Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking 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’s time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise higher than $500, it’s best to look into your frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the best price. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards with many advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are excellent to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up this information. Then it’s all about building up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some nice travel! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are a few examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can use a combination of money and points to pay for your next trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full price, you can book flights using 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 your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option to pay with either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on the same flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few point short United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers 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, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points, however, not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before 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 thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. Don’t worry 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 an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll repay you.
Repay the loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about paying them off with the credit card you have. Make sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to see if they have any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Give gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not paying more than you already planning to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most out of the travel credit card. accrue points or miles to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of the travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points making use of your credit card to pay everyday costs. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
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 travelling. 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’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For instance using your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a hotel rewards program. This can give the benefit of a wider range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks that aren’t offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover the card’s benefits. any perks that can save you money on travel-related 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.
When you travel with someone else, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards separately.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient way possible. By using all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.