Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a 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 airline miles, which you can use to get discounted or even free flights to your dream destinations. With a little creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also permit you to use miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and to establish a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to review those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is 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? First step opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with a variety of features and benefits. 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 some credit card options that can be perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card you’ll have to meet the minimum spend limit in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for this information. Then it’s all about building up miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, you’re ready to use them towards nice vacation! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to nearly every airline. You can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your trip. You can book your flight entirely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. If you’re only a couple of points away, United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines that allows you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3%. It might be worth it in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to cover a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up Ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they will repay you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that 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 which you could help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they know why you’re doing it.
Give gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can hit that minimum spend and also be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to make the most of the travel credit card. accumulate miles or points that you can use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum spend to earn your credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending and earn points is making use of your credit card for every day expenditures. This could include things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, like dining or travel. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points make sure you use them wisely. Examine the rewards program of 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 provide you with a greater return than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of options and greater flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a reward program for hotels. This can give you access to a wider variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will help you save money on travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with a companion, both of you can earn rewards using your credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs 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 make sure you’re making use of this program in the most effective method. By using all of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.