These Credit Card Perks Could Save You Hundreds of Dollars in 2022

Get ready to enjoy some major savings.

Saving money on purchases and travel plans is something all of us enjoy doing, regardless of how much we spend or earn. If your goal is to spend less money in 2022 while doing the things you love, here's how your credit cards could make that possible.

1. Free flights

Planning to do a lot of traveling in the new year? Wouldn't it be nice to not have to pay for all of your flights or hotels? If you use the right credit cards, you may not have to.

Many travel reward credit cards make it possible for you to earn miles or points that you can redeem for free flights. That could lead to a nice amount of savings, even if you only manage to snag one free flight in the course of the year.

The same goes for hotels. It's possible to redeem points for free stays, which could make it possible to travel more.

2. Free checked bags on flights

You may not manage to score a bunch of free flights in the coming year. But your credit cards might make the ones you pay for more affordable. These days, airlines commonly charge a fee every time you want to check a bag. If you book your flights using a travel rewards credit card, you may be entitled to a free checked bag as a built-in perk. Over the course of multiple flights, that's a decent chunk of savings.

3. Coverage for car rentals

It's common for major credit cards to offer car rental insurance as long as you pay for your rental with your card. This can save you a good amount of money whenever you rent a car, while helping to ensure you have the protection you need in the event of accidental damage.

4. Sign-up bonuses

Many credit cards offer sign-up bonuses for new cardholders, and the right one could put hundreds of dollars back in your pocket. That's money that can help offset the cost of other purchases you're making.

Now the amount of those bonuses varies from card to card, and it's important to only chase one that's attainable. If you see a sign-up bonus offer for $250 cash back for spending $1,500 within three months of opening a given card, and you normally spend at least that much, then that's an offer worth going after. But you shouldn't push yourself to spend extra just to snag a sign-up bonus, because then you won't actually end up saving any money.

5. Free shipping

Some credit cards give account holders special free shipping offers at various merchants that would otherwise impose a fee for shipping or require a certain spending threshold before waiving it. If you do a lot of your shopping online, you could end up saving quite a lot by avoiding shipping fees.

Get ready to enjoy savings

Credit cards offer a host of opportunities to save money if you use them the right way. It pays to see what perks your cards come with so you can make the most of those benefits in the new year.