Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or cheap flights from your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in 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 it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to review those frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the best price. It all boils down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening an account with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be perfect 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 card, you’ll need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. Then you can begin to rack miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, you’re ready to use them towards sweet vacation! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve worked with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase credit card, then you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline. You can make use of a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every 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? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on the same flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points away, United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to that of United Airlines which allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried because we’ve been there and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3%. It could be worthwhile in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up Ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they will pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration making payments on them with your credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most out of your travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum spend to earn your credit card as well, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for these expenditures.
Use your credit card for everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by making use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month 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, such as dining or travel. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance, using points to book a ticket directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a Hotel rewards programme. This will give you access to a greater selection of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that may not be available through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should find out whether your credit card has 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 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 divide the cost with the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
The key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient way possible. Through an array of methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.