There’s a common misconception that all credit cards are bad. I was guilty of thinking that at one time as well.
Before becoming financially proficient, I thought that credit card companies charge interest if you use their card at all.
After all, how would they make any money if their customer pays their balance each month and no interest is charged?
Later I found out that you’ll never be charged interest if you have a zero balance at the end of each month.
Because so few people do this, credit card companies make their money from the customers who keep balances or even worse, accrue late fees.
But for the small percentage of people who do keep a zero balance each month, you can get some incredible benefits. Today I want to talk about how we travel using credit card points and rewards.
Improving My Finances
Before I talk about how to travel using credit card rewards and points, let me tell you how I got to this point.
When I met my wife Laura in 2015, I made a decision that I wanted to turn my finances around. After all, how can I take care of someone else if I wasn’t taking care of myself?
I began looking at different ways to improve my finances on YouTube. This led me to a video by Graham Stephan about that subject.
He stated that you should pay off debt and begin building credit by getting a cashback credit card.
By using it for monthly expenses that you’re going to pay anyway, you get cash back and build your credit score as long as you pay off the balance each month in full.
This was eye-opening to me because I was misinformed about how credit cards work. I thought, who cares about 1% to 2% cash back when they’re charging 20% in interest?
Little did I know that if you pay your balance in full you will pay zero interest and get cash back. So in summary, I was getting free money back for paying my bills on time.
After paying off all my debt, I started getting a cashback credit card here and there to use for monthly expenses. Just make sure that if you do decide to get a cashback credit card, they have zero annual fee when starting.
Here are the two cashback cards I used when I began this journey:
- Capital One Quicksilver (Click the referral link to sign up)
- Capital One Venture (Click the referral link to sign up)
Best Travel Credit Card
After a few years of paying utilities and other bills with cashback credit cards, we decided we wanted to look into cards with travel benefits.
My wife Laura and I are clearly very passionate about travel (this website proves it), so we make it a priority in our budget to save money for trips.
Laura began watching a popular YouTube channel called “Ask Sebby” which mainly focuses on travel benefits using credit cards.
Sebby recommended the American Express Platinum Card because of the bonus points you get for signing up and the many other benefits.
We already had an American Express cash back card so applying for the platinum card was very easy. The approval came almost immediately which was a good sign that building our credit score had paid off.
Amex Platinum Benefits
With that being said, there are a few things that need to be discussed when talking about the American Express Platinum Card.
First, there is a yearly fee of $695.
While that may seem like a lot when you’re trying to improve your finances, many travel perks come with that fee.
Here are the main benefits that make it well worth the fee in my opinion:
- $200 Uber Credit
- $200 Airline Credit
- $155 Walmart Plus Membership Credit
- $200 Hotel Credit
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit (Audible, Sirius, Peacock, NY Times)
- $300 Equinox Credit
- $189 Clear Membership
- $100 Saks Fifth Avenue Credit
- 80,000 AMEX Points when signing up ($400 value)
- Access to thousands of Premium Airport Lounges in the world
- Additional Benefits as a Cardholder
So when you do the math, the $695 yearly fee more than pays for itself. The signup bonus alone of 80,000 points is worth about $400.
Then add in over $1,500 of perks per year, and it makes a lot of sense especially if traveling is a priority for you.
The icing on the cake is that with the American Express Platinum Card, we get access to thousands of airport lounges across the globe.
Related: Why We Think The Amex Platinum Is The Best Travel Credit Card
Trips We Have Taken For “Free” Using Reward Points
When I talk about traveling for free, it’s not 100% accurate.
We still had to pay our rent and other expenses using the American Express Platinum Card. The $695 fee also has to be factored into the cost when traveling.
But because we would be paying our expenses anyway, we might as well get points to redeem for travel. Also, the perks associated with the Amex Platinum card more than cover the annual fee.
Here are the two trips we took this year due to having the American Express Platinum benefits:
Related: Miami and Mexico City 2021
Related: Our Incredible Trip to Italy/Spain
If you’re interested in signing up for the American Express Platinum Card, you can use our referral link and get over 80,000 points.
Is It Worth Using Points For Travel?
Well, I may be a bit biased, but yes, I do believe it is worth it to use points for travel, especially when using both the Hilton Honors American Express card and the American Express Platinum.
We use both cards to pay for groceries, gas, eating out, rent, and other bills we would normally be paying anyway.
So, it is more or less like getting free money (even when you factor in the American Express Card platinum fee).
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below or email us directly at itraveltomuseums{@}gmail.com.
Thanks for reading,
Nick Hazleton