Travel like you mean it

From credit card point bonuses, hotel and airline transfer point strategies, discount websites, etc., the ways and methods to help fund your trip are almost endless.  It’s amazing the amount of opportunities that are out there and there really isn’t a right one for everyone. Therefore you have to be able to balance the level of effort and needs with the value that you want to extract.

There are so many ways to subsidize your travel and I’ll do my best to give you a high-level crash course on it.  Here are some key things I recommend focusing on to assist you with enhancing your travels:

Points, Points, and More Points

Points are an amazing way to cover significant portions of your trip. They can be utilized to cover flights, hotels, car rentals, experiences, etc. However, one thing you need to know is that all points are not created equal and vary in true dollar value. Every company has different conversion rates for its points so it’s important to research the average point value. That way you can get the most value for the money you spend on your credit cards. While there are a lot of good credit cards out there for hotels and airlines, my recommendation would be to start with a versatile travel credit card if you are new to the travel rewards game. These cards are great because they can be used in a myriad of ways and will also offer multipliers for certain spend categories so that you can accelerate your points balance. (e.g. 3x points on spending on groceries or gas - Citi Premier, etc.)

Also, every credit card usually has a signup bonus and there are special times throughout the year when they increase these bonuses. There isn’t a set timeline for when these increases happen, so the best way to stay informed is to follow sites like ours, other travel influencers, and Facebook groups to get notifications of these deals. If you have any questions I can provide some guidance so feel free to write me at byeanvoyage@gmail.com

Status for the win

Acquiring status can be helpful in so many ways. You can get complimentary upgrades, free meals/snacks, and free check-in luggage that can help improve your travels.

If you don’t have any status, you can acquire a lot of status for various airlines, hotels, and/or car rental companies through credit cards. Many credit cards, like the American Express Platinum, can instantly give you status just by having the card. For example, the American Express Platinum card gives you the following status:

• Hilton Gold Status

• Marriott Gold Status

• Avis Preferred Plus

• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

• National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive

It’s a quick and easy way to get status across many companies to use during your travels.

Once you start acquiring status, there are also options to get other hotels, car rental companies, or airlines to match your existing status. However, some of these matches come with contingencies.

For example, let’s say you have Marriott Gold status and want to diversify your status across other hotel chains. You can request a status match to your existing Marriott status to another chain like Hilton. What do I have to do to receive a Hilton Honors Status Match you ask?

First, submit your program and show proof of your stays with another competitors’ loyalty program (e.g. Marriott) through Hilton’s dedicated status match page: Hilton Status Match. Once you’re approved for Status Match, Hilton will upgrade your status to Gold for 90 days. Then, within the 90 days, if you stay a minimum of 7 nights within your 90-day trial period, you’ll get Gold status for another year. If you complete an additional 5 nights (12 nights total) within your 90-day trial period, Hilton will upgrade your status to Diamond!

Hilton isn’t the only hotel chain that will do this. Marriot, Radisson, Choice Hotels, Best Western, and Sonesta will also match status. IHG matches but only periodically and the Wyndham match is currently suspended.

All car rental companies’ status matches you just by providing proof of current status. Airlines’ status will also match but each has various requirements to get the match.

There are many ways to earn or acquire status with a little bit of work. The long-term benefits are great so I would highly recommend following this tip for the travel companies you think you’ll use along your way.

Lounges for all

Another thing that makes travel life a lot more enjoyable is airport lounge access. With free drinks, meals/snacks, wifi, etc. airport lounges make transit time more bearable and sometimes even enjoyable. Most all high-end travel credit cards these days provide some form of lounge access.

