Two-Player Mode
What is two-player mode?
Two-player mode refers to a strategy within the award travel space where two individuals (often a couple or close friends/family who travel together) work together to earn double the points or miles to maximize their travel rewards. We like to think of it as a ping pong game:
I apply for a card and earn the welcome bonus
I refer Mark to the same card
He applies for the card using my referral link and earns the welcome bonus
We earn double the points plus a referral bonus
Using the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card as an example, I would earn 60,000 points after applying for the card and earning the welcome bonus. I would earn an additional 20,000 for referring Mark after he’s approved for the card. Then he would earn 60,000 points after earning his welcome bonus. That’s a total of 140,000 points! Enough for a week’s stay at many Hyatt resorts, or enough to fly your family round-trip on Southwest (probably with some points leftover).
Here are some other factors to consider:
Don’t list your player 2 as an authorized user! Keep them off your credit card application so you can later refer them for the same card.
If you’re wondering how you both use the card with only one physical card, you can leverage your digital wallets or share the credit card details via a secure password sharing app (try mSecure, Dropbox or 1Password). In our family, I do most of the shopping and spending, so I usually keep the physical card and Mark uses the digital version.
To all our single friends, you don’t need to be married to take advantage of two-player mode. Your player 2 could be a parent, sibling, friend or other family member - anyone you like to travel with! If you’re planning a trip with someone, you can use them as a player 2.
Overall, two-player mode is a huge part of our award travel strategy. It allows us to rack up credit card points and miles twice as fast, which means we get to meet our travel goals sooner. Or we get to take double the vacations. Or we get to take fancier vacations. Or a combination of all three!
Think about two-player mode and how you can leverage this strategy to help reach your travel goals more efficiently. We are here for any questions!
