Are you fed up of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your dream destinations. With a little imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards allow you to 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 building out frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to review your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best price. It all boils down to the amount of miles or points in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards with various benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few 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 or debit card, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. Then, it’s all about racking up miles, and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points amount, it’s time to use them towards nice vacation! 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:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have an Chase card, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can combine the points as well as cash in order to book your travel. You can even book completely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? Butbe aware in case you do not have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on one flight. If you’re a few points away, United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using a credit card, do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you have any loans take into consideration paying them off with your credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and also be prepared for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to make the most out of the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use your travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. Not only will you achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card reward as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover the expenses.
Utilize your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is making use of your credit card for everyday costs. This could include things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance you can use your points to book a flight directly through the airline may offer better return than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This can give an access wider range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
Also, discover the card’s benefits. some perks that could save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
When you travel with a companion and both of you earn rewards using your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most effective method possible. Through all of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.