Before having kids, my husband and I loved to travel. When our family grew, we agreed that we wanted to continue to prioritize exploring the world as much as we could. Unlike it may seem on Instagram, no one comes with a magic wand and whisks us away on vacation \u2014 we make sacrifices to design these experiences, and we work hard to make them happen.<\/p>\n
Now that we\u2019re paying for four, credit cards play a major role in our ability to swing our travel, but perhaps not in the way you might think. We don\u2019t rack up debt, and because we pay our bills in full each month, we don\u2019t pay any interest. Instead, we rely heavily on the points and miles that we largely earn from\u00a0credit card rewards. And with the national average domestic airline itinerary fare hovering just below $400 in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Department of Transportation, every bit we can defray helps.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the ways that credit cards help make our family\u2019s travel dreams a reality \u2014 for a fraction of the out-of-pocket cost.<\/p>\n
The rewards we earn from the many credit cards we hold help fly our family for almost free. Some cards are branded to\u00a0a particular airline\u00a0and earn frequent flyer miles that can be used for flights on that airline and its partners. Other credit cards earn rewards that aren\u2019t locked into one brand and offer more flexibility. You can transfer those rewards to several partner airlines, which allows you to shop around to find the best flight options for your family. If you have enough miles to cover the flights, you\u2019ll just pay a nominal charge for taxes and fees out of pocket: They start at $5.60 one way per person if you\u2019re traveling in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Plus:<\/strong> Don\u2019t hold your breath waiting for rental car prices to drop\u2014here\u2019s why they\u2019re so expensive<\/p>\n When I tell inquiring friends how our rewards pay for flights, I\u2019m often met with skeptical stares. \u201cDon\u2019t they charge so many miles? I\u2019ll never earn enough.\u201d Though the cost of award flights in miles can seem outrageous many times, there are still values to be found. We recently booked coast-to-coast flights for our family of four for less than 10,000 miles per person one way. An average\u00a0bonus for opening a new credit card\u00a0is around 50,000 miles, sometimes considerably more. That means by opening one new card and paying an annual fee under $100, my whole family can jet from Baltimore to sunny California.<\/p>\n Plus, I have an extra \u201cfree flight trick\u201d up my sleeve: a\u00a0companion pass. Several popular airlines offer the perk for a companion to fly free or at a reduced cost \u2014 as an outright perk of holding its branded credit card or by earning enough points in a year. Using a companion pass helps stretch our family\u2019s airfare budget even further.<\/p>\n Also see:<\/strong> My husband and I are 64. We have $1.5 million in retirement accounts. He wants to travel. I\u2019m more cautious. Who\u2019s right?<\/p>\n When you\u2019re beholden to a school calendar that dictates when you can travel, you quickly learn that availability and prices can be sky-high during spring break or the winter holidays, when everyone is taking trips. For example, more than 141 million people flew in March and April this year, compared with 118 million in January and February, according to Transportation Security Administration checkpoint travel numbers. Booking far in advance is helpful to lock in those plans. Often, you\u2019ll find better availability and lower prices than you\u2019ll get when you reserve closer in. And when you pay with miles or points, there\u2019s less at stake: You\u2019re not shelling out a bunch of cash now for a trip you\u2019ll take next year.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re booking well in advance or last minute, using rewards earned from credit cards can give greater flexibility should your plans change. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, many airlines ditched the fees to cancel or change a ticket. Some of those fees are creeping back \u2014 but the policies are often more generous if you\u2019ve booked with miles. Having a stash of\u00a0credit card points and miles\u00a0at the ready helps my family book trips with the peace of mind that we\u2019ll be able to change our plans without paying big fees.<\/p>\n If you pay cash for your ticket, you\u2019ll still be able to cancel \u2014 but with more caveats. In many cases, you\u2019ll have to pay a higher fare to have that flexibility to change or cancel your ticket. Often, you\u2019ll be refunded in the form of travel credit with that airline rather than getting your money back. That means you\u2019ll have money tied up with that airline, which isn\u2019t ideal if you find a better deal on a different airline for your next flights or if you need that cash for other expenses. Plus, those credits can expire.<\/p>\n Booking with miles, on the other hand, can allow you to cancel your tickets \u2014 even last minute \u2014 and get all your rewards back without penalty.<\/p>\n Read<\/strong>: What to know before you book a flight on one of those low-cost international airlines<\/p>\n \u201cGee, I\u2019m so excited to wait in long lines with grumpy kids,\u201d said no one ever. The reality is that long lines at security checkpoints, rental car counters and even hotel check-in queues can really dampen the excitement of travel for kids and grown-ups alike.<\/p>\n But for my family, many of the travel perks that come along with the premium credit cards we hold far outweigh the cost of the annual fees we pay. Thanks to services like\u00a0TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and Clear, we are able to skip out on lots of idle time spent waiting in line. Several travel cards offer credits that cover the cost of these services, and we take full advantage as cardholders. We can pop into an airport lounge while we wait to board and enjoy free drinks and snacks.<\/p>\n Elite status\u00a0is another benefit that the right credit cards afford us. We can skip the line at the rental counter and head straight to our car after a long flight. We can go to a special queue when we check in to our hotel, and we can take advantage of elite perks like room upgrades, late checkout and daily credit to help cover breakfast.<\/p>\n Also see: <\/strong>How couples can turbo-charge points and miles by planning together<\/p>\n Most major credit card issuers these days offer\u00a0special merchant-specific discounts\u00a0when activated on your card. They\u2019re like built-in coupons you can add to your credit card with an easy click, and they can save you very real dollars on purchases you\u2019re already making.<\/p>\n I think of these offers as \u201cfree money\u201d I earn back from my credit cards. I load as many of these coupons onto my cards as I can because there\u2019s no penalty if I don\u2019t use them. If I\u2019m ordering pizza for Friday movie night, sending birthday flowers or purchasing new luggage, I\u2019ll check my credit card offers first so I can see whether shopping at any featured merchants makes sense to save money.<\/p>\n Once I make a qualifying purchase, my card gets credited back the amount I saved. I like to keep track of this money in a simple spreadsheet and watch it add up: $5 back from this restaurant, $10 back from this back-to-school shopping trip. Then I put that money aside into a trip fund to help subsidize the extra costs of our travels.<\/p>\n By shaving off extra costs whenever I can, our family can afford to travel together more.<\/p>\nTravel \u2018insurance\u2019 and flexibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Perks that make it easier<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Free money\u2019 helps budgets stretch further<\/strong><\/h2>\n