There are so many rewards credit cards available, that it is sometimes difficult to make a decision on the right one to choose. Then once you have made the decision, you don’t quite understand how your rewards work. Especially cards that reward you with miles.
If your card says you have 50,000 miles, does that mean you can fly 50,000 miles, for free? What does it equate to?
These are questions I’ve had and in this post we will discuss how they work. Keep in mind though, each credit card company handles these rewards differently.
Types of Travel Cards
Airlines usually offer travel rewards cards, these are most rewarding for people who travel often. The rewards for traveling frequently, with that airline, earns you miles. These miles can add up and earn you some miles for free or heavily discounted travel.
Most of us do not fly often enough to benefit from these airlines rewards programs. Therefore, we would need a different way of earning free travel.
Enter credit card miles rewards. With these cards, you are able to rack up miles just from using your card to make everyday purchases. So if you would like to earn miles so you can travel for free or at a great discount, cards that reward in miles would be of interest to you.
Think of how awesome it would be, to rack up miles, so that when you do have to take a flight somewhere, or you are just planning one of your vacations, you don’t have to worry to much about the cost to get there or stay there. If you rack up enough miles, these trips can be 100% free.
What is A Mile?
Depending on the card you have, a mile usually equals $0.01. Some credit card miles are worth more and some are less. So generally speaking, if you have 500 miles available to you use on your card, it is worth $5 in travel rewards. If you have 50,000 miles to use on your card, it is worth $500 in travel rewards.
Best Ways to Accumulate Miles
As mentioned above, using your card for everyday purchases, can really help you to accumulate miles quickly. So if you are buying fuel, groceries, paying bills or occasionally eating out, use your miles card. Of course use your card responsibly. If you cannot afford to payoff your card every month, the rewards are not worth it. Only spend what you can afford to payoff monthly or the interest charges will add up and those miles will cost you.
In order to accumulate miles quickly, you need a card that will give you the most bang for your buck. Cards that offer bonus miles at signup, after you make the required dollar amount of purchases, are awesome.
If a card is offering 50,000 bonus miles if you spend $3000 on purchases in 3 months, that is awesome. The Capital One Venture card is. (Use my link to check them out, if you apply and are approved, I get bonus miles). Think about it, if the card was only paying 1 mile for every dollar you spend, you would need to spend $50,000 to get $500 worth of travel. If the card was offering 2 miles for every dollar, you would need to spend $25,000 to get $500 worth of travel. This is essentially a free travel money bonus, just for signing up and using the card.
You are receiving $500 towards travel, just for spending $3000. On top of the bonus, you are racking up more miles, just for using the card. So if your card is 1 mile per dollar, you are getting 3000 miles. If your card is 2 miles per dollar, you are getting 6000 miles, plus the 50,000 mile bonus, just for living your life. Yes bonuses are very nice.
Look for credit cards that offer higher reward payouts on an unlimited category of purchases. The Capital One Venture Card offers 2 miles for every dollar you spend on every purchase, everyday. If you get a card like this, use it every time you need to spend money, where credit cards can be used.
You can also earn bonus miles for referring people. For instance, if you use my link and apply for the Capital One Venture Card, I would receive 10,000 bonus miles or $100 in travel rewards. Thank You. Max out those rewards and earn yourself some free travel.
That being said though, look for a card that suits your needs and mirrors your purchasing decisions. There are many cards on the market offering miles, find the one that makes sense for you.
Conclusion
Credit card miles are a great way to earn free flights, free hotels stays, transportation, tours and more. Life is expensive, but when you need to leave town for an emergency or you just want to take a vacation, this shouldn’t break the bank. Vacations are earned from your employer, why not earn some travel through your credit card. Reward yourself for being an adult and paying your bills.
If you have a travel rewards card, what have you used the miles for? How have you maxed out the rewards? Please share with us in the comments below.
