Many people don’t realize that they often have $100’s of things available to them to use. So they just waste these great perks. Travel credit cards help you save money, recoup lost costs, make it easier to travel and get you free vacations as you collect points!
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: If you are a person who holds a balance on your cards and does not pay them off in full each month, do NOT get a travel credit card. The amount you will pay in interest and fees loses you WAY more money than you will ever get in rewards
Do your research
You cannot use the amazing (and often FREE) benefits from your travel credit card, if you don’t even know what kind of benefits you get!
Most credit card companies have FANTASTIC customer service. I highly recommend calling when you first get your card to go over the card’s benefits with a representative. When I first called about my Venture card, I mentioned that I was taking Lincoln to Spain and they sent me a gift! It was the adventure scrapbook from Pixar’s “Up!” that I could put pictures of our trip in.
They will explain all the “extras” that we don’t often think of but can be worth $100’s!
Need help getting tickets to a show or reservations to a top restaurant? There is often a service that helps you find them at the best price. Bringing check-in bags on your flight? Some cards will reimburse you for any airline fees. Have a long layover? Get free food, a bed and an exclusive place to relax at premium airport lounge, FREE with some cards.
The benefits will surprise you and save you lots of money. By calling you get to understand all that is available to you, just by having the card!
Sometimes there are programs you will need to sign-up for ahead of time, or steps you need to take, to get the benefits. So just be sure to call and ask ahead of time.
Always use it for ALL travel expenses
Travel credit cards let you earn points at a higher rate (2x or more!) with buying travel related purchases versus everyday purchases.
What many people don’t realize is that a lot more things can be “travel expenses” than just airfare and hotels. Each card is different on what it allows as a travel expense but start thinking out of the box with the things you choose to put on your travel credit card.
Toll roads, gas stations, your monthly parking fees, tourist attractions (zoos, museums, etc.), Ubers, and so on; can all count as travel expenses. This varies from card to card, and there may be MUCH more than this, so it’s another great reason to call your credit card company and ask. I’ve even been told that ANY travel expense I should charge to the card like pet day-cares, storage units and anything else travel related!
You can also dispute things that you feel are a travel expense that you didn’t get extra points for. I’ve not done this, but credit card companies are competitive so this might work.
Better yet, use it for all your purchases
Unless there is a promo going on or you have a card that promotes other categories, you’re just going to get 1x points on other purchases.
BUT, you are going to collect points!
It’s the life expenses that really add up. The mundane, not as fun as traveling, things.
Your gas, groceries, clothing, utilities, insurance, toilet paper, etc. You spend WAY more in these categories, and they will still help you earn points towards your next vacation!
Better yet, add your spouse or partner (that is a responsible spender) to the card so you can both earn points! Most cards allow you to set up authorized users. They will get their own card that is linked to the same account. If either of you charge something to the card it will earn points! This is especially important when trying to hit your sign-on bonus minimum because more of your expenses get put on the travel card.
Download the app
The app makes the card oh-so-easy to use and manage. Many even have barcodes so you won’t need the physical card at all!
They provide easy help in the form of FAQ, chats and contact numbers. You can turn cards on/off if you lost it or may have been stolen. Points can be redeemed in app for flights, hotels, cash, experiences and other rewards. You can even notify of upcoming travel plans so your card doesn’t get flagged as “suspicious” on your trip.
Get good advice
Do a little research from reliable sites and people to get good advice about your travel credit card. Call the companies directly, use their websites, check out sites like thepointsguy.com, etc.
Another great resource is Thrifty Traveler. They are a cheap flight finder site that helps you get $100’s or even $1000 off flights. Sites like this are the #1 reason that I started to figure out how to travel for cheap around the world! Learn more about the best free ones that can save you on flights.
Thrifty Traveler offers FREE and PERSONALIZED credit card counseling to all premium members. It’s only $40/year (that’s about $3/month). I think that this is absurdly cheap and would definitely pay WAY more than this. *shhh, don’t tell them that* They also offer a free 14 day trial.
They will help you find the best credit card for you and get the most out of it.
Know promos going on to earn at a higher rate
Sometimes travel credit cards allow you to earn at a higher rate and get big bonuses at times other than the sign-up bonus. Meaning you get on your super-cheap or free vacation faster.
For example, my Capital One Venture card is currently offering a 10x bonus when I book through Hotels.com. 10x!
Usually there is just one promo going on at a time, so that it encourages you to buy from certain places. But when one ends, often a new one will begin so always know where you can earn at the highest rate.
Know the best way to redeem
Once you get yourself a nice little nest egg of points you get to the very best part of having a credit card, redeeming points! You get to exchange the points that you’ve worked to collect for discounted or FREE things that you want. This can be LOTS of things like restaurants, show tickets, flights, hotels, and even cash.
But before you get too excited, know that some redemptions get you more bang for your buck than others.
Unfortunately, cash is usually the worst option when it comes to getting the most out of your points. It is better to redeem points for travel related things, like airfare, hotels and rental cars.
But even the same New York to London flight on different airlines can be worth very different point values. It’s best to look at all your options. Using a different airline or dates may mean that you get a higher return rate (sometimes even looking at sister airlines-like British Airways vs American Airlines-may give you more!).
Know that the best return for your points can often be found in higher price tickets.
