If you like to travel, then having at least one travel credit card in your wallet makes a lot of sense. Travel cards have many perks from free nights at hotels, upgrades on flights and hotel rooms, lounge access, and flexibility amongst other things.
There are 3 types of travel credit cards. They include general cards, hotel cards and airline cards.
General Travel Cards- General travel cards are not linked to one particular brand. They allow you to earn points in everyday purchases. You can also earn more points with travel purchases and in certain categories such as restaurants.
These cards also can come with other perks, such as travel reimbursements, UberEats credits, TSA precheck, and travel insurance just to name a few.
Many of these cards have affiliates with hotels and airlines that you can transfer your points to and you can use the points with that affiliate.
Hotel Credit Cards- Hotel cards are what you would expect in that they are associated with a particular brand. Having the card can give you some extra perks that people without the card have to earn in some other way. You may get benefits like free breakfast, sooner check in, and hotel upgrades.
Airline Credit Cards- Airline cards are especially nice when you fly a lot with a particular airline. You can earn points quicker with an airline card. You can also get perks like free drinks, free upgrades and free checked bags.
12 reasons to consider having a travel credit card
1. Points for Travel
Many travel cards will allow you to earn more than 1% on purchases for travel. Depending on the card, you can earn 2% to 10% on travel purchases.
This would include such things as rental cars, airline tickets and hotel rooms. This can help you earn more points more quickly which can be used for more travel.
2. Free Checked Bags
Most airlines charge you to check a bag. Some will waive the fee if you get a higher cost ticket with them. Another way around checked bag fees is to have an airline card.
Delta, United, American Airlines, Jet Blue, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines have credit cards that offer free checked bags. Some of the cards even offer one free checked bag for 8 people in your group. Southwest already gives you two free checked bags on every flight.
A family of 4 traveling with a checked bag fee of $30 can save $240 on a round trip. This can in many cases pay for the annual fee that many travel cards have.
3. Rental Car Insurance
Rental car insurance can cost from $30 to $60 a day which can really increase the cost of a rental car. One way to avoid this extra cost is using your travel card to pay for the rental.
Most travel credit cards offer rental car insurance when you rent the car. In many cases this is going to be secondary insurance. This only kicks in after a person’s rental car insurance is exhausted.
Chase, Capital One and American Express all have various cards that have primary insurance coverage for a rental car. Primary insurance means that you don’t need your car insurance or the rental car insurance to rent the car.
Primary insurance will pay for collision damage or theft and you won’t have to file a claim with your insurance company which can make your rates go up.
4. Earning Elite Status Faster
Hotels and airlines have different levels of status for people who stay at their hotels or fly with them. Having an airline or hotel credit card can help you move to the elite level for the brand.
The elite level is the top level that you can achieve and with it comes extra perks that are not all included on lower levels of status.
Some of the perks for elite status for hotels include: bonus hotel rewards on bookings, free breakfast, room upgrades, faster internet and early check in and late checkout.
Some of the perks for elite status for airlines include: bonus miles when you fly, in flight discounts, free checked bags, free upgrades, and priority boarding.
It is possible with the World of Hyatt card to charge your way to elite status without spending a night at any of their hotels. The Amex Platinum card gives you elite status at Marriott and Hilton hotels just by having the card.
5. Flexible Redemption Options
Flexible redemption options are really true with a general travel card. The points can be used in many different ways.
Some general travel cards have their own travel portal where the points can be used in booking rental cars, hotels and flights. You can also transfer the points to hotels and airlines that are affiliated with the card to be used with the hotel or airline.
Some other things you can do with the points is take the cash value of the points or purchase gift cards with the points through the credit card.
6. Travel Expenses Reimbursed and Statement Credits
Everytime you travel there are going to be expenses that arise that are not always large but they add up such as, flight changes, checked baggage, beverage purchases, and food bought on a flight.
There are travel cards that will reimburse you for those and other travel expenses. This can be up to $300. Some travel cards will reimburse you for Global Entry, TSA Precheck and Clear.
Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows for faster clearance for low risk, pre-approved travelers who have arrived in the U.S. The cost for Global Entry is $100 a year.
TSA Precheck allows you to expedite the Precheck process by not having to take off your shoes, belts or light jackets. You can also leave your laptops and pre approved liquids in your carry ons. The cost for TSA Precheck is $85 for four years.
Clear allows you to skip an agent in checking your credentials. Clear uses touchless biometric security kiosks to check your identiy. The cost for Clear is $179 a year.
7. Large Welcome Bonuses
The travel credit card arena is very competitive and one of the ways to entice people to their particular card is having large sign up bonuses. The value of the sign up bonuses can range from $200 to over $2000.
You need to meet the spending requirements to get the bonus. This can range from $500 to $15,000 in a given amount of time generally 3 to 6 months.
The welcome bonuses can be used for travel related expenses like hotel rooms, flights, rental cars, room upgrades, vacation packages and cruises. Bonus points may also be used for gift cards, concerts, exclusive offers and even cash.
8. Airport Lounge Access
Many airports have lounge areas which can cost $25 or more for a visit. Some travel credit cards give you free access to these lounges. The lounges offer you a quieter and more comfortable experience than being in the main area of the airport.
The basic lounges have comfortable chairs, free snacks, couches, free newspapers and magazines, free Wifi and free alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.
Premium lounges offer you all of the features of a basic lounge but offer features such as showers, massages, and free food amongst other things.
9. No Foreign Transaction Fees
Foreign transaction fees are fees that some credit cards charge you when you use the card outside of the United States. This usually is around 3%. So, a $200 charge is going to cost you an extra $6. As you can see this can add up fast.
Many travel cards have no foreign transaction fees. So, when you use the card they don’t charge you extra for the transaction when you purchase something outside the U.S.
10. Travel Upgrades
Hotel and airline cards give you the possibility of getting upgrades with a flight or hotel stay just by having the affiliate card. This can mean going from a standard room to a suite or going from basic economy to business or first class on a flight.
11. Earn extra points on travel
Using a travel credit card can earn you points on travel purchases. Some general travel cards will give you 3% or more for booking travel related charges.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred lets you earn 10x the points when you book rental cars and hotels through their travel portal and 5x the points when booking flights through their travel portal.
Hotel cards allow you to earn 9x and up to 25x the points for every dollar spent on reservations at their hotels that are booked directly with the hotel.
Airline credit cards give you 2% or 3% for booking flights directly with the airline. So, as you can see points can add up quickly through using these different cards.
12. Travel insurance
Travel insurance is insurance that can be purchased before a trip and it covers small things like missed flights and missing luggage. It also covers bigger events like medical emergencies or major illness.
There are travel credit cards that offer travel insurance. Some cards will supply the insurance if the whole trip was purchased through the card. Other cards will offer the insurance if at least part of the trip’s expenses were purchased through the card.
Not all credit cards travel insurance is created equal. Some cards cover lost luggage or delayed luggage, trip delays, trip cancellation and interruptions, travel accidents and emergency evacuations.
You will want to contact the credit card company to see what they do and don’t cover. You may still want to purchase separate travel insurance coverage but having an extra layer of travel insurance can give you more peace of mind.
Final Thoughts
If you like to travel a little or a lot then having a travel credit card or cards can be very advantageous for you. As you have read, it can save you money and give you perks that can make traveling more enjoyable. Just pick out the one or ones that fit your needs and start enjoying the benefits that you will receive.
Go to my blog Travelwidstom to learn ways to save money on travel, travel itineraries, ways to earn and maximize credit card points and miles and more.