Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the price is less than $300, it’s best to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are great to hack 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 limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. Then, it’s all about racking up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards sweet vacation! Different credit card companies offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are a few examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have an Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll have access to nearly every airline. You can combine the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the entire price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option to pay with either points or dollars? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine points and dollars on one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of 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 provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars 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 quickly. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. Don’t worry because we’ve been there and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they’ll repay you.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about making payments on them with an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and look into any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were thinking of.
There are many ways to get the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. accumulate miles or points that you can use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum spend to earn your credit card reward, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay for daily expenditures. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, consider transferring that balance onto the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance using your points to book a ticket directly with the airline might give you a better 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 enjoy a greater variety of options and greater freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a hotel rewards program. This gives you access to a wider range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not offered through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. some perks that could help you save money on travel expenses. Some cards offer 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 friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re making use of your credit card in the most effective method possible. By using a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.