Key Points

• Start with a no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited to build credit history safely.
• Your first travel card bonus can fund an entire international trip within 3-4 months of regular spending.
• Building good credit habits now sets you up for premium cards and better redemptions in 2-3 years.

Here's what nobody tells you about starting travel rewards in your 20s: you're actually in the perfect position to build a strategy that'll pay off for decades. While you might not have the spending power of someone in their 40s, you have something better—time to build credit history and learn the systems before life gets complicated.

I'm going to walk you through exactly how to start earning points and miles when you're just getting established financially. No trust fund required, no manufactured spending schemes—just practical strategies that work with entry-level salaries and student budgets.

Quick Answer: Where to Start Right Now

If you have limited or no credit history, start with the Discover it Student Cash Back or a secured card to build credit for 6-12 months. If you already have good credit (680+), go straight to the Chase Freedom Unlimited to earn Ultimate Rewards points while building toward the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Why Your 20s Are Perfect for Travel Rewards

Starting early with travel rewards is one of the smartest financial moves you can make. The average age of your accounts matters for your credit score. A card you open at 23 will be seven years old when you're 30, which significantly boosts your score when you're ready to apply for premium travel cards.

You also have flexibility. Most people in their 20s can travel on weekdays, during shoulder seasons, or on shorter notice. This flexibility is gold in the points and miles world—you can snag award availability that busy professionals can't access.

Plus, your spending habits aren't locked in yet. Learning to put everything on the right card now becomes second nature, not a habit you have to break later.

Building Your Credit Foundation

Starting from Scratch

No credit history? Here's your 6-12 month plan.

Apply for the Discover it Student Cash Back if you're in school. It's designed for people with limited history, offers 5% rotating categories, and Discover matches all your cash back after the first year.

Not a student? The Discover it Secured is your best bet. You put down a refundable deposit (usually $200-500) and get the same cash back benefits. Most people graduate to an unsecured card within 8-12 months.

Set up autopay for the full statement balance. Not the minimum payment—the full balance. This is non-negotiable. One missed payment in your first year can tank your score and set you back 6-12 months.

Keep your utilization under 30% of your credit limit. If your limit is $500, don't let your statement close with more than $150 on the card.

If You Have Some Credit History

Credit score above 680? You're ready to skip the beginner cards and move straight to cards that earn transferable points. Our guide to building credit quickly covers exactly how to accelerate your timeline if you're not quite there yet.

Your First Travel Rewards Card

The Best First Card: Chase Freedom Unlimited

I recommend the Chase Freedom Unlimited as your first card that earns transferable points.

It has no annual fee, so there's no pressure to justify the cost. It earns 1.5% back on everything, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 5% on travel through Chase's portal. Those are Ultimate Rewards points—the same valuable points you'd earn with premium cards.

The welcome bonus is typically $200 after $500 in spending. That's achievable in your first month with normal expenses. But here's the real value: those points become significantly more valuable once you eventually get the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Let's say you earn 30,000 points in your first year. Without the Sapphire Preferred, you can redeem those for $300 cash back. But once you have the Sapphire Preferred, those same points can transfer to airline partners where they're often worth $450-$600 for flights.

The Timing Strategy

Here's the strategy: earn Chase Freedom Unlimited points for 12-18 months, then apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Why wait? Two reasons. First, you'll have a year of payment history, making approval almost certain. Second, you'll have accumulated 30,000-50,000 points that suddenly become much more valuable.

The Sapphire Preferred typically offers 60,000 points after $4,000 spending in 3 months. Combined with your Freedom Unlimited points, you're looking at 90,000-110,000 points total. That's enough for a round-trip flight to Europe in economy or a week at a mid-tier hotel—all from your first 18 months.

Making the Most of Limited Spending

Put Everything on the Card

Every dollar you were going to spend anyway should go on your card. Rent (if your landlord accepts credit cards without fees), utilities, groceries, gas, subscriptions, insurance premiums—all of it.

Say you spend $400/month on groceries, $300/month on dining out, $150/month on gas, $100/month on subscriptions, and $200/month on miscellaneous purchases. That's $1,150 in monthly spending, or 13,800 points per year with the Freedom Unlimited. Add in the welcome bonus and you're at 20,000+ points in your first year—enough for several domestic flights or 3-4 hotel nights.

The Roommate Hack

If you have roommates, volunteer to put shared expenses on your card and collect Venmo or Zelle payments. This works great for utilities, shared groceries, group dinners, and road trip expenses. This can easily double your spending without actually spending more of your own money. Just make sure your roommates pay you back before your statement is due.

What Not to Do

Don't spend money just to earn points. That $50 shirt you don't need isn't worth 75 points. Don't carry a balance to earn rewards—the interest rate destroys any value. And don't sign up for cards you can't handle responsibly just because the bonus looks good.

Planning Your Next 3 Cards

Year 1: Freedom Unlimited + Discover it

Start with the Freedom Unlimited for everyday spending. Add the Discover it for the 5% rotating categories. Between these two cards, you're earning 1.5-5% on almost everything with no annual fees.

Year 2: Chase Sapphire Preferred

After 12-18 months of perfect payment history, apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The $95 annual fee is easily offset by the welcome bonus (currently 60,000 points worth $750+ when transferred to partners).

Our complete guide to the Chase Sapphire Preferred walks through exactly how to maximize this card: use it for all dining and travel (3x points), and keep using your Freedom Unlimited for everything else.

