Travel credit cards are great as they allow you to book flights for cheaper, receive freebies and get priority treatment wherever possible. Who doesn’t like being pampered!
And there is no better time to sign yourself up to a travel credit card than now as many of the banks are now offering benefits better than any seen before to entice new users. The question then is, which travel credit card should I pick? What should I keep an eye out for? Will it be risky for my credit score?
Worry not as we at Travset have done our research and created a set of tips that might prove helpful to you in your quest to travel the world.
Co-branded or general
Co-branded travel credit cards are usually tied back to airlines or a brand of hotels. This makes them rather restrictive as you can only redeem your points at such airlines and hotels. These travel credit cards do however come with special perks such as priority boarding, extra luggage, and upgrades.
General travel credit cards are those where you can redeem the points for any travel expense. These offer more flexibility and are generally what we recommend since we never know where our next trip will be too!
Look into sign up bonuses and the reward system
Most travel credit has signed up bonuses where you are provided with a large chunk of points for spending a certain amount in a specified period of time. These are usually large enough to pay for a one-way trip or even a return ticket!
For rewards, we recommend signing up with a card that provides you with the highest points per local currency spent. These will allow you to track your points faster and make the trip of your dreams come a little closer. Some cards allow you to earn more at selected locations, and we have seen travelers use multiple credit cards to take advantage of such offers.
Travset tip – there are many travel credit cards with no fees and they are great. We do however recommend getting a one with fees as those tend to provide bigger signup bonuses and rewards.
Look into the supplementary benefits
Some travel credit cards come bundled with supplementary benefits such as airport pickups, insurance, and even concierge services.
Make sure there are no transaction fees
A credit card is a great way to take your money overseas and receive good exchange rates while at it. Incurring transaction fees however is not bound to be good for your money coffers. So, ensure that the card you pick is without transaction fees.
Travset tip- choosing a travel credit card with major banks and credit card issuers will help you avoid transaction fees on account of their global presence.
Watch your credit score
Getting travel cards is bound to be tough if your credit score is low. If it is not, however, you should have no trouble.
Your credit score will, however, decrease if many credit cards are obtained at once. This, however, should return to normal as you settle what is owed on time.
Make sure you read the fine print
Taking a credit card is always a nervous affair for many. It doesn’t, however, have to be if you know what you are signing up for. Make sure you read the fine print very carefully, abide by the payment terms, be smart about the card’s usage, and you should be fine and well on your way to collect thousands of points!
