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When I tried travel hacking a decade ago, the management aspect of all the moving parts is what scared me off, but now, there is the Travel Freely app, and it is a total game changer. Our Travel Freely Review is overwhelmingly positive.
Meet the Travel Freely App
The Travel Freely app is a free app that tracks your credit card signup bonuses, annual fees, 5/24, and gives recommendations for future cards. Not only is this app free, but it stores no personal login or financial information. We LOVE that it does not acquire login info. The only thing that it requires is the card you got, the date you got it, and the signup bonus details you signed up with. The app takes it from there and gives the most amazing feedback.
Setup
After downloading the app, you will set it up. There are spots to add your “Player 2” and their information as well in case you happen to have a “Player 2” who does not enjoy tracking. It has a spot for your home airport. Although, I haven’t understood this feature completely, my assumption is they’re prioritizing airline cards that have an airline hub at your home airport, or there’s some functionality they hope to roll out at a later date. The setup is really this easy, then you’re ready to add your first credit card.
Card Genie
The Card Genie is amazing. This is a screenshot I took awhile ago, so offers may have changed. At the top of Card Genie it gives you a 90 day countdown until your next card, which is the general guideline for time between applying for cards. Then, you are able to see the current best offers. Travel Freely prides themselves on bringing you the best offers for each card, even if it doesn’t earn a commission. I love a company with integrity, and theirs clearly shows in this practice. You are also able to filter to include/exclude business cards, by airline, bank, annual fee, etc.
Card Stats
The final feature that really sells this app as the travel hacking must-have is the Card Stats screen. This screen is a little harder to find, but at the top of the Cards menu that lists all the cards you currently have you will see the option for Card Stats. That brings about this lovely menu. This documents your annual fees coming due, any minimum spends you need to get hopping to meet, and your 5/24 which is so valuable to have visible. Within the section for 5/24 it also denotes the month that particular card will be removed from 5/24 which helps a lot with long term planning. I was watching one that was to be removed last month for me, and sure enough, on the day it said it would be gone, it no longer appeared in my 5/24 within the app.
Tasks Calendar
Although my tasks calendar here looks somewhat uneventful, this really is a nice feature. It lets you know when your upcoming “dates to remember” are hitting, whether that be a minimum spend, a new card, or an annual fee. You can also set it to alert you of these things which is a huge win for those of us who forget all the things all the time.
Final Notes
I have yet to come across an app that is as effective as Travel Freely at tracking and updating and making sense of all the travel hacking tracking. This app was not the most intuitive to me at first, as I didn’t always understand where to find what I needed, but after messing with it for a bit it quickly became one of the most used apps on my phone. I absolutely consider it a must for any travel hacker, new or experienced.
