Your Card Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Card Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Sometimes you have to learn the hard way, get some egg on your face, and figure out how to correct the outcome for the future. But sometimes it is easier to let someone else make the mistakes while you still gain the wisdom. I’ve made lots of mistakes in the Travel Hacking world and I’m sharing them with you so you can avoid them on your own journey. Here are my top 5 things to NEVER do…again!
1. Wait until the last day(s) of your credit card cycle to reach your minimum spend
So my big plan was to earn 75,000 points by opening a credit card and spending the minimum amount in the time period allowed by the card (example: spend at least $3000 in 3 months). I had cut it pretty close and felt successful, but then I learned sometimes it takes a day or two for things you purchase to change from “pending charges” to your “current balance” for your card. If charges are still pending when the monthly statement closes, those pending charges will be applied to the following month’s statement and therefore you might not make your minimum spend. So my advice to anyone nearing the end of your minimum spend period for a sign-up bonus is to do so no later than 3 days before your credit card cycle ends. Here are some suggestions to help reach your minimum spend.
2. Open a credit card at a department store to save 10% off your purchase
An average travel rewards credit card sign-up bonus is around 60,000 points or miles. Most of the time that can be used for at least 2 round trip tickets ($600) or 2-3 nights in a hotel ($450). This crushes the 10% or 20% off you might save at a department store. Run the math. Let’s say you’re on a big spending spree and you’re going to drop $300 at your favorite store in the mall. 20% (which seems like a huge amount) off $300 is still only $60! That is nothing when compared to the value saved through Travel Rewards.
So why can’t you do both travel rewards and the small department store cards? Well, credit card banks like Chase look at how many cards you’ve opened in the last 2 years and cut you off when you go over their limit. This is known as Chase’s 5/24 rule, where they only approve you for a new card if you have opened 5 or less cards in the previous 24 months. So now you need to ask yourself if the $60 savings at Gap is worth losing so much potential free travel? And don’t even get me started on the thousands of college students signing up for a credit card for a lousy free t-shirt the first day of college.
3. Allow your points or miles to expire
This may seem like an obvious mistake to avoid, but you need to stay organized. Yes, it’s easy when you’re only using one airline reward program and one credit card, but when you start using multiple cards for multiple airlines and hotels for multiple people in your family, you need a plan. Your calendar is your friend. When you see expiration dates for points or miles, put them in your calendar at least a month ahead of time so you have some time to take action and extend the expiration date (most airlines and hotels say they need account activity at least once a year to keep it open).
The one who got me was Frontier Airlines as they will close your account and eat your points after only 6 months of no activity (travel or point accumulation or spending). Check out my post on ways to keep points from expiring.
4. Pay less than the full amount of your credit card bill
If you can’t pay the full amount of your credit card bill every month, you should NOT be attempting to collect Travel Rewards. Credit card debt is a serious issue and a tough hole to climb out. Whether you don’t have the funds to pay it off in full every month or you’re not organized enough, it doesn’t matter. If you pay late fees or interest charges, it eliminates the entire concept of traveling for nearly fee. An interest rate of 18% – 24% is not your friend!
5. Keep the joy of Travel Rewards to yourself
Who enjoys traveling alone? Not me, that’s for sure! Maybe there are some introverts out there who would prefer that, but even then you could tell the annoying coworker in the cubicle next to you so he could travel and give you some peace and quiet.
Think of the person you would love to travel with. Wouldn’t it be great if you both start collecting points and planning your next big trip together? Where would you go? How long would you stay? What is keeping you from getting started? Check out the current credit card sign-up bonuses and start planning.
Share your Travel Hacking mistakes in the comments below...
Your Card Points has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Your Card Points and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.