Are you tired of paying thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, that can then be used to score discounted or complimentary flights for your dream destinations. With a bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight consider the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to review your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles in your travel bank for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is to open an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards that provide many advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and what features are essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be perfect 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 or debit card, you’ll need to reach the minimum spend limit in order to qualify for the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
Once you’ve accumulated the points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet travel! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from some of the providers I have experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase cards, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your next trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the total price, you 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 the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you not know that when you book directly through United you can choose the option of paying with dollars or points? Butbe aware in case you don’t have enough points, you aren’t able to combine points and dollars on the same flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re a few points short, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a flight within the United States? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines which allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can combine your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite economical and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to hit the required amount to qualify for a credit card bonus. Don’t worry, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent using credit card, go for it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. 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 a medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due then ask your family members to pay them for theirs, and they’ll reimburse you.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about paying them off with the credit card you have. Be sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so you don’t end up with additional debt.
Ask your family members for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any big 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.
Purchase gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season, consider buying all your gifts with your credit card. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and also be prepared for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were thinking of.
There are a lot of methods to get the most of the travel credit card. You can accrue points or miles to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Make travel reservations using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, make use of the travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for those expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another method to reach the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is using your credit card to pay everyday expenditures. This could include things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you 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, such as eating out or travelling. Check out your rewards program on your credit card and make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance onto a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest. It will also help you hit the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the value of different redemption options. For instance using your points to book a ticket directly through the airline may give you a better return than using them for a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to get a wider selection of options and greater freedom when it comes to redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a greater selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that aren’t available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to determine the card’s benefits. any perks that can help you save money on travel expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion and both of you earn rewards using your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re making use of it in the most effective way possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.