I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make: Even though I regularly write about the hundreds of ways you can save when traveling through Europe, when it came to my own frequent flyer program, I was a bit of a newbie; I rarely managed to get upgrades, let alone free flights.

In retrospect, I was making quite a few mistakes. I was a member of every frequent flyer program that would take me, I usually booked the cheapest or most convenient flight I could find, and my credit cards weren’t working very aggressively to help me score free flights.

All the frequent flyer details and small print seemed like a big headache, something to sort out on some rainy day when I had nothing better to do.

If you can relate, read on. Over the past few months, I’ve taken straightforward steps to identify the biggest mistakes I was making with my frequent flyer program and have corrected them. Because of these rather simple switches, it’s now much easier for me to earn free tickets, upgrade seats, and hang out in business lounges around the world. I just wish I had done it earlier!

There are, of course, entire websites dedicated to the intricacies of airline loyalty programs, credit card offers, and ways to master (and sometimes game) the system. (The Points Guy and Boarding Area are excellent example.) This article, however, is apologetically more basic and attempts to give an overview of common mistakes travelers make when dealing with their airline loyalty programs. I was making these mistakes, so I’m assuming others are, as well.

Ready to be a smarter frequent flyer? Here’s where I had been going wrong…

1. I wasn’t focusing on one airline.

One of my biggest problems was that I lacked any sort of focus when purchasing flights. I would fly United to visit my family in Ohio, American to see my sister in Tennessee, and Air France to head to Paris to review hotels. Oh, and American to head to California.

Well, usually… because I’d also be willing to spring for another airline if I could find a cheaper ticket.

This “whichever way the wind blows” strategy makes achieving airline status and accruing miles a very slow process. Getting free tickets and upgrades will only happen to those with enough miles (garnered either by actually flying or by using a credit card linked to your frequent flyer account) �" and, unless you’re a high-powered frequent flyer guru (expertly maintaining multiple rewards programs), you’re only stalling the rewards process by bouncing around between competing airlines.

How can you choose the right airline and right loyalty program?

Whoa, it’s a big subject, much larger than the scope of this article. That decision depends on many factors, but take a good look at who offers the most convenient and affordable service to your immediate area, who offers the best deals for cashing in miles for flights, and who partners with other airlines you might want to take.

Many people already have a preferred airline and are members of a program. If you’re shopping around, however, there’s a lot of guidance out there to help you choose. Check out:

• Consumer Reports chart of how many miles it usually takes for a free ride on various airlines
• US News and World Report’s ranking of the best US airline loyalty programs
• A handy overview of airline alliances (Wikipedia)
• Travel & Leisure’s How to pick the best frequent flyer program

In my case, I focused on United for my domestic and international travel. I do miss the Air France dining experience, but achieving status on United makes up for it.

2. My credit card’s “rewards points” couldn’t be transferred to my frequent flyer program.

Imagine my frustration last year when I tried to cash in the 75,000 points I had accrued on my Chase Ink card only to realize that the points were not transferable to miles in my United frequent flyer program. For years I had been accruing these points �" one for every dollar spent �" assuming that they would be able to transfer point-for-mile to my frequent flyer program. (That’s how it worked on my Chase Mileage Plus Explorer card �" why wouldn’t it be the same on the Ink card?)

Nope. The type of Ink card I had, it turned out, counted these as awards “points”, which could be redeemed for travel (flights and hotels) when booked through the Chase awards website. While these points could lower the cost of my trip (or, if I had enough, provide free travel), the “deal” was far less attractive than a 1-to-1 points to miles transfer into my United program.

Fortunately, there was a fix. I got on the phone with Chase and found out that they could close this old card and transfer it (including all points) to another, the Ink Business Plus. This new card permits me to transfer the points to my existing United Mileage Plus card (which counts them as miles). The new card had a slightly higher annual fee, but the switch was worth it for me, and I was able to cash in the points immediately for a business class flight to France.

So many tempting offers out there…

3. I stuck to the same credit card for years, missing out on “bonus points” from new cards.

I kept the same business credit card and personal credit card for nearly a decade. While that showed a certain loyalty toward my bank, it certainly didn’t do much to help out my airline loyalty program. I’d been missing out on incredible bonus point offers for many, many years.

I hang out with a lot of travel writers, many of whom are expert frequent flyers. The most common way that most of them get free tickets and upgrades is to sign up for a new credit card with a great sign-on points bonus, meet the minimum payment for the free miles, and then, when they’re ready to do it again, close the card and open another, raking in another jackpot of miles.

