Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and some information, you’ll 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. The miles can be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to check your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer various benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are 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 need to reach the limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make sure to look up this information. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase card, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In this portal you’ll get access to virtually every airline. You can use a combination of points and cash to book your travel. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the full cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points short, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars but not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn 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.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit 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 our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to pay for the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future Ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration making payments on them with an credit card. Be sure to pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Purchase presents
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most from the travel credit card. accumulate miles or points that you can spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the required amount to earn your credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay everyday expenses. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example you can use your points to book a flight directly with the airline could offer better value than using them for 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 options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or hotel rewards program. This will give an access wider variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, discover whether your credit card has any perks that can reduce your travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that can be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of it in the most efficient method possible. Utilizing a combination of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.