Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which can be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little imagination and some know-how, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking consider the cost. If the price is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts and see which airline can give you the best deal. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, spending habits and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit or debit card, you’ll need to reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to look up the details. From there it’s all about building up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some nice getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can make use of a combination of money and points to book your trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t possess enough points for the total cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine points and dollars for the same flight. If you’re a few point short United provides the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. Additionally, their booking process is like United’s, allowing customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to combine your points with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it 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 pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically at least 3%. It might be worth it over the long term in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to cover a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future, ask your family members to pay for theirs and they will pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan you owe, think about paying them off with an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re doing it.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most from your travel credit card. earn miles or points to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use the travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. Not only will you achieve the minimum spend to earn your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on these expenses.
Use your credit card for all your daily expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is using your credit card for everyday expenditures. This could include items like groceries, gas and even your telephone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for certain types of purchases, like eating out or traveling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance, using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you have a wider range of options and greater flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or reward program for hotels. This will give you access to a greater variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to find out the card’s benefits. some perks that could save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be invaluable when you travel.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion, both of you can earn rewards with your credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card and make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re using this program in the most effective method. By using all of the strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.