Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other 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 some know-how, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to look into the frequent flyer account and find out which airline will give you the most value. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide a variety of advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are excellent 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 have to meet the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet getaway! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll get access to almost every airline, and you can combine points and cash to pay for your next trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you not know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying using dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine dollars and points for one flight. If you’re only a couple of point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s that allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars, but not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It could be worthwhile in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up then ask your family members to pay them for theirs, and they can pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about paying them off with the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and look into any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most of your travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spend and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay every day expenditures. This could include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Check out the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points prudently
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use them wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This gives the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that may not be accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Also, discover the card’s benefits. some perks that could help you save money on travel expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that can be invaluable when you travel.
If you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card and make sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to making the most of your travel rewards is to know your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective method. By using a combination of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.