Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to obtain discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to look into those frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning 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 provide a variety of advantages and features. 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 card options that can be great to use for hacking 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 spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make certain to verify the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some delicious vacation! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
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 this portal you’ll have access to almost every airline. You can combine points and cash to book your travel. You can even book entirely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total price, you can 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 full price for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine dollars and points on flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried as we’ve done 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 to pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It might be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due Ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they’ll repay you.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration 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 accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing this.
Buy presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most from the travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on these expenses.
Utilize your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to meet the minimum spend to earn rewards is making use of your credit card to pay everyday costs. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater return than using them for a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a reward program for hotels. This can give the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. any perks that can reduce your travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that can be invaluable when you travel.
When you travel with someone else, both of you can earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to track your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most efficient method possible. By using an array of strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.