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Ok, I admit using this tagline shamelessly to get your attention, as it is a widely popular song by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen. Yes, the song has been out for a couple of months now. But between this and the buzz about Taylor’s Eras Tour in Europe, I can’t tell who is winning this match? Who needs Wimbledon. Where are all my Swifties at? I do also love me some Post and MW.
Now that I have your attention, let’s get down to business. If you have a credit card, are you using all the benefits? You don’t even need to own a card with exorbitant annual fees to reap the rewards. Let me shed some light on this. If you aren’t paying attention to what’s out there, you could be missing out on FREE money or benefits!
These are my current rewards for two different Capital One cards I have. The 106K miles is the Venture X for my business account https://i.capitalone.com/GXrghCM1B . This does have an annual fee of $395 but also offers some amazing perks such as: 2x miles on all purchases, 10,000 bonus miles added every year, 10x miles when booking travel through Capital One and quite a few more. I first got this card in December of 2023 and received a $300 credit immediately when I booked flights! This was in the first month of having the card, I didn’t have to hit a milestone. The Venture X offered 75K miles if I spent $5-6000 in the first 3-6 months. I can’t remember the exact amount, but I knew I would hit this number within the allotted timeframe.
The Capital One Quicksilver is the other card with the $433.89 in CASH rewards (I can hear Sebastian Maniscalco…caaashh). Guess what? No annual fee! https://i.capitalone.com/G0l0OOj8G. This one gives you 1.5% rewards on everything you purchase. It might not seem like a lot, I know. But let me just say, I have many times over, redeemed 100s of dollars in rewards over the years since I first opened the card in 2018. I personally budget nearly everything that goes on my credit cards, so I don’t get over my head with debt. This makes it so easy to enjoy the rewards, no matter how I use them.
This is another benefit of some credit cards. Having access to cash back while shopping at some of your favorite vendors. I don’t use our Citi Mastercard anymore, but when I did, I would redeem gift cards. Most of the time I would get Hotels.com. So I would have the gift card I used from Citi, logon to my Capital One and click on the Hotels.com link to make a reservation. You could say I was double dipping, I say I was making the most of the situation. And after my stay, I would see the 3-6% cash back on my statement! The great thing about VRBO https://vrbo.tp.st/oPQ3mJiv , Expedia https://expedia.tp.st/sBfJE1Yx and Hotels.com, is they have a collective program called One Key. When you book through any of these, you can earn points to redeem on future stays. This can be a hotel stay, car rental or things to do. There are so many properties available with the amenities and star rating you prefer. With summer in full swing and the kids home from school, maybe you’re looking for some activities to keep them occupied? Viator is a great booking tool that now offers rewards too! Yes, they jumped on that band wagon like so many others. Viator https://viator.tp.st/33IL2Unn has so many great things to choose from. Just type in where you want to go and set the filters to what you would like to do. Food tours, shows, sailing and land excursions are just some of their activities.
For nearly 10 years I have had the AMEX Delta Skymiles card. This has a $350 annual fee. But you have to understand, I built up to this card. Once I knew I would have the opportunity to travel more, the perks outweighed the fee. It allows a free companion certificate every year (someone flies free with me), I received a full refund for my TSA precheck charge, no foreign transaction fees and it gives me 15% off when I book with miles. My son will be flying free with me as we take a trip to go to his college orientation next week. And a few times, I used my points to fly free using points to fly TRANSATLANTIC! One of those times was a one-way to Florence for four of us! It pays to use these cards, you just have to know which one will work for you.
This is the AMEX platinum card. Now, I have to say when I saw this offer, I jumped on it. Even though the annual fee is $695 (I don’t think I’ll keep this longterm), the offer was for 150,000 points that I can convert into some amazing hotel stays or maybe even a First-class flight! I did this knowing some potential trips that I definitely want to take advantage of having a more comfortable seat. Again, my cards have budgeted expenses so I knew it would be easy to hit this target within so many months. This card gives you access to some swanky airport lounges, a $200 hotel credit and a $200 airline credit as well.
So, now I’m giving you a homework assignment. Pull those credit cards out of your wallet and see what benefits you may have been missing out on. Look at your life, what you enjoy and find a card that works for you! There are plenty to choose from, and as mentioned, some don’t even have a fee. It is so easy to research what is out there and find the right one for you. Many of them offer amazing rewards too. If you’re not in a rush, I recommend keeping an eye on the ones that do interest you. You might just hit the jackpot and make out even better on the rewards! I only scratched the surface on this topic, but I hope this helps. You’re welcome;)
