Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise higher than $500, it’s best to look into those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is to open an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with various advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious travel! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve worked with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase cards, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to nearly every airline. You can combine money and points to pay for your travel. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire price, you can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
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 to pay with either points or dollars? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. If you’re a few points short, United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It may be worth it in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the required spending is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future then ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing it.
Buy gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you already contemplating to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. accumulate miles or points that you can spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of you travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you be able to hit the required amount to earn your credit card reward, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by making use of your credit card for every day costs. This can include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, including dining or travel. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off the debt without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles make sure you use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For example you can use points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to have a wider range of options and greater flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This will give an access larger variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has some perks that could help you save money on travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that can be invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else, both of you can earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of your credit card in the most efficient method. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.