2019 Top 10 Wallet Friendly Destinations in the United States
2019 Top 10 Wallet Friendly Destinations
Last week I wrote about the 2019 Top Ten Trending Destinations according to KAYAK. This week I’m reporting on the 2019 Top Ten Wallet Friendly Destinations.
KAYAK states that the following destinations are the most affordable places to visit. KAYAK used their flight and hotel price data to determine the top cities to visit if you’re trying to keep costs to a minimum. Unlike KAYAK’s list of top trending destinations, which included locations all over the world, this list focuses features cities in the U.S.A.
Get There for Free with Points and Miles
Traveling to affordable destinations is a great way to stretch your travel budget. Adding to those savings by saving hundreds of dollars on your flights or hotel rooms is even better.
To me, there is no better way to enjoy travel than to know you’re traveling for free. This is the essence of Travel Hacking which is the strategic accumulation of loyalty points and miles for free travel. By utilizing travel awards credit card welcome bonuses, you can travel to any of these destination for free.
Since all of these destinations are in the contiguous 48 states, if you live in the US, you can get to any of these destinations with a single credit card welcome bonus. This leaves you with a lot of options.
Following the list of the Top 10 Destinations I will give you some tips on how to easily accumulate enough miles to travel to these destinations for free.
The Top 10 List
Here is the list of the Top Ten Wallet Friendly Destinations for 2019. And then after the list, read on to discover how you can get to any of these destinations for free using points and miles.
10.) Fort Myers, Florida – 45% less than average trip cost
9.) Houston, Texas – 46% less than average trip cost
8.) Cleveland, Ohio – 46% less than average trip cost
7.) Cincinnati, Ohio – 47% less than average trip cost
6.) Baltimore, Maryland – 47% less than average trip cost
5.) Boston, Massachusetts – 48% less than average trip cost
4.) Las Vegas, Nevada – 48% less than average trip cost
3.) Salt Lake City, Utah – 53% less than average trip cost
2.) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – 54% less than average trip cost
1.) Denver, Colorado – 55% less than average trip cost
How to Accumulate Points Fast
Travel rewards credit cards are one of the fastest ways to accumulate airline miles for a free travel. The competitive nature of this aspect of the personal finance business has forced many credit card issuers to offer very lucrative welcome bonuses.
Since we’re looking at wallet friendly destinations, we should also be looking at wallet friendly credit cards, those that offer substantial bonuses at the lowest cost. Each of the following cards have zero cost for the first year so in addition to your free trip, you have a year of free use to determine if the card is right for you long-term.
Each card also has a welcome bonus large enough for a free round-trip ticket to any of the Top 10 Wallet-Friendly destinations listed above.
Travel Awards Credit Card Welcome Bonus Specifics
Card: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Welcome Bonus is 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Annual Fee is $95, waived the first year.
Card: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Welcome Bonus is 50,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Annual Fee is $95.
Card: Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card
Welcome Bonus is 30,000 miles after spending $3,000 in the first three months. Annual Fee is $0.
Card: Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite Mastercard
Welcome Bonus is 70,000 miles after spending $5,000 in the first three months. Annual Fee is $89, waived the first year.
Card: Citi Premier Card
Welcome Bonus is 50,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Annual Fee is $95, waived the first year.
Miles Required
If you live in the United States in the lower 48, you can book a round trip ticket to any of these destinations with any of the welcome offers from cards listed above. Here are what a few airlines require.
Alaska Airlines: 25,0000 miles
American Airlines: 25,000 miles
United Airlines: 25,000 miles
Destination Summary
- Denver, Colorado – 55% less than average trip cost
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – 54% less than average trip cost
- Salt Lake City, Utah – 53% less than average trip cost
- Las Vegas, Nevada – 48% less than average trip cost
- Boston, Massachusetts – 48% less than average trip cost
- Baltimore, Maryland – 47% less than average trip cost
- Cincinnati, Ohio – 47% less than average trip cost
- Cleveland, Ohio – 46% less than average trip cost
- Houston, Texas – 46% less than average trip cost
- Fort Myers, Florida – 45% less than average trip cost
These are Just a Few Examples
There are countless ways to earn enough points and miles for free travel just as there are countless credit cards, hotels and airlines offering these award travel opportunities. The scenarios listed above are just examples of what is possible. Hopefully they have sparked your imagination and convinced you that you can book your next trip using loyalty points and miles.
*All of the above offers were accurate at time of writing this article but are subject to frequent change. Banks are always altering their offers so please take some time to get familiar with what are the best offers for your own needs.