Are you tired of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking could be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s a fun way to convert bonus and sign-up incentives into miles that can then be used to get discounted or even cheap flights from your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and some knowledge, you can fly for no cost in no time.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of 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 secret to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of the credit card sign-up bonus and to establish frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it comes time to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is less than $300, it’s best to pay in cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. When the flights start getting above $500, you’ll want to review the frequent flyer account and determine which airline offers you the best deal. It all comes down to the amount of points or miles in your travel account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets of travel hacking? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are plenty of great credit cards that provide various features and benefits. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and what features are important to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit card options that can be great to hack 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 reach the limit of spending minimum in order to qualify for the bonus. Every credit card has its own set of guidelines, so make sure to check for the details. From there, it’s all about racking miles and using them to book your dream trip!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
Once you’ve accumulated the points balance, you’re ready to cash them in for some sweet travel! Different credit card companies have different methods for redeeming your points. Here are some examples from some of the providers I’ve worked with:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you have an Chase card, you can use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll get access to virtually every airline. You can use a combination of the points as well as cash in order to pay for your trip. You can even book completely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not possess enough points for the total price, you can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with the credit card of your choice.
United
Are you fed up of paying the full cost for flights? Did you know that when you book directly through United, you have the option to pay with either points or dollars? But, be careful that if you do not have enough points you can’t combine dollars and points on flights. No worries though, if you’re just a few point short United gives you the option of buying additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue provides passengers a relaxing and pleasant flight experience with extra space and complimentary snacks. Plus, their booking process is like United’s, allowing you to book with either JetBlue dollar or points, but not both. But, JetBlue is unique in that they offer a feature that lets you 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 the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re anything like me and my travel buddy Becca You’re probably quite thrifty and it’s daunting to try to spend thousands of dollars to reach the minimum amount required to earn credit card bonuses. Don’t worry 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 an important one! If you’re able pay your rent with credit card, then do it! Be prepared to pay a fee, usually about 3%. It could be worthwhile in the long run when the bonus is large enough.
Make a payment on a medical expense
Another excellent way to meet the minimum spend is to pay for the medical bills. If you do not have any medical expenses coming up, ask your family members if you can pay their medical bills and they’ll pay you back.
Repay the loan
If you’re a borrower take into consideration paying them off with your credit card. Make sure to pay the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accumulate more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Discuss your family with them and see if they have any big expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to have confidence in the person you are talking to and they know why you’re taking the initiative.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using cards from your credit account. So you’ll be able to hit that minimum spend and be ready for giving gifts. Just make sure you’re not spending more than you planning to.
There are plenty of ways to get the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can accrue points or miles to spend on 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, make use of you travel credit card to book your hotel, flight or rental car, as well as any other travel expenses. Not only will you be able to meet the required amount to earn your credit card reward and earn points, but you’ll also earn points or miles on these expenditures.
Use your credit card for all your daily expenses
Another way to hit the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by utilising your credit cards to pay for daily expenditures. This could include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off each month in full so you don’t accumulate interest.
Make the most of bonus categories
Some travel credit cards will offer miles or bonus points for certain types of purchases, like eating out or travelling. Make sure you review your credit card’s rewards program and avail any bonus categories that match with your spending habits.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a high-interest credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will allow you to pay off the debt without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum amount required to earn the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points carefully
If you’ve amassed a large amount of miles or points, be sure to use them wisely. Review the rewards program for your credit card and then compare the worth of various 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 the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use rewards cards that allow you to transfer reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will allow you to enjoy a greater variety of choices and more freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or a Hotel rewards programme. This can give an access wider variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not offered through the rewards program on your credit card.
In addition, you should discover the card’s benefits. certain benefits that will save you money on travel-related costs. A lot of credit cards provide travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that can be extremely valuable when you’re traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend and both of you get rewards on your own credit card. Be aware that you cannot divide the cost with the same card and 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 rewards for travel is to be aware of the rewards program of your credit card and make sure you’re making use of it in the most effective method. By using an array of methods I’ve described, you’ll be able to earn rewards fast, exchange them for travel experiences that are worth it, and enjoy a wide assortment of travel-related perks.