Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting method to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to obtain discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight consider the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to review your frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the most value. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? The first step is opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are plenty of great credit cards with a variety of advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are great to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so make certain to verify the details. From there you can begin to rack up miles, and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated the points amount, it’s time to cash them in for some nice travel! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are some examples from a few of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can combine money and points to pay for your travel. You can even book completely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points you can’t combine points and dollars on one flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points short, United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can join your points with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried because we’ve been there and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with a credit card, do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically around 3%. It might be worth it over the long term in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the required spending is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they’ll reimburse you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan, consider making payments on them with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to see if they have any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Give presents
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using your credit card. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are many methods to get the most of the travel credit card. earn miles or points to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card bonus and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay for daily costs. This could be things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the value of different redemption options. For example you can use points to book a ticket directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or reward program for hotels. This will give an access wider selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover whether your credit card has any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that can be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using your credit card in the most effective method possible. By using a combination of the methods I’ve described that you can earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.