The best travel and rewards cards come with an array of important benefits you can use to save money or upgrade your experience. Some cards even offer perks that translate into free travel, although these offers tend to vary.
While free stuff and bennies are always good to have, it can be a problem when too many of the cards you have are offering the same benefits. Unfortunately, many cards are rolling out similar benefits these days to compete with one another.
So, what do you do when several of your cards offer the same thing for free? Here are a few ways to deal:
Global Entry and TSA Precheck Credits
If it feels like every travel credit card is offering a Global Entry and/or TSA Precheck credit these days, you’re not going crazy. Cards that are offering this perk these days range from the Platinum Card from American Express to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, and the Hilton Aspire.
Getting a $100 Global Entry credit is great as long as you don’t have it already. If you do, this perk can feel a lot like a dud.
Fortunately, you can use your Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit to pay for this benefit for other people. If you want to get your kids signed up, for example, you can use any of your cards that offer this credit to cover it.
Airport Lounge Access
It also seems like most travel credit cards are offering airport lounge access lately, and they are. The key is, different cards offer a different level of membership in most cases, making some a better option for certain trips.
The new Barclays Premier card offers LoungeKey access, which means you actually have to pay $27 to visit participating lounges. But, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers Priority Pass Select membership that makes your visit free. You can also bring in guests with you to make the most of this perk.
In summary, having different types of lounge access won’t really help you, but understanding that all lounge membership isn’t equal absolutely will.
Free Annual Nights
Another perk that tends to be redundant is free annual night benefits. Cards that offer this benefit include the Hilton Aspire, Hyatt credit card, and Marriott Rewards Premier credit card, among others.
To make the most of your random free nights, you have to use them. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to plan a vacation around your free nights when many of them only qualify for select (lower) categories.
My favorite way to utilize free nights is to book them for staging, such as when I drive a few hours from home to pick up a better flight. Free night certificates are also typically good for overnight airport stays or for a stay the night before you leave on a cruise.
Travel Credits
Finally, a lot of rewards cards come with travel credits these days, ranging from the $200 airline credit on the Platinum Card from American Express to the $300 yearly credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
While having too many credits is a first world problem, the best way to get the most out of them is to never let them expire. When it comes to airline credits, you may be able to redeem them for airline gift cards regardless of what the rules say. For traditional travel credits that work for any travel expense, make sure you’re using a card with a credit to pay for travel so you exhaust them each cardmember year.
The Bottom Line
While each travel card aims to offer unique perks, many of them roll out the same old thing over and over. Fortunately, we can make the most out of many rewards cards benefits if we track them carefully and think outside the box.
Which credit card perks are the most redundant in your eyes? How do you put these perks to use?
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