Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which can be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. When the flights start getting higher than $500, it’s best to review those frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best price. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open an account with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer a variety of advantages and features. 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 cards that are 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 need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so be sure to look up this information. From there it’s all about building up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some sweet vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the providers I’ve worked with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to pay for your trip. You can even book entirely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the total cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every 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 to pay with either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for flights. If you’re a few points short, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature where you can combine your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent using a credit card, do it! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It may be worth it in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due Ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they can repay you.
Repay a loan
If you have any loans take into consideration paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and see if they have any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, 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 paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are a lot of ways to get the most out of the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card, but you’ll also earn points or miles for those costs.
Use your credit card to pay for your everyday costs
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards to pay everyday expenses. This could be items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them for an gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you have a wider range of options and greater flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a hotel rewards program. This gives you access to a wider variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should find out whether your credit card has certain benefits that will 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 someone else, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from 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 way possible. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.