Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which you can use to get discounted or even cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider know-how, 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 and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to check those frequent flyer accounts and see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is to open an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards with a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great for travel hacking:
- 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 have to meet the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make certain to verify this information. Then you can begin to rack miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some nice vacation! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are a few examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll have access to virtually every airline, and you can combine points and cash to pay for your travel. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t possess enough points for the full price, you can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with either points or dollars? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few points away, United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried as we’ve done it and are here to share some of 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 a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members if you can pay their medical bills and they will pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about making payments on them with your credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re doing it.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to make the most from your travel credit card. accrue points or miles to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of the travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum spend for your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on these expenses.
Utilize your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay for daily expenditures. This could be things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will let you pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points make sure you use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For example using your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a hotel rewards program. This will give an access larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover the card’s benefits. any perks that can reduce your travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a friend and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most efficient method possible. Through an array of methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.