Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? 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 free flights to your dream destinations. With a little bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
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 on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the best deal. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide various features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent for travel hacking:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card, you’ll need to reach the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so be sure to check for the details. From there it’s all about building up miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting 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 companies will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of money and points to book your trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option of paying with dollars or points? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on one flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points away, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and are here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically at least 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for 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.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration paying them off with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future 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 are aware of the reason for doing this.
Purchase presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were planning to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use the travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum spend to earn your credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those costs.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending and earn points is by utilising your credit cards for daily expenses. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and 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 example you can use points to book a flight directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a Hotel rewards programme. This can give you access to a greater variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that may not be accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, discover whether your credit card has certain benefits that will reduce your travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
When you travel with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re making use of your credit card in the most effective way possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.