Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to get discounted or even free flights to your desired destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to look into your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open an account with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make certain to verify this information. From there you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have an Chase card, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to almost every airline. You can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your next trip. You can even book completely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful, if you do not have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points for one flight. If you’re only a couple of point short United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried because we’ve been there and we’re 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 a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they will pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to see if they have 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 know why you’re doing this.
Buy presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most of the travel credit card. earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of the travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the minimum spend for your credit card reward and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spend in order to accumulate points using your credit card to pay for everyday costs. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including dining or travel. Check out 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 have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using your points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a Hotel rewards programme. This gives an access wider variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that may not be accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you 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 know the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most efficient way 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 enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.