Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert credit card 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 imagination and some know-how, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to look into your frequent flyer accounts to determine which airline offers you the best price. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer various benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit card you’ll need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to check for this information. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail 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 have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your travel. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using the credit card of your choice.
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 with either points or dollars? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points you can’t combine points and dollars for one flight. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of point short United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points but not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that allows you to combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. Don’t worry because we’ve been there and are here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using a credit card, do it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically at least 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they can reimburse you.
Repay a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about 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 for help
Discuss your family with them and determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to trust the person and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to get the most of your travel credit card. earn miles or points to use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those expenditures.
Use your credit card for everyday expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spend in order to accumulate points by making use of your credit card for everyday expenses. This could be items like groceries, gas and even your telephone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a hotel rewards program. This will give an access larger range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out if your credit card offers some perks that could reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion each of you will be able to get rewards on your own credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
The key to making the most of your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of this program in the most efficient method. Utilizing an array of 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.