Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into miles which can be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little creativity and some insider information, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to look into your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for every airline.
Start 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 many great credit cards with many features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be excellent 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 have to meet the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to look up the details. From there it’s all about building 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, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are a few examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own an Chase credit card, then you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to virtually 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 entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful in case you do not have enough points you can’t combine points and dollars for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re a few points short, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. But, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can combine 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 into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. Don’t worry as we’ve done it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically about 3 percent. It might be worth it in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills due then ask your family members if you can pay their medical bills and they can pay you back.
Repay a loan
If you have any loans, consider repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to look into any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were planning to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from the travel credit card. earn miles or points to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount for your credit card as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover these costs.
Use your credit card for everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum spend and earn points is by utilising your credit cards for daily expenses. This can include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like dining or travel. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance you can use your points to book a flight directly through the airline may offer better value than using them for a gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This can give an access wider range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should discover if your credit card offers some perks that could help you save money on travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that can be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of it in the most efficient method possible. Through all of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.