Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which you can use to get discounted or even free flights to your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out 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 cost is under $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to look into your frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the most value. It all comes down to the number of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is opening an account with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer many features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be excellent to hack 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 limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to look up this information. From there you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up your points amount, it’s time to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline. You can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you still can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with dollars or points? Be careful, if you do not have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points for the same flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points short, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re 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 hit the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It may be worth it in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up then ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they can repay you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re doing it.
Purchase presents
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid paying more than you planning to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most from the travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of you travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by using your credit card for everyday costs. This could include things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Check out the rewards program of your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For example, using your points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may offer better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will let you have a wider range of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This will give the benefit of a larger selection of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that may not be offered through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should determine if your credit card offers any perks that can help you save money on travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card and make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient method possible. Through a combination of the methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.