Travel Hacking for Beginners.
If you are like me you have probably seen influencers on social media talk about how they are able to travel the world for free through something called “Travel Hacking”. I have done extensive research and it is an ever evolving game that rewards those that pay close attention to the latest offerings from credit card companies, Airlines, and hotels. I hope I can demystify travel hacking so that you too can begin to travel like these influencers do. This will most likely be a series because there is alot of information and like I previously mentioned that information is constantly changing.
What is it?
Basically Travel hacking is the process of using welcome offers from credit cards to be able to quickly accumulate points that can be redeemed for flights or hotels. The welcome offer is simply the most points you will be able to get at one time for spending “X” amount of money.
Using Points
Lets take the American Express Gold Card as an example. Currently their welcome offer is 90,000 points when you spend $6,000 in the first 6 months of having the card. Once you have hit that spending threshold you will now have 90,000 points. From there you can look at their points redemption “portal” and look at flights and hotels.
Points Transfers
The good thing about AmEx points is that they can be transferred to their airline and hotel partners and sometimes the exchange rate is favorable, meaning you can get more value from your points currently transferring points from AmEx to Hilton Honors points is 2:1 meaning that 90,000 is actually 180,000 Hilton points.
Using the Right Cards
Using the right cards is important in accumulating points. And accumulating points is the name of the game. So if you have the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card ($250 annual fee) you not only earn 85,000 points when you spend $5,000 in 6 months but also 6x points when you book Marriott stays on this card. Plus up to 18.5x points per dollar spent at Marriott properties. Compare that to their Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card ($650 annual fee) you earn 95,000 points after spending $6,000 in 6 months. Plus up to 21x points for every dollar spent at Marriott Properties. So your loyalty is rewarded if you use the same airline and hotel brands. Amex also has Delta Cards that give you multiples on money spent directly through Delta.
Credit Warning
This “game” is not for people who have bad credit or those trying to build their credit. It can negatively impact your score to have multiple inquires on your credit report especially in a short span. A general rule of thumb is to get approved for a card and wait at least 6 months to apply for another card. Another thing to consider is the Annual fees of some of these cards… they add up. If you have the Amex Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant, and Delta SkyMiles Platinum you will be paying over $1,000 in annual fees for these cards.
This is a general overview of the Travel Hacking game, We are releasing a membership program that exclusively covers Travel Hacking Strategies and tips. Including a course that is typically priced at $100. For $9.99/month you get access to all travel hacking content which is constantly updated to account for the changes in credit card reward programs and welcome bonuses along with travel itineraries using points and miles to travel for free or at a great discount. Learn More Here.