A Free Airline Ticket for ~10 minutes work!

Possibly the cheapest and easiest way to get a free airline ticket these days is via credit card applications. American Express is currently running a promotion where, if you get their Gold skymiles personal and business cards, you'll earn 15,000 miles each. 30,000 miles is more than enough miles to get a free flight, and you can even get additional miles by adding authorized cardholders.

The 2 Delta Gold Skymiles cards (business and personal) with NO ANNUAL FEES for the first year are linked HERE

It took me less than five minutes to complete the two applications. The cards usually arrive within 10 days, then I made a purchase with each of the new cards so they will credit my Skymiles account. Total time invested - less than 10 minutes!

Since it takes a few weeks for the miles to post to your frequent flyer account, I like to do it as early as possible in the Spring, so the miles are ready for FREE SUMMERTIME TRAVEL! If you dont have a Skymiles account, you can either set one up at the same time as the Amex App, or first go to delta.com to get a Skymiles number. I like to set it up first at Delta.

Some people have asked me how they can get a business card, if they arent owners of a company and dont have a tax ID number. I tell them to think carefully, as they may in fact be business owners and dont even think of it! For example, I ask them if they sell items on ebay. I ask them if they own rental property. Yes, ebay sellers and landlords are BUSINESSOWNERS, whether they think of themselves as owning a business or not. I remind them that a tax ID number is not needed to get a business credit card - just your social security number is all a sole proprietor needs. As a sole proprietor myself, I have had no trouble getting business credit cards from AMEX.

With fuel prices rising through the roof, and airline fares going up, travel isnt as cheap as it used to be. I've found that the days of $200 roundtrips within the U.S. are largely gone, and the average DISCOUNTED nonrefundable 21 day advance airline ticket is running $350-400 between popular destinations!

For those who like to earn frequent flier miles to get free flights (myself included) , the easy opprtunities of the past have also dried up. Long gone are the 15-25,000 miles for simple things like signing up for long distance service, etc.

This is by far the easiest way I know to earn a free flight these days. Saving money and still having time for fun is what I am all about, and in fact, I'm about to board a cruise headed toward Hawaii in about an hour (yes, I will have a deal to share with you about that too...) so stayed tuned! And above all, Enjoy your travels!