Travel Rewards Credit Cards – Are They For You?

Hello! Today, I’ve partnered with Lexington Law to talk about travel rewards credit cards. Travel rewards credit cards are extremely popular right now. For me, I’ve been interested in them for a few years now, and lately, it seems to be all I hear about when I hear of someone talking about going on a vacation….

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Last Updated: July 10, 2018

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Travel Rewards Credit Cards - Are They For You?Hello! Today, I’ve partnered with Lexington Law to talk about travel rewards credit cards.

Travel rewards credit cards are extremely popular right now. For me, I’ve been interested in them for a few years now, and lately, it seems to be all I hear about when I hear of someone talking about going on a vacation.

You can read about one example at How To Take A 10 Day Trip To Hawaii For $22.40 – Flights & Accommodations Included.

Articles like that can make travel rewards credit cards seem amazing.

I absolutely love travel rewards credit cards too. In fact, I’ve gone on many extremely cheap vacations due to travel rewards credit cards, I’ve received lots of free cash back, I’ve taken first class flights for super cheap due to travel rewards points, and more.

 

However, are travel rewards credit cards for everyone?

Using your credit card means that you can gain points and get things for free or cheap such as airplane tickets, gift cards, hotels, cash, etc., all for simply using your credit card. If you are going to pay for something anyway, then you might as well get something for free out of it, right?

Credit cards can be used to pay for many things – almost anything and everything that you can think of.

And, this is what I like about travel rewards credit cards. I’m already going to use my credit card, so I like to get some kind of bonus for using it if it exists!

And, using a credit card can also an easy way to track your transactions. I like credit cards because I can easily track my transactions and see where my money has gone. With cash, I always find myself wondering what I spent all my money on.

 

What are the disadvantages of travel rewards credit cards?

I think there are advantages to using credit cards as listed above, but there may also be disadvantages.

One big negative of travel rewards credit cards is that many people find themselves spending more in order to reach a travel rewards bonus, such as if you have to spend $3,000 within the first 3 months in order to qualify for a bonus. If you weren’t normally going to spend $3,000, then the bonus may not be worth it. Going into debt in order to qualify for a credit card bonus is probably 99% of the time a bad decision (I won’t say 100% because I’m sure someone can prove me wrong, haha!).

Also, you want to make sure that you don’t hurt your credit score in the end.

If you don’t use credit cards correctly, it can lead to it decreasing and possibly ruining your credit score. There are correct ways to use your credit card:

  • Always pay your bills on time.
  • Try to pay the full balance each month if you can.
  • Watch your utilization rate.

If you’re looking to improve your credit history, then you may want to look into Lexington Law.

They did over 10,000,000 removals just in 2017!

By improving your credit score with Lexington Law, this may help you to qualify for higher quality travel rewards cards. Of course, you don’t want to use credit cards if you can’t control yourself (and go into debt), but if you can control yourself, then using credit cards to your advantage can be a great thing!

If you contact Lexington Law, then they will give you:

  • Free personalized credit consultation
  • Free access to your TransUnion report summary
  • Free credit report review and recommended solutions

Lexington Law has been around for several years and has helped many, many people increase their credit score. They can help you remove items from your credit report such as items in collections, late payments, judgments, bankruptcies, foreclosures, and more, which can help you to increase your credit score.

Do you use travel rewards credit cards?


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Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Author: Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Hey! I’m Michelle Schroeder-Gardner and I am the founder of Making Sense of Cents. I’m passionate about all things personal finance, side hustles, making extra money, and online businesses. I have been featured in major publications such as Forbes, CNBC, Time, and Business Insider. Learn more here.

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  1. Kari

    A great reminder that I need to start the travel reward card process! Yet right now I don’t have the bandwidth to take on the mental gymnastics rodeo that is the travel reward card gauntlet. So this is on my long term to do list, while I free up brain space I earn 2.5% cash back on everything, so not too shabby.

  2. DNN

    I once had a credit card from a creditor with some kind of rewards when you make purchases. Might’ve been one or the other in the past. Took a trip 12 years ago to Santa Barbara, California and got a Johnny Blaze deal on a rental truck, hotel & round trip airfare for a week in Santa Barbara, California when I traveled to CJ affiliate marketing meetup. For my first time in Santa Barbara and being at a CJ Affiliate by Conversant event, I was excited and beyond satisfied about the entire trip. Maybe sometime soon I may look into getting another credit card with travel rewards. 🙂