Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s a fun way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles, which you can use to score discounted or free flights to your ideal destinations. With a little imagination and some know-how, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about trading credit card sign-up bonuses as well as incentives to earn airline miles. These miles can later be used to pay for cheap or free flight tickets. Some credit cards also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s generally better to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to check your frequent flyer accounts to determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening a credit card with a sign-up bonus. There are many great credit cards that provide many advantages and features. It all depends on your preferred airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most essential to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are 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 card you’ll need to hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to receive the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building up miles, and using them to plan your dream vacation!
Ready to jet-set with your ideas?
Once you’ve accumulated your points balance, it’s time to cash them in for some sweet travel! Different credit card providers will offer different ways to redeem your points, but here are a few examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Getaway by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own an Chase card, you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to nearly every airline, and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to book your trip. You can even book completely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t possess enough points for the entire price, you can book flights using the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for your flight tickets? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option to pay with either points or dollars? Be careful, if you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few points away, 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 space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature where you can join your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. 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 and my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum amount required to earn the credit card bonus. Don’t worry as we’ve done it and are here to share our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is an important one! If you’re able to pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to be charged a fee, typically 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 great way to hit the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due, ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will reimburse you.
Pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider paying them off with your credit card. Just make sure you pay the credit card balance in full , so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and determine if they’ve got any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Buy gifts
If it’s the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using the credit card you have. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not paying more than you already contemplating to.
There are a lot of ways to make the most from your travel credit card. earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are some additional ways to maximize your rewards
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as any other travel 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 on those expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday costs
Another way to meet the minimum spend to earn rewards is making use of your credit card to pay for daily expenditures. This could be things like food, gas, and even your phone bill. Make sure you pay off the balance in full each month so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide bonus points or miles for certain types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Be sure to review 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 have existing outstanding debt due to a high-interest credit card, think about transferring that balance onto 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 debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points prudently
Once you’ve accumulated a substantial amount of points or miles Make sure to utilize them in a responsible manner. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For example using points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may offer better value than using them for a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater flexibility when redeeming your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your rewards to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a reward program for hotels. This will give an access larger range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits which are not offered through the rewards program on your credit card.
Also, determine whether your credit card has certain benefits that will help you save money on travel 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.
When you travel with a companion, both of you can get rewards on your credit card. Make sure you don’t divide the cost with the same card and make sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re making use of it in the most effective way possible. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve listed that you can get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences, and enjoy a wide variety of travel benefits.