How I Use Credit Cards to Save on Travel
Travel Tips
Not being smart with your money can have a big impact on your ability to travel. Below I lay out five easy ways to stay on top of your finances so that money can empower, not limit you.
Disclosure: Thank you Capital One® for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own, and were not directed by Capital One. To learn more about CreditWise® from Capital One®, visit: http://ift.tt/2a26yHI.
Traveling doesn’t have to be expensive, especially when you find creative ways to save money on trips. Having a good travel rewards credit card doesn’t hurt either (granted, those can be hard to get, so making sure your credit is in order is key).
Now, I’m not talking about using your credit card to pay for an expensive trip you can’t actually afford – that’s a horrible idea! Always live within your means.
Instead, take advantage of the great travel benefits that having good credit can afford.
For example, for many years I was completely oblivious to the power of traveling smart, such as collecting points and rewards that are redeemable for travel.
I’ve only started getting into this hobby in the past year, and have already collected enough miles to book a free round-trip flight to New Zealand! Now I’m hooked. Who doesn’t want to save money on travel?
Here are my top five ways to use credit wisely and save money on travel.
Money Saving Tips
Get Smart About Your Credit
To get approved for a credit card with travel rewards, you need to make sure your credit health is in good shape.
CreditWise by Capital One is a free and easy to use tool that allows you to track your TransUnion® VantageScore 3.0 credit score, learn more about the factors that impact that score, and find helpful ways to take action to improve and protect it.
My favorite feature is the credit simulator, which allows you to choose from any combination of 17 different credit-influencing actions to see how each scenario might affect your score, positively or negatively.
For example, you could see what might happen to your score if you canceled your oldest credit card (hint – that’s usually not suggested by credit experts). You could also see what might happen if your balance increases by $400 – perhaps after buying a plane ticket, or if you are thinking about opening another line of credit.
I’ve learned a lot about what kinds of actions will affect my credit score by playing with the simulator. It’s a great tool for travelers who are looking to build their credit in order to get approved for a card with travel benefits and features.
Give it a shot, and see what your score looks like here. The app is 100% free, and available to everyone, even if you don’t have a Capital One card!
Travel More with a Rewards Card
Get A Travel Rewards Card
One of the best reasons to get a travel rewards credit card is to earn and redeem points/miles for free travel. What does this mean? With travel rewards cards, each purchase you make earns you points that are redeemable for airline tickets, hotels, or upgrades.
Remember, you can’t get a good travel rewards card without strong credit; that’s important to keep in mind as you look at your credit card options.
These special travel benefits can save you a LOT of money, as long as you pay off your balance each month to avoid incurring interest charges, and you use the card enough to offset the annual fee.
Flights are expensive. Paying for your next plane ticket or hotel stay with reward points you’ve earned using credit cards can save you hundreds of dollars.
Avoid Currency Exchange Fees
Having your credit score in a good place gives you a better chance to get approved for travel reward cards that can give you perks like travel accident insurance and no foreign transaction fees.
When traveling, exchanging currency at airport kiosks (like many tourists do) usually means you are going to get overcharged. Currency exchange businesses love to promote “Commission free!” exchanges, but what they really do is charge you a horrible exchange rate and often a “service charge” on top of that.
It’s usually cheaper to use your bank’s debit card at an airport ATM for cash, in combination with a good travel credit card for larger purchases like hotels, tours and car rentals (while collecting points for free travel).
Always know the exchange rate for the country you are traveling to. Check online before you go at travel resource sites like http://xe.com.
Get Some Free Car Rental Insurance
Make Sure You Have Travel Insurance
Another wonderful benefit of some travel rewards credit cards is the travel insurance that many of them provide for their customers, free of charge.
While it varies depending on the card, many companies offer free car rental insurance, flight delay insurance, lost luggage insurance, and more.
Make sure to read your credit card agreement for exact details on what is covered, what isn’t, and for how much.
Forget Foreign Transaction Fees
Foreign transaction fees are charged by credit card companies for using your card at a non-U.S. retailer. Some credit cards charge up to 3% for each purchase overseas.
Certain travel-friendly credit cards, like the Capital One Venture® Card that I use, have unlimited rewards no matter where I jet off to. It’s one of the reasons I’ve been traveling around the world as a Capital One customer for the past 6 years.
If you’re planning to spend time traveling in the future, download CreditWise now to get ahead of managing your credit health. It’s 100% free.
Now go save some money, and happy travels! ★
Learn More: CreditWise By Capital One
Disclosure: Thank you Capital One® for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own, and were not directed by Capital One. To learn more about CreditWise® from Capital One®, visit: http://ift.tt/2a26yHI.
This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.
from Expert Vagabond http://ift.tt/2nD9SDQ
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