Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles, which can be used to score discounted or free flights to 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 all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can then be used to purchase discount or no-cost flights. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The most effective method for success in travel hacking is to take advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s generally better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to check 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 you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? First step to open a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards with a variety of benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your spending habits, and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great to use for hacking 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 sure to check for the details. Then it’s all about building up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, you’re ready to use them towards nice getaway! Different credit card companies offer different ways to redeem your points. Here are some examples from a few of the companies I have experience with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase card, you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline, and you can make use of a combination of money and points to pay for your travel. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for total cost, you are able to 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 full price for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United You have the option to pay with dollars or points? But, be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine dollars and points for the same flight. If you’re just a few points away, United also offers the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides an enjoyable and comfortable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, however, not both. However, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that allows you to combine your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Be sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca I’m sure you’re pretty frugal and it can be challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for credit card bonuses. But don’t fret because we’ve been there and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent using credit card, go for it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the required spending is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due, ask your relatives if you could pay them for theirs, and they can reimburse you.
Repay a loan
If you’re a borrower, consider making payments on them with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any large expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re doing this.
Buy gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays, consider buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll meet the minimum spending limit and also be prepared for gift giving. Make sure that you’re not spending more than you were already planning to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from using your credit or debit card for travel. You can earn miles or points to be used towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few more ways to maximize your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
When you’re planning your next vacation, make use of you travel credit card to book your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card, however, you’ll also earn points or miles for the expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for all your daily expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement and earn points is utilising your credit cards to pay daily costs. This can include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or points in exchange on certain kinds of purchases, including eating out or travelling. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Take into consideration the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, think about transferring the balance to an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest, and also assist you in reaching the minimum spending requirement for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the benefits of different redemption options. For example, using your points to book a ticket directly with the airline could offer better return than using them for an gift card.
Another suggestion is to use a rewards card that allows you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be able to transfer your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a larger selection of hotels, flights and other travel benefits that may not be accessible through the rewards program on your credit card.
Additionally, try to determine if your credit card offers some perks that could save you money on travel-related expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be invaluable when you travel.
When you travel with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card. Also, make sure you keep track of the rewards you earn separately.
The key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and to ensure you’re making use of your credit card in the most efficient method possible. Utilizing all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.