Introduction
In the past, credit cards were associated with debt and poor money management. However, in recent years, they’ve become a lot smarter and more generous — which makes them an excellent tool for travel. If you know how to use them right, that is! In this post we’ll explore some of the best ways to use credit cards effectively while traveling full time:
How To Avoid Carrying Too Much Cash
If you’re traveling abroad, cash can be a real hassle. It’s bulky and it’s heavy–and if you’re carrying too much of it around with you (like I did), then it can be downright dangerous.
Credit cards are safer and more convenient than cash, which is why they’ve become so popular among travelers: they’re accepted in most places around the world; they let you earn rewards points that can be redeemed for free flights or hotel stays; and if something goes wrong while using one at an ATM or point-of-sale machine (POS), then there are protections in place to help resolve any issues that arise out of those situations.
Use Credit Cards for Discounts and Perks
There are a few different ways to use your credit card to get discounts and perks. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones.
- Cash Back Rewards: These are just what they sound like–you earn points for every dollar that you spend on your card, which can be redeemed for cash back in the form of statement credits or checks sent directly to your home address (usually after making a certain amount of purchases). The amount varies based on what type of card you have and how much money has been spent using it over time; some cards offer 2{a6d4e250f4dbd7c38290d51a301669b0b15c2bd58d8474132f85a8137f152abc} cash back while others give 5{a6d4e250f4dbd7c38290d51a301669b0b15c2bd58d8474132f85a8137f152abc}.
- Points Programs: These programs allow users to earn points toward rewards such as travel tickets or gift cards by buying things with their credit card instead of cash or debit. For example, if I buy groceries with my Capital One Venture Card each week at Kroger grocery store during their double points promotion period (which runs from March 1-April 30), then my balance will increase by two times whatever amount I spent within those dates. When I reach enough points for redemption–in this case $100 worth–I can receive either $100 worth free groceries from Kroger stores nationwide OR redeem them towards travel expenses such as flights/trains & hotels through Expedia’s website.”
Make The Right Choices For Rewards
When you’re looking for a credit card, there are a few things to consider. You want to make sure that the rewards program is right for your lifestyle. If you travel frequently and stay in hotels, then look for cards that offer hotel rewards. If you shop online or eat out often, cash back on purchases is probably the best choice for you. Airlines often offer airline miles as their primary benefit so if this sounds like something that would be useful to you then check out their offerings first!
Finally, don’t forget about no foreign transaction fees and airport lounge access as well!
Don’t Get Stuck Paying Annual Fees
The first rule of credit cards is to avoid annual fees. Annual fees are one of the biggest traps for new travelers, and they can be avoided by paying your balance in full each month and avoiding interest charges.
Annual fees are a sneaky way for banks to make more money off you when you’re not paying attention; they’re also one of the easiest ways to get stuck with an unnecessary expense that could seriously undermine your travel plans if not handled properly.
Here are some tips for avoiding annual fees:
- If there’s an option for automatic payments, use it! Some banks will waive their annual fee if you set up automatic payments from your checking account each month (this is what I do). If not, call customer service and ask them nicely if there’s any other way around it–they might surprise you with a break on those pesky charges! In my experience so far though this hasn’t worked very well…
- Pay off balances before they hit zero! Banks love charging interest because it means more money flowing through their accounts; this makes sense since they have invested capital into providing us with loans (credit) or lines of credit (cards). So try not letting balances roll over onto new cycles where additional interest could accrue – instead pay them off right away by transferring funds from another account into yours via online banking systems like PayPal or Venmo.”
Think About Using Different Cards In Different Places
When you’re traveling, it’s important to know the exchange rate for whatever country you are in. This can be difficult if you aren’t familiar with the local currency or don’t have access to a smartphone app that translates it for you. You also need to think about how widely accepted credit cards are where you’re going; if they aren’t widely accepted (or if there are only a few places that accept them), then using your card may not be worth it because of all those fees!
The best way around this is by using multiple types of cards in different places–this way we can avoid paying any foreign transaction fees while still getting cash back rewards on our purchases!
Understand Foreign Exchange Rates
A foreign exchange rate is the price of one currency in terms of another. This can be useful when you’re traveling overseas, because it allows you to keep track of how much money you have left over after converting your local currency into another one.
Currency conversion works like this: if a store accepts credit cards as payment and charges $50 for an item, but only gives change in euros (which are worth about 1/10th as much as the dollar), then the total cost of that purchase would be about $5 USD/$4.50 EURO/$2 GBP/$3 AUD depending on which country’s currency was used for payment–the exact amount depends on how much value remains from using dollars at an exchange rate of X:1 EURO:1 GBP:2 AUD etcetera.”
There are many ways to make credit cards work for you.
In this section, we’ll talk about how to use credit cards effectively.
- You should have a credit card in your wallet at all times. It’s important to have one just in case you need it and don’t want to carry cash or debit cards with you. If you’re going on vacation or an emergency arises, having a backup form of payment is essential! Credit cards are also useful if there’s an emergency back home (for example: medical bills) where you can get cash advances from the bank easily without paying any interest charges until after 30 days from when the funds were withdrawn from your account.
- Avoid paying annual fees when possible by doing things like closing old accounts which may still be active but no longer used by canceling them completely so there aren’t any surprises when reviewing statements each month – this way if there are fees due then they can be avoided altogether! Also make sure that if there are rewards programs associated with these types of accounts then they offer enough value over time so even though they might cost more initially than opening accounts without such perks attached then over time those costs will be offset by getting discounts/perks etcetera…
Conclusion
There are many ways to use credit cards effectively, but it’s important to understand the risks and rewards of each option. If you’re trying to decide between two different cards, take time to think about how each one will affect your travel plans before making an investment in one or the other. As long as you keep these tips in mind when making decisions about your finances, you’ll be well on your way toward finding success with credit cards!
