Matthew Owen is a third generation Eurekan who likes to travel cheap and well.

He and his wife are flying to Kauai this summer, but they didn’t cough up the going rate of $1,200 a ticket.

They’re flying on United for free.

Same with a flight to Grand Cayman. He proposed to his bride-to-be, Virginia Bass, by sticking a laminated proposal in a conch shell on the ocean floor in the Grand Caymans. Bass gave him two thumbs-up — one for the answer; the other in approval of four days and three nights in an oceanfront room at the high-end Ritz-Carlton.

“That place is $900 a night and it cost us nothing,” Owen said. “We’re average people who like to do nice things, especially when we can do them for free. We’re not millionaires, so we’re looking to make our dollar work for us.”

He’s also not a frequent flier in the true sense of the word. He only flies about 10,000 miles a year on business. But with a wife who is a small-business owner — O-H’s Town House — and airlines offering frequent flier miles for something other than miles traveled, he’s made a killing.

The Owen-Bass personal air travel bank has 10 round-trip airline tickets to anywhere in the world waiting to be booked — all at no charge.

“The toughest hurdle we have is getting the time off work,” he said.

His secret: gaming the system.

“Figure out the rules and figure out the loopholes to maximize your return,” he said.

Here’s how the home mortgage consultant from Wells Fargo does it.

MILEAGE PLANS

“Every single person should sign up for the United and Alaska mileage plans,” Owen said. “It costs you nothing and it starts you on your way.”

Add a third – Delta – if it announces service to the North Coast.

AIRLINE CREDIT CARDS

These are the foundation of the free travel empire for one reason: They give anywhere from 20,000 to 25,000 miles for getting approved and using the card once.
An Alaska Airlines Platinum card gives a 20,000 mileage bonus on approval, a $50 round-trip companion ticket each year, two one-time-only boardroom passes and 2,000 bonus miles each cardholder anniversary.

In addition, it gives two bonus miles for every dollar spent on Alaska or Horizon tickets and vacation packages.

“Let’s say I’m flying to Los Angeles round-trip,” Owen said. “That’s 1,000 miles. If I purchase the $300 ticket with my Alaska card, I get another 600 miles. If I purchase online, I get another bonus. I’m getting double the credit for the ticket.”

Owen is a longtime volunteer in the Tournament of Roses Parade. He used the $50 companion ticket to bring his wife and hoards his airline lounge passes for a trip that requires a layover.

“Once you’ve been in the boardroom, you’ll never want to use a public restroom again,” he said.

With United’s Mileage Plus card, Owen received 21,000 bonus points, a $25 discount coupon, a one-way upgrade good for 1,000 miles and two points for every dollar spent on United tickets.

Most of the airlines waive the annual fee of $60 to $75 for the first year and bank on people keeping the card.

Regular travelers find the annual companion ticket more than offsets the annual fee, but only if they use it. If a couple can manage only four flights a year, get all four cards to start, but cancel two before the annual fee comes due.

Alaska Air has thrown an added benefit into the mix: a referral program for its Visa card. Owen gets 20,000 on approval and refers a friend, who gets 20,000 on approval. Owen then receives a 25,000-mile referral bonus.

“That’s 65,000 mileage points in one household, or three free tickets on Alaska Air,” Owen said.

The one caveat: “Only do this if a credit card balance can be paid in full each month,” Owen said. “You don’t want to spend a dime in interest.”

“We have four credit cards, all Visa: two on United, two on Alaska,” said Rick Littlefield of Eureka Natural Foods. “We run anything we can through there, with one caveat: You have to have the financial discipline to pay those off every month. We make it an automatic payment and never have finance charges.”

“Businesses who understand cash flow get a float on their money and points,” Owen said. “They buy in December and pay with a credit card when that bill comes in January. They don’t pay that credit card bill until February.”

“You’re getting an extra 25 days on the money — free use of money,” Littlefield said. “We run maybe a million through there a year with a float at any one time of $75,000 to $100,000.”

OTHER CREDIT CARDS

The well-advertised “no-hassle” Capital One card is one of many that allow people to build points in air travel accounts while draining cash from their bank account.

But all credit cards are not equal in benefits or fees. An American Express Gold Card, for example, comes with a $75 annual fee and a $45 annual charge to join the mileage club.

Owen used to work for Merrill Lynch in Los Angeles and still rates their Visa Plus card as the best around for acquiring air miles.

“There’s no annual fee to join the credit card and you pay nothing for the membership miles,” Owen said. “For only 25,000 points, they will get you up to a $500 ticket. You find that price, then call them to get it. You can go on American, British, Continental or Delta anywhere in the world.”

If it’s any airline other than the ABCD crowd, Owen said it’s 30,000 points for a $500 ticket and 5,000 points for every $50 more in ticket cost.

“Capital One charges 60,000 points for a $500 ticket,” Owen said. “That’s a return of .08. Others charge 50,000 for $500 — a return of 1.0. Merrill Lynch gives a 2.0 return, and it’s unlimited. Any airline, anywhere.”

The Merrill Lynch card also offered the deal that got him to the Grand Caymans.

“It was the first year of the Merrill Lynch Visa, and if you spent $50,000, you got three free nights at any Ritz-Carlton in the world,” Owen said. “I called clients about it and they called me back to thank me profusely.”

WHAT TO CHARGE

Everything.

“Even when we were much smaller and doing one-tenth the business we are now, we were able to take a trip or two,” Littlefield said. “Even if you only run $50,000 through there in a year, you have to ask yourself, do you want the two free flights or not?”

Employees may benefit from business expenses if the boss reimburses them, which is how it works for sports coaches at Humboldt State University. Book a 14-member team on a flight to Alaska at $500 a pop with an Alaska credit card and a coach gets a travel reimbursement and 14,000 miles.

While small businesses can ring up miles quickly, private citizens can also benefit.

“Say your PG&E monthly bill is $300,” Owen said. “If you set up autopay on a credit card, you’ll have 3,600 points at the end of the year.”

The same is true with gas, insurance, cell phone, cable and water charges.

“Make your money work for you,” Owen said.

And if your boss isn’t smart enough, interested or able, make his work for you, too.

PARTNERS

All airlines have partners, and Owen recommends using them.

Case in point: Safeway. The chain is linked to United through the Safeway Club Card. The monthly grocery bill of $500 can become 6,000