Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to convert credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles that can then be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the flight is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to look into those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide many features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to reach the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make sure to look up the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some nice travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have an Chase credit card, then 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 trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for 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 full price for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points for one flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points away, United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s which allows 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 that allows you to pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3%. It could be worthwhile in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they’ll reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration paying them off with an credit card. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with your credit card. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most out of your travel credit card and accrue points or miles to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for those costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay for daily expenditures. This could include items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, including dining or travel. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, consider transferring that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could offer better return than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This can give the benefit of a wider variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that aren’t accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
Also, determine the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re using this program in the most effective way possible. Through a combination of the strategies I’ve listed that you can get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.