Year 3: Specialized Card

By year three, you'll know your spending patterns. Add a specialized card based on your travel habits:

• Fly Southwest often? Get a Southwest credit card and work toward Companion Pass
• Book a lot of hotels? Consider the World of Hyatt Credit Card
• Ready for premium benefits? Upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve

Your First Redemption

Your first redemption shapes how you think about travel rewards forever. Make it a good one.

Easy Wins for Beginners

Domestic Flights: Use the Chase travel portal or transfer points to Southwest. A flight from New York to Miami that costs $250 in cash costs about 16,000-20,000 Chase points through the portal. With the Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth 1.25 cents each.

Budget Hotels: Many Hyatt Category 1-2 hotels cost just 5,000-8,000 points per night. That's 2-3 nights from a single credit card bonus—perfect for a road trip or city weekend.

The Mistake to Avoid

Don't redeem your first points for Amazon purchases, statement credits, or gift cards. The redemption rate is terrible (usually 0.7-1 cent per point) compared to travel (1.25-2+ cents per point).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Opening Too Many Cards Too Fast

Space out applications by at least 3-4 months, especially in your first two years. Chase has a rule called 5/24—they won't approve you for their cards if you've opened 5 or more cards (from any bank) in the past 24 months. Our complete guide to Chase's 5/24 rule explains why this matters.

Ignoring Category Bonuses

Take 10 minutes to organize your wallet so you know which card to use for each purchase. It's the difference between earning 30,000 points versus 10,000 points on the same spending.

Not Tracking Renewal Dates

Set a calendar reminder for 11 months after opening any card with an annual fee to decide: keep it, downgrade to a no-fee version, or cancel.

Real Example: 18 Months to Europe

Let me show you what this looks like with real numbers.

Month 1-12: Open Chase Freedom Unlimited. Earn 20,000 point welcome bonus. Put $1,200/month average spending on the card = 14,400 points. Total: 34,400 points.

Month 13: Apply for Chase Sapphire Preferred. Meet $4,000 spending requirement. Earn 60,000 point welcome bonus.

Month 13-18: Continue spending: $1,200/month on Freedom Unlimited = 10,800 points. Another $800/month on Sapphire Preferred (dining and travel) = 14,400 points at 3x. Total new points: 25,200.

Month 18 Total: 34,400 + 60,000 + 25,200 = 119,600 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

The Redemption: Transfer 60,000 points to United MileagePlus for a round-trip economy ticket from New York to London (typical off-peak pricing). Total out-of-pocket cost: $100 in taxes and fees. That's an $800+ flight to Europe for essentially free.

What to Learn Next

Transfer Partners: Understanding how to transfer Chase points to United, Southwest, or Hyatt unlocks significantly better value than booking through the Chase portal. Our complete guide to Chase Ultimate Rewards covers all the transfer partners.

Award Availability: Not all flights can be booked with points. Learning to search multiple dates and be flexible is key to finding good redemptions.

Sweet Spots: Certain routes offer exceptional value—like flying business class to Europe for 60,000 points instead of 120,000.

Budgeting for Annual Fees

In your first 1-2 years, stick with no-annual-fee cards. The Freedom Unlimited and Discover it let you learn the systems without financial pressure.

When you're ready for your first annual fee card (likely the Chase Sapphire Preferred at $95), do this math: Will the welcome bonus alone justify the fee? With the Sapphire Preferred's 60,000-point bonus worth $750+ for travel, the answer is yes.

For premium cards with $500+ annual fees, wait until you're traveling more frequently and can actually use benefits like lounge access.

Frequently Asked Questions

What credit score do I need to start?

For beginner cards like student cards or secured cards, you can start with no credit history. For the Chase Freedom Unlimited, aim for 680 or higher. For the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you'll want 720+. Check out our guide on building credit when you have no history.

Should I get a travel card if I don't travel much yet?

Yes, if you plan to travel in the future. Starting with a no-annual-fee card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited lets you accumulate points with zero pressure to travel immediately. Those points will be waiting when you're ready to book a trip in 12-24 months.

How long to earn enough for a free flight?

With a good welcome bonus and normal spending, you can earn enough for a domestic round-trip (typically 15,000-25,000 points) in 3-4 months. For an international flight (typically 60,000+ points), plan for 12-18 months.

Can I transfer points between different card programs?

No, you generally cannot transfer points between different programs (Chase to Amex, for example). However, Chase Freedom Unlimited points can transfer to your Chase Sapphire Preferred account, and from there to airline and hotel partners. This is why starting with Chase cards is often recommended.

What happens to my points if I cancel a card?

With Chase, your points stay in your account as long as you have at least one Chase card open that earns Ultimate Rewards. If you cancel your Sapphire Preferred but keep your Freedom Unlimited, your points remain available (though you lose the transfer-to-partners ability).

Is it worth paying an annual fee when starting out?

A $95 annual fee for the Chase Sapphire Preferred makes sense when the welcome bonus is worth $750+ in travel. But a $550 or $695 annual fee card doesn't make sense until you're traveling more frequently. For more, read our article on when annual fees make complete sense.

Start Small, Think Long-Term

You don't need to be perfect. You don't need a six-figure income. You don't need to understand every transfer partner and sweet spot on day one.

What you need is to start with a solid foundation card, build good payment habits, and be patient as you learn the systems. That first Chase Freedom Unlimited earning 1.5 points per dollar might not seem exciting, but it's the right move for where you are right now.

In 2-3 years, when you're booking that business class flight using the strategy you built starting today, you'll be glad you started when you did. The best time to start was last year. The second best time is right now.

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