For example, Michael Cargian, who runs the airline rewards news website Upgrd.com, recently told me about the new Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, which offers a whopping 100,000 miles if you spend $4,000 on the card within the first three months of opening it. (It comes with a bunch of other extras, as well, including three times the points on travel-related services around the world, no foreign transaction fees, and access to airline lounges around the world.)

Note that the card has an annual fee of $450 �" although they’ll rebate the first $300 you spend on travel (hotels, restaurants, fights), ultimately lowering the annual fee to $150 (as long as you spend at least $300 on travel). It also carries a rather hefty APR that ranges from 16.24% to 23.24%, so it’s important to try to pay it off in full each month.

This card offers a much more enticing range of travel-related perks �" and 100,000 bonus miles! �" than my old card. So I made the switch. I’ll keep it for a year or so, and might do it again in a year or so if I hear about an incredible offer that makes the effort worth it.

A frequent flyer pro, however, would most likely have a more aggressive strategy. They’d probably sign up for the card, accrue the 100,000 points (which could be enough for a round-trip business flight to Europe), and then immediately start looking for another card once the minimum spend is met. Some would be working several of these offers at the same time. In this way, these pros “churn” through cards to get bonus points, leading to a windfall of free tickets and elite status.

However, all this “churning” could also impact your credit rating. Are you planning to apply for a mortgage? You probably don’t want to go around opening and closing a bunch of credit cards. And will opening credit cards with some frequency negatively impact your credit score? It depends on several factors, as this conversation illustrates, as does this breakdown of credit criteria on Boarding Area.

Important note: While it can be really fun to score free tickets and upgrades through credit card bonuses, none of it is fun if it leads you to being irresponsible or reckless with your finances. Every “pro” on the subject makes the point loud and clear: You should only be playing this game if you pay off your card in full each month.

If you’re currently carrying large balances on a credit card, you should pay it off first, and then focus on new cards with awesome bonuses. The amount you’re wasting on interest payments, after all, can be far more expensive than the value of free travel granted by a new card.

Stick to names you trust for guidance.

4. I wasn’t sure where to look for credit card advice.

Note that in my previous point, I mentioned the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card �" and even linked to it. I should add that we did not get paid for that link, nor will we receive a commission if you click through and sign up. It’s included here for informational purposes only.

However, there are plenty of websites that offer credit card “guidance” that get kickbacks and commissions from banks when their visitors click through to sign up for credit cards. And those commissions are big. Let’s just say that this could possibly create a conflict of interest when writing about the merits of the cards.

When researching offers and looking for advice, stick to names and publications that you trust. If reading reviews of cards online, try to ascertain whether or not the advice is truly unbiased. But also, read the terms and conditions of the cards �" don’t just focus on the great bonuses, but check out the annual fees and APR that will be assessed for any balance you maintain.

5. I was wasting automatic monthly payments on my debit card.

For years I had an entire list of payments that were being deducted automatically from my debit card. Electricity, gas, garbage… garage… car payments… these just came straight out of my checking account. It was convenient.

However, I was missing out on some serious points here. Almost all of these same payments could just as easily be made from my credit card, and, in the case of my new card, would work against the minimum spend necessary to get those 100,000 awards points.

But wait, it gets better: With my new Chase Ink Business card, I can get five points for every $1 spent on certain utilities (including telephone, internet and cable bills) and on office supplies. So, I’ve gone from not getting any points for those purchases to getting five times the points. (It’s not, of course, just this Ink card. Check your credit card for similar bonus categories.)

One big risk of moving payments from debit to credit, of course, is that you’ll choose to not pay off the entire amount, and will retain a balance �" on which you’ll end up paying interest and creating debt. Again, this takes discipline to pay it off just as you would with a debit card.

Final thoughts

In the end, by focusing on one airline, closing one credit card and opening another, and switching around some automatic payments, I’ve been able to put myself on a fast-track for faster rewards trips and elite perks.

If you’re planning to do the same, good luck. Just remember to move forward responsibly.

About the author

About the author: Tom Meyers created and launched EuroCheapo from his Berlin apartment in 2001. He returned to New York in 2002, set up office, and has led the EuroCheapo team from the Big Apple ever since. He travels to Europe several times a year to update EuroCheapo's hotel reviews. Tom is also a co-host of the New York City history podcast, The Bowery Boys. Email Tom.