Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking is the answer to all your travel woes. It’s a fun way to turn credit card welcome bonuses and other incentives into airline miles that can then be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your ideal destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider knowledge, you can travel for free in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is all about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and incentives for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also allow you to redeem miles towards hotel stays or rental car discounts.
How Does it Work?
The key to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and to establish a frequent flyer mile program for a specific group of airlines. When it’s time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the cost is less than $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles for a more expensive flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to look into those 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 in your travel savings account for every airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? First step to open a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are many great credit cards that offer many benefits and features. It is all dependent on the airline, spending habits and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are a few credit cards excellent to use for hacking 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 reach the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up the details. Then it’s all about building up miles, and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up the points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some delicious travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points. Here are some examples from a few of the ones I’ve had experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase credit card, then you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In this portal you’ll have access to almost every airline. You can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your next trip. You can even book entirely using points if you’ve got enough balance! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the entire price, you can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash using 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 using dollars or points? But, be careful that if you do not have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points on flights. If you’re a few point short United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
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 which allows customers to book using either JetBlue either dollars or points however, not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can combine your points with family members to accrue points twice as fast. Make sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Hit that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel companion Becca, you’re probably pretty frugal and it can be daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it and are here to share some of our tips and tricks.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay your rent using a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a fee, usually at least 3 percent. It might be worth it in the long run if the bonus is high enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another way to reach the required spending is to cover a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses in the near future Ask your family members if you can pay them for theirs, and they can reimburse you.
Make a payment to pay off a loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration repaying them using an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance in full so you don’t accumulate additional debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re celebrating the holidays take into consideration buying all your gifts with cards from your credit account. This way you can hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were planning to.
There are plenty of methods to get the most from using your credit or debit card for travel. earn miles or points to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are some additional suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use you travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel, rental car, and any other travel-related expenses. In addition, you’ll be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required for your credit card bonus and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles for those expenditures.
Make use of your credit card to pay for everyday expenses
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending in order to accumulate points utilising your credit cards to pay daily costs. This could be things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full each month so you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Make sure you review your rewards program on your credit card and make use of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending habits.
Take into consideration a balance transfer
If you are currently in debt on a credit card, consider transferring the balance to the travel credit card which has an introductory rate of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles wisely
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the value of different redemption options. For example you can use your points to purchase a flight directly with the airline could give you a better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer your rewards to different loyalty program. This will let you get a wider selection of options and greater freedom when it comes to 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 selection of hotels, flights, and other travel perks which are not offered through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out the card’s benefits. any perks that can reduce your travel costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance, rental car insurance, baggage protection and other benefits that are invaluable when you travel.
When you travel with a companion each of you will be able to earn rewards with your own credit card. Make sure you don’t share the costs on the same card. Also, make sure to keep track of your rewards separately.
In the end, the most important thing to do to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re using it in the most efficient method possible. By using an array of strategies I’ve listed, you’ll be able to earn rewards quickly, redeem them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.