Travel Hacking is the way to get free and highly discounted travel services. You will get free services for flights, hotel rooms and more. This term is also used to describe the practice of traveling on a budget. Here in this article, we will mainly focus on airline tickets by using credit card rewards. Although the term referred to as Hacking, the entire process is legal. It will work within the credit card and airline rewards system.
So, if you are interested in traveling and want to save some money. Then this article might help you. You can easily cut your travel budget in half.
Things You Need to Start
You will require the following things to get started:
- You have to be a legal resident of the United States. Opportunities like this exist for the citizens of other countries too. It will come handy for those who live in the United States.
- You have to be responsible with the money and credit. Otherwise, this is not for you.
- You must have a good credit score. You will require a 700+ FICO score to take advantage of most of the offers. But if you have a 650+ score, that will be sufficient for some. To check your credit score, you have to visit this link creditkarma.com. It is a completely free service. Log in to your credit karma account then access your travel hacking account.
- You must have a reasonable income for the Travel Hacking. This isn’t a rule, but the higher income makes the thing easier. $30,000+ could be a good baseline.
The Basics of Travel Hacking
In short, Travel Hacking is where you can sign up for credit and earn some sign-up bonuses. These bonuses included free hotel stays, cash, airline miles, and more. These rewards might vary. But there is a lot of credit card that offers bonus points, which is worth $500+ cash or even more.
To earn the bonus, you have to get approved for the credit card and meet the requirements of minimum spending. Usually, the minimum spending requirements are between $1,000 to $3,000+ within the first 3 months.
You don’t have to carry a balance, to earn a bonus. If you want to make use of this offer, then you have to treat your credit card like a debit card. Pay off your full credit card bill every month on time. By paying off your full balance on time, you can reduce the interest and get the rewards for free.
How to Start Travel Hacking
You have to select a credit card that fits your credit score, travel goals, and spending habits. Before selecting a credit card, things you need to consider:
- The annual fee
- Sign up bonus and how it matches your travel needs.
- General credit score.
- Spending requirements.
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Apply for the Credit Card
On the next step, you have to apply for a credit card. You can apply online. After applying for the credit card online, you will receive an instant response. But there are some cases, you have to wait 7 to 10 days to get approved for. Some banks offer you to check your online application status.
Minimum Spending Requirements
Your credit card bonus comes with some terms and conditions. In most of the cases, you have to spend around $1,000 to $4,000 within 90 days from your account opening. But the terms and conditions are varied for the every cases. Any purchasing using your credit card will be qualify. So, you can put all the purchases on your credit card.
Wait for Bonus
Once you complete your minimum spending requirements, you have to wait for the bonus credited to your account. The timing is depending on the specific bank or the card. Usually, you have to wait until the next statement closing date. In some cases, it also takes more than six months.
Redeem Your Bonus
Every travel credit card comes with a different bonus reward. Basically, they are stuck up on free and discounted travel. Some of the bonus structures are:
- Airline Miles: You can redeem your Airline Miles points for book a flight on a specific airline.
- Hotel Points: Hotel Points can be redeemed for the booking hotel rooms on specific hotels.
- Flexible Points: You can use your Flexible Points for flights, hotels, gift cards and much more.
- Cash: You will get the cash as a from of statement credit..
Example of Travel Hacking
- The Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card comes with the 50,000 bonus miles. After you spend the $1,000 on the purchase within the 3 months, you will get the rewards.
- If you approved for this card, you have to meet your requirements within 3 months.
- Every purchase using this card will be count. You can spend on bills, restaurants, gift cards, etc.
- But make sure to pay off the bill every month.
- After you successfully spend $1,000 within the first 3 months of your account opening, you will get the 50,000 bonus miles.
- You can redeem your Delta miles for booking flights on American Express.
How to Choose a Credit Card
You will get thousands of credit cards on the market. If you are looking for the first rewards credit card, then you should consider these following things:
- If you have a high credit score, then you can go for the Premium cards. Premium cards come with a high sign up bonus. While lesser cards come with low signup bonus. But the lesser cards are very flexible in terms and income requirements.
- You have to choose a card that offers a signup bonus which is valuable for you. Those who live near the Delta hub can go for the Delta Card from American Express. If you live near the United hub, go for the chase credit cards.
- Most of the credit cards offer the annual fee waived for the first you. You can go for that.
Some of the Best Travel Cards
- Chase Sapphire Reserve: You can earn 50,000 points with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
- United Explorer Card: Sign up bonus of 40,000 miles.
- The World of Hyatt Credit Card: This credit card comes with 25,000 points.
- American Express Business Platinum Card: You can earn 75,000 points within the American Express Business Platinum card.
Conclusion
So, Travel Hacking is an absolute legal program. It is a program points or miles, that you can use for flights, cruises, hotels, etc. You will get the points or miles for free with the credit cards.