Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little imagination and some know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to review those frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the most value. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide various advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are perfect for travel hacking:
- 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 spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to check for this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards delicious getaway! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are a few examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll have access to almost every airline and you can use a combination of money and points to pay for your trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you still can purchase flights through the 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 your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? Be careful, if you do not have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can join your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually about 3%. It might 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 required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they’ll reimburse you.
Repay the loan
If you have any loans take into consideration repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Give presents
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be prepared to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most of your travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the required amount for your credit card bonus, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points using your credit card to pay for every day expenses. This can include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, consider transferring the balance to a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example using your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could offer better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This gives the benefit of a greater selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to discover if your credit card offers any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a friend and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do 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 making use of this program in the most effective method possible. Utilizing a combination of the methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.