Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which can be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in hacking travel is taking 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 consider the cost. If the flight is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review your frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with various features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent 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 minimum spend limit in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. Then, it’s all about racking miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to use them towards delicious vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase card, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can use a combination of money and points to pay for your travel. You can even book entirely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t possess enough points for the entire cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you do not have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points for flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re a few points away, United gives you the possibility of purchasing 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 more legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s which allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature where you can join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, 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 pay your rent using a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually at least 3%. It may be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future, ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they will pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration repaying them using an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Buy presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most of the travel credit card and earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of you travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. Not only will you be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay daily expenses. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For example you can use points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may offer better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you enjoy a greater variety of choices and more freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a greater range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to discover the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion each of you will be able to earn rewards with your own credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing 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 possible. By using a combination of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.