Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles, which you can use to obtain discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of 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 about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also permit you to use miles towards hotel stays or car rental 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 building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. When the flights start getting over $500, you’ll need to review the frequent flyer account and determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the number of points or miles you have in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to hacking travel? Your first task is opening the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide many benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be excellent for travel hacking:
- 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 limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of rules, so make sure to look up this information. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your ideas?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, it’s time to redeem them for some delicious vacation! Different credit card providers will have different methods for redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Through it, you’ll get access to almost every airline, and you can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you are able to book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying full price for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United you can choose the option to pay with either points or dollars? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points for one flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re a few point short United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra legroom as well as free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. But, JetBlue has a unique feature that allows you to pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Make sure to establish that you’re a real family member prior to trying to hack into the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and we’re here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Make sure you be charged a fee, typically about 3 percent. It may be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another great way to hit the required spending is to pay for an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up Ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can pay you back.
Pay off a loan
If you have any loans take into consideration repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and look into any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Just make sure you have confidence in the person you are talking to and they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all of your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and also be prepared to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to make the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. earn miles or points to spend on airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a vacation, make use of you travel credit card to pay for your hotel, flight, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. You’ll not only be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles for these expenditures.
Utilize your credit card to pay for all your daily expenses
Another method to reach the minimum spend and earn points is by using your credit card for daily expenditures. This could be things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, including eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you have existing debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will enable you to pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the value of different redemption options. For example you can use points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might provide you with a greater value than using them for an gift card.
Another option is to get a rewards card that allows you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For example, you may be eligible to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or Hotel rewards programme. This gives an access larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be accessible through your credit card’s rewards program.
In addition, you should discover if your credit card offers any perks that can save you money on travel-related expenses. Some cards offer travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that could be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with someone else, both of you can earn rewards using your credit card. Just remember that you can’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards in a separate manner.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to know the rewards program on your credit card and make sure you’re making use of your credit card in the most efficient way possible. By using a combination of the strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.