Imagine that you’re standing at the checkout counter and the cashier informs you that your credit card has been declined. Not only is this an embarrassing situation to be in, but it can also be an inconvenience. If you don’t carry cash, you’re left scrambling for another method of payment.
Airfare sales happen every day but not necessarily from your home airport. In order to take advantage of some of the best deals out there, you might have to get a bit creative. There are plenty of options available to help reduce the cost of airfare. You may save money by positioning yourself to nearby airports or by using your frequent flyer miles like cash to reduce the cost of a ticket. If you’re earning points on a credit card you will want to access their travel portals to see if your points have greater value there. Additionally, using a combination of award tickets and purchased tickets for securing your airfare may result in paying less. Try these combinations to find the best deal.
You may know a lot about the rewards and benefits that are included with your credit card, but you may not have considered those all-important four digits on the front of your card: the expiration date. It’s almost impossible to complete an online purchase without that data point, but what is the expiration date really used for? Banks have several reasons for including it. Read on to find out more.
As a general rule that award tickets do not earn frequent flyer miles since they are paid for with miles, the same way you do not earn
With that being said, there are a few exceptions or situations when award tickets might earn you miles after.
When an entrepreneur first starts a business, cash flow is crucial. Many will get loans to fund the initial effort. Some will seek out help from family and friends. Others will turn to credit cards as a way to pay for the expenses that come with a new business. There are some common myths about using
Picking the right frequent flyer programs for your
Start by assessing your travel patterns and booking habits (deep-discounted economy vs. full-fare economy or business/first) and reviewing both the redemption side as well as earning ability of potential programs. Some programs however generally stand out by their number of partners, ease of achieving elite status and overall value. Here’s a rundown.
You’re ready to travel but none of your friends have the time, money, points or miles to travel with you. Or perhaps you would just like to try a solo adventure and experience the freedom of traveling alone. How far will your miles take you? You might be surprised. Here’s a trio of affordable destinations that can easily be reached using frequent flier miles.
People like to grumble about the bygone era of generous seats, lots of legroom, amazing catering, and people dressing up for the occasion as if they were going to the opera. These are understandable sentiments, but the truth is, the bygone era didn’t have lie-flat seats. And it wasn’t even possible back then to redeem a ticket for miles, considering that modern frequent-flyer programs only date back to the 80s.
Credit card rewards are a great tool for travelers who want to score a free vacation, and the only thing better than one sign-up bonus is two. Navigating the world of points and miles as a couple can be twice as rewarding, but also twice as complicated. Let’s take a closer look at some of the pros and cons of playing the credit card game in two-player mode.
You may be aware of some of the cardholder perks that come with many premium credit cards, such as rental car insurance and lost baggage coverage. But did you know that some cards will reimburse you if your cell phone is stolen or damaged?
This coverage isn’t common, but some big issuers, such as Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank, have cards with some sort of cell phone protections. It may be worth getting one of those cards just to protect your phone. I know I’ve dropped, sat on, cracked or otherwise damaged many smartphones over the years.
Your trip is booked, your bags are packed, and you’re ready to go. Chances are the last thing on your mind is how you’re going to save money on currency conversion fees, securing pocket cash and on your foreign purchases.
These expenses can add up though and without some upfront planning, you’ll return from your holiday with a bank or credit card statement full of fees. Minimal time invested before you go can result in reducing transaction fees, avoiding overcharges for foreign travel expenses and even earning rewards while you’re traveling.
The good news is that you don’t need a Social Security number to get a credit card. The bad news is that you’ll probably have to establish a credit history in the United States before applying.
Flying Blue is the frequent flyer program of Air France-KLM. They share it with some partners: Kenya Airways, Tarom, Aircalin, and Transavia. It is one of Europe’s major frequent flyer programs, along with Executive Club (British Airways) and Miles&More (Lufthansa group).
Chase continues to make it more difficult to get approved for new credit cards and earns large sums of points with sign up bonuses. By now, many are familiar with the 5/24 rule, in which Chase will automatically reject applications for most of their cards if you have opened five or more new credit card accounts with any bank within the last 24 months.
Now, Chase has come out with a new rule, targeted at the Sapphire family of cards. There are three cards in the Sapphire family: the no annual fee Sapphire card, Sapphire Preferred, and Sapphire Reserve. Here are the new rules per a memo sent to Chase bankers:
It’s hard to believe it has already been a year since Chase announced the release of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. This card and its promotional 100,000-point sign-up bonus sent shockwaves around the travel blogosphere.
For those who signed up for the card or are thinking about getting it, you may be wondering if it’s worth the hefty $450 annual fee. Let’s take a look.
Travelers who are also country counters always look for ways to maximize their travel time and visit more than one place per trip. Although traveling longer is the most obvious answer, sometimes traveling smarter also does the trick. Knowing special routings and which frequent-flyer miles to use where can help you maximize that time on the ground.
When you
When Mariott and SPG merged last year we wrote about the new opportunities the merger created. First Marriott quickly installed a policy allowing members of either program to convert their points back and forth at a ratio of one SPG point to three Marriott points.
SPG points are one of the most valuable currencies in the travel rewards game, with the ability to transfer to over 30 airline partners providing a great deal of flexibility. And if you transfer increments of 20K SPG points to airline partners, you receive a 5K mile bonus, effectively making SPG points worth 1.25 airline miles of your choice. But you can do even better than that. We will show how you can get more than 1.25 miles per point and get a free hotel stay.
Chase recently sent out a survey to selected cardholders to gauge opinions on several potential negative changes that could be made to the Ultimate Rewards program and its associated credit cards. While no changes are imminent, this survey could give us some insight into what may occur in the future. Since program devaluations are a constant source of risk in the travel rewards game, it helps to consider which opportunities currently provide outsized value that may be ripe for devaluation.
The Citi Prestige credit card is one of my top cards. In fact, I always use it for booking flights, but it is also great for a few other reasons! Here’s why I love the Citi Prestige.
