How can I accumulate credit card rewards on travel?
Tips on getting the best credit card rewards from your travel
Saving money on vacation and travel isn’t just about finding the best deals and discounts. You also want to get the best value possible on a vacation you’re going to enjoy, advises the American Automobile Association (AAA).
As Americans cut back on discretionary spending, there are great travel bargains to be found. There are also plenty of ways you can use your cash rewards credit card to get an even better value for your money.
Not only can you earn cash rewards, airline miles or points with a rewards credit card—you can also score some great affiliate partner deals. If you use your credit card for booking travel you may be able to take advantage of special partner offers or incentives. Many rewards credit cards have generous partner deals or discounts from hotels, car rental agencies, theme parks, and travel and vacation sites.
5 ways to get a great airline deal
Many online resources are available to anybody with a credit card, notes Family.com1. Where, when and how you shop will have a major impact on your financial savings. This family vacation site suggests you comparison shop online travel comparison sites, travel agencies, last minute travel sites, online auction and airline Web sites.
Before you pay for your plane ticket check to see if your credit card offers free flight insurance when you use the card to book travel. Using your credit card to book travel also gives you some added consumer protection if the airline goes out of business without reimbursing you or if you have merchant disputes.
Consider using a rewards credit card that allows you flexibility in travel. If redeeming airline miles using a frequent-flier credit card, National Geographic Traveler2 advises you take into account blackout dates, seat restrictions, alternative airports or partner airlines. Be aware that paying extra for flying during popular times, and added processing fees can add to your costs.
Be flexible about your travel. You may get the best airline deals by booking midweek or during non-peak hours—or by flying into alternate airports.
Sign up for travel newsletters, fare watches and deal alerts from airlines and travel comparison sites. Also check your Sunday newspaper travel section.
Some airlines make special offers and best fares available through the Internet only. Find out if you will be charged an extra fee if you buy the ticket in person or by phone.
When flights are overbooked, consider volunteering to be bumped. The airline is obligated to put you on the next available flight—and will give you a voucher for a free or discounted airline ticket, and/or a meal voucher.
Find out if your credit card includes free travel assistance for things like help with lost luggage or rebooking a flight. Taking advantage of travel assistance benefits from your credit card can save you time, money and hassles.
5 ways to get the best hotel deals and discounts
The recession has been tough for the travel industry, but for vacationers it’s created some of the best travel deals seen in ages, reports ABC News3. The real bargains these days are coming from hotels eager to fill otherwise empty rooms, restaurants and spas, says ABCnews.com. Hotels are slashing rates and throwing in free nights and lavish packages to lure travelers to their resorts.
If you’re using a rewards credit card to reserve your hotel room, check to see if your credit card has special partner offers from hotels or travel Web sites like Travelocity, Hotwire or Hotels.com. You may also be able to redeem your credit card rewards, points or miles for hotel stays.
If you’re looking for great deals during holidays or weekends—check out hotels that cater to business travelers rather than tourists.
Ask about corporate or association discounts on hotel rooms. Many hotels offer discounts to seniors, students, firefighters, police, teachers and military personnel. Be sure to take your corporate ID and membership cards such as AARP and AAA with you.
Contact the hotel directly to ask about specials, ask for a free or courtesy upgrade, or see if the hotel can beat their room rates advertised on third-party Web sites.
Add-ons like free meals, spa credit, 2-for-1 deals, upgrades or extras like show tickets and golf outings make a good hotel deal an even better value.
Comparison of Small Business Credit Cards
Small business owners who have the option to open a business line of credit are in for a treat: numerous business card choices are available, and each provides a number of benefits and rewards opportunities that can help the business owner in whatever his needs happen to be. Whether the business owner spends a great deal of time flying from place to place or just spends a lot of money in trying to expand and grow business, the right card is out there. Sorting through the options can seem difficult, so business owners looking for a credit card should review the different card types carefully.
