Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider knowledge, you can fly for no cost 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 then be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and to establish frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost 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 higher than $500, it’s best to review those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? First step opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are many great credit cards that provide various features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards great to hack 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 spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to check for the details. Then it’s all about building miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some delicious getaway! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your points. Here are some examples from some of the ones I have experience with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to nearly every airline and you can use a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can even book entirely on points if you have 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 with every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using dollars or points? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on flights. If you’re just a few points away, United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there 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 your rent using credit card, then do it! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually about 3%. It may be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up Ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you have any loans, consider repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were planning to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most from your travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover the expenditures.
Use your credit card for everyday expenses
Another way to meet the minimum spend and earn points is using your credit card to pay daily expenditures. This could include things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds 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 habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For example you can use points to book a ticket directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to have a wider range of options and greater flexibility when making use of your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or Hotel rewards programme. This will give an access larger range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with someone else each of you will be able to get rewards on your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of your credit card in the most efficient way possible. Through a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.