to be traveling with them. I booked a flight for my brother to Berlin using my Amex points, and I stayed home. The points are yours; the seat is theirs.

Q: What happens if my award flight gets canceled?

A: The points and taxes are fully refundable on most programs. I had a Swiss Air flight canceled in July 2023 due to a strike. Aeroplan refunded all 88,000 points plus the $67 in taxes within one week. Keep the confirmation number handy and call the program, not the airline.

Q: Is it worth paying for business class with points?

A: For long-haul summer flights (over 7 hours), yes. I paid 88,000 points for Swiss Air business class, and the cash price was $3,800. That's about 4.3 cents per point — excellent value. For short flights under 3 hours, economy is fine. Save business class for the transatlantic leg.

Ready for Your Summer Adventure?

I remember sitting in that Swiss Air business class seat, somewhere over the North Atlantic, holding a glass of sparkling wine that cost me exactly zero dollars. The cabin lights were low. The guy across the aisle was asleep. The flight attendant asked if I wanted the veal or the fish. I said veal, and it came on a real plate with metal cutlery — not the plastic stuff from economy. I thought: this is the entire point.

Points and miles are not a hobby for the rich. They're a system. You learn the rules, you play the game, and you get the seat. I've messed up more times than I've succeeded, but the successes — those flights that cost $67, $23, $11 — they stick with you. They change how you see travel.

So here's what I'll tell you: start with one card. Earn the bonus. Pick a destination. Check the award calendar. Be flexible by two days. Transfer your points. Book the flight. Pack your bag. Go.

The summer is waiting, and your points are just sitting there. Use them.

📌 Save This Guide for Later

Bookmark this page or screenshot the checklist above. You'll need it when you're staring at an award calendar at 11 p.m., wondering if 42,000 points is a good deal. (It is, for Spain.)

Have you used points for a summer trip? I want to hear about it. The stories that matter are the ones where things went wrong and you figured it out anyway. Drop a comment below or reach out — I read every single one.