Getting Started with Travel Hacking: How to Earn First Free Flight

The best way to explore the globe on a budget is to learn how to maximize savings via travel hacking. Additionally, getting started is far less difficult than you would imagine it to be.

As a result of the hundreds of dollars I’ve saved via various forms of travel hacking, I’ve become an advocate for the practice. To get money for which you are not responsible, all that is required is some forethought and preparation.

This is a simple, no-nonsense introduction to travel hacking for people who want to save money without spending hours poring at rewards charts. This tutorial is for those who want to save money. Continue reading to take the first step toward winning the vacation of your dreams for free.

Also Read: Best Backpacks with Detachable Daypacks for EDC, Travel & Hiking

The Best Bag for Travel Hackers

Travel hackers are always looking for ways to save costs, and avoiding the bag check is one of the most effective methods to do it.

Its rectangular form makes the most efficient use of packing space, allowing you to travel with just a carry-on bag and speed up your exit from the airport. It is the ideal backpack for every kind of travel, from staying in hostels to going on island vacations.

What is Travel Hacking?

The practice of accumulating credit card points, hotel points, or airline miles and then using those points or miles to pay for travel expenses is known as “travel hacking.”

It is common practice for rewards credit cards to provide new customers with point or mileage bonuses that are comparable to the value of travel rewards worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
To qualify for the bonus offered by the majority of credit cards, you will need to make a particular number of purchases during the first few months (often between $2,000 and $5,000 over the course of three to six months).
Sign up for a new rewards credit card, make sure you satisfy the minimum spending criteria, and then utilize the bonus you get to plan a vacation. This is a travel hack. Stop using the card or downgrade your account before the annual fee is assessed, and then open a new card in its place. This practice is also known as “churning” credit cards.

Is it OK to cheat on a trip?

The term “travel hacking” does not violate any laws. It is not against the law to cash in on credit card incentives. It is within your legal rights to cancel credit cards that you no longer use.

The term “hacking” is really a misnomer since banks are aware of what they are doing, which is why they establish certain regulations around how one might earn these enormous incentives. For instance, many will only let you receive one bonus on each card throughout the course of your whole career.

Employ some common sense: don’t apply for ten credit cards all at once, don’t cancel a card the second your bonus hits, and don’t be late with your payments.

Does taking advantage of travel discounts damage your credit score?

Not if it is done in a responsible manner. Your credit score will only drop by roughly five to ten points when you open new cards, but you can rapidly reclaim those points by utilizing your new card and paying off your bill in full every month. Opening new cards will just reduce your score.

Continue reading for additional advice on preserving a healthy credit score.

Does travel hacking require a significant financial investment on your part?

It’s understandable if the necessity to spend $3,000 makes you feel uneasy, but you shouldn’t alter your usual spending or saving patterns only to satisfy it.

When you know you are going to have a lot of spending coming up (for example, during a home remodeling project or wedding season), apply for a new card and put all of your expenses on that card.

At dinner, offer to pay for everyone’s meal and then ask them to reimburse you. Complete your Christmas shopping in a timely manner. Invest in gift cards for stores where you already purchase often, such as Amazon or Nordstrom.

What about the costs associated with credit cards?

The finest credit cards that provide rewards include annual fees, but they make up for it in other ways, such as via mileage bonuses. The annual charge on certain cards is waived for the first year. You may also apply for cards that have no annual charge, but the benefits on these cards will be less generous.

Does time management for travel hacking need a lot of effort?

How to Travel Hack: Earning Points and Miles

Travel hacking begins with earning points and miles. Bonus points can be earned quickly by following these steps:

Sign up for a credit card that offers rewards. Consider the reasons you want to go. If you want to save costs on airline tickets, the best strategy is to rack up airline miles or points that you can then exchange for other travel rewards. Regarding hotels, you should concentrate on hotel points. Stick to cards that provide at least 40,000 extra points or miles, and make sure you read the small print to understand the qualifying requirements. Below you’ll find a rundown of the top beginning cards available.
Attain the minimum required spending on the rewards card. Again, put everything on your card, or fabricate spending by purchasing gift cards to stores where you usually shop and putting them on your card. Avoid making transactions that require you to pay a fee for using your credit card.
Maintain an accurate record of your points, fines, and due dates. Make sure you never miss a deadline for a bonus or be charged an annual fee for a card you no longer use by keeping track of it. You may do this by keeping a spreadsheet, setting calendar reminders, or signing up for one of the monitoring tools listed at the conclusion of this book.
(Optional) After a year, you should either cancel or downgrade your credit card. Cancel the card before the annual fee is assessed if you decide that using the card is no longer worthwhile after you have received the incentive (many cards will also refund you if you cancel within 30 days of being charged).

The Best Credit Cards for Travel Hacking

Start with a generalist card that allows flexible redemption of points for those new to travel hacking.

