Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting method to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, which can be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little creativity and some insider knowledge, you can travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Some credit cards also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the price is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to check for the details. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve worked with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own an Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to pay for your travel. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the full cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option to pay with either points or dollars? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on the same flight. If you’re just a few point short United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to combine your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually about 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you have any loans, consider paying them off with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and look into any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using your credit card. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you contemplating to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from the travel credit card. accrue points or miles to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. Not only will you be able to hit the required amount to earn your credit card, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum spend in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay every day costs. This could be items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving 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, be sure to use them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance using points to book a ticket directly with the airline could provide you with a greater return than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a larger variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that may not be accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, determine if your credit card offers 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 invaluable when you travel.
If you’re traveling with someone else, both of you can get rewards on your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
The key to making the most of your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient method. By using an array of methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.