Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to turn credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to get discounted or even complimentary flights for your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and some know-how, 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 and rewards for airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually 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 look into those frequent flyer accounts and see which airline can give you the best deal. It all boils down to the amount of miles or points in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? Your first task is to open a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards excellent to hack 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 spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there you can begin to rack miles and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
After you’ve accrued the points amount, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet vacation! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the ones I have experience with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you’re a holder of a Chase card, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through the portal, you’ll have access to nearly every airline and you can use a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can even book completely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t possess enough points for the entire cost, you are able to purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option to pay with dollars or points? Butbe aware, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points on flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should 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 similar to that of United Airlines that allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. However, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can 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 like me or my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. Don’t worry 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 for your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3%. It might be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due Ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they will repay you.
Repay the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider paying them off with your credit card. Be sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Discuss your family with them and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can contribute for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing it.
Purchase 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 ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you thinking of.
There are plenty of ways to get the most from your travel credit card and accrue points or miles to be used towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of the travel credit card to book your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the required amount to earn your credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenses
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending and earn points is utilising your credit cards for daily expenses. This could include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for specific types of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance to a travel credit card with a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will let you pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn 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 compare the value of different redemption options. For example you can use points to book a ticket directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them to purchase an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This will let you enjoy a greater variety of options and greater flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a hotel rewards program. This can give an access wider selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not offered through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should determine if your credit card offers certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. A lot of credit cards provide 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, both of you can earn rewards with your credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
In the end, the most important thing to do to maximizing your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and to ensure you’re using this program in the most effective method. By using an array of strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards fast, exchange rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.