Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Then, there’s a good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel woes. It’s an exciting way to turn credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into miles which can be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a little bit of imagination and a little bit of insider information, you’ll be jet-setting for free in no time.
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 will also allow you to redeem miles for hotel stays and car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in travel hacking is to take advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to make a booking take a look at the price. If the flight is less than $300, it’s best to pay cash and save your miles to take a more costly flight. If your flights begin to climb over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts and find out which airline will give you the most value. All it boils down to is the number of miles or points in your travel bank for each airline.
Start with Travel Hacking
Are you interested in learning the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is opening the credit card that comes that comes with a welcome bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that offer many features and benefits. It all depends on your preferred airline, your spending habits, and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards perfect 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 hit the spending limit for minimum expenditure in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be certain to verify this information. From there it’s all about building miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your points?
After you’ve accrued your points amount, it’s time to redeem them for some sweet travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your points, but here are some examples from some of the companies I’ve had experience with:
Take a trip through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you own an Chase cards, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In it, you’ll get access to almost every airline and you can make use of a combination of money and points to book your travel. You can book your flight entirely with points if you’ve enough balance! Sometimes, even if you don’t be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for entire cost, you still can buy flights with Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using any credit card.
United
Are you tired of paying full price for flights? Did you realize that when booking directly through United You have the option of paying using either points or dollars? But, be careful in case you don’t have enough points you cannot combine points and dollars on flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re just a few point short United provides the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Are you looking for a domestic flight? You should look no further than JetBlue! JetBlue provides a comfortable and enjoyable travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s that allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue either dollars or points but not both. The difference is that JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that allows you to pool your points together with family members to accrue points twice as quickly. Be sure to verify that you are a family member before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me and my travel buddy Becca, you’re probably pretty economical and it’s challenging to attempt to spend thousands of dollars to hit the minimum spend for the credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through 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 a credit card, do it! Make sure you pay a fee, usually about 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to cover the medical bills. If you don’t have any medical bills due, ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will reimburse you.
Repay a loan
If you’re in the middle of a loan, consider making payments on them with your credit card. Make sure to pay off the balance on your credit card in full so 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 contribute for. Make sure that you are able to trust the person and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Give presents
If you’re celebrating the holidays you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. In this way, you’ll hit that minimum spend and also be ready for gift giving. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you already thinking of.
There are a lot of ways to get the most from your travel credit card. You can earn miles or points to be used towards flights or other travel-related expenses. Here are a few more suggestions for maximising the rewards you earn:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
When you’re planning your next trip, use the travel credit card to pay for your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. Not only will you be able to meet the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the expenses.
Use your credit card for everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending to earn rewards is by using your credit card for daily expenditures. This could include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay off the balance each month in full so you don’t accrue interest charges.
Benefit from bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, including dining or travel. Check out your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage 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, you might want to transfer that balance onto an account with a travel credit card that has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously help you hit the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Use your points or miles carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use the points or miles wisely. Examine the rewards program of your credit card, and evaluate the benefits of different redemption options. For instance, using your points to purchase a flight directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them to purchase the purchase of a gift card.
Another suggestion is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to get a wider selection of choices and more flexibility in you want to redeem your rewards. For example, you may be capable of transferring your rewards to the frequent flyer program of an airline or a Hotel rewards programme. This can give the benefit of a wider range of flights, hotels as well as other travel perks that aren’t available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Also, find out if your credit card offers certain benefits that will reduce your travel expenses. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance as well as rental car insurance baggage protection, and other benefits that can be invaluable when you travel.
When you travel with a friend each of you will be able to earn rewards using your credit card. Make sure you don’t split the cost on the same card, and be sure to track the rewards you earn separately.
Overall, the key to making the most of your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and ensure that you’re using your credit card in the most effective method. By using an array of strategies I’ve listed in this article, you’ll be able earn rewards quickly, redeem them for valuable travel experiences and take advantage of a broad range of travel perks.