Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to get discounted or even complimentary flights for your ideal destinations. With a little imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to pay for discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight consider the cost. If the cost is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to check those frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the number of points or miles in your travel bank for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer many advantages 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 some credit cards perfect to use for hacking 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 spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up the details. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your points?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some delicious vacation! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase card, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through this portal you’ll get access to almost every airline. You can use a combination of points and cash to pay for your next 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 total cost, you are able to 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 not know that when you book directly through United You have the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware that if you do not have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points for one flight. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of point short United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can join your points with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty economical and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. Don’t worry as we’ve done it and we’re here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, go for it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically about 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the required spending is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills due Ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they can pay you back.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re doing this.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts using the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and be ready for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most out of the travel credit card. accrue points or miles to use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card bonus, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement and earn points is by utilising your credit cards to pay every day expenditures. This can include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer the 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 assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of miles or points make sure you use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example you can use your points to book a ticket directly with the airline could offer better value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a wider selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that aren’t accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to discover the card’s benefits. any perks that can save you money on travel-related costs. A lot of credit cards provide 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 and both of you earn rewards using your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective method possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.