Can You Earn Free Flights Working From Starbucks?

Every month I spend around $150 working remotely from cafes, a large portion of it going towards Starbucks purchases.

Previously I wrote about the Starbucks Star Rewards program, as well as how I get 11% off on all Starbucks purchases using credit card hacks.

In this blog post, I will take a larger leap: can strategically spending on Starbucks get me free flights around North America? Let’s see.

Using Bilt Mastercard on Starbucks Purchases to Fly Alaska and American Airlines

The first strategy revolves around the Bilt Mastercard and Starbucks in-app wallet.

On the first of every month, Bilt gives 6X on dining. Reloading $150 into my Starbucks wallet on that day earns 900 Bilt points.

Over the course of a year, you can earn 900*12 or 10,800 Bilt points.

That’s the earnings part. Let’s look at redemption now.

Bilt’s newest airline transfer partner is Alaska Airlines. That means, you can transfer Bilt points to Alaska Airlines and book either Alaska or American Airlines flights to fly domestically within the US.

Next question - are there flights available for only 10,800 Bilt points? Surprisingly, yes!

Here are a few routes you can book for around 7.5K Alaska miles:

    Seattle to Portland

    Los Angeles to San Diego

    Anchorage to Fairbanks

    New York to Boston

    Los Angeles to Las Vegas

    Dallas to Houston

Expanding to 10K Alaska miles:

    Seattle to Phoenix

    Chicago to Nashville

    Denver to Salt Lake City

    New York to Washington DC

That’s quite a few options to get one free flight every year with minimal effort.

Using American Express Gold on Starbucks Purchases to Fly Delta Airlines

This strategy leverages American Express Gold’s superior dining earnings rate, as well as a partnership between Starbucks and Delta Airlines.

The first part is simple. Every month you use AMEX Gold to load $150 into your Starbucks app wallet. At 4X per dollar on restaurants, that’s 7,200 MR points annually.

Starbucks and Delta Airlines have a unique partnership where, for every $100 loaded into Starbucks, you get 200 Delta SkyMiles. That’s 2,400 Delta SkyMiles annually.

American Express is the only credit card issuer who partners with Delta Airlines. You can transfer 7,200 MR points to Delta SkyMiles. Adding the 2,400 miles earned through the Starbucks/Delta partnership, annually we accumulate 9,600 Delta SkyMiles only from Starbucks purchases.

What does 9,600 Delta SkyMiles get you? Not a lot, but there are still a few options:

    New York to Boston

    Atlanta to Charlotte

    Los Angeles to San Diego

    Chicago to Detroit

    Atlanta to Nashville

Quick Thoughts

By strategically using the Bilt Mastercard or American Express Gold card for all Starbucks purchases you can fly short US domestic routes, such as New York - Boston, Atlanta - Nashville, Seattle - Portland, Los Angeles - San Diego, New York - Washington DC, for FREE.

Recommended Cards

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American Express Gold

4X Restaurants & Groceries! 3X Flights! $400+ Food Credits! 100K Bonus Points!

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Capital One Venture X

Unlimited 2X miles! Lounge Access! 75K Bonus Miles! $300 Travel Credit! 10K Anniversary Bonus!

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American Express Business Gold

4X on Cloud & Software Spend, Tech Gadgets, Advertising, Gas, Transit! 100K Bonus Points!

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Capital One Savor Rewards

3X Restaurants, Groceries & Entertainment! $300 Bonus!

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Chase Sapphire Preferred

3X Dining, 2X Travel, 60K Bonus Points! $50 Travel Credit!

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Hilton Surpass Card

12X Hilton Purchases! 6X Restaurants, Groceries, & Gas! 130K Bonus Points!

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Chase Freedom Flex

5X rotating categories! 3X Dining & Drugstores! $200 Bonus!

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Chase IHG Premier

26X IHG Purchases! 5X Restaurants, Travel & Gas! 140K Bonus Points! 5+ Free Nights!

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AMEX Blue Business Plus

15K Bonus Points! 2X Points on Everything!

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Wells Fargo Bilt Mastercard

Earn Points on Rent! 3X Dining, 2X Travel! Double points on rent day!

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Citi Strata Premier

3X Points on Flights, Hotels, Restaurants, Groceries and Gas Stations! 75K Bonus Points!

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Irtiza Hafiz

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