Hotel Cards
Some business credit cards are focused on business owners who travel frequently and stay in hotels often. The best hotel-based credit cards offer point-for-dollar returns on hotel costs, so that the business owner can earn enough points to pay for hotel rooms in the future. What is more, most hotel credit cards are not limited to a single hotel. For instance, the Starwood Preferred card from American Express gives business owners points in all Starwood hotels: Sheraton, Westin, and W Hotels. In addtion, business owners can earn points with Hyatt by using this card.
Airline Cards
Business credit cards that offer airline points are among the most popular for business owners who travel frequently by air. Some airline-based credit cards are specific to an airline–such as Alaska Airlines or Delta Airlines–while others provide broader rewards to air travel. In the former case, the business owner should check to see if the airline points are limited to that airline or if they can be transferred to partner airlines. For instance, Delta Airlines is partnered with other companies, such as Air France, KLM and Hawaiian Airlines. For any airline-specific card, business owners should look closely at transfer points.
Business Reward Cards
Business rewards cards tend to be a great option for small business owners who remain local and just prefer the rewards for spending money as they expand their business. The best business rewards cards offer low-to-no interest and extensive points for dollars earned. For example, Bank of America’s WorldPoints Rewards for Business Visa Card offers one point for each dollar spent, and the Platinum Plus for Business MasterCard provides the option of free employee cards with spending limits. On the other hand, the Chase Business Rebate Card provides 3 percent cash back on any business-related purchase.
Ink Card
Special mention goes to the popular “Ink” cards from Chase. The Ink Cash card has no annual fee and free credit cards for employees, in addition to 3 percent cash back at most retain locations and rewards checks for money spent. The Ink Bold card comes with no interest charges, rewards for each dollar that is spent (everywhere), travel benefits that include access to airport lounges and free business advisers through the Chase network.
Plum Card
The also-popular Plum Card from American Express provides a range of business rewards, including a 1.5 percent discount on any early payment made within 10 days of the purchase and a two-month deferment period for late charges. In addition, Plum Card owners’ annual fee is waived for the first year.
About the Author: Kristie Lorette started writing professionally in 1996. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and multinational business from Florida State University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University. Publications include Bill Savings, Money Smart Life and Mortgage Loan.
Five kinds of credit card rewards
Credit cards are now being offered by scores of banks and other financial institutions in order to attract more customers. These cards offer a variety of promotional schemes and discounts to present and prospective customers. Of these the most attractive and talked about are the rewards offered by credit card companies in the form of cash or kind or redeemable points. Let us look into five of the most common rewards offered by credit cards.
Air Travel
Many cards offer frequent flier points or free tickets based on the usage frequency and volume on the card. To start earning such rewards, the card must be used for a certain minimum number and volume of transactions. Some companies offer an introductory bonus of a certain number of airline reward points to the applicant once he gets a new card. But one must be careful to redeem those points within the stipulated time and on the specified sectors, after which they lose their validity.
Hotel Stay
Some credit cards offer a free night at certain designated hotels after the user reaches a certain minimum number of points on his card. Generally these rooms will not be available on weekends and holidays, so the card holder must plan his stay accordingly. Like airline reward points, these types of cards are useful for people who travel frequently.
Fuel Surcharge
Some credit cards allow you to get the fuel costs reduced by partially or fully waiving the fuel surcharges every time you use the card at a gas station for refuelling your car or bike. Given the ever increasing price of fuel, this card is a smart move for people with high mileages on their bike or car.
Shopping incentives
This is a facility that most cards provide because the maximum usage of credit cards is at shops and restaurants. These cards offer progressively increasing slabs of discounts on purchases as the card holder keeps on increasing his purchases. These cards if judiciously used can make the pocket pinch much smaller when one goes on a shopping spree.
Cash Back
Instead of reward points, many credit card companies offer 2 to 5% cash back on purchases and timely payments. Suppose a card is offering cash back of 5% on a card whose bill for a particular month is $100. If the customer pays $100 within the last date of payment, then he will have a credit balance of $5 in the next billing cycle, which would be adjusted against future purchases.
At the time of applying for a credit card, a customer would do well to clearly understand the rewards program of that credit card and compare it with those of other cards, to derive the maximum benefit out of the credit card.
