Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little creativity and some insider information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus as well as incentives to earn airline miles. The miles can be used to purchase discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and car rental deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s best to pay cash and use your miles to pay for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to review your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the most value. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? First step opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer a variety of features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent 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 need to reach the limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to check for the details. Then it’s all about building up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some nice travel! Different credit card companies will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase cards, you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll have access to nearly every airline and you can combine money and points to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire cost, you still can buy flights with 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 flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine points and dollars for flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points short, United also offers the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature that lets you combine your points with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Make sure to prove you’re really family before 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 economical and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and are 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 with a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due then ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they’ll pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Purchase presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all your gifts using the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Make sure that you’re not paying more than you planning to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most out of the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum spend to qualify for a credit card reward and earn points, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenses.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement and earn points is by making use of your credit card for daily expenses. This could be items like groceries, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, such as dining or travel. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For instance using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them for an gift card.
Another tip is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This will give the benefit of a wider range of flights, hotels, and other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to determine whether your credit card has certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance, 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 credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re making use of your credit card in the most effective way possible. By using all of the strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.