I lived and traveled abroad for 7 months using credit-card points. My stash of miles meant I barely had to pay anything out of pocket.

18.09.2024 - 21:21 / insider.com

The idea to move from New Jersey to Buenos Aires came to me one afternoon while watching the Diego Maradona (famed Argentine soccer player) biopic series on Amazon Prime. I had only ever visited once before for a three-month backpacking trip, and I always knew I wanted to go back.

As a daughter of Dominican immigrants, relocating to a Spanish-speaking country and exploring a largely unknown place at my own pace was a dream. 

But moving abroad — like cooking meat in an asado — is a slow and steady process. I allotted myself one year to prepare, save, and, most importantly, rack up credit-card points to help soften the financial blow. 

Here's how I did it. 

I've been using credit-card points to fly around the world on a budget for years, so I knew the biggest bang for my buck came from credit card sign-up bonuses.

At the time, the Capital One Venture X card was offering 100,000 miles, or $1,000 in travel credit, after spending $10,000 within the first four months. It was a huge deal. Typically, cards might offer two times the miles on every dollar spent — this was five times that.

Once approved, I immediately used the card to pay for all of my regular bills, day-to-day purchases, and other travel bookings. I even lent the card to trusted friends, who then reimbursed me for their purchases in cash. 

Simultaneously, I used my existing United Airlines credit card to book flights for my family members. We use the airline frequently, which meant I was continuously adding to my cache of miles. Within a year, I had enough to book a one-way United flight to Buenos Aires for 33,000 miles (plus $5 in taxes).

By the time I touched down in Argentina, I had long surpassed the entry rewards on my Capital One card. I kept regular bills such as phone and streaming apps on it to continue racking up rewards, but it was finally time to focus on the next phase of the plan: Spending the points.

Unfortunately, I couldn't use them for my rent, but luckily, my fully furnished apartment only cost me $650 a month. Instead, I used my points to cover things like my daily food and activities (about $300 a month) and pay for all my trips around South America. 

As a freelancer with a very flexible schedule, I intended to explore as much of Argentina as possible. But I also wanted to visit Brazil and Chile — especially since I had to leave at least every three months to keep my visa active.

Since I wasn't sure how long I wanted to stay, I didn't apply for formal residency in Argentina. Instead, I used the 90-day tourist visa limit as an excuse to visit other nearby countries. This process proved to be simple; I once crossed into Chile by car and returned to Argentina with a new visa start date hours later.

Capital One provides a