Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which you can use to get discounted or even complimentary flights for your ideal 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 the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the flight is under $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to look into the frequent flyer account to determine which airline offers you the most value. It all comes down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel bank for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer various features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, spending habits and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards great to hack 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 rules, so make sure to check for the details. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can combine the points as well as cash in order to book your travel. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any 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 have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful that 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 just a few point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to join your points 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 pretty frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, then do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It could be worthwhile over the long term if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they will repay you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about repaying them using an credit card. Be sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to see if they have any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re doing this.
Purchase gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays 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 ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are many ways to make the most from using your credit or debit card for travel. accumulate miles or points that you can spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only achieve the minimum spend to earn your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on the expenses.
Use your credit card for everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spend and earn points is by using your credit card for every day costs. This could include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This can give you access to a larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should discover whether your credit card has some perks that could save you money on travel-related 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 friend, both of you can earn rewards with your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most efficient method possible. Utilizing all of the methods I’ve described that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.