Top 10 Travel Hacking Mistakes to Avoid

Travel Hacking is simple, but it does require strategy. You have to sequentially do the right things, in the right way, at the right time to experience the full benefits. Otherwise, core mistakes can cost you greatly and cause you to miss out on entire free trips! So make sure that you avoid these Top 10 mistakes that many people often make.

1. Missing a Minimum Spend & Welcome Bonus

Many credit cards offer substantial welcome bonuses if you meet a minimum spending requirement within a specific time frame. Missing this deadline means losing out on hundreds of dollars in rewards. Plan your spending to meet these requirements without overspending.

2. Signing Up for the Wrong Offer/Bonus/Referral

Make sure that you're signing up for the card offer that you intended to. Oftentimes, Credit Card companies will offer several different offers available through different links, so ensure that the one you're applying for is the correct one. Early on, my wife & I learned the hard way, because not reading the offer page before signing up meant that we missed out on a 5% on Gas/Groceries offer on that particular card.

3. Earning Low-Value Points

Not all points are created equal. Make sure you're actually earning valuable points to make sure you're redeeming your points for a good value. Here's the standard line, you should never work to earn points that are worth less than 1¢ each. In that case, you'd be better using a cash back card and paying in cash for those travel plans.  

4. Forgetting to Pay Your Card

Paying interest and late fees sabotages the rewards that you earn. You should responsibly manage any credit card and pay it off on-time and in full each month. This is one of the many reasons why I recommend setting up Auto-Pay.

5. Adding a Significant Other as an Authorized User

Even people in the same household can each separately sign up for and receive credit card bonuses on each card. Even better, if you engage in "2-Player Mode", one person can refer the other person to get the card and also get a referral bonus! You can read more about this here: The Power of Pooling Points with Family & Friends

6. Letting Big Card Perks Go Unused

Beyond the points that you'll earn for free travel. Many Travel Credit Cards have perks like Free TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry, Seat/Room Upgrades, Shopping Credits, and more. Those can amount to hundreds of dollars of value each year and make your trips even more comfortable and convenient.

7. Redeeming Points for Less than 1¢

You should never redeem points for flights or hotels that are getting you less than 1¢ per point in value. In contrast, you can actually get 2¢-10¢ in value per point if you leverage your points well. I love teaching my students how to do that in my course & coaching clients how to do that, because they to travel more for less points.

8. Using Transferable Points First

Speaking of point values, the most valuable points you'll accumulate are Transferable Points through Chase, American Express, Citi, Bilt, and others. You can use these to transfer to dozens of airline & hotel partners for maximum value. Save those as much as you can and use those as a last resort, not a first response.

9. Cancelling a Card in Under One Year

Some people will wrongly think that they should earn a Welcome Bonus on a card and then quickly close it out. That's a really bad idea. Banks will penalize you and sometimes shutdown your accounts if you do that. 

10. Trying to Figure it Out on Your Own

While you could try to figure this out on your own, you don't have to. I'll save you time - I've invested hundreds of hours in honing my knowledge and refining it in a streamlined way that is clear, accessible, and gives clear action steps from start to finish in my course & coaching. I'll save you mistakes - I'll guide you each step of the way with refined expertise and best practices so that you won't have to suffer common rookie mistakes that most people do on their own. I'll save you points - You'll never run the risk of wasting your points, because I'll ensure you get the best value for the best places so that you’ll get better travel options for less points.

So in all your Travel Hacking adventures, make sure that you have a plan to make sure that you don't crash and burn with these common mistakes.