Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? 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 miles which you can use to score discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little imagination and some knowledge, you can 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 purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take 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, evaluate the cost. 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 the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? First step to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer many advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent 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 hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make sure to look up the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards sweet travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase card, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to nearly every airline, and you can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your next trip. You can even book entirely on points if you have the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any 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 with dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars for flights. If you’re just a few points short, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you 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. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack 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 challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. Don’t worry because we’ve been there 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 pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually around 3%. It might be worth it over the long term in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they can pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing this.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with your credit card. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you thinking of.
There are many ways to make the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, make use of your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles for these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending and earn points is using your credit card to pay daily expenditures. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration 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 a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles, be sure to use them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example you can use your points to book a flight directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for an gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a Hotel rewards programme. This will give you access to a wider range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits which are not available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Also, discover the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a friend and both of you earn rewards using your credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re using this program in the most efficient method. Utilizing a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.