In the world of rewards credit cards, there are two main groups: Team travel and team cash back. Some people swear by travel credit cards, and others prefer to keep it simple with cash back cards. Store credit cards, in case you were wondering, aren’t good enough to have their own team.
Travel cards can save you much more money overall, but only if they’re a good fit for your lifestyle. To find out, here are the best reasons to go with a travel card over a cash back card.
1. You travel several times per year
As a general rule, the more you travel, the more value you’ll get from a travel card. There are a few reasons why:
- Most travel cards have special travel benefits. For example, you can find cards that get you into airport lounges, reward you with free night certificates at your favorite hotel chain, or that include free checked baggage with an airline. If you travel frequently, you’ll have more opportunities to use their perks.
- Many travel cards earn bonus rewards on travel-related spending. There are cards that earn bonus points on airfare, hotel stays, or travel as a whole. Some travel cards also have dining as a bonus category, and that’s another area where most people spend money while on vacation.
- You’ll be able to use your travel rewards more often. Travel rewards are normally worth more when used for travel expenses. It’s easier to redeem your credit card points for maximum value if you travel regularly.
If you travel once per year, a travel card probably isn’t right for you. It would work if you go on two trips per year. At three or more trips per year, that’s when a travel card is worth its weight in gold.
2. You want to book luxury travel
Travel rewards are one of the best ways to book aspirational travel. If you want to fly abroad in business class and stay in a five-star hotel, credit card points are perfect for that.
You can use points to book more budget-friendly travel, too. There’s nothing wrong with redeeming them for economy airfare or an affordable vacation rental. But luxury travel, in particular, tends to be much more affordable with points than it is in cash.
For example, an economy ticket on a domestic flight may cost $300 to $400 or 30,000 miles. Business-class tickets on international flights often cost $2,000 to $3,000 or more — but you can also sometimes book them for 50,000 to 80,000 miles. Your travel rewards would save you much more money if you used them to book the latter.
That’s the magic of travel rewards cards. They allow you to book travel that would otherwise be outside your budget or require a lot of saving.
3. You don’t mind learning how travel rewards programs work
The disadvantage of travel cards is that they have a learning curve. With a cash back card, you can jump in and redeem your rewards easily enough. It’s not that simple with travel cards.
Many popular travel cards have complex rewards programs with transferable points. These are points that you can transfer to the loyalty programs of any airlines and hotels the card issuer is partnered with. For example, if your card issuer lets you transfer your points to United, you could turn 50,000 points into 50,000 United miles.
Some people don’t mind spending time learning about travel rewards programs. Many even enjoy it and consider it as a hobby that gets them heavily discounted vacations. If you think you’d feel the same, then travel cards could work for you.
Travel cards and cash back cards both have their merits. It’s all a matter of what’s the best credit card for you. Now that you know when to get a travel card, you can decide if that’s the right option for your life.
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