How to use credit cards and points to make travel affordable
Hi there! Janice here!
This post is mainly for people who are looking to go on more quick getaways or big travel trips in a cost-efficient manner that won’t break the bank. We hope we can provide you with some tips from our own personal experiences!
If I were to ask you close your eyes and picture yourself in your dream vacation, what’s surrounding you? Where are you? Ideally, when is this?
Now, I want to ask you– what’s taking you so long?! Why does it take us so long to go on vacations? I know a few people who only take one vacation every year or every other year and it’s usually a forced vacation by their employer. I always wonder, why? Do these individuals not enjoy going on vacation? But then I think, no way! That doesn’t make sense! Because if I had a choice of being on vacation or working, without a second thought,I would rather be on vacation!
The reality is that vacations usually require saving for all the different aspects of the getaway. We usually have to save for airfare, hotels, food, other types of transportation like renting a car and the activities that we want to enjoy while we’re on this vacation. Usually, the most expensive part of planning a trip are the hotels and airfare, wouldn’t you agree? Now, what if I told you you don’t have to save up for the hotels and the airfare? Does saving for this vacation all of a sudden seem less overwhelming?
My husband and I go on at least 3-4 trips per year, these are not counting some of my girls trips that I like to go on with close friends who I’ve known for over 10-15 years. One trip that we’re both very proud of and always so excited to tell anyone that will listen was our 7 Day Hawaii trip. Using these methods we were comped for all 7 days and only had to pay a small amount in taxes and hotel fees.! I will add a link if you would like to read more in depth about our cost efficient trip and all of the adventures in Hawaii. I believe that what makes vacations feasible and the planning part more enjoyable is that I don’t have to think about the cost of lodging and airfare! All I have to do is pick a hotel that is closest to the activities I want to enjoy with my husband and my friends and book my flight without needing to plan it years in advance!
Chinatown in New York
This is not something new, but people may associate credit card usage to debt. In this way, it may not seem so attractive, but done right, you can benefit so much from your credit cards just by choosing the right ones for you. My husband and I choose cards that give us free anniversary nights with their associated hotels and cards where points can be used for airfare or anything else related to travel. We use these cards for pretty much everything throughout the year, we rarely ever use cash any more because that cash isn’t going to pay us back later.
Paying with a credit card is kind of like investing in our vacation time. Some of these cards have a pretty high annual fee (between $95 – $450 annually), but when you look at the price for hotels, some of them can go from $250 and up. Another perk of having these cards is they will give out invitations to their high-tier resorts at a very discounted rate. As an example, we were invited to stay at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa for 3 nights at $250! We checked the prices for these rooms for the public and found they went for as high as $750 per night! You better believe we said, “Yes, please and thank you!” to that invitation. We’ve included some “Refer a friend” link for the cards we use for our trips. These cards offer special rewards points only at select times of the year for new applicants f you’re not able to sign up right now, you can always wait until the next time they are offered, just do a quick google search when you think you are ready:
The following 2 cards are what we use for airfare– one is for Southwest and the other is with Chase Sapphire. The Sapphire cards require a pretty high credit score and the application approval process took a little bit longer than any of my other cards, so don’t get discouraged when you don’t see your approval right away–just as a heads up!
We use the following 2 cards primarily for our free hotel stays, as they give free anniversary hotel nights. One is for Hyatt and the other is the BonVoy Marriott card by American Express. If you don’t have an American Express card yet, this is the perfect one as they have just expanded their portfolio on hotels and travel properties!
We hope you try some of those credit cards and get yourself or your family some free vacations!
Enjoy!
-Eric & Janice
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