Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to review those frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best price. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets of travel hacking? 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 offer various advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards perfect 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 reach the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up the details. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to use them towards delicious vacation! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to nearly every airline and you can use a combination of money and points to pay for your next trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you know that when you book 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 for flights. No worries though, if you’re a few point short United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s, allowing you to book with either 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 verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3%. It may be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to cover a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up Ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider paying them off with your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy gifts
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you planning to.
There are many methods to get the most of the travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on these costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay daily expenses. This could include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For example using your points to book a ticket directly with the airline might provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This will give you access to a larger range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits that aren’t available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Also, discover 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 extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a companion, both of you can get rewards on your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card and make sure to track your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most effective method possible. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.