Roughly a year before our global departure, I began doing a lot of research, focusing on which credit cards, airlines, hotels and rental-car companies offered the best loyalty programs with the most perks. Then, I registered for these top programs and started earning points on every dollar I spent and each vacation I took. It was surprising how quickly points accumulated once I began to understand this simple system.

Kim and I rolled all of our monthly expenditures—like utilities, groceries, gas and other big-ticket purchases—into one airline-specific credit card and one hotel-specific credit card to help us earn enough points to kick start our year-long adventure in style – with three free international business-class flights and enough extra points for a few short haul flights later in our journey (and more than 20 free hotel nights). Throughout our travels, we continued to build on those rewards by accumulating more points for all our flights, hotel stays and credit card expenditures while on the road. This methodology is how you will create wealth by establishing mindfully selected alliances.

Choose credit cards that offer the most points for purchases and offer the greatest travel benefits such as point bonuses, cheaper redemption options for reward travel, airport lounge access, hotel upgrades, automatic elite status with partner airlines and the ability to earn higher-level elite status through dollars spent. At the time of our travels, we selected the United Presidential Plus (no longer available) and Marriott Bonvoy credit cards to accelerate our point earnings.

Want to travel in style for FREE? If you are just beginning your travel planning, I would highly suggest getting one or both of the following cards – Marriott BonVoy and United Mileage Plus. Since BonVoy is now the biggest hotel brand in the world (Marriott acquired SPG and Hyatt as well), and United is part of the largest airline partnership worldwide (Star Alliance), getting the amazing bonuses offered to sign up for these cards is a NO-BRAINER. If you click on the links below, you can choose one of two BonVoy Cards (both built to maximize your free nights and status) and you can choose one of four United Clubs to earn miles galore and get you to far off destinations more quickly. If you have questions about which credit card is best for YOU, contact me for a free call, TODAY.