Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards allow you to redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight take a look at the price. If the price is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to check the frequent flyer account to determine which airline offers you the best deal. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points in your travel account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up offer. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide a variety of features and benefits. 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 cards that are perfect to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
Once you’ve been approved 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 make sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious getaway! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your rewards, here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll get access to nearly every airline. You can combine the points as well as cash in order to book your travel. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the full cost, you still can buy flights with 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 not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using dollars or points? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for the same flight. If you’re only a couple of points away, United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s, allowing passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you join your points with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and we’re here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually about 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they can reimburse you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider repaying them using your credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Purchase gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most of the travel credit card. accumulate miles or points that you can use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, make use of you travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to hit the minimum spend to earn your credit card bonus as well, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on the expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is by using your credit card to pay for every day expenditures. This could include things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Be sure to 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 points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Think about 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 the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For instance using points to book a ticket directly through the airline may provide you with a greater return than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This can give the benefit of a larger variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, determine the card’s benefits. any perks that can reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
When you travel with someone else each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most effective way possible. Through an array of strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.