Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into miles which can be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for 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 comes time to book a flight 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 for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check those frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles in your travel bank for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide a variety of features and benefits. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be excellent 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 reach the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, you’re ready to use them towards nice getaway! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points. Here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll have access to almost every airline, and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the full price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option to pay with either points or dollars? Butbe aware that if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few points away, United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s that allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you combine 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.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically around 3%. It may be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due Ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll repay you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration making payments on them with an credit card. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate 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. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to trust the person and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts using cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are many methods to get the most of the travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. Not only will you be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card reward and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles to cover the costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay for everyday expenses. This could include items like groceries, gas and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For instance, using points to book a ticket directly with the airline could offer better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater freedom when it comes to you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a reward program for hotels. This will give an access greater selection 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 help you save money on travel expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion each of you will be able to get rewards on your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track 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 making use of this program in the most effective way possible. Through a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.