Just another little bonus blog for you travelers out there. I'm no expert on playing with points and cards, but I do know a few things. I've been around the block and I've learned that sometimes cards are worth it and sometimes they are not.
There is no such thing as free. You will always pay for what you earn when it comes to points. Should you accept an offer for a Chase or Capital One credit card that offers you a pile of points for signing up? Sure, as long as it fits your needs and budget.
Here's what I mean. Sometimes you'll earn up to 80,000 points when you sign up. There are rules. You must spent X amount of dollars in the first one to three months. You may find that the card has a yearly membership fee upwards to $695. It's part of the program. No one wants to give you stuff for free. Remember that. It's a business for profit.
That being said, consider your choices carefully. Does this mean you shouldn't do this? No. Points can be useful and they should be taken under consideration. However, do you really want to spend $4,000 in three months? Here's my advice.
Consider what your monthly bills are. Take into consideration how many of those bills you can pay with a credit card. Consider how much you spend on groceries, gas, fun, clothes and everything else. Here's what I did. I didn't buy anything that I wouldn't normally have purchased to meet the amount charged. I figured out what I spent, and then I put it all on the card and paid it at the end of the month. NO UNNECESSARY OUTRAGEOUS PURCHASES! I just put them all in one place and paid that one bill. I cannot stress enough that you should not put yourself in unnecessary debt to earn points on a credit card.
Therefore, things you should consider while shopping for a points card. How big is your monthly budget, and will you meet the financial spending requirements to earn the points on the card in the time allotted? If not, keep shopping for a card.
Another thing to consider is how easily transferrable the points are. You can easily find yourself pigeon holed. What I mean by this is that you may only be able to use the points on the credit card's travel program or you may only be able to use the points on certain deals with the card. I've seen both of these situations over the years and avoid them like a plague. There are great cards you can get that allow you the flexibility to use them on their travel program, transfer them to other travel options or even just cash them in. Flexibility is key, so read the rules carefully before applying.
One of the more obvious things to consider is the yearly fee. How much do you want to pay each year for your program? Some of the cards have no fee. I've seen fees as high as $695 a year. This is a personal choice. Make sure you pay attention to the fee that may be required each year for the card.
And finally, check out the fees. All credit cards have them. I don't mean interest fees. You should never charge enough that you have to make payments to catch up anyway. That's always a huge mistake. What I'm talking about, in addition to yearly fees, is international fees. That's right. It's a huge one. If you have a card that charges you 3% to 5% transaction fees in foreign countries, you could be paying a fortune while you travel. The last two countries I visited didn't use cash much if at all. When choosing a card, find one with no international transaction fees. You'll save a ton of money, particularly if you're visiting western Europe.
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Hopefully my basic advice will help you with your travel bug and the points you desire to collect to help you fund your dream trips. I can't stress enough that you may want to let your budget guide you more than your dreams, however. Dream locations tend to be expensive. That's why they are our dreams. If you really want to see the world, be practical. There's so much to see. Some of my very best trips have been the ones that I planned for a reason other than it was on my bucket list. Maybe pick an off season or as I always say, "Look at the most popular location in an area, take a hard left and go to a less popular venue." You'll almost always be surprised.
So, check out the card game, but don't let it become a shell game. Go ahead and use credit cards for points. Just make sure you read carefully, choose carefully, don't overspend to get points, and enjoy!
https://money.usnews.com/credit-cards/travel
https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/credit-cards/travel
https://thepointsguy.com/credit-cards/travel/
https://karaandnate.com/travel-credit-cards/
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