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3 common mistakes to avoid when using travel credit cards

3 common mistakes to avoid when using travel credit cards

Travel credit cards are useful financial tools that allow travelers to save money on flight bookings, hotel reservations, rental cars, and more. Some travel credit cards offer perks like complimentary elite status in hotels and access to airport lounges, which can improve one’s travel experience. These benefits help travelers reduce travel costs and enjoy a convenient journey. But, to use a travel credit card wisely, it is important to avoid certain common mistakes.

Not using the card enough
One of the main features of a travel credit card is that an individual earns some points for every expense made using it. They can redeem these points for massive discounts on other travel-related expenses. Also, most travel credit cards come with welcome offers. As a part of these offers, the cards reward users with many points once they reach a specific spending limit. But, to enjoy these rewards, one must use a travel credit card frequently. Otherwise, one might miss out on earning points. Also, travel credit cards, like regular credit cards, have consumer protection for disputed transactions, making them a safer alternative than cash or debit cards.

Redeeming the points at the wrong time
A user may notice they have collected many points after using the travel credit card for some time. At this point, they may be inclined to redeem the reward points as soon as possible on the next big purchase. But this isn’t always a good idea because some places charge more when an individual pays with points than with normal transactions. For instance, a flight ticket may cost around $200 for normal transactions. But if someone wishes to redeem their points for it, the airline may require them to pay about $300 worth of points. So, it would be better to pay using cash than to redeem points for a lower value than what they are worth.

Forgetting about the expiration date of points
Individuals must also remember that the points on travel credit cards have expiration dates. If users don’t use them before expiration, they may lose their hard-earned points. To avoid that, they should keep track of the validity period and redeem the points before expiry.

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