Our goal with this blog has always been to show that travel is possible, how credit card points for business class travel can completely change the way people fly, and to be fully transparent about how we do it.
This includes exactly how we earn credit card points for business class travel through welcome bonuses, everyday spending, and strategic card use.
In this post, I am breaking down how those points came together for two of our biggest international business class trips to date, Tahiti and Thailand.
Back to the beginning
I started this hobby in 2018 with a declined application for the Capital One Venture card.
At the time, I did not tell anyone. It felt like something I probably should have already qualified for, and when I did not, I just moved on quietly.
In early 2019, Laynie and I were both approved for Delta Gold cards, and later that year, I was finally approved for the Venture card. That is really where things started to take shape.
How we earned points for our Tahiti business class trip
Fast forward to 2023 and 2024, when we started planning our first long-haul business class trip to Tahiti. This is usually the point where people assume there is something complicated or unrealistic going on.
We booked those tickets in August 2024 for 228,000 points.
Here is exactly where those points came from:
In February 2023, Laynie opened the Venture card through my referral, earning 75,000 miles plus a 20,000-mile referral bonus.
In November 2023, I opened the Venture X and earned a 100,000-point welcome bonus.
In March 2024, I opened the American Express Business Gold card and earned 140,000 points.
From just those three cards, we earned about 335,000 transferable points. That does not include additional points earned from everyday spending during that same period.
Like most travel rewards cards, these bonuses required meeting certain spending thresholds within the first few months. For us, that spending came from normal expenses we were already planning for, not extra purchases just to earn points.
Maybe opening three cards sounds like a lot. Maybe it does not. Either way, that is how we were able to book business class flights to Tahiti using points.
Since then, we closed the American Express Business Gold card. The Venture X is still one of our favorite cards, and I downgraded my original Venture card to the VentureOne in early 2023. There are a few things to consider when cancelling a card. Read more here.
How we earned points for our Thailand business class trip
One important thing to note before we move on is that we did not open these cards specifically for these trips. While we have strategically opened cards for certain redemptions before, our overall goal is usually just to continue building transferable points through programs like American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Bilt. That flexibility gives us options when a great redemption opportunity comes along.
Our Thailand trip was booked in March 2026 using 370,872 points and miles.
Those points came from a mix of old balances and new earnings over time.
We still had leftover points from previous cards and spending, but we also added to our balances with a few additional welcome bonuses.
In fall 2024, I opened the American Express Gold card and earned 100,000 points.
I later reopened the Venture card after the 48-month eligibility window and earned another 75,000 miles.
In late 2025, Laynie opened the Venture X and earned another 100,000 points.
That alone gave us about 275,000 points from welcome bonuses, without factoring in the everyday spending or leftover balances.
The reality behind credit card points for business class travel
It is easy to see these numbers and have mixed feelings about them. Opening multiple credit cards is not for everyone, and it can absolutely go wrong if someone is not responsible with it.
For us, a few simple rules keep everything grounded.
We never carry a balance, and we always pay cards off in full. We also factor in annual fees, which are part of the cost of this strategy, and we only keep cards when the benefits make sense for us. And we are intentional about how often we open and close accounts.
One thing that surprises people is that none of this has hurt our credit. Even with multiple cards opened and closed over the years, both of our credit scores remain above 800.
Not every trip is in business class, either. Our trips to Japan and Taiwan, for example, were booked using points but flown in economy. We break both of those redemptions down separately if you want to see how they came together.
I remember feeling overwhelmed when I first started. Even opening one new card felt like a big decision. Now it is just part of how we approach travel.
When used responsibly, credit card points for business class travel are an incredibly powerful tool. They can turn everyday spending and strategic bonuses into international flights that would otherwise be out of reach.
That is really what this blog has always been about.