Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which can be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your ideal destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also permit you to use miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually 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 check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? First step to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards that provide many advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are perfect for travel hacking:
- 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 this information. Then, it’s all about racking miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card companies offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline. You can combine points and cash to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got 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 buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for the same flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points short, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars but not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your family members if you can pay their medical bills and they’ll repay you.
Repay the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with the credit card you have. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they know why you’re doing it.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid paying more than you contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most of the travel credit card and earn miles or points to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles to cover those expenses.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay for everyday costs. This can include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles, be sure to use them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example using your points to book a ticket directly with the airline might offer better return than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or reward program for hotels. This gives the benefit of a larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should find out whether your credit card has any perks that can reduce your travel expenses. 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.
If you’re traveling with a companion and both of you earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re using it in the most efficient way possible. By using a combination of the methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.