Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to get discounted or even cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to check the frequent flyer account to find out which airline will give you the most value. It all comes down to the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? The first step is to open a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards great 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 need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make certain to verify the details. Then it’s all about building up miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued the points amount, it’s time to use them towards nice getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve had experience with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase cards, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to nearly every airline and you can combine points and cash to book your travel. You can even book entirely 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 price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on the same flight. If you’re a few point short United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that allows you to join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It may be worth it in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due Ask your family members to pay for theirs and they can reimburse you.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about paying them off with an credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full , so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to look into any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Just make sure you trust the person and they understand why you’re doing it.
Give presents
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts using the credit card you have. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and also be prepared to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most out of your travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for those costs.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday costs
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement and earn points is using your credit card to pay for every day expenditures. This could be things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to 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 debts without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance you can use points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This allows you to get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This will give an access larger range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks that may not be accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out the card’s benefits. some perks that could help you save money on travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that can be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards with your credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective way possible. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.