Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles that can then be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to review the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open a credit card with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide a variety of features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, spending habits and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are great to hack travel
- 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 reach the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make certain to verify the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious travel! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the ones I have experience with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase cards, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll have access to nearly every airline, and you can use a combination of money and points to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire price, you can buy flights with 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 flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option of paying with dollars or points? Be careful that if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on one flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points short, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. But, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret, 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 for your rent with credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually around 3%. It might be worth it in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due then ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they’ll pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re doing it.
Buy presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by utilising your credit cards for daily expenses. This can include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, consider transferring that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance using your points to book a flight directly with the airline could offer better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you have a wider range of options and greater flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be offered through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that can be invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective method possible. By using all of the methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.