Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting method to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your ideal destinations. With a bit of creativity and some insider 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 and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles for hotel stays and rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and establishing frequent flyer miles for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking consider the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to review the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best deal. It all boils down to the number of miles or points in your travel account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets of travel hacking? First step to open an account with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer many advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are great to use for hacking travel:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to hit the minimum spend limit in order to receive the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so make certain to verify the details. From there it’s all about building up miles, and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, it’s time to use them towards sweet vacation! Different credit card companies will have different methods for redeeming your points, but here are a few examples from some of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Getaway through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to nearly every airline and you can combine the points as well as cash in order to book your next trip. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on one flight. No worries though, if you’re only a couple of points away, United provides the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant travel experience that includes extra legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue has a unique feature where you can pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for the 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 big one! If you’re able pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It could be worthwhile in the end if the bonus is high enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about paying them off with an credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask your family members for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you trust the person and they understand why you’re doing this.
Purchase presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season take into consideration buying all of your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you planning to.
There are many ways to get the most out of your travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel expenses. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles on these costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points using your credit card to pay every day costs. This could be things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, like dining or travel. Make sure you review the rewards program of your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to a travel credit card with an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest, and also help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points Make sure to utilize the points or miles wisely. Check out the rewards program on your credit card and then compare the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use points to book a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater return than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This will allow you to get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This gives you access to a larger selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be offered through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should find out if your credit card offers some perks that could reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that are extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with someone else each of you will be able to earn rewards using your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re using this program in the most efficient method. Utilizing a combination of the methods I’ve described that you can get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.