The best way to start travel hacking

What’s the best way to start travel hacking? Start with a specific credit card.

When we talk to people about our travels, one of the first questions we receive is how we pay for all of it. Like when we mention we visited six new countries in 2023. Or when we outline our full 2023 travel recap including our domestic travels, covering several states and national parks.

While we like to think we’re financially responsible people, the real answer is that we use travel hacking for our many of our trips instead of saving months and years for that one dream vacation. And that is how we saved over $28,000 on our 2023 travel. That number understandably gets some attention, and we’re always happy to get the conversation about travel hacking going with anyone who’s willing to listen.

The best travel hacking starter card

The number one thing we recommend to anyone that wants to start travel hacking is to open a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. In early May 2024, the sign-up bonus was elevated from 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points to 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points. All you have to do is spend $4,000 in the first three months you have the account open. At a minimum, that’s over $900 towards travel (if you book through the Chase travel portal). But if those 75,000 points are used strategically through transfer partners, that amount could potentially save you thousands on a future trip. This offer will go away, so if you’re thinking about starting your travel hacking journey, we’d recommend opening the card sooner rather than later.

Credit card details

There are a few reasons we recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the best travel hacking starter card. First, it only has a $95 annual fee. Which, compared to many credit cards beloved by travel hackers, is one of the lowest. Second, the points earning potential is pretty good based on the following:

• Earn 3x on dining
• 3 points per dollar on select streaming services
• 3 points per dollar on online grocery purchases
• 2x points on travel
• 5x points on travel purchased through the Chase Travel portal
• 5x points on Lyft rides
• 10% Anniversary Points Boost
• 1x on all other purchases

When we were opening our first credit cards, we both opened an original Chase Freedom, a cash back card. Over the years, we’ve opened additional Chase cash back cards like the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which is 1.5x on all purchases.

If you open a Chase Sapphire Preferred, you have access to Chase Ultimate Rewards, where you can transfer your points to travel partners. You can also combine your Chase cash back points with your Sapphire for additional points for travel.

A few other reasons this is the best way to start travel hacking:

• Chase has travel partners, like Hyatt, that no other credit card provider has
• The card has travel protections in the event of things like a cancelled flight, rental car damage, lost luggage, and more
• No foreign transaction fees when you use this card traveling internationally
• $50 hotel credit on stays purchased through Chase travel – we recommend only using this on boutique hotels
• DoorDash DashPass subscription
• 6 months of complimentary Instacart

How this could look for you

Let’s just say you open the Chase Sapphire Preferred on May 15th. Assuming you hit the spending goal of $4,000 in three months, you will have a minimum of 79,000 points for travel by August 15th. That’s the 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points from the sign-up bonus and 4,000 points from the minimum 1x on all purchases. You likely will have spent some of that money on dining, which earns 3x points, so your total may be closer to 80,000 points or more.

For reference, Hyatt redemptions start at 3,500 points per night. You could stay at a Hyatt in London for as low as 9,000 points per night in late September to early October 2024. Or could you fly round-trip from Los Angeles to Honolulu on Southwest for only 30,000 points total in August. The possibilities are truly endless.

Conclusion

If you’ve been wondering if you should start travel hacking, now would be a great time to jump in. And in our opinion, the best way to start travel hacking is by opening the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. In just three months, you will have a minimum of 79,000 points for travel. If you happen to have a Player 2, you could then refer them and receive 10,000 points for the referral and add their 79,000 points to your travel fund. Just imagine where you could go with 168,000 points!

Questions? Leave them in the comments or send us an email at points.postcards@gmail.com.