Travel credit card perks
If you're looking for a way to save money on travel, a travel card can certainly help with that. Or if you want to go from ordinary trips to luxurious travel experiences, you could do that with the right travel card, too. For an idea of what travel rewards cards offer, you'll find many of the most popular perks below.
Travel rewards
This is the one feature that all travel cards have in common. When you use this type of credit card, you earn rewards that you can redeem to cover your travel expenses. The exact redemption options depend on which card you have, but any of them can make traveling less expensive.
Airport lounge access
Many of the more expensive travel credit cards include a complimentary membership to one or more airport lounge programs. Even a small number of affordable travel cards include some one-day lounge passes for cardholders. Lounges are typically comfortable places to wait for your flight, with free food and beverages.
Elite hotel status
Many hotel credit cards include automatic elite status in the hotel's loyalty program. You'll then get all the benefits that come with that status, such as complimentary upgrades when available, a free daily breakfast, and bonus points on stays. If there's a hotel chain you visit often, elite status is nice to have.
Free checked baggage and priority airline service
These are common features with airline credit cards, at least the airline cards that charge annual fees. They often include a free checked bag for the cardholder, as well as one or more travel companions on the same reservation. They may also get you priority service at the airport, including a priority lane to get to airport security, priority boarding, and priority baggage service with your checked luggage.
Membership fee credits for travel programs
A relatively common travel card benefit is a membership fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. It's the cardholder's choice which program to use it for, but Global Entry is better if you don't mind a longer wait for an interview -- it includes a TSA PreCheck® membership. Some travel cards have a fee credit for CLEAR, another expedited security program, either instead of or in addition to a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® credit.
Travel insurance
Quite a few travel cards provide travel insurance protections on eligible bookings. These can be useful if anything goes wrong on a trip, such as a delay, cancellation, or illness. Examples of credit card travel insurance include:
- Rental car theft and damage insurance
- Lost/delayed luggage protection
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Trip cancellation/interruption coverage
Luxury hotel collections
A few credit card issuers now have their own curated collections of high-end hotels. These are generally only available with premium travel cards. When you book with your card through your card issuer's hotel collection, you can get special perks, such as a spending credit to use at the hotel, free breakfast, and a late checkout.
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