Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, which you can use to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise higher than $500, it’s best to look into the frequent flyer account and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open a credit card with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with many benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are perfect to hack 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 qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to check for the details. From there you can begin to rack miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some nice travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase card, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can combine the points as well as cash in order 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 be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points for one flight. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s that allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points, however, not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It might be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up Ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they can repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about making payments on them with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Buy presents
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already planning to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most from your travel credit card. earn miles or points to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, make use of your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount to earn your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily expenses
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points utilising your credit cards for everyday expenditures. This could be things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points make sure you use them wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example you can use your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This will give the benefit of a greater selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to discover whether your credit card has certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most efficient method. By using all of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.