Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting method to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your dream destinations. With a little imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to review those frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the best deal. It all boils down to the number of miles or points in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is to open an account with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards 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 need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to check for this information. Then it’s all about building up miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the providers I have experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own a Chase card, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to nearly every airline and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your next trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t possess enough points for the total cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying using dollars or points? Be careful, if you do not have enough points you can’t combine points and dollars on one flight. No worries though, if you’re a few points away, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s, allowing you to book with 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 combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Just make sure you can establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It may be worth it over the long term in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due, ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they’ll pay you back.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about making payments on them with an credit card. Make sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to see if they have any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to trust the person and they are aware of the reason for doing this.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with your credit card. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and also be prepared to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most of using your credit or debit card for travel and accrue points or miles to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum spend to earn your credit card, but you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay for everyday costs. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, like dining or travel. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and take advantage of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points, be sure to use them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This gives the benefit of a larger range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to find out whether your credit card has some perks that could help you save money on travel expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance, 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, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re using it in the most efficient way possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide assortment of travel-related perks.