Are you tired of paying a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles that can then be used to obtain discounted or complimentary flights for your desired destinations. With a little imagination and a little bit of insider knowledge, you can fly for no cost within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about trading credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. The miles can be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards permit you to use miles for hotel stays and rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish a frequent flyer mile program with a limited number of airlines. When you are ready to make a booking take a look at the price. If the price is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to check those frequent flyer accounts to see which airline can give you the most value. It all boils down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel bank for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets of travel hacking? First step to open a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that offer a variety of advantages and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are excellent for travel hacking:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Chase United Explorer
- JetBlue Mastercard
- Capital One Venture X
If you’ve been approved for a credit card, you’ll need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be sure to look up the details. From there it’s all about building up miles, and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
After you’ve accrued the points amount, it’s time to use them towards delicious getaway! 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 through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of an Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points via the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within this portal you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can use a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can book your flight entirely using points if you’ve got the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not have enough points to cover the entire cost, you still can buy flights with 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 your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United, you have the option of paying with either points or dollars? Be careful in case you don’t have enough points, you can’t combine dollars and points on the same flight. If you’re a few points away, United gives you the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more legroom and free snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s which allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you join your points with your relatives to earn points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack into the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. However, don’t be worried as we’ve done it and are here to share our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a big one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3 percent. It may be worth it over the long term when the bonus is large enough.
Pay for a medical bill
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills in the near future Ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you have any loans you owe, think about repaying them using the credit card you have. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family for help
Ask your family members to determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up that you can help pay for. Just make sure you are able to trust the person and that they understand why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy presents
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. This way you can meet the minimum spending limit and also be ready to give gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you were already contemplating to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most out of the travel credit card. You can accumulate miles or points that you can be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional suggestions for maximising your rewards:
Book travel expenses with your credit card
If you’re planning a vacation, make use of the travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles for those costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is utilising your credit cards for daily expenditures. This could be things like food, gas or even your phone bill. Just make sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or travelling. Be sure to review your rewards program on your credit card and avail the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Consider the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off your debts without accruing interest. It will also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to 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 points to purchase a flight directly with the airline might give you a better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another option is to get an rewards card that permits you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This allows you to have a wider range of choices and more flexibility when you want to redeem your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a Hotel rewards programme. This will give you access to a larger variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that aren’t available through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine if your credit card offers certain benefits that will reduce your travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling 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, and be sure to track your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to reaping the maximum benefits from your rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re making use of this program in the most effective way possible. Through a combination of the strategies I’ve outlined, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.