To say the least, it might be an understatement that Americans love to travel. In fact, as per the new survey by Nerd Wallet in the year 2016, 85% of the Americans have gone for a trip in the past 1 year. While majority of them have paid with their credit cards for their vacations, 65% have used their cards for transport costs and 57% for lodging and accomodation as well. Experts suggest that if they’re choosing a travel card over a cash-back one, they’re actually missing a big opportunity.
Yes, most often, even for travelers, travel cards don’t seem to be the right option. It has been seen that there will be more cases where the consumer will get increased value by leveraging a cash-back card and later on using cash rewards to pay for expenses related to traveling. The survey was done among 2000 US adults with ages of 18 and even older than that.
Should you earn travel rewards or cash back rewards from your credit card?
This is one of the oldest questions that are asked by people who use credit cards. This is why we offer you a detailed discussion on the world of credit card rewards. Read on to know more on the right type of credit card to choose.
# When should you select travel rewards?
Drawing in travel rewards and redeeming them can definitely be too complicated and hence the ideal credit card user who is eager to opt for travel rewards should be a person who can invest his effort and time in decoding their favorite hotel and airline offers. Being able to draw free rewards for traveling definitely seems like an interesting deal but there are few card holders who might feel lazy enough in redeeming or recouping the points or the miles which they’ve accrued.
# The value of acquiring travel rewards
Majority of the credit cards with travel rewards offer you bonus miles or points that you can redeem in different categories of travel like car rentals, airfare, dining, hotel stays and entertainment. You get more value for every point or mile that you have earned. When you redeem your rewards for international flights, expensive flights booked at the last minute and for luxurious hotel accomodations, they can be valuable.
# When should you opt for a cash back option?
On the other hand, for many, even those who prefer traveling, cash back cards are always their worthy alternative. You may use the cash pay credit card to pay for your mortgage, rent and other bills, which is almost impossible with hotel points and airline miles. Apart from that you may even invest the cash back and later on get an opportunity to make the value double with time.
# Value of earning cash back points
The best travelers can get 3-5 cents against each point; the usual value of points on cash back is 1cent against a single value. The chances that you get for points are much curtailed, cash back rewards are pretty simple. The holders of the credit card are assured a set percentage of return via credit card reward programs. So, for any individual who has enough difficulty in redeeming the travel rewards, usually have the challenge of not getting enough value from their accumulated points.
So, which type of credit card person are you? Would you like to relax and wait for the rewards that you gradually accrue so that you can later on recuperate them? If yes, your best option is to use the cash back reward card so that you can later on utilize travel savings when you feel it is necessary. On the contrary, if you’re someone who aspires of traveling in first class, you may find it worthy accumulating for travel rewards.
