Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles, which can be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that provide a variety of benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit card you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for this information. From there it’s all about building up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have an Chase card, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll have access to almost every airline, and you can use a combination of points and cash to pay for your next trip. You can even book completely on points if you have the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you do not have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. If you’re a few point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually about 3%. It could be worthwhile over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the required spending is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with your credit card. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already planning to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. accrue points or miles to use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum spend to earn your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles on the costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily costs
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is making use of your credit card to pay every day expenses. This could include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Consider a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance you can use points to book a ticket directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to have a wider range of options and greater flexibility when making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This will give an access larger selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that aren’t available through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out the card’s benefits. some perks that could save you money on travel-related costs. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
If you’re traveling with someone else each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card and make sure to track your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re making use of this program in the most efficient method possible. Through an array of methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.