Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles which you can use to get discounted or even free flights to your dream destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards let you redeem miles for hotel stays and car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to look into those frequent flyer accounts to determine which airline offers you the most value. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide various advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be perfect 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 hit the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building up miles, and using them to plan your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some delicious vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own an Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to almost every airline and you can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your travel. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you 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 points and dollars on flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3 percent. It may be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due Ask your family members if you can pay their medical bills and they can reimburse you.
Repay a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about paying them off with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with your credit card. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid paying more than you planning to.
There are many methods to get the most from your travel credit card. accumulate miles or points that you can spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum spend for your credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily costs
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points making use of your credit card to pay for every day expenditures. This can include items like groceries, gas and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance onto the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using points to book a flight directly through the airline may offer better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a Hotel rewards programme. This will give an access greater variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has any perks that can save you money on travel-related costs. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re making use of it in the most efficient way possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.