Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the price is less than $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 review your frequent flyer accounts and see which airline can give you the best price. It all comes down to the number of points or miles you have you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is opening the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer many features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be great to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll have to meet the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to check for this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles, and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet getaway! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase card, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your next trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the full cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on one flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically about 3%. It could be worthwhile in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they can pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Be sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to get the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. accrue points or miles to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover the costs.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by making use of your credit card to pay everyday costs. This can include things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring the balance to a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For instance you can use points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might 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 rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to have a wider range of choices and more freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This can give you access to a wider variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that aren’t accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine whether your credit card has any perks that can help you save money on travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that can be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion, both of you can earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to track your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re using this program in the most efficient method possible. Utilizing a combination of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.