If you have only used your credit cards to fill your fuel tank and buy food, you might be missing out on a ton of travel advantages that these cards offer that you don’t even know exist.
A significant number of credit cards come with great rewards programs. Every time you make a purchase, in the form of cash, miles, or points, you can accumulate useful benefits.
Of course, without using the card, you would not get any of those perks. Here are several tips on how to maximize credit card rewards and other incentives that you directly get from credit card companies specifically when traveling.
Know All the Travel Perks Your Card Offers
Travel cards also have rewards related to travel, such as preferential boarding, waived baggage fees, food and beverage coupons on flights, or admission to airport lounges. But, to have some travel perks, it’s normal for general-use cards.
Undiscovered to you, a bigger room, a late checkout, and a free breakfast could be possible with the card now in your wallet. If you purchase something costly, such as a plane ticket or a week-long hotel stay, for your holiday travels, go for a card that offers rewards or points.
Look also for ways to reinforce your rewards, like booking through the official site of the card. So, call or visit the site for every card you possess, have a list of its travel perks, and sort out which will offer you the most for your travel dollar.
Combine Rewards for More Perks
If you have more than one credit card from a certain bank, combining the rewards you earn from all of them might be feasible. So, when traveling, bringing a bunch of different cards from the same bank can unlock your reward options.
Earn Credit Card Miles by Just Using Your Card
Credit card miles are a form of loyalty advantage given to customers by many credit cards as a reward for their spending on credit cards. The more you spend using your card, the more miles you can rack up.
You normally only earn miles on your flights with an airline frequent flyer program. So, unless you’re definitely a frequent traveler, accumulating sufficient miles for a flight can take so many months and even years.
Earn Miles Without Traveling
The appealing thing about credit card miles is that, to earn miles, you don’t really have to travel. Your credit card actually needs to be used. Before you can start collecting miles, you must first apply for a credit card with a reward program for miles.
Mile-reward credit cards normally pay miles for all of your credit card transactions, travel purchases, and non-travel purchases. That means you can gain sufficient miles much easier and quicker than you would with an airline frequent flyer program for a free flight.
Be Aware of Travel Insurance Perks
Nobody likes to worry about being sick, so you have to postpone your upcoming trip, including all those plane tickets and hotel rooms. Also, you do not want to think about the cost and hassle of dealing with missing baggage.
The privileges of travel insurance provided by some credit cards may help mitigate the financial damage of travel incidents like this.
Cancellation Insurance
Many rewards cards provide travel insurance that allows you to cancel flights or hotel rooms if you get sick or face a travel cancellation emergency.
The cost of replacing your clothes and other items, should your airline lose your luggage, can also be covered by other types of travel insurance. Both benefits will save you plenty of cash.
Monitor Your Rewards
Tracking the progress of your reward will make sure that you get the best value for your money. Monitoring is also necessary if you have limitations on the incentives you can receive.
If you have completely wiped out your annual cashback on a certain card, you may want to change the card you use.
In addition, tracking rewards also help you to make sure that you take advantage of the potential of a card, particularly if it has an annual fee. If there is an annual charge on the card, you’ll want to make sure you earn enough money back to cover the annual fee and more.
Conclusion
To make it more convenient to buy the stuff you need, you may think a credit card is just a bit of plastic.
But, credit cards can also help you accumulate free travel rewards, cashback, and other bonuses, so make sure you maximize credit card rewards when traveling!