Basic Travel Hacking Strategies for Beginners

Basic Travel Hacking Strategies for Beginners

The words ‘travel hacking’ used to feel intimidating to me. I perceived hacking to be a lot of work, math, and spreadsheets. I didn’t even bother to read about it and my eyes glazed over when anyone talked about it. After hearing many stories of free travel, I started to pay attention. I now know travel hacking doesn’t have to be about complicated systems or math. Don’t get me wrong, there are people who earn millions of miles each year who need spreadsheets. Let’s start small with basic travel hacking strategies. First, what is travel hacking? Travel hacking is the process of using points and miles to earn upgrades, lounge access, and, ultimately, free vacations. Now that I got your attention, here we go – travel hacking for beginners: points, miles and loyalty programs.

Read: Airline Stopovers: A Travel Hacking Strategy

Travel Hacking Without Credit Cards: Loyalty and Reward Programs

Airline Frequent Flyer Programs

Travel hacking 101, how to travel hack flights. The first step is to never fly without earning miles. Every time you fly on a new airline, sign up for the frequent flyer program. It doesn’t matter if it is a budget airline in Portugal, sign up. You can transfer those miles through airline partnerships. You will need a system for tracking all these account numbers. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. I keep them all in my contacts under Airlines.

Hotel Reward Programs

Hotels also have reward programs. Starwood Preferred Guest, Wyndham Rewards, World of Hyatt, Hilton Honors, Le Club AccorHotels, Marriott Rewards, IHG Rewards, Best Western Rewards, Choice Privileges all allow you to earn points toward free nights. Brand loyalty is important when traveling hacking hotels. If you are traveling to a country that does not have American hotel chains, try Hotels.com. Hotels.com has great prices, a great selection, 1 free night after 10 stays, and rewards never expire. If you are a luxury traveler, Rocketmiles allows you to earn points on the loyalty program of your choice.

Car Rental Awards

Car rental companies have loyalty programs and partner with hotels and airlines. Many of the programs read like math story problems. Avis and Hertz both offer a free car rental day after 15 paid rentals. Dollar offers 1 free car rental day after 16 paid rentals. If you do not rent cars often, credit the points to a hotel or airline.

Travel Hacking With Credit Cards

Travel Hacking General Credit Card

Many credit card companies offer welcome bonuses after meeting a signup requirement. The biggest travel hacking tip is to look for a card that offers a large signup bonus and flexible point redemption. You want to be able to transfer the points 1:1 to your other airline and hotel loyalty programs. Travel credit cards allow you to earn double points on travel and food purchases. Pay close attention to the fees, some are quite high. Expect to have an annual fee of $100, don’t worry you will earn that back easily.

After researching all the available options, I chose the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. After spending $4,000 in 3 months I earned 60,000 points, that’s $750. That’s enough to take a long weekend trip for free. Or, continue earning points on your purchases for an international trip. I did not go on a spending spree to charge that $4000. I simply used the card like I would a debit card. It is important to pay off the card each month. If you carry a balance and pay interest, you aren’t saving money.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has other benefits, for example:

No foreign transaction fees
1:1 point transfer to airline and hotel loyalty programs
25% more redemption value for airfare, hotels, car rentals, and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards
2X points on travel and restaurant dining, 5x points on Lyft
Auto rental insurance + roadside assistance
Trip protection + cancellation insurance

Travel Hacking Airline Credit Cards

Several airlines partner with banks to offer credit cards linked to their loyalty programs. Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Credit Card, Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card, JetBlue Card, American Airlines AAdvantage, United Explorer Card, British Airways Visa Signature Card, Delta SkyMiles Gold American Express Card the list goes on.  With so many options, how do you decide?

First, skip the airline cards with high fees. Next, what are the perks? Does the card offer free checked bags, lounge access, priority boarding, travel credits, companion passes, and an anniversary bonus? Finally, do you fly with the airline often? Choose a card with 3x points on purchases made with the airline.

