Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
How to Leverage Your Cards
With so many choices in credit cards, which ones do you pick? Well, the short answer is, all of them. I mean,
grab as many as you can. Why put a limit on how many points you get?
But that being said, if you aren't a crazy travel hacker and are looking for only a couple of cards, don't
care which ones you get, and simply want the most bang for your buck, consider the following criteria when
choosing them.
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL?
The important thing to do when you begin travel hacking with credit cards is to come up with a plan. While
the most ardent of travel hackers will sign up for anything and everything to gain points, for the casual or
new hacker, it's best to start slowly and focus on a few key goals. The first thing you want to ask yourself is
what you want: Free flights? Hotel points? Something else? Then note if you're loyal to one brand.
For example, if you are a really loyal flier with American Airlines, the best cards to start off with would
be the Citi American AAdvantage card (40,000 point sign-up bonus) and the Starwood Amex (25,000 sign-
up bonus plus 20 percent transfer bonus) because you can transfer points to your American Airlines account.
If you just want points to spend wherever you choose, get the Chase or American Express cards because
you can use their points with a variety of companies. They each have their own rewards programs (Chase
Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards), and points can be transferred to multiple
airline or hotel partners as well as be used to book travel directly via their sites.
Free hotel rooms? Sign up for the hotel cards. By focusing on what you want at first, you can maximize
your short-term goals and get the hang of travel hacking. For example, I tend to avoid hotel cards because
I rarely stay in hotels. I dislike Hilton and Marriott and would rather focus on getting points related to Star-
wood (W is my favorite hotel brand) or miles for flying. So unless there is a good sign-up bonus, I focus on
what matters most to me: getting free flights.
Therefore, I concentrate my efforts on cards that get me airline miles or have good transfer bonuses to
airline programs.
Below is a list of websites that monitor the latest credit card offers:
creditcards.com/airline-miles.php (US)
creditcardfinder.com.au/travel-rewards-credit-cards (Australia)
uk.creditcards.com/travel.php (UK)
rewardscanada.ca/topcc2012/index.html (Canada)
Avoiding Foreign Transaction Fees
If you don't want to be bothered with points, miles, status, and everything else involved, then you should
simply get a card with no foreign transaction fee. The majority of credit cards charge a 3 percent fee when
you use them overseas. Credit cards are great to use because you get a good exchange rate from them, but if
you are paying a fee every time you use the card, then it doesn't work out as well.
