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 problems. It’s an exciting way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to get discounted or even complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a little creativity and some insider knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to review your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best deal. It all comes down to the number of points or miles in your travel account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is opening an account with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards with a variety of benefits and features. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards perfect for travel hacking:
- 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 hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so make certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building up miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, it’s time to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline and you can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying using either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine dollars and points for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few point short United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows you to book with either JetBlue dollar or points but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum spend for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent with credit card, go for it! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually about 3%. It may be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration making payments on them with an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re doing it.
Buy presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by making use of your credit card to pay for daily expenditures. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the benefits of different redemption options. For instance, using 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 tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should find out the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will help you save money on travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend, both of you can earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card and make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to know your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective method possible. By using an array of strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.