Are you tired of spending thousands of dollars on travel? Well, good news! Travel hacking can be the solution to all your travel problems. It’s an exciting way to convert credit card bonus and sign-up incentives into airline miles which can be used to score discounted or cheap flights from your dream destinations. With a little bit of creativity and some insider information, you’ll travel for free within a matter of minutes.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
Travel hacking is the art of swapping credit card sign-up bonus and rewards for airline miles. These miles can then be used to pay for discount or no-cost flights. Certain credit cards will also let you redeem miles to pay for hotel stays or car rental offers.
How Does it Work?
The secret to success in hacking travel is taking advantage of credit card sign-up bonuses and establishing a frequent flyer mile program on a select group of airlines. When you are ready to book a flight, evaluate the cost. If the price is under $300, it’s usually better to pay in cash and use your miles to pay to book a higher-priced flight. If the prices start to rise over $500, you’ll need to check your frequent flyer accounts and determine which airline offers you the best price. It all boils down to the number of miles or points you have in your travel savings account for every airline.
Get Started with Travel Hacking
Are you ready to discover the secrets to travel hacking? The first step is to open the credit card that comes with a sign-up bonus. There are a lot of fantastic credit cards that provide various advantages and features. It is all dependent on the airline, your habits with spending and the features that are most crucial to you.
Top Credit Card Picks
Here are some credit cards great for travel hacking:
- 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 hit the limit of spending minimum in order to get the bonus. Every card has different rules, so make sure to look up the details. Then, it’s all about racking up miles and using them to book your dream vacation!
Are you ready to set sail with your goals?
After you’ve accrued your points balance, you’re ready to redeem them for some delicious vacation! 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:
Escape through Chase Ultimate Reward
If you’re a holder of a Chase credit card, then you are able to use your points to redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal. Within it, you’ll have access to virtually every airline. You can make use of a combination of the points as well as cash in order to book your next trip. You can even book completely on points if you have the balance for it! Sometimes even if you do not be able to accumulate enough points in order to pay for full cost, you still can purchase flights through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal and pay the balance in cash with any credit card.
United
Are you tired 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? Be careful that if you don’t have enough points you cannot combine dollars and points for flights. Don’t worry, though, if you’re only a couple of points 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 travel experience that includes extra space and complimentary snacks. In addition, their booking procedure is like United’s that allows you to book with either JetBlue either dollars or points, but not both. The difference is that JetBlue offers a distinct feature where you can combine your points with your family members and earn points twice as quickly. Make sure to prove you’re really family before trying to hack the system.
Reach that Minimum Spend
If you’re like me or my travel companion Becca You’re probably quite frugal and it can be difficult to think of spending thousands of dollars in order to meet the minimum spend for credit card bonuses. Don’t worry 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 for your rent using a credit card, do it! Just be prepared to pay a cost, which is usually at least 3 percent. It may be worth it in the long run in the event that the bonus is substantial enough.
Pay a medical bill
Another excellent way to meet the spending limit is to pay for a medical bill. If you do not have any medical expenses due then ask your family members if you can pay for theirs and they can repay you.
Make a payment to pay off the loan
If you’re a borrower, consider paying them off with an credit card. Make sure to pay off the credit card balance completely so that you don’t accrue more debt.
Ask family for help
Talk to your family and see if they have any big expenses coming up that you can contribute for. Be sure to be sure that you’re able to are able to trust the person and that they know why you’re doing it.
Give presents
If you’re in the middle of the holiday season you should consider purchasing all your gifts using your credit card. This way you can reach the minimum spending requirement and also be ready to give gifts. Be sure to avoid paying more than you contemplating to.
There are plenty of ways to make the most out of using your credit or debit card for travel and accrue points or miles to use towards airfares or other travel-related costs. Here are a few additional ways to maximize your rewards
Book travel expenses with your credit card
Whenever you’re planning a trip, use the travel credit card for booking your flight, hotel or rental car, as well as other travel costs. In addition, you’ll be able to hit the minimum amount of spending required to qualify for a credit card reward as well, but you’ll also earn points or miles on those expenses.
Utilize your credit card to pay for everyday costs
Another way to meet the minimum spending requirement in order to accumulate points by using your credit card for daily costs. This can include things like gas, groceries and even your telephone bill. Make sure you pay the balance off in full every month to ensure you don’t accumulate interest.
Take advantage of bonus categories
Many travel credit cards offer bonus points or miles for specific types of purchases, such as eating out or traveling. Be sure to review your credit card’s rewards program and take advantage of the bonus categories that are in line with your spending routines.
Think about the possibility of transferring your balance
If you’re in the middle of a debt on a credit card, you might want to transfer that balance to the travel credit card which has the introductory APR of 0% for balance transfer. This will let you pay off your debts without accruing interest and simultaneously aid in achieving the minimum spend for the credit card’s bonus.
Utilize your miles and points carefully
When you’ve earned a significant amount of points or miles make sure you use them in a responsible manner. Check out the rewards program on your credit card, and evaluate the worth of various redemption options. For example you can use points to book a flight directly through the airline may provide you with a greater value than using them for the purchase of a gift card.
Another tip is to use an rewards card that permits you to transfer your reward points into other loyalty programmes. This will let you get a wider selection of choices and more freedom when it comes to making use of your rewards. For instance, you might be able to transfer your reward to frequent flyer programs of airlines or reward program for hotels. This can give the benefit of a greater selection of hotels, flights as well as other travel perks that may not be offered through the rewards program of your credit card.
In addition, you should determine the card’s benefits. 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 can be very beneficial when traveling.
If you’re traveling with a friend and both of you get rewards on your credit card. Just remember that you can’t divide the cost with the same card and make sure you keep track of your rewards separately.
Overall, the key to reaping the maximum benefits from your travel rewards is to understand your credit card’s rewards program and make sure you’re using your credit card in the most effective method. By using all of the strategies I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able get rewards in a short time, use rewards for valuable travel experiences and benefit from a wide range of travel perks.