If you are like me, then you really wanted to stretch your wings after graduating from high school or college. If this is you then you should invest in a travel credit card. These travel credit cards will allow you to enjoy rewards, perks, and even multiply the points you earn when purchasing flights, hotels, or anything related to travel. So, before we get started, I’m going to list the top five things you need to look for in a travel credit card.
Choosing the Best Rewards and Benefits
Look at any site for a travel credit card, and they will show you the different types of rewards or perks they offer if you use their credit card. Some of the perks can include three times or even five times the points when you purchase a flight or a hotel with this card. Other perks can include access to special lounges or even priority boarding with certain airlines. You can even attain different statuses with companies just by having a credit card.
So, what you need to do is make sure that you have your priorities in order when selecting the travel card. What means more to you? Access to airport lounges, staying multiple nights in hotels or maybe getting rewards. But whatever you do, make sure that you do what’s best for you.
Comparing Annual Fees
Unfortunately, something that comes with credit cards is the annual fee. These fees can range from thousands of dollars to even no annual fees. What you need to do is budget how much money you can spend each year to have a certain credit card. If you travel a lot, the perks and benefits would drastically outweigh the annual fee when using a certain credit card. Alternatively, if you’re just trying to get your foot in the door, maybe not having annual fees is the best thing for you right now.
These fees can cover a lot of things, such as streaming services, money back for different purchases made with those cards, or it can give you a certain status when you pay with that card at certain places. The biggest thing here is to make sure that the rewards and benefits you’re getting with this card heavily outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
Avoiding Foreign Transaction Fees
What’s the point of a travel card if they don’t waive foreign transaction fees? When you purchase something outside of your country using a different currency, some credit cards will charge you a fee to convert that currency to your country’s currency.
A good travel credit card will waive these fees when purchasing things in a different country. This is important because if you’re traveling, you want to be able to visit different countries that use different currencies without worrying about the repercussions of doing so.
Maximizing Sign-up Bonuses
The sign-up bonuses are something that can tip the scale in your favor if you use them right. Some cards will let you receive a certain amount of points if you spend a few thousand dollars in the first 6 months or year. Other cards will double the amount of points you have after your first year, incentivizing you to use that credit card more.
I wholeheartedly believe that you should maximize your benefits when opening a new credit card. Use this hack to build points exponentially with various travel credit cards. These points can be used to purchase flights, hotels, or any kind of travel necessities.
Ensuring Compatibility and Convenience
The last thing is to make sure that the credit card is convenient for you and your needs. Some things I like to consider when choosing a credit card are the quality of customer service and how seamless their platforms are, whether it’s the app or the website on my computer. These two factors are very important because if you ever encounter an issue with your credit card, you want to be able to reach a customer service agent as soon as possible.
You don’t want to have to jump through a bunch of hoops just to pay your bill on the app or computer. If you need to freeze your card or order a duplicate card, you don’t want to struggle to navigate the computer or app websites. This alone can be very frustrating for consumers, so make sure it’s compatible with you and provides convenience.
