Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking could 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 obtain discounted or free flights to your dream destinations. With a little imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to look into your frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the most value. It all boils down to the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each 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 bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to check for the details. From there you can begin to rack miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to use them towards nice travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll have access to almost every airline and you can combine the points as well as cash in order to pay for your travel. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the entire cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying using either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for one flight. If you’re just a few point short United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It might be worth it in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they will pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans take into consideration repaying them using the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you thinking of.
There are many methods to get the most out of your travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of your travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenses.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is by using your credit card for daily expenditures. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example using points to book a flight directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a hotel rewards program. This gives an access larger range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks that may not be accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has some perks that could reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion and both of you get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re making use of it in the most efficient way possible. By using a combination of the methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.