What are your Travel Goals? Determine your Credit Card Strategy
Everyone is different, the activities we enjoy are different, and HOW we like to travel is different. There is no one-size-fits-all for travel. So BEFORE deciding which credit card is best for you – let’s talk about YOU!
Start by remembering a recent trip you took. What went really well? What was challenging? What activities did you do? Did you enjoy them or was it challenging? What would have made the trip better?
Next imagine a future trip. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do when you are there? How much time can you spend there? How much money out of pocket do you have for this trip?
Here are my 5 main considerations when I am booking a trip for my family of 5:
- Direct flights if possible, or fewest connections/travel time
- Comfortable sleeping arrangements and space at locations (AirBNB or vacation rental)
- Exception – we book hotels for very short trips to NYC and trips to see relatives & friends, where we will spend significant time at their homes
- Activities to keep my kids busy (more playgrounds/less museums)
- Availability of vegan or plant-based food
- Climate in location
Now HOW does this relate to credit card points and miles?
My family’s credit card strategy:
- We focus on transferable credit card points cards – this gives us the most flexibility when booking flights and the occasional hotels
- Favorite transferable points credits cards are Chase Sapphire Preferred, Citi Strata Premier and American Express Gold cards
- Next we opt for airline branded credit cards over hotel credit cards – there are few situations we stay in hotels, we like space
- Our home airport’s main carriers are Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and United Airlines, so when I open an airline card I focus on those
- Favorite airline credit cards are Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus by Chase, Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard, The New United Explorer by Chase
Travel planning for my family:
- We are limited to school vacations – so trip planning is done FAR in advance
- Plant-based travel means we do tons of research on the location
- Hot climates make my family MISERABLE, so we are not going to Italy in July/August
- We always budget an appropriate amount of cash for these trips – we like to ski, so any savings on flights and accommodations makes those trips MORE AFFORDABLE
What are your travel goals? What do you consider when travel planning? I would love to hear from you.
