Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which can be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out 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 best 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 look into your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent 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 have to meet the limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some nice getaway! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase cards, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to almost every airline. You can make use of a combination of points and cash to pay for your next trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the entire price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine points and dollars on one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points short, United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can join your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical 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 our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3%. It may be worth it in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about making payments on them with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not paying more than you thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to get the most of the travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum spend to qualify for a credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover the expenses.
Use your credit card for all your daily expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is making use of your credit card for daily expenditures. This can include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, including dining or travel. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, think about transferring the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points, be sure to use them wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example, using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a larger variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that aren’t accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine if your credit card offers certain benefits that will help you save money on travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
When you travel with someone else and both of you get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track your rewards separately.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most efficient way possible. By using 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 take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.