Fancy a free summer holiday this year? You don't need to win a TV quiz show, become an air hostess or marry a millionaire. Everything you need is already in your pocket.
Fancy a free summer holiday this year?
You don't need to win a TV quiz show, become an air hostess or marry a millionaire. Everything you need is already in your pocket.
Let me explain...
Free Flights
A simple way to get a free flight is to sign up with an airmiles reward card.
This allows you to collect air miles for every £1 you spend, which you can redeem against flights with the airline network scheme that is linked to the card.
You can often get double or triple points by spending with particular retailers, and if you spend enough on the card, you can qualify for ‘companion' tickets.
For example, if you spend £20,000 on the American Express British Airways Card, you will get a free flight for a ‘companion' as well as yourself.
Hold on! £20,000! That's a heck of a lot of money to spend just to get a free flight. Especially as this type of reward card will usually charge you a high rate of interest when you make new purchases -- around 16% -- so they are only a good idea if you can pay off your balance every month.
The fact is, most of these cards reward loyalty, which is why you usually need to spend thousands on the card every year to qualify for a free flight. Of course, if you would spend thousands anyway, that's not a problem.
Not such a big spender? Don't despair. You can still get a free flight by taking advantage of introductory deals from budget airline cards.
For example, Flybe will give you a free flight when you make your first purchase on its card, while bmibaby will offer you a free flight if you spend £100 in the first 90 days on its bmibaby Mastercard.
Similarly, easyJet will give you a free flight, worth £40, when you spend £250 in the first three months on its easyJet MasterCard. You will also get 10% off all easyjet flights for three months.
What's the catch? All these cards offer 0% on balance transfers, which sounds like another benefit, in theory....
But if you transfer your balance as you will suffer negative payment hierarchy when you spend to get the reward flights. This could cost you a lot more than the ‘free' flight would have done!
So if you need to transfer your balance, go for a ‘proper' 0% balance transfer card instead, such as the 15-month interest-free Virgin Money Credit Card MasterCard, and only use the airline cards for new purchases you can afford to make.
Free Accommodation
Fancy some free accommodation? You don't need to be a Chihuahua-owning, egotistical blonde-haired heir to a hotel chain. All you need are your keys.
After all, your home is an asset. And so is this wonderful island of ours. Around 33 million foreign tourists visit Britain each year and the tourism industry is worth a whopping £85bn. So why not get a slice of this cash?
As long as you don't mind the idea of allowing strangers into your home while you're away on holiday, you could make - or save - thousands of pounds.
For example, you could:
•1. Let your home out while you are away.
This option is a good idea if you live in an area that attracts a lot of foreign tourists. And I don't just mean obvious international tourist destinations like central London. Homeowners in places like Edinburgh and Wimbledon can do particularly well in the summer, for instance.
If you use a short-lettings agency, it should take a deposit from the prospective tenants and ensure that your home and belongings are not damaged.
The amount of rent you receive will depend on the property (Foxtons offers a free valuation), and you may find you need to go away for at least four weeks.
With a bit of luck, the rent from the tenants could pay for your entire holiday.
•2. Do a house-swap.
Bartering is back! If you don't want the hassle of renting out your home, you could take part in a house-swap instead.
This involves a mutual exchange of homes, usually at the same time, for an agreed period - and no money changes hands.
But while the swap is free, joining a home exchange website is not. The cheapest site I found is Home Base Holidays, which offers a year's listings for £29, or you could join Home Xchange Vacation for £16.95 a quarter. A bargain, considering how much you could save in accommodation
The nice thing about home-swapping is that you get all the creature comforts and privacy of home - but in the Bahamas or Cyprus or Mexico. Also, you can have peace of mind that the other person will not wreck your own home, because their home is equally vulnerable.
Free Spending Money
An easy way to get your hands on some extra cash is to take out a cashback credit card.
For example, the American Express Platinum Credit Card will give you 5% cashback on purchases in your first three months (up to £4,000 of spend). This is the market-leading cashback card, but unfortunately American Express isn't always accepted by smaller retailers in particular. So you may prefer the Capital One Bank Platinum Cashback MasterCard, which will offer you 4% cashback on purchases up to £1,500 a month until the 1st of August.
So there you have it. As long as you have access to the internet, a pair of keys and a couple of credit cards in your pocket, you're all set for the summer...
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More : Get Free Flights With Your Credit Card |Cut The Costs Of Your Summer Holiday |The Best Credit Cards To Use Abroad
