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Are you new to the world of travel hacking? With all the jargon flying around, it can be overwhelming to understand what people are talking about. Fear not! This guide will break down the most essential travel hacking terms you’ll need to know to start earning free flights, hotel stays, and other rewards. By getting familiar with these key terms, you’ll be able to maximize your rewards and unlock amazing travel deals.

Let’s dive into the most important travel hacking terms and definitions!

1. Travel Hacking

Travel hacking is the practice of using loyalty programs, credit card rewards, and other strategies to earn points, miles, and travel-related benefits. Travel hackers use these methods to get free flights, discounted hotel stays, upgrades, and more.

2. Welcome Offer / Sign-Up Bonus

A welcome offer (or sign-up bonus) is a large number of points or miles that you earn when you open a new credit card and meet the minimum spend requirement. These offers can be a quick way to accumulate rewards.

Example: You may earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 on a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card within the first 3 months.

3. Minimum Spend Requirement

The minimum spend requirement is the amount of money you need to spend on your new credit card within a specific timeframe (typically 3 months) to earn the welcome offer bonus.

Example: Spend $3,000 in the first 3 months to earn 50,000 points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

4. Points / Miles

Points and miles are the currencies used in travel hacking. Points are typically earned through hotel loyalty programs (e.g., Marriott or Hilton), while miles are earned through frequent flyer programs (e.g., American Airlines or Delta).

• Points: Typically redeemed for hotel stays, car rentals, or experiences.
• Miles: Typically redeemed for flights and upgrades.

5. Credit Card Rewards

Credit card rewards are the points or miles you earn for every purchase you make with your travel rewards card. These rewards can be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, or other travel-related purchases.

6. Earning Rates

The earning rate refers to how many points or miles you earn per dollar spent. For example, a card may offer 3x points on dining or 2x points on travel.

Example: The American Express Gold Card offers 4x points on dining.

7. Redemption

Redemption is the process of using your points or miles to book flights, hotels, or other travel-related expenses. It’s the way you use your rewards to get free or discounted travel.

8. Transfer Partners

Transfer partners are airlines or hotel chains where you can transfer your credit card points or miles. Transferring points to airline partners gives you more flexibility when booking flights.

Example: Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to partners like United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or Hyatt hotels

9. Points Multipliers

A points multiplier refers to specific categories of spending that allow you to earn more points per dollar spent, such as dining, travel, or groceries.

Example: The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 3x points on travel and 2x points on dining.

10. Frequent Flyer Program (FFP)

A frequent flyer program (FFP) is a loyalty program that allows you to earn miles for flying with specific airlines. These miles can be redeemed for flights or upgrades.

Example: Delta SkyMiles or American Airlines AAdvantage are examples of frequent flyer programs.

11. Elite Status

Elite status is a tier within a frequent flyer or hotel loyalty program that offers additional perks like room upgrades, priority check-in, and free luggage. You can earn elite status by flying or staying frequently with a specific airline or hotel.

12. Award Travel

Award travel refers to travel booked with points or miles instead of cash. This can include flights, hotel stays, car rentals, or even experiences.

Example: You can use 50,000 miles to book a round-trip flight to Europe.

13. Airline Alliances

Airline alliances are groups of airlines that cooperate to allow you to earn and redeem miles across multiple airlines within the same alliance.

Example: Star Alliance includes airlines like United, Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines.

14. Transferable Points

Transferable points are points that can be moved between different loyalty programs. Many credit card programs offer transferable points, providing flexibility when booking travel.

Example: Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to United, Southwest, or Hyatt.

15. Chase 5/24 Rule

The Chase 5/24 rule is a policy by Chase that states if you’ve opened 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months, you’ll likely be denied for most of Chase’s credit cards.

16. Player Two Mode

Player Two Mode is a strategy where you and a partner (spouse, friend) apply for the same credit card to earn double the points or miles, helping you meet the minimum spend requirements faster.

17. Annual Fee

An annual fee is a yearly charge applied to your credit card account. Many travel rewards cards have annual fees, which may be worth it if the benefits outweigh the cost.

Example: The American Express Platinum Card has a $695 annual fee, but offers premium benefits like airport lounge access.

18. Booking Window

The booking window refers to how far in advance you need to book your travel to ensure award availability. Booking early increases your chances of securing the best deals.

19. Blackout Dates

Blackout dates are periods during which you cannot use points or miles for booking award travel. These dates usually coincide with busy travel times, like holidays.

20. Travel Insurance

Travel insurance provided by credit cards often covers trip cancellations, interruptions, or baggage loss. It’s a valuable perk when booking travel with a rewards card.

Example: The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers trip cancellation insurance when you use the card to pay for your trip.

21. Points Expiration

Points expiration refers to how long your points or miles are valid. Some loyalty programs require you to use points within a certain timeframe, or they’ll expire.

Example: American Airlines AAdvantage miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.

22. Redemption Rate

Redemption rate refers to the value you get when redeeming your points or miles. A higher redemption rate means you’re getting more value out of your rewards.

Example: You may get 1 cent per point when redeeming for a gift card but 2 cents per point when booking a flight.

23. Points Value

Points value is how much a point is worth when redeemed for flights, hotels, or other rewards. The value can fluctuate depending on how you redeem your points.

