Travel Hacking 101: The Basics
Are you new to my website and wondering where are all the tips and tricks? Well it’s time to get your note pads out and credit score checked as this is the first email of many that will come your way to teach you the art of travel hacking.
This is just the beginning of the information I will be sharing as I am here for the long haul, literally, the flights, points, hotels, food and everything that comes with the fun travel hacking provides.
For starters let me iron out the definition of travel hacking. Travel hacking is using various ways to save on airfare, hotels, food and other services. Many times and most times it is by way of credit cards and specific banking cards, but there are other creative ways to earn free travel and hotel vouchers too. Over the time you are here as a subscriber to this website you will learn the basics and eventually you may want to take it to the next level to become an expert.
Had I known what I know now years ago I would have always used my points for travel and such, but it’s never too late to start.
The number one rule is to learn the points game and never ever use your debit card again to pay for anything. Say what? Yes, it is true, but the other part of this rule is when you are using your valuable credit cards to travel hack you must always pay the balance off every month. I even at times will pay the balance as soon as I make the purchase. For example, right now my internet bill is due, so I will use my credit card to pay for the bill and then I will go into my account and pay the amount I just put on my credit card. That way I am not left with bills that add up and I don’t end up over budget and you won’t either.
So for starters I am sure you are wondering which card you should start off with, right? I will share what I learned with you, when I first started travel hacking and that is to ensure you have good credit. It is ideal to have a credit score of at least 700 when applying for new credit cards. This is not to say you won’t get approved for a new credit card, it is just making you aware, you could get denied, based on which credit card you are applying for.
If you think your Costco or Visa cash back card are doing you justice, you are most likely mistaken. Those cards, may give you a small rate of return, but the real cards that are going to give you the real points, trips and hotels vary. I always recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred or CS Platinum rewards cards to start off. From there, we can discuss other cards and this is where I leave you wanting more for my next post about travel hacking. Stay tuned as the next email will be giving you the good as gold information.
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