Credit Card Travel Programs
Many credit cards have rewards specific to travelers. These include airline miles, rewards for gasoline purchases and rewards for using the card at restaurants and hotels. The best rewards go to travelers with the best credit. Before choosing a card, it's wise to think about how you travel and where you spend the most money in order to rack up the most rewards. Also examine other criteria such as interest rates and whether reward points expire.
Other People Are Reading
-
Air Miles Programs
-
Air miles programs sometimes come from specific airlines and sometimes from general card issuers such as Capital One and Chase. Formerly, the ones from airlines restricted you to rewards when you flew that airline, but that is rarely the case now. One considerations is how many bonus miles the airline gives just for applying for and using the card. Top contender as of May 2011 was British Airways Visa which offered 100,000 bonus miles. Other top cards offer closer to 25,000 or $30,000. Another important question is how quickly miles accrue. Top programs give two miles per dollar spent on many purchases, while many offer one mile per dollar for most purchases and between one and two miles for specific purchases.
Gas Programs
-
If you travel more by automobile, a gas card might be a better choice. Credit cards with rewards for gasoline purchases tend to rack up points at a rate of several points per dollar spent on gas. Citi Thank You Preferred gives five points for every dollar spent at a gasoline station. Capital One No Hassle Cash Rewards and Discover Open Road cards both give 2 percent cash back on gas purchases.
-
Hotels and Travel
-
Many rewards card programs have special cash-back or points rewards for using the card at hotels. As of May 2011, the top ranking hotel rewards card at the Credit Card Guide website was Marriott Rewards Credit Card from Chase with 22,500 bonus points and three points for every dollar spent at Marriott. The rewards can be used for many things including air travel. American Express Starwood Rewards card offers four to five points per dollar toward free nights at Starwood Preferred Hotels. Chase Sapphire offers two points for every dollar spent on hotels booked through the company's rewards program.
Other Considerations
-
Lest you be overly dazzled by rewards, however, factor in the other issues. Look at whether the card has a low introductory interest rate offer. Check the normal interest rate against other cards. Some have interest rates around 10 percent while others' rates go up to the low 20s. That interest payment could cover the price of an airline ticket. Investigate whether points expire or not. Citi Diamond Preferred and Bank Americard Power both have points that expire after five years. See if the card has an annual fee and check other fees.
-
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