The Best Credit Cards For Earning Free Hotel Stays
Among the big reward credit cards, hotel cards seem to get lost in the noise… there are a couple of great offers out there at the moment, though.
Here’s a snapshot of the best hotel credit cards for U.S. travelers, in Outlaw’s opinion. If free hotel stays are your bag, don’t miss out on:
Marriott Rewards Premier Credit Card – This excellent VISA Signature card offers a lot to new cardholders, including 30,000 Bonus Points after your first purchase on the card, and a free night’s stay each year, when you use the published link here to apply.
What are the details of the free night, you wonder? It’s simple: you receive your first Free Night Stay credit upon new account approval — it can be used to book a night at any eligible 1-4 category Marriott hotel. You automatically get another Free Night Stay upon each subsequent card anniversary date as well, and these can be used at 1-5 category Marriott resorts and hotels. You also earn 1 point for each $1 spent on the card, plus 2 points for each $1 spent on airline, dining, or rental car purchases.
(Outlaw named Marriott’s card the “2010-2011 Best Hotel Rewards Card” back in November.)
Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express — This AmEx card has a lot going for it, especially if you like W Hotels or Westin resorts, as I do (both brands are owned by Starwood). They waive the $65 annual fee for the first year, and Starpoints can typically be redeemed for air travel, in addition to hotel stays, so you have quite a bit of flexibility on that front!
You will also receive 10,000 Starpoints after your first purchase on the new card. No blackout dates for point redemption and around 350 airlines participate in the air travel aspect of Starwood’s rewards system.
A third popular option is the Hilton HHonors VISA Signature credit card. I am honestly not too familiar with that one yet, but you receive 30,000 HHonors bonus points after spending $600 within the first four months of account opening.
The upsides of credit card rewards
When used in the right manner, credit cards have a wide number of rewards and benefits. Using this method of payment however, can have consumers facing massive debts. Using credit cards carefully, consumers are entitled to a number of rewards, which can be in the form of gift vouchers, or even cash.
Credit cards in general, feature different forms of reward points within their marketing programs; users now have the ability to earn points on items they purchase. With these points in hand, they can redeem gifts such as discount vouchers, coupons, books, personal care items, shoes, accessories, airline tickets, etc. Depending on the credit card company, the rewards offered is based on their point programs and will differ.
Many credit cards also have a balance transfer option. This is a great choice as it empowers consumers to have their complete outstanding balance transferred to another credit card account. After doing so, individuals can then make payments to the other company in parts by monthly installments or as pre-decided. Consequently, this prevents them from falling into huge debts. As part of the transfer facility, what is required only is a one-time processing charge. More often than not, interest with the installments after balance transfer is low and should work for individuals who are compulsively indulgent buyers.
Ranging between 40 to 50 days, a credit period further provides consumers with the chance to make their payments on purchases at a later time. With a bill cycle date, consumers has a grace period that allows them to pay according to their convenience. In case of an emergency, this can be seen as a great opportunity. The benefits accompanying the wise use of credit cards cannot be ignored. Hence users must make their choice of service provider very carefully.
With credit card rewards as an added perks, a credit card can be very advantageous. Easily classified as a secure alternative to cash in real time, credit cards have a minimal risk if lost or stolen. Upon losing a credit card, there is always the option of blocking it immediately. Being able to do this lowers the chance of unauthorized access to nearly zero.
Author Bio : Mike Thereon works as an internal financial consultant in one of the Fortune 500 companies. He has a passion for writing and writes about various topics related to business, finance and economy. He holds a bachelor degree in the field of economics from Duke University and has been doing his bit in helping people manage their finances better.
Welcome to Hotel Credit Cards
Welcome to Hotel Credit Cards! Our site is dedicated to helping you find the best hotel credit cards to save you money, give you cash back, earn you free nights, and more, just for using your hotel reward card to pay for your accomodations. Plus, if you are a business owner, or travel via an expense reimbursement, you can earn free travel benefits that you can use anytime…even for that annual vacation you want to take this year!
Please come back often as our site grows. We’re adding new offers on a regular basis and we’ll even give you an impartial review of most offers we post here. So, bookmark this site, and check with us before you book your next hotel stay!