Airlines are starting to feel like the bully on the playground.  Between baggage fees, fuel surcharges, and airport taxes they’re getting frighteningly efficient and making my lunch money for the week disappear.   The best fares for flights overseas to destinations like Paris or London now cost almost double what they did a couple of years ago.  The thought of paying what they ask for a few extra inches of leg room is enough to stir feelings of rebellion in any frugal traveler.

The good news is there is a way to hack the system and once you hone your skills you can work your way into upgrades and free flights with a few tricks.  Below is a video of a great Ignite talk given by Evan Hanshaw-Plath outlining his favorite methods for hacking the system. 

 

Video Summary:

Credit Cards with Big Signup Bonuses.  We’ve seen travel credit cards offering as many as 100,000 miles.  Being mindful of the impact is has on your credit, but over time you can apply for a card, then cancel (or accept more bonus miles they offer you for staying).  Rinse and Repeat.

Choose Your Alliance.  Stick with one airline partnership and work your way to the upper echelons of status.  Then, whisk past check-in and security lines, stretch your legs in First Class, Enjoy lounges, and watch your points accumulate in multiples.

Mile Runs:  Why work from home when you can work on a plane.  “Mile Runs” refer to when a travel hack jumps on a flight for the sole purpose of accumulating miles.  If you don’t travel enough to get status, and have the flexibility and time you can try this hack you.  Just find the cheapest routes giving you the most miles and buckle up.  According to Evan you can earn top level status for as little as $2,000.

Go on “Wild Wides”.  By deliberately booking extremely indirect routes with stops and layovers, you can get three or four times more miles. 

Find Segment Routes.  Many programs will give you elite status for flying a certain number of flight segments, rather than only using mileage in their calculation. You can hack your way to elite status by finding  cheap routes with multiple segments

Get Bumped on Purpose.  Dig around for crowded flights, book around the holidays, and jump ship when the airlines ask for volunteers.  If you can get bumped 5 times on one trip, you’ll know you’ve become a Jedi travel hacker.

Good Credit Sense:

Keep in mind that every time you apply for a card, your credit score will get dinged by at least 5 points.  You’ll also want to make sure you keep an eye on your credit utilization ratio as well as that has a tremendous effect on your FICO score.  According to myFICO:

“Opening several credit accounts in a short period of time represents greater credit risk. When the information on your credit report indicates that you have been applying for multiple new credit lines in a short period of time your FICO score can be lower as a result.” 

“While inquiries often can play a part in assessing risk, they play a minor part. Much more important factors for your score are how timely you pay your bills and your overall debt burden as indicated on your credit report.”