Gen Z Guide to FI

North Carolina bb! Here I come. Hello internet besties, this is part 2 in the series of free.99 travel in 2023. I do have some free.99 travel fails to update later but this is definitely a win. More to come on the failz lol 😦

Ok so I have an important pre-MBA conference to attend in March in North Carolina so exciting… Anyway, I started building points on Delta Skymiles last year by keeping track of my points and realizing the different ways to earn points. As of right before I hit that checkout button, I had 60,000 miles. If you haven’t read my previous post on Delta Skymiles, why though? Back to the miles, I got about 18,000 miles from taking some trips last year, becoming the office Starbuck’s “bitch” (lol I offered anyone and everyone Starbucks because the company was paying and used my rewards), booking Airbnbs and dining with Skymiles Dining.

I got another 42,000 miles by opening the Delta Skymiles card. The Skymiles card has an annual fee of $0 in the first year and $99/year afterwards. Disclaimer: that was the fee as of when I opened it in 2022. Also, it was offering a bonus of 40,000 miles. I believe that is typically the amount that is offered unless they are doing a special promo. Anyway, I initially got the card to travel hack #Japan2023 in September but I realized I wouldn’t get enough points for that trip. I’m looking into other strategies for that trip now.

The original flight without miles was $614.

With the miles and an additional 15% discount for shopping with miles, I used 51,400 miles.

So my total investment in this North Carolina trip is $11.20 (thanks to 9/11 terrorist mothafuckers).

I am debating if I will keep the card due to its annual fee considering the following perks:

1. Free 1st checked bag ($60 round trip value)
2. $100 flight credit (if you spend $10,000 in a calendar year)

The $99 fee pays itself off if you are a frequent Delta user. Again my lovelies, this could be you. But make sure to read Traveling the World for FREE.99 for pre-reqs first. No to debt!!