Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? 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 cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the most value. It all boils down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening an account with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer many advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few 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 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 sure to look up this information. Then, it’s all about racking up miles, and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
After you’ve accrued the points amount, it’s time to use them towards sweet vacation! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the providers I have experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can combine points and cash to pay for your travel. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option of paying using either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points on flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few points short, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines that allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. Don’t worry because we’ve been there and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future Ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they’ll repay you.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration repaying them using the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they understand why you’re doing this.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using cards from your credit account. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you planning to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from using your credit or debit card for travel. accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles on the costs.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement and earn points is by using your credit card for every day expenditures. This can include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using your points to book a flight directly with the airline might offer better return than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This gives the benefit of a wider variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out if your credit card offers certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card and make sure to track your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using it in the most efficient method possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.