Are you tired of spending 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 credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which can be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret 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 make a booking consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s best to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to look into the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best deal. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer many benefits and features. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be excellent to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make certain to verify the details. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to almost every airline. You can combine points and cash to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you still can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for the same flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points short, United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually about 3%. It might be worth it over the long term in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll repay you.
Repay a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Purchase presents
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using your credit card. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you planning to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. earn miles or points to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you be able to hit the minimum spend to earn your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by making use of your credit card for daily expenditures. This could include things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For example using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them for the purchase of 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 have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a reward program for hotels. This gives the benefit of a larger range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Also, find out whether your credit card has some perks that could save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using it in the most efficient way possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.