Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful 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 book a flight consider the cost. If the flight is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to look into the frequent flyer account to determine which airline offers you the most value. It all comes down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards with a variety of advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are perfect to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to reach the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be certain to verify this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some nice travel! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your travel. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to book flights using 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 flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United You have the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful, if you do not have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars for one flight. If you’re a few points short, United provides the option of buying 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 like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to 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 and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for credit card bonuses. Don’t worry because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically at least 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 way to reach the required spending is to pay for an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they can repay you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration making payments on them with an credit card. Be sure to pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re doing it.
Give presents
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you already planning to.
There are many ways to get the most from using your credit or debit card for travel and accrue points or miles to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by making use of your credit card for daily costs. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For instance using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or hotel rewards program. This can give you access to a wider range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks which are not accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, determine if your credit card offers certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card and make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient method possible. By using all of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.