Travel Hacking Cruise Line Credit Cards

Most cruise lines also have bank partnerships. The list includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Holland America, and Disney. These cards may be worth applying for if you cruise often and are loyal to a brand. If cruising is one of your travel goals, check each cruise line’s destinations. Decide which line you will travel to most often and apply for their card. Onboard credits and upgrades are potential added bonuses of cruise line credit cards.

Travel Hacking Hotel Credit Cards

Of course, hotels have also partnered with banks and offer sign-up bonuses. Most also award a free anniversary night stay, which makes up for the yearly fee. IHG offers a 140,000 sign-up bonus, which is worth looking into. Brand loyalty is the key to maximizing travel hacking hotels. Choose the brand you most often book and be aware of partnerships.

Travel Hacking Restaurants

Sign up at iDine Rewards Network and earn points for dining out. You can only register one credit card per loyalty program. Register the credit card that earns the most points on food purchases and choose the airline or hotel loyalty program you utilize the most. This is a register and forget it network. Anytime you eat at a participating iDine.com restaurant you earn points for the entire bill, including tips. Be sure to cover the bill when eating out with friends and have them Venmo you their share!

Redeeming Points

Now the fun starts. First and foremost, guard your points!  You may be tempted to opt for cashback. Don’t do it, it is not a good trade value. Also, you worked hard to get those points, don’t waste them on the first flight or hotel you see.  Here is where the ‘hacking’ part enters. Now that you have points on your credit card, frequent flyer miles, and hotel rewards built up, you need to hack the system by combining them for the best deal. For example, I may need another 1000 frequent flyer points for a ticket on Southwest Airlines to New York City. I will transfer those 1000 points from my Chase Sapphire Preferred card to Southwest and book. Simple. It is always a good idea to check Chase Ultimate Rewards before booking anything.

Partnerships and Alliances

Be aware of partnerships and alliances. For example, before I knew much about reward programs I did some country hopping in Europe. I booked the least expensive ticket that fit my itinerary. One of those flights I booked was on KLM. It is unlikely I will fly with KLM in the near future. It is very likely I will fly with Alaska Airlines. KLM has a partnership with Alaska Airlines. It would have been in my best interest to credit those frequent flyer miles to Alaska Airlines. Think about your travel habits as you glance through these partnerships, what companies should you pay attention to?

Chase Ultimate Rewards Partners: Aer Lingus, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue (Air France and KLM), Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, IHG, Hyatt, Marriott

Star Alliance: (Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partner) United Airlines + Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, Eva Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines

OneWorld Alliance: American Airlines + British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar, Royal Jordanian Airlines, S7 Airlines, SriLankan Airlines

SkyTeam Alliance: Delta Air Lines + Aeroflot, Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Saudia, Tarom, Vietnam Airlines, XiamenAir

Alaska Airlines Partnerships: Aer Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Condor, EL AL Israel Airlines, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Hainan Airlines, Icelandair, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Best Western, Choice, Coast, IHG, Marriot Bonvoy, Westmark Hotels, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Thrifty, MileagePlanDining (iDine)

Southwest Partnerships: Best Western, Radisson Rewards, Choice Hotels, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, MGM Resorts, Rocketmiles, Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, National, Payless, Thrifty, Rapid Rewards Dining (iDine)

Jet Blue Partnerships: Icelandair, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, JSX, Silver Airways (Florida, Bahamas), Emirates, Marriott Bonvoy, IHG, Avis, TrueBlueDining (iDine)

Travel Hacking Cautions

Stacking an airline or hotel sign-up bonus on top of a general travel credit card sign-up bonus opens up a lot of travel options and moves you one step closer to your dream destination. Be cautious, do not get excited, and apply for multiple credit cards at once. Earn your bonus from one card before applying for the next. It is advised to wait over 90 days before applying for a new credit card. Many people apply for their second card when a big purchase is coming up. Also, if you do sign up for multiple cards with annual fees, be sure to cancel the ones you no longer need before the annual fee is due.

As you become more comfortable earning and using points and miles you might want to advance toward the added perks of earning elite status, learning how to manufacture money, and rotating credit cards. There are people who earn millions of miles each year using these travel hacking secrets. But first… Chase Sapphire Preferred

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