Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which you can use to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a little creativity and some insider knowledge, you can travel for free 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. These miles can then be used to purchase discount or no-cost 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 success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the cost is under $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 review your frequent flyer accounts to find out which airline will give you the best price. It all comes down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide a variety of benefits and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are great 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 limit of spending minimum in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so make certain to verify this information. From there you can begin to rack up miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated your points amount, it’s time to use them towards sweet travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Escape with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In this portal you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can make use of a combination of money and points to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost, you still can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points on one flight. No worries though, if you’re just a few points short, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. However, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Make sure you spend that minimum amount
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty 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 are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3%. It may be worth it in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the required spending is to cover an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up then ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they will pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration paying them off with an credit card. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance in full so you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re doing this.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all of your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from using your credit or debit card for travel. earn miles or points to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use your travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount for your credit card reward as well, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for those expenses.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to hit the minimum spend and earn points is using your credit card to pay for every day expenses. This can include things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t pay interest.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Consider a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to 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 aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles 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 flight directly with the airline might offer better value than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more freedom when it comes to 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 program. This can give the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights, and other travel perks that aren’t accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover whether your credit card has certain benefits that will help you save money on travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a friend each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card, and be sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most efficient method possible. By using all of the strategies I’ve outlined that you can earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide range of travel perks.