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Best Travel Credit Cards



Choosing The Best Travel Credit Card

Travel credit cards are a great choice for frequent travelers as they offer substantial rewards points, along with perks like free upgrades, allowances, and lounge access. However, it's important to note that these cards may not be suitable for everyone's financial situation or spending habits.

Suitability of travel credit cards

First of all, it should be noted that in order to qualify for one of these branded travel credit cards a good or excellent credit score is required. It will also be important to clear the balance on the card at the end of each month as interest accrues at between fifteen to twenty five percent APR. The cards will often have a 'welcome' bonus of several thousand points. Unfortunately, in order to qualify for these opening rewards some cards require spending on the card, within the first few months, of between one thousand and five thousand dollars. While some of these cards have no annual fee, other may make a charge ranging from around ninety to over five hundred dollars. Travel credit cards are generally branded to a particular airline or hotel group. By using the branded card a customer is tying themselves to the particular brand if they wish to maximize their rewards. Of course, the card can be used at any outlet that accepts regular credit cards; these purchases may not attract the awards offered when the card is used to purchase from its 'brand'. A further consideration is whether the card is used for travel within or outside of the United States, If foreign travel is undertaken regularly, a card with zero foreign transaction fees will be more useful.

What are the benefits of travel credit cards

A travel credit card can be used in the same way as any other credit card. However, the largest rewards are gained when the card is used to purchase goods or services from the named brand on the card. If travel is undertaken rarely, overnight stays in hotels are almost nonexistent and eating out in restaurants is not a regular occurrence, then a travel card may not be the best option. These types of branded cards will be very useful (and beneficial) to frequent travelers who are required to stay in hotels and eat out in restaurants as part of their daily working life. When the card is used for restaurant purchases, they often attract multiple points of up to X3 or X4 the amount spent in dollars. Under these circumstances a travel card would be ideal as the points or benefits are retained by the card holder while the monthly expenses accrued may well be reimbursed by the employer. Ideally, a person would be able to have a number of branded cards so as to be able to take advantage of the various rewards offered by each organization. The difficulty may be that these type of cards require a high credit rating. Applying for multiple cards may cause some issues to the person's credit rating leading to a refusal at some point.

As with all credit cards, failure to completely clear any outstanding debt, within the prescribed period of time, will attract a high rate of interest which will negate any benefits gained from using the card. Those who regularly pay cash or use a debit card to make regular purchases will benefit the most from the rewards offered by the travel credit cards.




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