What if I showed you a way to travel the world, stay at the nicest hotels, and experience awesome events? Interested?
Now what if I told you all of those things are free? The best kind of free—free without tax consequences! Even irrational people aren’t turning down free things.
Lucky for you, we at Chronicles of Rationality like to travel without paying a dime to do so.
I know what you’re thinking . . . either the author has lost his mind or we are missing a key piece of information. I won’t speak to the first option, but I did fail to mention the easiest way to hack your travel.
Credit Card Rewards.
Some personal finance experts will advise you to avoid credit cards like the plague. While I understand this is sage advice for those who struggle with debt, avoiding credit cards altogether costs you in the long run.
We at Chronicles of Rationality are a disciplined bunch. Discipline lets you turn credit cards into your best friend.
If you want to know the best travel credit cards, you could go around to several sites and try to piece together your options without a way to compare the cards . . . or . . . you could go to reviews.com and let them do the work for you.
WHAT WE LIKED
Look, we are rational people. We understand some in our community don’t want to read to the bottom to get the meat of our articles. Reviews.com gives you the top three travel cards at the very top of the page for convenience.
I personally know quite a bit about different cards and actually have two of the three “top” cards according to reviews.com‘s ranking. I must be doing something right.
The best thing about this guide is the fact that reviews.com doesn’t skimp on the companies they compare. Some sites like to recommend “top cards” without touching on similar card offerings from brands that don’t pay affiliate commission.
If you’re offering a “best of,” you really need to choose the best cards.
THE CRITERIA
reviews.com only chose cards offering 1.5X value or greater for everyday purchases. Trust me, if you aren’t getting 1.5X value, you are costing yourself with every purchase.
The next section talks about fees. FEES FEES FEES. You have to keep fees in mind when you choose your card. If you take one trip a year and like to stay in houses, you probably don’t need to drop $550 in fees for a single credit card.
Finally, the review walks you through sign up bonuses. These bonuses are generally equated to dollar figures because 50,000 chase points doesn’t mean much to the average person.
WHAT WE RECOMMEND
While the perks for cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve are pretty sweet:
3x points for every dollar you spend on dining or travel related expenses. In addition, you get 50% more value when you redeem points through Chase Ultimate Rewards (double what the Sapphire Preferred card offers), a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ applications and access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide as well as a $300 annual travel credit that can be used for all kinds of perks.
…We really can’t justify spending that much in fees for a travel card.
Luckily, reviews.com is realistic and has broken down the options for the average joe versus the big spender. Instead, consider reviews.com’s choices like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is my personal favorite if only because VISA is accepted just about everywhere. We used the card to take an awesome trip to Washington D.C. in 2017. We got the flight and hotel for free and earned double points on all of our meals. Don’t assume that you’ll be relegated to “budget friendly” hotels, either—you can stay at some pretty extravagant places with the right points.
Capital One is the hot new kid on the block and we can’t argue with reviews.com‘s recommendation. Some say Tomato . . .others Tomato.
That saying doesn’t come off as well in written word. As always, we urge you to be sensible: keep track of that credit card bill!
Rational Recommendation
If you aren’t using credit cards, you are probably hurting your credit score. If you aren’t traveling for free, you are definitely hurting your wallet. Try out a travel rewards card like the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card today and see how much you enjoy taking that first trip. Pay off your cards each month with automated payments.
Stay Rational
-B&T