How To Get Rewards For Your Flights, Without Using Credit Cards

I see so many travel bloggers across the internet endorsing the power of credit cards as the key to jetting off to new destinations every week. They promote a dream where — if you apply for a credit card with cashback or mile rewards attached to it — flights will cost you little to nothing. But the truth is simple: There is a line dividing whether or not these kinds of credit cards are worth it for you. If you do not have regular major expenses — such as those attached to running a business — these cards will likely not reap the promised rewards. 

You may find yourself paying an annual fee for a card that gets you nowhere, if your credit score is good enough to even be granted these types of credit cards in the first place. So, is there a way to get some rewards for your flights without using credit cards?

The answer is yes, by using a mixture of frequent flyer miles and cashback shopping sites.

Frequent Flyer Miles

The most straightforward method of getting some sort of reward for your flights is to sign up for frequent flyer mile accounts. When you set up this type of account with an airline, you usually get one frequent flyer mile per travel mile for each flight you book. Once you acquire enough frequent flyer miles, you can cash them in for free or reduced flight costs.

Frequent flyer miles are really just a system of customer loyalty. So the most advantageous way to use the frequent flyer systems is to consistently book with the same airline to acquire miles quicker. 

I consistently use a frequent flyer account with Delta, but I also have American Airlines and Alaska accounts that I use for a couple of routes that Delta does not fly. For me, the Delta membership is worth it because I am able to trade in a fairly low amount of miles for one of my most frequently traveled routes, from Boise to Seattle. 

Cashback Shopping Sites

Using cashback shopping sites is another great way to get rewards for purchases. Cashback shopping sites work similarly to affiliate links that you might occasionally see on social media. In order to get the cashback, you log into your chosen cashback site and then click the link for the website you want to shop at. 

I use the cashback site called Rakuten, but there are many others available too. By using Rakuten, I get cashback when I book my flights. Rakuten has partnerships with broad flight booking companies like Priceline, Travelocity, and Expedia. Using these sites to book my flights, I can get an average of $2 back per flight. Rakuten also has partnerships with specific airlines like Korean Air and Emirates. Booking my flights directly with these partner airlines, through Rakuten, I can get an average of 1% cashback.

These might seem like small amounts, but every dollar is important when you are traveling on a tight budget. So, if using a credit card to acquire miles or cashback is just not the right fit for you, then you can still acquire those miles and cashback through these other methods.

Further Reading: You can save even more money on your flights when you have flexibility with your plans by using Google Flights to find the cheapest destinations to fly into.