Sep 17th, 2011 Posted in Tips, Travel | No Comments »
Are you planning on taking a trip? Not sure which of your credit cards would be best to use while traveling? If so, then this article on the top credit cards to use while on vacation is definitely for you. Going away should be a relaxing and fun filled experience. Learn how by using the right credit card you can not only earn the most points, miles and other perks, but save the most money as well. Some people may think that finding the best card has to be difficult but I’m here to break down my top 3 most valuable credit card tips.
- Chase Marriott Visa Rewards
If you travel often and have a particular hotel chain that you enjoy using you can quickly build up your rewards. This card comes with a $30 fee annually, but for the first year, the fee is waived. The standard in the industry, when it comes to redemption and earnings is around 1%, where each dollar you spend is equal to one point, which means a 100 points would equal out to earning a dollar when it comes to rewards. However, with this card if you were to pay for your room in one of the 3000 hotels that make up the Marriott brand, you’d earn three points for each dollar spent. This particular card also gains you points in the Marriott’s loyalty program, which means cardholders are able to earn even more points which can be turned in for some extra free nights.
- American Express – The Blue Sky Card
This is a card that has no fee yet still offers an excellent redemption rate. This card isn’t linked to any specific hotel or airline brand, which in turn makes it a great pick for people traveling who aren’t loyal to any particular brand. While you still earn points using the point per dollar formula that many other cards use, with this card you also get $100 off any eligible traveling purchases for each 7,500 points you attain. Basically, this means if you earn $75 in rewards, you’ll get $100 credited to you.
- American Express – Preferred Blue Cash Card
If you plan on going on a road trip this is your best option. This card gives a whopping 6% cash back in supermarkets and it gives back 3% in gas stations. Owners of this card also will get the 3% rate in department stores, as well as 1% back on your other purchases. The only downside of this card is the $75 fee charged annually and the fact that this card excludes any type of purchases from warehouse stores.
Tags: america express, chase, credit card, marriott, travelling, visa
Aug 2nd, 2011 Posted in Tips | No Comments »
Traveling is often an exciting adventure, but the expenditures quickly add up. This makes it rather difficult to go out and have fun sometimes, as you are constantly thinking and worrying about money. This makes it extremely important to locate good deals for your travels. Saving money while traveling is essential to not only enjoy your trip, but to make sure you still have money in your bank account when you arrive back home.
- Book your flight and hotels at once. Most online travel agencies give you a nice discount, should you decide to book your airfare and hotel stays at the same time. These packaged deals save you hundreds of dollars, especially when staying for several days.
- Obtain an international student travel card. These cards are available through in store travel agencies. Many hotels, hostels, transportation providers and restaurants around the world offer a nice discount when you present the card. You must be under 25, or a student in order to obtain the card, but the yearly card provides nice savings while you are on the go.
- Check out websites such as Groupon. These provide extreme local discounts for just about everywhere in the world. This includes travel and accommodations. Sometimes, it is possible to locate travel for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars under a standard price. If you don’t mind where you travel to, this is an excellent option for you.
- Book your flights and hotel accommodations ahead of time. The further in advance you book your flights and stays, the more money you save. The close the time is to the flight or hotel stay, the higher the demand for the service is, and the more money it is going to cost. This is especially true with flights. On occasion, it is possible to locate a hotel at a discount a day or two before hand, simply because the hotel is just trying to book out rooms it still has available.
- Never book your hotel by walking up to it. Here you do not receive any promotional deals or discounts and just pay the flat rate of whit it costs. When booking online, you are going to receive a nice discount over what the hotel generally costs, even if it is the day of the booking. Depending on how expensive the hotel is, you are going to save anywhere from a few dollars to nearly a hundred, for top line hotels.
Tags: deals, vacation
May 15th, 2011 Posted in Tips | No Comments »
With the many companies competing for your business, there are more and more deals popping up on the internet daily. These deals include food, clothing, leisure, and many others. It is simple to get these daily deals simply by staying in tune with offerings through the web and email subscriptions. A simple Google search can help you be well on your way to saving money daily.
For those who are looking for a good deal on clothing, there are websites like Ruelala and Guilt Groupe that provide one day sales on luxurious brands that are up to 70% off. These are one time steals that are always on the camp out by others therefore sizing is limited. Because of the popularity of these sites, the products have grown from just retail products to others which include household items and vacations.
For those looking for a local activity which includes eating, relaxation and others, the new trends of the market is daily deals that are purchasable prior to use for a discounted price. Simply print or show a code to redeem in stores and enjoy savings. Leading daily deal websites include Groupon, Living Social, yipit, Lifebooker, and many others. There is always a great steal on these websites and they are usually no caps on the purchases so you can expect to have the deal around all day. Some deals change day to day, depending on the company and their promotion.
In addition to websites with one day goods, subscribing to a brand that you like or commonly use provides you with perks as well. Some companies like Godiva offer monthly pieces of chocolate for free through their rewards program. Other companies offer monthly or bi-monthly coupons for use that is always great for returning customers. Subscribed customers usually receive notices of promotions and discounts prior to the public which is a great way to be up to date with sales.
For those who are not subscribed to specific companies, a great way to get daily deals is to search for coupons to use online. Many companies offer print out coupons and accepts competitor coupons which allows for a great amount of savings. With the internet growing, there are many ways to save money now a days with just a little bit of research. With a little bit of work that can go a long way, daily deals are just a click away.
Tags: godiva, groupon, lifebooker, living social, ruelala