7 Tips to accumulate more miles and travel almost for free!

Do you want to go on a trip but don't have enough points to buy a ticket? Then discover 7 incredible tips to accumulate more miles without spending more than you already spend on a daily basis!

If you do a quick search on the internet, you will discover that there are many websites teaching you how to travel for free. Some with incredible tips and others with some… interesting, let's put it like this.

A tried and tested way, however, is to use dots. Despite the initial dislike that many have for this alternative (it involves numbers, after all), after some study it is easy to see that it is not something So complicated like that.

In general, programs like LATAM Pass or Smiles use a payment system points, which can be obtained in different ways. After accumulating a certain amount, you can exchange these points for airline tickets, hotel stays or even household appliances and other purchases, without spending money. life.

What stops many people from using this strategy to travel more, however, is the belief that to earn points, you need to be a frequent traveler and fly a lot. But that's not quite how it works. In fact, the big trick is to transform the expenses you already has in your daily life at points from your favorite program.

In this post, I've put together the 7 best tips for accumulating more miles, the same ones I've been using for years to travel more. And I'm already saying that none of them includes taking multiple trips, or spending nothing more than your normal, by the way.

7 Tips to accumulate more miles

The tips here are well explained, but if you want even more detailed information, you can also take a look at the video I made on the subject for the blog's YouTube channel!

1. Choose just one points program

To begin with, it's important to choose just one points program and focus all your efforts on it. The main programs in Brazil are LATAM Pass (formerly Multiplus) and Smiles, associated with Gol.

When making your choice, it is interesting to also choose to always fly with the airlines associated with this program. This way, in addition to accumulating more miles, you also earn status in the loyalty program, which often causes you to earn further points for every real spent on tickets.

When I lived in Brazil, I used the LATAM Pass as I was a partner in the OneWorld alliance, which made it possible to both collect and redeem points not only by flying with LATAM, but also with other partner companies such as Qatar Airways, Iberia and Qantas. Nowadays LATAM is no longer part of One World, but it still has partnerships with several airlines, so I think it's still worth it.

2. Choose a credit card with a good frequent flyer program

As I already explained, the mentality of “I hardly travel, so these programs are not suitable for me” is wrong. Of course help be a frequent flyer, especially because as I mentioned, your status in the loyalty category you can multiply the miles for each flight. Still, this is not the unique manner.

Almost everyone I know gets their points through their credit cards, not by flying frequently. Currently, most cards transform all your spending in points, which you can then transfer to programs linked to airlines. The ideal, then, is to choose a card that boosts your earnings, earning more for every dollar spent (spending in reais is also worth points, but they are normally transformed into dollars to calculate the number of points you will earn).

In Melhores Destinos there is a ranking with the best cards to accumulate more miles.

3. Use your credit card for everything

This tip is only valid if you have good control of your finances, and are sure that you will be able to pay your card bill at the end of the month.

If this is your case, use it to todas possible purchases. In my case, above R$10,00 I was already using credit to collect points. As I spend relatively little, I try to maximize my accumulation this way.

Some day-to-day expenses that you can pay with the card:

• Gasoline;
• Supermarket;
• Eating in restaurants;
• Uber;
• Cell phone bill;
• Internet;

Remembering that the objective is to be able to transform expenses that you already has in points. There's no point in starting to buy more to accumulate more miles, because that way you not You will be saving money on your trip.

4. Wait for a promotion to transfer your points

If you did not choose a card from a specific program, your points are likely to be accumulated directly at the bank. At Itaú, for example, they are automatically accumulated in the program Always present.

If you're not in a rush to use your miles, wait for a promotion to transfer between your bank's program and the airline's program. Programs such as LATAM Pass and Smiles often offer, for a limited period, an extra percentage of points for those who transfer on certain dates.

I always take advantage of these opportunities, and last time I got a 40% bonus, which gave me 8 thousand extra points. Depending on the date, this amount may be enough for a national trip.

Tip: Many banks offer the option of purchasing tickets directly with their points programs. In general, I don't recommend buying tickets this way, as whenever I tried, the prices at the bank were more expensive than using the airline's program.

5. Shop at partner stores

Again, it's not for you to spend more to collect miles. But if you are going to make a purchase needed, try to use the partner stores of your program.

In the case of the LATAM Pass, for example, purchases at Submarino and Americanas give two points for every real spent, but in stores like Ponto Frio and Centauro this value can reach six points!

The cool thing is that many of these e-commerces They don't just sell electronics or household appliances, which only need to be purchased from time to time, but also hygiene products, pet food, books, household items... Things that are purchased frequently, and which can guarantee some points monthly.

Take a look at your recurring purchases and find out which ones can be made at partner stores.

Remember that for this method to be valid, you must first enter the points program website, search for the partner store and use the “buy” button on the website. This way, you will then be redirected to the partner store, and when you are finished, the option to enter your number in the points program will appear. Making a purchase directly in store without entering the loyalty program does not accumulate points.

And, in case it wasn't clear, In this case, you earn points through the partner store and, if you pay with a credit card, you still earn points from the card!

6. Use other programs to accumulate more miles

Don't get confused: I'm not recommending that you join points in different places, because that would go against tip number one. What I want to say is for you to find out which other programs have partnerships with the one you chose, in order to maximize your earnings even more.

An example? The LATAM Pass partnership with KM de Vantagens, from the Ipiranga network. When you fill the tank, you will win points for paying for gasoline on your credit card, and still accumulate kilometers that can later be transformed into LATAM Pass points.

Other interesting programs are Le Club Accor Hotels (I already explained how it works in this post), Windsor Hotéis and Marriott Rewards, where it is possible to accumulate for each night at hotels in these chains. You can then transfer these points and transform them into Multiplus.

Smiles also has partners of this type, such as Shell, Le Club Accor Hotels and Claro Clube.

7. Take advantage of the opportunities of each program

Practically todas The tips I mentioned here can be enhanced with promotions carried out by the points programs themselves.

Among the most popular, in addition to the transfer bonus that I mentioned in item #4, are extra values ​​in partner stores (while I'm writing this post, Netshoes is offering twelve points per dollar spent, for example); and extra accrual when signing up for certain credit card cards. Register at newsletter of the programs to receive the promos first hand.

LATAM Pass still has the games, where you accept “missions" as "make 3 purchases at partner stores" or "book a hotel through a partner” and earn points by completing them. I earned 1500 points for booking a R$50 stay at the hostel when I went to Curitiba for the weekend!

And there they are, 7 tips to accumulate more miles and travel almost for free! I use them all in my daily life and have already managed to redeem countless tickets!

Do you know of any other way to add more points that is not in the post? Share in the comments! 🙂

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