Here are some of the best credit cards that we use for lounge access:

• American Express Platinum - Access to 1,400+ lounges, 500+ airports across 650 cities and counting. You get access + 1 guest to the following lounges:

  • The Centurion® Lounge - +1 guest ends Feb 1, 2023

  • Delta SkyClub®

  • Priority Pass™ Select

  • Airspace

  • Escape Lounges – The Centurion® Studio Partner

  • Plaza Premium

  • Lufthansa Lounges

  • Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges

• Capital One Venture X - 2 complimentary guests per visit and unlimited complimentary visits to:

  • Capital One Lounges

  • Priority Pass™ Select

  • Plaza Premium

• Chase Sapphire Reserve - Access to:

  • Chase Sapphire Lounges

  • Priority Pass™ Select

15 minutes or less can save you…

I don’t know about you, but I hate picking up my rental car and having the agent give me the guilt-trip story about why I need to purchase their insurance. From the “horror stories” that they tell you, to the high daily rate they charge you, nothing about a rental company’s insurance plan is a feel-good moment.

But, did you know that you can get car rental insurance for free? One of the best benefits of certain travel credit cards is the FREE car rental insurance they provide. All you need to do is happily decline the rental company’s car insurance and then pay for the entire rental with your credit card and VOILA, you’re covered! However, not all coverages are equal so here’s my breakdown of each of the major travel credit cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred / Reserve and Capital One Venture X - both of these travel credit cards provide primary car rental insurance. There is no difference between the primary coverage from a credit card and your own personal car insurance. If anything happens, by having primary coverage, you can start the process of submitting a claim by directly calling the number on the back of your card. You must make sure to decline the car rental company’s coverage that gets offered to you when you pick up your car and must also pay for your car rental purchase in its entirety with the credit card for it to cover you.

• American Express Platinum and Citi Premier - Amex Platinum and Citi Premier only provide secondary car insurance without additional cost. This means that the card’s insurance will only pay the amount that is not initially covered by another policy the driver has. This assumes that you have another policy primary insurance. Therefore, you would have to file a claim with your personal car insurance or other insurance first. As anyone who has dealt with insurance companies will know, this can be a time-consuming process. So, if you can utilize primary insurance it’s likely going to be the best and easiest.

One thing I’ve also come across is that these coverages do NOT include large vehicles like RVs and also exclude certain countries. Amex, for example, does not cover rentals in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand.

There are specifics when it comes to these policies so please make sure to do your research to see if they fit your coverage needs.

Cash is king

When traveling to various locations around the world, cash always comes in handy for numerous situations. However, who wants to pay a bunch of fees just to get your own cash? I sure as hell don’t and there’s one great option that gives you free and unlimited ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world.

Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking is the only, and best option, for getting access to your hard-earned cash, anywhere in the world, free from any ATM and foreign transaction fees. Yes, you heard that right, FREE. Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking provides unlimited ATM withdrawals with no required minimum balance and a higher APY (Annual Percentage Yield) compared to most other major banks. The FX rates that Charles Schwab uses are also pretty good so you aren’t getting taken on the back end either.

Even if you don’t plan on traveling internationally anytime soon, you can take advantage of this domestically as well, like in Las Vegas, and avoid ATM fees there as well! Regardless of what you plan to do travel-wise, I think getting a Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking makes financial sense for those times you’ll need to get cash on hand.

With great power comes great responsibility

One thing I can’t stress enough though is DO NOT GET A CREDIT CARD IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO PAY OFF THE BALANCE COMPLETELY EACH MONTH! You will only benefit from the aforementioned strategies if you don’t pay interest or late fees. I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t think you will be fiscally responsible by paying off your balance in full, each month, then you should avoid the credit card strategy. Here are some pointers I use to help myself keep track:

• Set up notifications for your credit cards to alert you of things like purchases made, upcoming payment dates, balance limits, etc. so that you are being informed as much as needed about your credit card transactions and balances. You can do text and/or app push notifications.

• Set up autopay if you feel that you might not be good at checking and remembering to pay your balances on time.

Again, be fiscally responsible. Only then you can fully reap the rewards during your travels.

I know I covered a lot here and there are so many other details I haven’t even touched upon yet but I hope this post has been helpful and informative to you in some way. If you have any questions or need any guidance please feel free to reach out to me at byeanvoyage@gmail.com and I’ll be happy to help. 

ByeanVoyage Disclaimer: Content on ByeanVoyage represents our expert experience, opinion, and subjective perspective. Reader's experience may vary due to many factors. The content provided is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered financial, tax, or legal advice.