Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which can be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of imagination and some information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to look into your frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have in your travel account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome 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 what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent 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 need to reach the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be certain to verify this information. Then, it’s all about racking miles and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve worked with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have an Chase card, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll have access to almost every airline, and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your next trip. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points short, United also offers the option of buying 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. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you join your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Be sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically about 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach 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 their medical bills and they can repay you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider paying them off with an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing it.
Buy presents
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can hit that minimum spend and be ready for gift giving. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already contemplating to.
There are many methods to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel and accumulate miles or points that you can spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of you travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum spend for your credit card as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on the expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay everyday expenditures. This could include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for certain types of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, consider transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points make sure you use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For example using your points to book a flight directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a reward program for hotels. This can give an access greater variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that may not be offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
Also, find out the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will help you save money on travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards using your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most effective way possible. By using a combination of the methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.