Are you fed up of spending an enormous amount on flights? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into miles that can then be used to get discounted or even free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little creativity and some insider know-how, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of trading credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also allow you to redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
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 building out a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb higher than $500, it’s best to look into the frequent flyer account to see which airline can give you the best price. All it boils down to is the amount of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets of travel hacking? The first step is opening an account that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards that provide many features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards that are excellent 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 need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to qualify for the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up this information. From there you can begin to rack miles and using them to plan your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
After you’ve accrued the points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some sweet getaway! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from a few of the providers I have experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have a Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got the funds to pay for it! Sometimes, even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost, you are able to buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying the full cost for flights? Did you not know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying with dollars or points? But, be careful in case you do not have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few points away, United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra legroom as well as free snacks. Additionally, their booking process is similar to that of United Airlines that allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can join your points with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum spend for a credit card bonus. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able pay your rent with a credit card, do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses due then ask your family members to pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the balance on your credit card in full , so that you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts using the credit card you have. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are many ways to get the most from your travel credit card and earn miles or points to use towards the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are a few more 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 or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for these costs.
Use your credit card for everyday expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spend and earn points is by using your credit card to pay everyday expenses. This can include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer 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 make use of any bonus categories that align with your spending routines.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus.
Utilize your miles and points wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example using points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater value than using them for a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or reward program for hotels. This gives an access larger range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks that may not be available through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. some perks that could reduce your travel costs. Many cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
When you travel with someone else each of you will be able to get rewards on your credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card and make sure to keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most efficient method possible. Through all of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem rewards for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad assortment of travel-related perks.