Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles, which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider 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 cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and to establish frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts to determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? First step to open an account with a sign-up offer. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer various benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be excellent for travel hacking:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be certain to verify the details. From there you can begin to rack up miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some sweet getaway! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can use a combination of money and points to book your next trip. You can book your flight entirely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful that if you do not have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points for flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few point 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 legroom and free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature where you can pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
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 reach the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried as we’ve done it 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! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It may be worth it over the long term if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future then 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 you owe, think about paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to see if they have any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for taking the initiative.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were planning to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most of your travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of the travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to hit the required amount for your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles for these costs.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenses
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is by using your credit card to pay daily expenditures. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For example you can use points to book a flight directly through the airline may offer better return than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a Hotel rewards programme. This gives you access to a wider variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that aren’t offered through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should discover if your credit card offers certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
When you travel with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card and make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re using your credit card in the most effective method. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.