Our family recently saved thousands using travel rewards and other hacks!
So credit card debt is the opposite of building wealth, but once you are free of debt and can pay them off in full every month then you can use credit cards to your advantage. A while ago our family had opened up a few travel reward credit cards and had accumulated points that were sitting there. We finally redeemed them and saved over $2,000 on a 5-star hotel weekend getaway on the beach, as well as on flights for all four of us.
When looking for credit cards you’ll want to look for a card that gives you a big return of at least several hundred dollars, if not more. Travel rewards cards can be great at this, and our family loves to travel so it worked out nicely.
The hacks don’t stop at the hotel booking though. Hotels can charge $30 plus a night for parking and tell you that valet is the only option, but you’ll find many times a cheaper parking lot for overnight parking close by. For our last trip since it was a 2 hour drive to the beach I brought my bicycle & found a park nearby that I could leave the car at. You may have to do a little work, but those few extra minutes saved me almost $100 & allowed me to explore the area.
Another thing I always do when I arrive at the hotel is to fill up the ice bucket to let it melt into drinkable water for later, which avoids the crazy expense that the minibar can add up to. I also check out the gym since that will typically have water, and may have other things like apples. Finally a local grocery store I’ll stock up on basic items for the fridge for morning or evening snacks.
If you have any questions on travel rewards or other cards, we now have a contact form to answer individually. Feel free to reach out or leave us a comment on your experiences with travel rewards.