Are you tired of paying an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to convert credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into miles that can then be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your dream destinations. With a little creativity and some insider 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. The miles can be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental discounts.
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 to establish a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the price is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best deal. All it boils down to is the amount of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. 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 what features are important 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 card you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to check for the details. Then, it’s all about racking up miles, and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some nice vacation! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are a few examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll have access to virtually every airline and you can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your trip. You can even book entirely on points if you have enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire cost, you still can 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 the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying with dollars or points? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on one flight. If you’re just a few points away, United provides the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Make 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 like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through 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! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually around 3%. It may be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up Ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they can reimburse you.
Pay off the loan
If you have any loans, consider paying them off with the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to look into any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from the travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement and earn points is by using your credit card to pay for daily expenditures. This could include items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
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. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use your points to book a ticket directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or a reward program for hotels. This will give the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits which are not offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to determine if your credit card offers any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of your credit card in the most effective way possible. Through an array of strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.