Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little 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 the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the flight 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 above $500, you’ll want to look into the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the most value. It all boils down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel bank for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards excellent for travel hacking:
- 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 minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to look up this information. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious vacation! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll have access to nearly every airline, and you can use a combination of points and cash to pay for your travel. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option of paying with dollars or points? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine points and dollars for flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few points short, United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you join your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. However, don’t be worried because we’ve been there and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the required spending is to pay for the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills due Ask your family members to pay for theirs and they can reimburse you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Give gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with your credit card. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most out of the travel credit card. earn miles or points to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, make use of you travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. Not only will you be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card reward, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those expenses.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is making use of your credit card to pay every day expenses. This could be things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles, be sure to use them wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For example using your points to book a ticket 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 your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a reward program for hotels. This can give an access larger selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Also, determine whether your credit card has some perks that could help you save money on travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most effective method. By using an array of strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.