Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which you can use to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to review the frequent flyer account and determine which airline offers you the most value. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is to open a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, spending habits and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be great to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. From there it’s all about building up miles, and using them to book your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet getaway! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the companies I’ve worked with:
Take a trip with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to nearly every airline and you can use a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using either points or dollars? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for the same flight. If you’re a few point short United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn a 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 with credit card, then do it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually about 3 percent. It might be worth it over the long term if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they can reimburse you.
Repay the loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to look into any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Buy gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you planning to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from your travel credit card. earn miles or points to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount to qualify for a credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover the expenses.
Use your credit card for everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum spend and earn points is by utilising your credit cards to pay everyday expenditures. This could include things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example, using points to book a ticket directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a Hotel rewards programme. This will give you access to a greater variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to discover if your credit card offers certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. Many cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to get rewards on your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of this program in the most effective way possible. Utilizing a combination of the strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.