Travel hacking is the practice of earning free air miles and points that you can spend on flights or upgrades to business class—and even nights in hotels. It is very popular with young people who want to travel the world for less—but there is no reason why moms can’t also start travel hacking to help pay for flights.
So how do you go about doing this? Here’s a guide to the best tips for moms when it comes to travel hacking.
Shop Online at Portals
The best way for moms to earn miles and take full advantage of travel hacking is to shop online. You will find online portals for all of the best frequent traveler programs, and when you shop in these, you earn points.
If you love online shopping, head to these portals first. You simply enter e-commerce websites using the portals, then make them your first port of call for all your online shopping.
You may be able to get exactly the same things but with the benefit of earning miles at the same time. Just think of all those things you have to buy for the kids, and you may be surprised by what you can find.
Choose the Right Credit Card
One of the best tips to follow is to choose the right credit card. This is also the most convenient way to earn miles and points.
There are many credit cards you can choose from, each linked to different programs. Basically, every time you spend money on your card, you will earn points. So switch all of your monthly spending to your card, and earn every time you buy something, whether for the home, the kids, or anything else.
Some credit cards are co-branded, and when you sign up for these, you may be given a whole load of miles in one go—often many thousands!
Even some debit cards can be used to build points, though they are not as common. But look around and see what you can find. You may want to start paying your bills automatically using your credit card, and you’ll earn free miles without even thinking about it.
There are many ways to redeem points, so find out more about the AMEX transfer partners to redeem AMEX rewards points.
Sign Up for Airline Newsletters
You can often earn air miles and points in surprising places, but you won’t know about them unless you keep an eye out for them. And the best way to do this is to sign up to the newsletter of your favorite airline and follow its social media account.
That way, as soon as they announce a special promotion where you can earn miles, you can take advantage of it, as long as it is something you actually want.
You may find out about a way to earn a few thousand miles for signing up with a service that you want anyway. So make sure you keep your eyes open.
Dining Out
If you like to treat yourself to a night out every once in a while, make sure you earn miles for doing so. There are restaurants all over the place that will let you earn miles for eating at them, and all you have to do is link your credit card and use it at the restaurant to get more miles for free. Check out the different programs from United, Delta, US Airways, and others.
Choose an Alliance and Stick to It
There are many airline alliances, and these are groups of airlines where you can earn miles on one airline and use them on another. The big three are OneWorld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam.
While it may be tempting to sign up to as many as you can, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. It’s better to have lots of miles with one alliance than spread them out among all three.
Look at the airlines that make up the alliances. Which is your favorite in the United States? What about the airlines in other countries? Make a decision, and then stick to building up your miles in one of them.
Start Travel Hacking Today
Travel hacking is a fun hobby and a great way to earn miles that you can redeem for flights, upgrades, and hotels. If you like the idea of traveling for less, sign up for a program today and start searching for ways that you can earn miles without doing anything more than shopping in the right places and eating out at restaurants.
Aimee Archer is quite possibly a little bit addicted to travel. Always dreaming of exotic locations she enjoys the planning as much as the traveling, and gets even more pleasure now that her kids are old enough to explore the world with her.
