Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight consider the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the most value. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with various benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, spending habits and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are perfect to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit card you’ll need to reach the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify the details. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to use them towards nice vacation! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are some examples from a few of the companies I have experience with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase credit card, then you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can use a combination of points and cash to pay for your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full 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 realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for the same flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars, but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It might be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the required spending is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future Ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they will repay you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to look into any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re doing it.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most out of your travel credit card. accrue points or miles to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card reward, but you’ll also earn points or miles on the expenses.
Utilize your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is making use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs. This can include things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, including dining or travel. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to an account with a travel credit card that has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For instance, using your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could offer better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility when making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a reward program for hotels. This will give the benefit of a larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure to track your rewards separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using this program in the most effective method possible. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.