How to Get Anywhere in the World Using Credit Card Points

Travel credit cards are one of the best ways to save on travel. If you have a specific destination in mind, you probably want to know which card can help you get there before you apply.

This is a common question. People often ask how they can use credit card points to get to Europe, Hawaii, Australia, or other dream destinations. Fortunately, there's a simple process you can follow to get anywhere in the world (yes, anywhere) with points.

Pick an airline that flies to that destination

First, we're going to see which airlines can take you where you want to go. Go to a flight booking website -- I like Google Flights. Keep in mind that Southwest Airlines doesn't show up on most flight booking tools. If you think it flies to your destination, you'll need to go to Southwest's website to check.

Plug in your travel dates and departure airport. The dates don't need to be exact yet, as we're just picking an airline. Check your airline options and pick the one you want to use.

Look for travel cards with rewards you can use on that airline

Now that you have the airline, the next step is finding a travel card you can use with that airline. The first option that may come to mind is airline credit cards. If you open a credit card with that airline, you can earn miles in its frequent flyer program.

While an airline card can work, I recommend looking for a card with transferable rewards first. Many travel cards let you transfer your points to their airline and hotel partners. The advantage of these cards is that they offer more ways to use your rewards, which could come in handy on future trips. You can do this with cards in any of the following rewards programs:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards
• Capital One Venture Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Rewards

Let's say you want to fly to Germany on United Airlines. You could get one of the United Airlines credit cards. But United is also a transfer partner with Chase. That means you could get one of the Chase Sapphire cards, and you'd be able to transfer your points from that card to United.

Open a travel card and start earning rewards

At this point, you know which travel cards can get you to your destination. This may include airline credit cards, as well as credit cards with transferable rewards.

Compare your card options and pick the one you like the most. Fill out the application, and if you're approved, you can start using your new card to earn travel rewards.

One of the benefits of travel cards is that they often have big sign-up bonuses. These allow you to earn lots of points in a short amount of time. For example, there are many cards with sign-up bonuses of 50,000 points or more. To earn the bonus, you need to spend a minimum amount, such as $4,000 in the first three months.

Make sure you can spend enough to earn your card's sign-up bonus. The bonus alone could be enough to cover your airfare.

Redeem your rewards to book your ticket

Visit the airline's website when you're ready to book a flight. Search for flights, and select the "Book with miles" option.

The results will include ticket prices in miles instead of cash. If you have enough miles already, you can book your flight. If not, keep using your travel credit card until you do. You may also want to consider opening a new card to earn another sign-up bonus -- this is the fastest way to earn points.

There are two ways to book your flight with rewards, depending on the type of card you have:

• If you have an airline credit card, your miles will already be in your frequent flyer account. Go through the checkout process, and you'll be able to use those miles to pay for your flight.
• If you have a card with transferable rewards, you'll first transfer your points to your frequent flyer account. You can do this through your card's rewards program. Log into your account and look for an option to transfer rewards. If you can't find it, you can also do this by phone -- just call the number on the back of your card.

Booking a flight with miles is almost the same as booking in cash. The only difference is that you're paying with points, which is a pretty nice change. There will be some taxes and fees, so your airfare won't be entirely free. But when you don't have to pay for airfare, traveling is a whole lot cheaper.