Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some know-how, 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 and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to check your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? The first step is to open a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with various advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are great to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit card you’ll have to meet the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet vacation! Different credit card companies have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full 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 the full cost 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? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on the same flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Make 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 or my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried because we’ve been there and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, go for it! Be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3 percent. It may be worth it in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re doing this.
Buy presents
If it’s the holiday season, consider buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready for gift giving. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most of the travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ways to maximize the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount for your credit card bonus as well, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement to earn rewards is by utilising your credit cards to pay every day expenses. This could include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you are currently in outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your 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
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use them in a responsible manner. Examine the rewards program of your credit card and compare the value of different redemption options. For instance you can use your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might offer better value than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This will let you have a wider range of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This will give you access to a greater variety of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has certain benefits that will help you save money on travel expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with someone else, both of you can earn rewards using your own credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of this program in the most efficient method. By using all of the strategies I’ve listed that you can earn rewards fast, exchange rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.