Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to look into the frequent flyer account to determine which airline offers you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have in your travel bank for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? First step opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards with various features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent 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 rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, you’re ready to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve worked with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll have access to almost every airline. You can make use of a combination of points and cash to book your travel. You can even book entirely on points if you have the funds to pay for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with either points or dollars? Be careful in case you don’t have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points for the same flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re a few point short United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. 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 anything like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3 percent. It might be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members to pay them for theirs, and they can reimburse you.
Repay the loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to get the most out of your travel credit card. accrue points or miles to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of the travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. Not only will you achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those expenditures.
Use your credit card for everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is using your credit card to pay everyday expenses. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the value of different redemption options. For example using your points to book a ticket directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in redeeming 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 gives an access greater selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that may not be accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out whether your credit card has certain benefits that will help you save money on travel expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with a companion, both of you can earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re making use of it in the most effective method. By using an array of strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.