Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and a little bit of insider knowledge, you can travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking travel is taking 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 price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced 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 best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points in your travel account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open an account with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with a variety of advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great for travel hacking:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card, you’ll have to meet the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to check for the details. Then, it’s all about racking miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail 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 providers will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll have access to nearly every airline, and you can combine the points as well as cash in order to pay for your travel. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the total cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on the same flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can join your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they can repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and look into any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Buy gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts using the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid paying more than you contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most 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 ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles for those expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily expenses
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay daily expenses. This could include 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.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For instance, using points to book a ticket directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater flexibility in making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a hotel rewards program. This will give the benefit of a larger variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not available through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should find out the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will reduce your travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card and make sure you keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re making use of it in the most effective method. Through a combination of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.