Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some information, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is under $300, it’s usually 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 review your frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the most value. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is to open a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer various features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards excellent for travel hacking:
- 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 minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up this information. From there, it’s all about racking up miles, and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the ones I have experience with:
Escape by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can combine money and points to pay for your next trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price 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? Be careful, if you do not have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on the same flight. If you’re just a few points away, United provides the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you combine your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. Don’t worry as we’ve done it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically about 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future Ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they will reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower you owe, think about paying them off with your credit card. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Purchase gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most from using your credit or debit card for travel and earn miles or points to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of your travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover these expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points by making use of your credit card for every day expenses. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a credit card, consider transferring the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example, using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater return than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you have a wider range of choices and more freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This will give an access larger selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to find out whether your credit card has some perks that could reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re using it in the most efficient method. By using an array of strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.