Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which you can use to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little imagination and some knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting 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 amount of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? First step to open a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer many advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent to hack travel
- 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 hit the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make certain to verify the details. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some sweet vacation! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline. You can combine money and points to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire 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 the full cost for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware that if you do not have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points for one flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there 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 to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they’ll pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you have any loans, consider paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full , so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re doing it.
Buy gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for gift giving. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already planning to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most of your travel credit card. accrue points or miles to use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. Not only will you achieve the minimum spend for your credit card reward, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover the costs.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spend in order to accumulate points by making use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs. This could be things like gas, groceries, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use points to book a ticket directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem 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 can give an access larger range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not offered through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out whether your credit card has certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. 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.
If you’re traveling with a companion each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card and make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most efficient method possible. By using a combination of the methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.