How to Save $10,000+ Flying Business Class Around the World

Read time: 5 minutes

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I just got back from Tanzania.

Well, I got back about a month ago.

If you know anything about how I like to travel —

I am a stickler for business class. 💅

Especially for long, international flights.

But that doesn’t mean that I am spending $10,000+.

I’ve been collecting points on credit cards since 2014.

But here’s the thing, most people don’t know how to spend them.

Keep an eye out for these three key numbers:

• 12 cents — The amount of value I got for each credit card point
• 172,000 points — How many points I needed for a roundtrip flight
• $94.85 — The out-of-pocket cash I had to pay

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The Art of Spending Credit Card Points

Step 1: Get credit card points.

AmEx Membership Rewards. Citi Thank You Points. Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Take your pick of the points you want to collect.

But keep in mind the art is in how you spend them.

Small spoiler: there are some points more valuable than others

The goal is to get the most you can for each point.

Because who wants $0.01 when you can get $0.12 per point?

I’m definitely not going to give up $0.11+ if I don’t have to. 🙅

Most programs are going to promote that you spend your points on statement credit or within their own travel portal.

But that is one of the worst ways to spend them.

Example: AmEx Travel Portal

A one-way business class flight to Tanzania would cost $4,019 or 401,850 AmEx points.

$4,019 / 401,850 = $0.01 cents per point (cpp)

That is horrible!

The Better Way: Transfer Partners

You should always try to book your travels with a credit card’s “Transfer Partners.”

This is because the cost to redeem through a partner is typically lower than directly through your credit card.

Let’s take United (who is a Chase Transfer Partner) for example.

The cost for a one-way flight is more expensive in cash. But the credit card point redemption for the flight was only 86,000 points.

If we take the lowest flight at $10,331 / 86,000 = $0.12 per point

Now THAT is a way better redemption value…

…and we won’t have to save up over 400,000 points like we would have through the AmEx Travel Portal.

What if you don’t want to check each airline one-by-one?

There are some free tools like seats.aero or point.me (free with AmEx) that help you search.

However, it won’t be able to search every airline. But at least you’ll get 80% of the way there. 😉

Note: In general, any redemption beyond 3-6 cents per point (cpp) is considered good.

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Not All Points Are Created Equal

Saving over 170,000 points isn’t easy.

Some couples optimize their spending together. Others cycle through credit cards for the sign up bonuses.

Regardless of the strategy — the points you decide to collect matter.

To give yourself your best shot at actually redeeming your points for something of value… you need to choose a credit card that has transfer partners.

Selecting a hotel or airline branded card will limit your options.

Cards like Chase, AmEx, Citi, Capital One, or Bilt have a broader ecosystem to work within.

I think of different credit card points very similar to different country’s currency.

1 dollar. 1 euro. 1 peso.

They are all the value of 1. But the value between one another varies.

If you have the option to select any currency you want… in most cases you’ll want the most valuable one.

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Two Things Are Unavoidable: Taxes and Fees

Regardless how you purchase your flights… taxes and fees will be added.

This applies to cash purchases. This applies to point redemption purchases.

The amount you’ll pay will vary — mostly on which airports or airlines you decide to fly on.

What was my cost?

• The cost going to Tanzania was $14.50
• The flight back to the United States was $80.35

In total, I paid $94.85 in taxes & fees.

That is cheap when considering some of the European airports can easily be double that.

And is definitely cheaper than paying $10,000+ for the same flight fully in cash.

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This article is for educational purposes and not financial advice.