Among the best starter cards, Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture stand out. The following is a brief comparison of the two:

Preferred status with Chase Sapphire

You will get a bonus of 80,000 points after making a purchase of $4,000 during the first three months.
The annual cost is $95
Earn double points on eating out and delivery via Chase, triple points on travel booked with Chase, and double points on all other travel purchases
Booking flights, hotels, and rental cars directly via Chase’s travel site is one way to redeem points; another is to transfer them to one of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel partners.

You will get a bonus of 60,000 points after making purchases totaling $3,000 during the first three months.
The annual cost is $95
How to earn five times as many points on hotels and rental cars when booked with Capital One, and two times as much points on all other purchases
Extras: One hundred dollars applied toward either Global Entry or TSA Payment required for precheck applications
Booking flights, hotels, and rental cars directly via Capital One’s travel site; paying yourself back for travel expenditures made elsewhere; transferring points to one of 18 travel and hotel partners

My first experience with a travel credit card was with Capital One Venture, which I highly recommend to anybody who values ease of use above all else.

There is no need to keep track of certain spending categories if you have the Venture card since you will receive two points for every single dollar spent. The minimum spending requirement and bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are both higher than those for the Venture card.

You really can’t go wrong with either card, so choose the one that meets your requirements the most effectively.

What about credit cards offered by airlines?

If you decide to transfer your points to another airline, this reduces the number of available trip possibilities and necessitates further study on your part.

What about credit cards for costly items?

Your adventure into travel hacking should begin with credit cards that have minimal annual fees (less than $100) or cards that do not charge annual fees for the first year. In this manner, you won’t have to worry about spending a lot of money right away as you get the feel of things.

How to Spend Your Points and Miles

Cards may provide cash redemptions or opportunities to spend online using points, but redeeming for travel expenditures will give you the most value for your money (airfare, hotels, Uber, train tickets, etc.).

When redeemed for cash in the form of a check or general statement credit, each of those very same points is only worth 0.5 cents, making the total value of the cash reward $0.5. Those 60,000 points will only get you $300 at this time.

Cards may sometimes conduct limited-time special promotions in which certain point redemptions are worth more than usual in certain categories. However, as a general rule, you should plan to redeem your points for costs associated with your vacation. There’s a reason why some refer to it as “travel hacking.”

How to Make the Most of Your Credit Card Points When Traveling

Make travel arrangements by using the online travel booking gateway provided by the card issuer (or, for branded cards, directly on the websites of participating airlines and hotels).

You may arrange your vacation by transferring your points to one of the card’s hotels or airline partners, and then booking it via them.

Transfer ratios are not always 1:1; in certain cases, they are not even close to that number. Here’s a wide list of credit cards and their transfer partners to review before making any judgments.

You may also use the statement credit feature of your Capital One card to reimburse yourself for travel expenditures made elsewhere.

How to Maintain a Strong Credit Score

Most rewards cards require credit scores above 650; the best require scores between 700 and 850.

Travel hacking can negatively affect a credit score, which is often a concern for people. There are two main reasons for this:

The hard pulls. Applying for a new line of credit will result in a “hard pull” on your credit. You can lose up to five points on your credit score after a hard pull stays on your report for up to two years.
The credit history. The average age of your credit will decrease as you open more cards, which can also lower your score.

The following steps will help you protect your credit:

Spread out your application submissions. Keep a gap of at least three months between credit card applications, and don’t submit an application for a new card if you are in the process of doing anything else that will require a hard pull on your credit report (for example, if you are about to submit an application for a new job or apartment or if you need a background check for the new job).
Never cut up your oldest credit card and start a new one (s). This help maintains a healthy credit history average. Again, you have the option to sometimes downgrade your credit cards to fee-free versions in order to maintain your credit history without incurring any further expenses.
Keep your payments on schedule and don’t go over your budget in terms of what you can spend. Your history of making payments is the single most essential component in determining your credit score. maintaining a low ratio may be accomplished by paying off your amount in full.

Keep Track of Your Points and Miles

These tools and software will also be of use, however, the most common method to keep track of your rewards points and miles is using a simple spreadsheet.

It has been in existence for more than a decade and provides support for more than 600 different loyalty schemes.

The app from The Points Guy (TPG) allows you to keep track of credit card sign-up bonuses and the minimum spending requirements associated with them. This ensures that you won’t miss out on a 50,000-mile bonus simply because you miscalculated when the window for meeting the minimum spending requirement would close.

Conclusion

To get started with travel hacking, it is not necessary to put in hundreds of hours to manage your points and miles.

First, choose the kinds of trips you want to take, then sign up for credit card incentives, and last, make the most of the travel rewards you’ve earned. You won’t even have time to realize it before you’ll be packing your bags and preparing to board your next free trip.