For example, international tickets are often a better use of points than redeeming for cheaper domestic flights. Since points are essentially money it might be “cheaper” to just find a deal on a domestic flight and save the points for another, more expensive, flight. But hey, if you want to not pay for your trip to Las Vegas and just use points just go for it, it’s your points!
Likewise, first class tickets (while they cost much more points to redeem) offer a better return per point than economy tickets. Learn more at Brad’s Deals, this is guy is a saving guru at anything but especially trips.
Double up on cards
The signup bonuses that credit card companies offer are often worth WAY more than you will earn in even a whole year of points.
Take as much advantage of that as you can because this is where you can really get free vacations!
Most cards let you free transfer points to other cardholders. This means you can dump the rewards for multiple accounts into one and redeem the points all together! (Free flights for the whole family *woo woo*!).
So, you also sign up your spouse and you get double the sign-up bonus rewards. But you can only get one card per person, right? Technically yes…but not really…
You could each also sign up for a business travel credit card as well.
“But I don’t have a business,” you say! Maybe you do. If you exchange any sort of goods or services with others, you are the sole proprietor of your business. Use your social security number as your tax ID number and you’re good to go!
This means between you and your spouse you can get 4 sign-up bonuses!!!!!! And you could go somewhere awesome right away for FREE!
Quick thought: Remember that you have to hit a minimum in a certain time to qualify for the sign-up bonus. If this is going to be hard for you on multiple cards then do one at a time and put all your expenses on the card you are currently trying to hit the minimum on.
Best travel credit cards I have found
Cost: free first year, $95/year after that
Perks:
- 50,000 points bonus if you spend $3000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fees (you can buy things fee free in any currency in the world)
- 2x points on EVERYTHING (not just travel expenses), so great for everyday spending
- Bonus points during promos (currently 10x points at Hotels.com/venture)
- FLEXIBLE earning and redemption
- No redemption minimums
- Easy to use app for redemptions
- $100/friend you refer up to $500/year
- Free Global Entry or TSA precheck every four years (worth $100)
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
- Free additional rental car insurance
- Free travel accident insurance
- Help getting tickets to events/exclusive restaurants
Overall impression: this is actually the card I have. It shines in the fact you collect points for all purchases and is ultra-flexible. You can redeem points with so many different airlines and in different ways it’s ok if you don’t always still to one hotel brand or airline. PLUS the yearly fee is low.
Cost: $550/year
Perks:
- 60,000 point bonus if you spend $5000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fee
- 5x points airlines/hotels booked through them (helps you accumulate points FAST)
- Can redeem for first class flights on more airlines
- Free lounge access to over 1100 lounges in 120 countries, this can value $100/visit and gets you free food, beds, and other great perks
- Free Global Entry or TSA Pre-check every 4 years
- VIP Uber free US rides up to $15/month bonus $20 in December
- $200/year to use for any airline fees, like baggage
- Travel insurance: (does not cover trip delays/cancelations; but does cover lost bags/travel accidents)
- Complimentary Hilton and Marrriott Gold Status (with perks like room upgrades, free wifi, and meals)
- Elite status at other high-end hotels (late check outs, free nights, meals, early check-in)
- Elite status at car rental companies
- Premium rental car insurance
- Free concierge to help you get exclusive access to restaurants/events (especially great to find booked out tickets)
- $100 at Saks Fifth Ave each year
- Free shipping on many online stores
- You can add authorized users to get same benefits (fee for platinum or free for gold status with less benefits)
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
Overall impression: this card is for you if you want to use a lot of luxury perks and pay A LOT less for them. Yes, the yearly cost is high, but it more than pays for itself if you take advantage of all the add-ons and perks. If you won’t many perks, you still accumulate points quickly, but this card might not be for you. I don’t have this card now but I probably will in the next few years.
Cost: $95/year
Perks:
- 60,000 points when you spend $4000 in 3 months
- No foreign transaction fees
- 2x points on dining and travel
- Will cover fly delay expenses not usually covered by airlines like food or a hotel for the night up to $500 per ticket
- Baggage delay insurance up to $100/day for 5 days
- Trip cancellation/interruption (like weather or sickness) insurance up to $10,000 per person or $20,000 per trip for nonrefundable tickets, hotels, activities, etc.
- Extended warranty on purchases on the card that doubles it up to a year
- Free replacement if you lose/break something purchased on the card within 90 days
- Premium car rental insurance
- Can be redeemed for first class tickets
Overall impression: Credit card guru The Points Guys calls this the best card for beginners. You accumulate points faster on travel and eating out expenses. They also have fantastic perks to help cover any trip issues you may have, all with a low yearly card fee. But they also have less perks than the other cards (like Global Entry/Pre-check credit and extended warranties).
If you don’t have a travel credit card yet, and you can pay it off in full every month, I recommend looking at one. They are all worth it for the no foreign transaction fees, international customer service if you run into trouble and point accumulation for just spending money!
If you already do have a travel credit card, get more out of it! Most people don’t realize all the benefits they already have at no extra cost.
For example, my dad got a new GoPro for father’s day a year ago and lost it in a lake the first time he used it. But he remembered they had bought it on their American Express and a new one was sent to him right away, for FREE.
What perks do you think that you would use the most?
