Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles which can be used to get discounted or even free flights to your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and some know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to review those frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the most value. It all boils down to the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are perfect 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 have to meet the limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different guidelines, so make sure to look up the details. From there you can begin to rack miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet vacation! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase cards, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline, and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your next trip. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the full cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying with either points or dollars? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points for one flight. If you’re just a few points short, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that allows you to join your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It might be worth it in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they’ll repay you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider repaying them using the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to look into any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they know why you’re doing it.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can hit that minimum spend and also be prepared to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already thinking of.
There are plenty of methods to get the most from the travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum spend to earn your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover these costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday costs
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is using your credit card to pay every day expenditures. This can include items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, think about transferring that balance onto a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance, using points to book a ticket directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to have a wider range of options and greater freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a Hotel rewards programme. This gives you access to a wider selection 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 certain benefits that will reduce your travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card and make sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most effective way possible. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.