Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles which you can use to get discounted or even cheap flights from your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? First step to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with many features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards 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 or debit card, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards delicious vacation! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, 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 book your travel. You can even book completely on points if you have the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire cost, you are able to book flights using the 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 your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying with either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points on one flight. If you’re a few points short, United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with a credit card, do it! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually around 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they’ll repay you.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans, consider repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and look into any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for taking the initiative.
Purchase presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with your credit card. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are many methods to get the most from your travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily costs
Another way to hit the minimum spend in order to accumulate points making use of your credit card for every day expenses. This could include things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For example, using your points to book a ticket directly through the airline may offer 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 your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This can give you access to a greater range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks that aren’t accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out the card’s benefits. any perks that can help you save money on travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card and make sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to know your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of it in the most effective method. By using all of the methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.