Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which can be used to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little creativity and some insider 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 and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight take a look at the price. If the price is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise higher than $500, it’s best to review the frequent flyer account to determine which airline offers you the most value. It all boils down to the number of points or miles in your travel bank for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening an account with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are essential 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 have to meet the minimum spend limit in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make certain to verify the details. From there, it’s all about racking up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are some examples from some of the providers I have experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase cards, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to nearly every airline. You can combine the points as well as cash in order to pay for your trip. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire price, you can 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 realize that when booking directly through United You have the option to pay with either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine points and dollars on the same flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few points short, United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue points or dollars, however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually about 3%. It might be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills coming up, ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will reimburse you.
Pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration paying them off with your credit card. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re doing this.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. accrue points or miles to spend on flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of the travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as other travel costs. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another method to reach the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points using your credit card to pay daily expenditures. This can include items like groceries, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points on certain kinds of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Check out the rewards program of your credit card and take advantage of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example you can use your points to book a ticket directly with the airline could provide you with a greater value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This will allow you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to the frequent flyer program of an airline or hotel rewards program. This will give you access to a greater selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, discover whether your credit card has any perks that can 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.
When you travel with a companion and both of you earn rewards with your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card, and be sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to maximizing your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of this program in the most effective method. Through all of the methods I’ve described in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.