Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which you can use to get discounted or even 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 about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the most value. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles in your travel account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is opening a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide various features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards 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 or debit card, you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up 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 points?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some nice vacation! Different credit card companies offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase cards, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline, and you can combine money and points to book your next trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the total price, you can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
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 to pay with either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you do not have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on flights. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of points short, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they’ll pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to see if they have any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re doing it.
Give gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using cards from your credit account. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are many ways to get the most out of the travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use the travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you be able to hit the minimum spend to qualify for a credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these costs.
Use your credit card for everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay every day expenditures. This can include things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For example using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them for a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you enjoy a greater variety of options and greater flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This gives an access wider selection of hotels, flights, and other travel perks which are not accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover whether your credit card has certain benefits that will help you save money on 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 a friend and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re making use of this program in the most effective method possible. Through an array of strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.