Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which you can use to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your ideal destinations. With a little bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? The first step is opening an account with a sign-up offer. There are plenty of great credit cards with various benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be perfect to hack travel
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
After you’ve been accepted for a credit or debit card, you’ll have to meet the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to check for the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to use them towards nice travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the companies I’ve worked with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to almost every airline, and you can use a combination of money and points to book your travel. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Butbe aware in case you do not have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of point short United provides the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. Don’t worry because we’ve been there and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, then do it! Make sure you 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.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they’ll repay you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider repaying them using your credit card. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any major expenses in the near future 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 doing it.
Purchase presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you planning to.
There are a lot of methods to get the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can accrue points or miles to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of the travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you achieve the required amount to qualify for a credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is by utilising your credit cards for every day costs. This could be items like groceries, gas and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider 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 the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For example, using your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better return than using them for an gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer 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 as well as other travel perks that may not be accessible through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out whether your credit card has any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Many cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection and other benefits that are very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else and both of you earn rewards using your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card and make sure to track your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re using it in the most efficient way possible. Utilizing a combination of the methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.