Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to get discounted or even complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles towards hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account and determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer various benefits and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are perfect 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 or debit card, you’ll need to reach the limit of spending minimum 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 miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to pay for your trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? Be careful in case you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on flights. If you’re only a couple of point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to United’s that allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you combine your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried as we’ve done it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent using a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It might be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future, ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they can reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan, consider repaying them using the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing this.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts using your credit card. This way you can hit that minimum spend and also be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you already planning to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover these expenses.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily expenses
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards for everyday expenditures. This could be things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about 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 an account with a travel credit card that has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the benefits of different redemption options. For instance using points to book a ticket directly through the airline may offer better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a larger selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, determine the card’s benefits. any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. 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 someone else, both of you can get rewards on your own credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using this program in the most efficient method. Utilizing a combination of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.