Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which can be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Some credit cards also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and to establish frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the flight is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to check those frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is to open a credit card with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with various features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards great for travel hacking:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card you’ll need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to check for this information. From there, it’s all about racking up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to nearly every airline and you can combine points and cash to pay for your next trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire 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 fed up of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Be careful, if you do not have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points for the same flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points away, United provides the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they will pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they know why you’re doing this.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were thinking of.
There are many ways to get the most of your travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use you travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum spend for your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover those costs.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points making use of your credit card to pay for daily expenditures. This could include things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of 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 rewards program on your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement 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 them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For instance, using your points to book a ticket directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This allows you to have a wider range of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a hotel rewards program. This gives an access greater range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program on your credit card.
Also, discover if your credit card offers some perks that could save you money on travel-related costs. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
When you travel with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using this program in the most effective way possible. By using a combination of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.