Watch Out for These Credit Card Perks – Your Ticket to a Cheap Holiday Vacation
There are a lot perks included with owing and using a credit card. These perks can cover anything from cash back to flight awards. This can be especially useful if you travel a lot. Pick the right credit card and it could help you save tons of money on your next travel holiday.
Here are some benefits to owning the right card that you may not know about.
Travel Rewards – Instead of cutting down on your lifestyle just so that you can save enough money for your next vacation, all the shopping you do everyday can rack on points on your credit card that can be redeemed for travel. There are a number of ways you can redeem your racked up points including airline tickets, hotel stays, cab tickets and holiday cruises.
Travel Insurance – One of the quickest ways to have a disappointing holiday is when you lose luggage along the way or get involved in an accident. Fortunately, even if this happens, your credit may be able to help you. One of the perks of the right credit card is travel insurance. This insurance comes in different sizes including insurance for travel accident and for when your luggage gets lost or stolen. Before you travel, find out if your card offers this type of benefit.
Concierge Service – Some credit cards have a number that you can call for someone to arrange every aspect of your travel on your behalf. They can help with travel planning, plane and cab reservation, hotel and restaurant reservation and so on. This can be very beneficial if you are in a strange city and need to make some last minute reservations or changes. Not every card supports this concierge feature though, so you will need to find out from your card provider if they do.
Special Access – Some cards provide you with access that non members will find very difficult to get. For instance, if you are visiting a city and want the difficult to get ticket for a not to be missed concert, chances are your card provides you access to the tickets. Many credit card companies make advance purchase available to card holders and sometimes even make reservations for programmes that are not yet available to the general public.
Zero Foreign Fees – When you use your credit card abroad, you are often charged a foreign transaction fee of about 3%. However, there are card providers that charge zero percent on transactions done with cards abroad. This is exactly the type of cards you should be using when traveling otherwise you will realize that you actually spent more on charges than on the vacation itself.
Worldwide Assistance – Despite our best made plans, there is always the possibility that something will go wrong. In fact, according to Mr. Murphy, what can go wrong will go wrong. When this happens, it pays to have a toll free number for emergencies that you can call to get help. A lot of cards offer this feature as a card holder’s benefit. Whether it is a case of medical emergency, language barrier or even lost passport, this assistance service can come to the rescue.