Credit Cards
Travel Hacking 101 —
How We Make Credit Card Points Work for Us
Why We Even Bother with Points
Honestly? Without credit card points, we wouldn’t be traveling nearly as much as we do. Every day purchases, dining out, groceries, and even streaming subscriptions are slowly turning into flights, hotel nights, and experiences we’d otherwise have to save months for.
The catch: you have to pay your cards in full every month. Carrying a balance? Forget it — all the points in the world won’t cover the interest charges. So this only works if you treat credit cards like a tool, not free money.
How Travel Hacking Actually Works
It’s less “magic trick” and more simple math + strategy. Here’s our approach:
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Pick the Right Cards – Sign-up bonuses are the big payoff, but we also consider multipliers. Dining, travel, groceries — whatever we spend money on regularly.
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Hit the Minimum Spend – We time applications around big expenses (vacations, business expenses, even furniture) so hitting the spend requirement isn’t painful.
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Stack Multipliers – We use bonus categories to earn points faster. Some cards give 3×, 5×, even 8× in certain categories. We make sure we’re using the right card for the right purchase.
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Transfer or Redeem Smartly – Some of our best redemptions come from transferring points to airlines or hotels instead of just booking via the credit card portal. This can multiply the value of our points.
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Track and Adjust – Annual fees, credits, perks — we keep an eye on everything to make sure the card is worth keeping.
Transferring Points to Airlines & Hotels
This is where the magic happens. Points are flexible, and when you move them to airline or hotel programs, you can often get more value per point than booking through the credit card portal.
Some quick tips:
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Always check availability first — once you transfer, it’s final.
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Transfers are usually 1:1 (1,000 credit card points = 1,000 airline or hotel points).
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Watch for transfer bonuses — usually you get 25–40% extra points when moving to a partner. In rare occasions that can be upwards of 50-100% bonuses.
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Keep loyalty accounts active for all the airlines/hotels you plan to transfer to.
Examples of Partners:
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Airlines: United, Singapore, British Airways, JetBlue, Southwest, Emirates, Air Canada, Aer Lingus
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Hotels: Hyatt, Marriott, IHG
Making the System Work for You
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Use a combination of cards: one premium for maximum perks and multipliers, and a no/low-fee card for everyday spending.
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Take advantage of seasonal promotions, bonus point offers, and portal redemption bonuses.
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Keep track of your points and potential redemptions — planning ahead always pays off.
Bottom Line
Travel hacking isn’t about buying stuff you don’t need. It’s about being smart with the spending you already do, timing your sign-ups, and knowing how to get the best value when redeeming or transferring points. Do it right, and suddenly your next trip feels a whole lot cheaper — or even free.
