Are you tired of spending an enormous amount on flights? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting way to convert welcome bonuses and other incentives into miles which can be used to score discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a little bit of 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 exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can later be used to buy cheap or free flight tickets. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or rental car offers.
How Does it Work?
The key to success in hacking your travel plans is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and establishing frequent flyer miles with a limited number of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and use your miles to pay to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb above $500, you’ll want to check those frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles you have in your travel account for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets of travel hacking? Your first task is opening a credit card that comes with a welcome bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide many features and benefits. 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 card options that can be 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 or debit card, you’ll have to meet the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Each card has its own rules, so make sure to check for this information. From there, it’s all about racking miles and then using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to go on a jet-setting with your goals?
Now that you’ve built up your points balance, it’s time to use them towards sweet travel! Different credit card companies will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are some examples from some of the companies I have experience with:
Getaway with Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you have a Chase credit card, then you can redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can use a combination of money and points to book your travel. You can even book entirely with points if you’ve the funds to pay for it! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the entire cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with every credit card.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for your flight tickets? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option of paying using dollars or points? But, be careful that if you don’t have enough points you aren’t able to combine dollars and points on one flight. If you’re a few points away, United gives you the possibility of purchasing additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience , with more legroom as well as free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue points or dollars, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Just make sure you can 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 pretty thrifty and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars in order to meet the required amount to qualify for the credit card bonus. But don’t fret as we’ve done it 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 your rent with credit card, then do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the end when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another great way to hit the spending limit is to cover an medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due, ask your relatives if you could pay for theirs and they can pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan take into consideration paying them off with an credit card. Be sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t end up with more debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and look into any major expenses in the near future that you can help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they are aware of the reason for taking the initiative.
Give gifts
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts with the credit card you have. So you’ll be able to reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready for gift giving. Be sure to avoid spending more than you were contemplating to.
There are many ways to make the most out of your travel credit card. accumulate miles or points that you can use towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Make travel reservations using your credit card
If you’re planning a trip, make use of your travel credit card for booking your hotel, flight, rental car, and other travel costs. In addition, you’ll achieve the minimum amount of spending required to earn your credit card bonus, but you’ll also be earning points or miles on the expenses.
Use your credit card for all your daily costs
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is using your credit card for daily costs. This could be things like food, gas and even your telephone bill. Just make sure to pay off the balance in full every month to ensure you don’t pay interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer bonus points or miles on certain kinds of purchases, like dining or travel. Check out the rewards program of your credit card and avail any bonus categories that align with your spending habits.
Think about a balance transfer
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, consider transferring that balance to an account with a travel credit card that has a 0% introductory APR for balance transfer. This will allow you to pay off your debt without accruing interest and simultaneously assist you in reaching the minimum spend for the credit card bonus.
Use your points or miles prudently
When you’ve earned a significant amount of miles or points make sure you use the points or miles wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For instance you can use points to book a flight directly with the airline might offer better value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer rewards to different loyalty program. This allows you to get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility in making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be capable of transferring your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a reward program for hotels. This gives you access to a greater range of flights, hotels and other travel benefits which are not available through your credit card’s rewards program.
Additionally, try to discover if your credit card offers any perks that can help you save money on travel 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.
If you’re traveling with someone else and both of you get rewards on your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card, and be sure to track your rewards in a separate manner.
The key to maximizing your rewards for travel is to be aware of your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re making use of this program in the most effective method possible. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve outlined that you can get rewards in a short time, use them for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide variety of travel benefits.