Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles which can be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and a little bit of insider knowledge, you can be jet-setting for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about swapping credit card sign-up bonus and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to check the frequent flyer account and see which airline can give you the best deal. It all comes down to the number of miles or points in your travel account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? First step to open an account with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards with a variety of features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit card options that can be great for travel hacking:
- 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 limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to check for the details. Then you can begin to rack miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some delicious getaway! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the companies I have experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your trip. You can even book completely on points if you have the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option to pay with either points or dollars? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. If you’re just a few points away, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers an enjoyable and comfortable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to United’s that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature where you can join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for 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 an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a cost, which is usually around 3 percent. It might be worth it in the end in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due Ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they can repay you.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about paying them off with the credit card you have. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full , so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all your gifts with cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and be ready to give gifts. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are many methods to get the most out of the travel credit card and accumulate miles or points that you can use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card reward, but you’ll also be earning points or miles to cover those expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is making use of your credit card to pay every day costs. This could include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance onto a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will let you pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points prudently
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles, be sure to use them wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For instance you can use points to book a ticket directly through the airline may give you a better value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility when making use of your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This can give you access to a wider range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks that may not be available through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. 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 extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend and both of you get rewards on your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re making use of this program in the most effective method. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.