Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which can be used to get discounted or even free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to review your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best price. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer many advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are 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 or debit card, you’ll have to meet the minimum spend limit in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your points?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the ones I have experience with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In this portal you’ll get access to nearly every airline and 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 do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying using dollars or points? Be careful that if you don’t 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 provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. But, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that allows you to pool your points together with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done 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 with credit card, then do it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they will pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you have any loans, consider repaying them using an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Give gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you contemplating to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from using your credit or debit card for travel and accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another method to reach the minimum spend to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay daily costs. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on 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 your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use your points to book a flight directly with the airline might offer better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a Hotel rewards programme. This gives the benefit of a larger selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to find out if your credit card offers any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Many 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 get rewards on your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of this program in the most effective method possible. Utilizing a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.