Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which can be used to score discounted or complimentary flights for your dream destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll travel for free 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. The miles can be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer a variety of benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there, it’s all about racking miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet travel! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve worked with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll have access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your next trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total price, you can purchase flights through 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 the full cost for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying with either points or dollars? But, be careful that if you do not have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars for one flight. If you’re just a few point short United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars, 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 fast. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family 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 thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. Don’t worry as we’ve done it and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually about 3 percent. It may be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due Ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can reimburse you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about making payments on them with your credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to see if they have any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re doing it.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with your credit card. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to make the most out of your travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spend in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay everyday costs. 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
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, consider transferring that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the value of different redemption options. For instance you can use points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a hotel rewards program. This will give an access greater range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits which are not available through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. some perks that could help you save money on travel expenses. Some 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 a friend and both of you earn rewards using your credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to know your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of this program in the most effective way possible. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.