Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which you can use to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your dream destinations. With a little imagination and some know-how, you’ll 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. These miles can later be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight consider the cost. If the flight is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting higher than $500, it’s best to review those frequent flyer accounts and see which airline can give you the most value. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be great 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 reach the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to look up this information. From there it’s all about building up miles, and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are a few examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your next trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the full cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying with either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on flights. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of points short, 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 passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines which allows customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars but not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature where you can combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they’ll repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to see if they have 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.
Buy gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for gift giving. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are many methods to get the most out of the travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending and earn points is by using your credit card to pay for every day expenses. This could be things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For instance using your points to book a flight directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a hotel rewards program. This can give the benefit of a wider range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to find out whether your credit card has certain benefits that will reduce your travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a companion each of you will be able to earn rewards with your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most efficient method possible. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.