Are you fed up of spending a fortune on airfare? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to your travel-related problems. It’s an exciting method to convert sign-up bonuses and incentives into airline miles which you can use to obtain discounted or free flights to your desired destinations. With a bit of imagination and some information, you’ll be jet-setting for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is about exchanging credit card sign-up bonuses and rewards for airline miles. These miles can then be used to buy discounted or even free flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles for hotel stays and rental car deals.
How Does it Work?
The secret to successful hacking travel is taking advantage of the sign-up bonuses for credit cards and building out frequent flyer miles on a select group of airlines. When it’s time to make a booking, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay cash and save your miles to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise above $500, you’ll want to review your frequent flyer accounts to determine which airline offers you the best price. It all comes down to the amount of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for each airline.
Begin by Getting Started with Travel Hacking
Ready to learn the secrets to travel hacking? First step opening an account with a sign-up offer. There are many great credit cards that provide various benefits and features. It depends on the type of airline, spending habits and what features are crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards that are perfect for travel hacking:
- 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 need to hit the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so be sure to look up this information. Then you can begin to rack up miles, and then using them to book your dream trip!
Ready to jet-set with your points?
Now that you’ve built up your points amount, it’s time to use them towards delicious travel! Different credit card providers will have different methods of redeeming your rewards, here are a few examples from some of the ones I’ve worked with:
Take a trip by using Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you own a Chase credit card, then you are able to redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal. In the portal, you’ll get access to almost every airline, and you can make use of a combination of points and cash to book your travel. You can even book entirely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance cash using every 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 dollars or points? Be careful in case you don’t have enough points, you cannot combine dollars and points for the same flight. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of point short United also offers the option to purchase additional miles.
JetBlue
Looking for a domestic flight? Take a look at JetBlue! JetBlue offers a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience with extra legroom and free snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is similar to United’s which allows passengers to book flights using JetBlue dollar or points however, not both. But, JetBlue offers a distinct feature that lets you pool your points together with your family members and earn points twice as fast. Just make sure you can prove you’re really family 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 hit the minimum amount required to earn a credit card bonus. However, don’t be worried, we’ve been through it and are here to share some of our tricks and tips.
Pay your rent (if you can)
This is a huge one! If you’re able to pay for your rent with credit card, go for it! Be prepared to be charged a fee, typically around 3 percent. It could be worthwhile in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another way to reach the minimum spend is to cover an medical bill. If you don’t have any medical bills due then ask your relatives if you could pay their medical bills and they will pay you back.
Pay off the loan
If you have any loans, consider repaying them using your credit card. Just make sure you pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family members for assistance
Talk to your family and look into any large expenses coming up which you could help pay for. Make sure that you are able to are able to trust the person and that they are aware of the reason for doing it.
Purchase presents
If it’s the holiday season take into consideration buying all your gifts with the credit card you have. In this way, you’ll reach the minimum spending requirement and also be prepared for gift giving. Be sure to avoid paying more than you already planning to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most of using your credit or debit card for travel. You can accrue points or miles to spend on the cost of flights or other expenses related to travel. Here are some additional ideas for maximizing your rewards:
Pay for travel expenses using your credit card
Whenever 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 be able to hit the minimum spend for your credit card bonus as well, but you’ll also be earning points or miles for the costs.
Make use of your credit card to pay to pay for your everyday expenditures
Another way to meet the minimum amount of spending and earn points is making use of your credit card for everyday expenditures. This can include things like gas, groceries or even your phone bill. Be sure to pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accrue interest charges.
Take advantage of bonus categories
A lot of travel credit cards provide miles or points in exchange for specific types of purchases, such as dining or travel. Make sure you review your credit card’s rewards program and make use of any bonus categories that match with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you have existing debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer the balance to a travel credit card with the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfers. This will enable you to pay off the debt without accruing interest, and also aid in achieving the minimum spending requirement for the credit card’s bonus.
Make use of your miles or points 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 benefits of different redemption options. For instance using points to book a flight directly with the airline might offer better value than using them to purchase a gift card.
Another option is to get rewards cards that allow you to transfer points to other loyalty programs. This allows you to enjoy a greater variety of options and greater freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be eligible to transfer your reward to an airline’s frequent flyer program or Hotel rewards programme. This will give the benefit of a greater variety of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks which are not available through the rewards program of your credit card.
Additionally, try to discover the card’s benefits. some perks that could reduce your travel costs. Some cards offer travel insurance and rental car insurance, baggage protection, and other benefits that could be very beneficial when traveling.
Finally, when you’re traveling with a companion each of you will be able to get rewards on your own credit card. Just remember that you can’t share the costs on the same card, and be sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
The key to making the most of your travel rewards is to know the rewards program of your credit card and ensure that you’re making use of it in the most efficient method. Utilizing an array of strategies I’ve listed that you can get rewards in a short time, use them for travel experiences that are worth it and take advantage of a broad variety of travel benefits.