Example: A point with Chase Ultimate Rewards may be worth 1 cent when redeemed for cash back, but it can be worth 1.25 cents when redeemed for travel through the Chase travel portal.

24. Cash Back Credit Cards

Cash back credit cards are cards that offer a percentage of your purchases back as cash, which can be redeemed for statement credits, gift cards, or other rewards.

Example: A Chase Freedom Unlimited card might offer 1.5% cash back on every purchase, which you can later redeem as a statement credit.

25. Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing means that the number of points or miles required for award travel can change based on demand, season, or availability.

Example: American Airlines miles required for an award ticket can increase during peak travel periods, like holidays or busy summer months.

26. Fixed Value Points

Fixed value points are points that maintain a consistent redemption value, regardless of how you use them.

Example: Citi Thank You Points may have a fixed value, where 1,000 points equal $10 in travel credit, regardless of when you redeem them.

27. Transfer Bonuses

Transfer bonuses are temporary promotions that offer bonus points or miles when you transfer points to a partner airline or hotel program.

Example: Chase might offer a 25% transfer bonus to one of its airline partners, allowing you to get more miles when transferring your points.

28. Companion Pass

A companion pass is a benefit from airlines allowing you to bring a companion along for free or at a discounted rate on flights.You typically need to earn this by flying a certain number of miles or completing a certain number of flights.

Example: Southwest Airlines offers a Companion Pass for earning 125,000 points in a calendar year.

29. Free Night Awards

Free night awards are certificates or vouchers earned through hotel loyalty programs that allow you to stay one night for free at a participating hotel.

Example: Marriott Bonvoy may issue a free night award for staying a certain number of nights, or for meeting certain spending requirements on a co-branded credit card.

30. Travel Credit

A travel credit is a fixed dollar amount provided by a credit card company, usually as a benefit for cardholders. This credit can be used for travel-related expenses, such as flights, hotels, or even car rentals.

Example: The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 annual travel credit, which automatically applies to travel purchases, including flights, hotels, and car rentals.

31. Travel Portal

A travel portal is an online platform provided by a credit card issuer or a rewards program that allows cardholders to book travel using their points or miles. This is typically where you can redeem your rewards points for flights, hotels, or car rentals.

Example: Chase Ultimate Rewards offers a travel portal where cardholders can redeem points for flights, hotels, and more, often with bonus value for certain cards.

32. No Foreign Transaction Fees

No foreign transaction fees mean you won’t pay extra fees when using your credit card abroad. This is a great benefit for international travelers.

Example: The Chase Sapphire Preferred and American Express Platinum Card both offer no foreign transaction fees.

33. Statement Credit

Statement credit refers to a reduction in your credit card balance, typically used to cover certain purchases like travel or dining.

Example: A Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholder might use points to pay off a $200 hotel stay, turning it into a statement credit.

34. Travel Perks

Travel perks are additional benefits offered by credit card companies or loyalty programs to enhance your travel experience. This can include benefits like priority boarding, airport lounge access, global entry credits, and free checked bags.

Example: The American Express Platinum Card offers access to over 1,200 airport lounges worldwide as part of its travel perks.

35. Mileage Run

A mileage run is a strategy used by frequent flyers to earn more miles or elite status by taking flights solely for the purpose of earning miles. This is usually done when a flyer is close to reaching a certain milestone for elite status or rewards.

Example: A traveler might book a cheap flight to a distant city just to earn miles that will help them reach an elite status tier in their preferred airline program.

36. Mileage Pooling

Mileage pooling is when multiple people combine their miles into a shared account to reach reward thresholds faster. Some airlines and loyalty programs allow you to pool miles with family or friends to redeem for flights or upgrades.

Example: JetPrivilege (now InterMiles) allows you to pool miles from family members to redeem for tickets.

37. Upgrade

An upgrade refers to moving to a higher class of service, such as from economy to business class or from business class to first class, using either miles or points. Upgrades are a highly sought-after benefit in travel hacking.

Example: Using Delta SkyMiles to upgrade from economy to business class on an international flight.

38. Spend Cap / Cap on Earning

A spend cap refers to the maximum amount of spending on a credit card or loyalty program that qualifies for earning bonus points or miles within a certain category or for certain benefits.

Example: A credit card might offer 5x points on travel for up to $10,000 in purchases, after which you earn only 1x points on travel.

39. Point Transfer Ratio

The point transfer ratio refers to how many points you need to transfer from one program to another. Different programs have different ratios, which affect how much value you get when transferring points.

Example: With Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can transfer 1,000 points to 1,000 miles with partners like United Airlines or Southwest Airlines.

40. Loyalty Program

A loyalty program is a rewards system that offers benefits such as points or miles for frequent purchases or activities. These programs are designed to encourage repeat business, especially in travel-related industries like airlines and hotels.

Example: Hilton Honors is a loyalty program for Hilton hotels, allowing members to earn points that can be redeemed for free stays.

Final Thoughts: Mastering Travel Hacking Terms

Now that you’re familiar with essential travel hacking terms, you’re equipped to navigate the world of points, miles, and rewards with confidence. Whether you’re applying for credit cards, booking flights, or redeeming hotel stays, understanding these terms will help you maximize the value of your points and create a travel experience that’s both affordable and luxurious.

Ready to take your travel hacking to the next level? Keep this list handy and start strategizing your next travel rewards journey today!