Is An Airline Rewards Card The Right Choice?

There are lots of different credit cards available which offer reward programs for their customers. These will usually involve points being awarded when the credit-card spend is paid off at a specified rate and occasional special offers to boost points.

Many of these reward programs sound too good to be true. The question is: are they a good idea or not? A definite advantage is that they rarely, if ever, allow the exchange of points purely on flights. Points can generally be exchanged for all manner of travel-related expenses, such as hotels, car hire and travel by carriers. This means that spending points is not as limiting as some customers might have believed. With most schemes, points can only be exchanged for flights with specific airlines or rooms with specified hotel chains, so the customer might be limited in the choice of destinations or preferred carrier.

As with all reward schemes, customers are getting something for nothing, as they will receive points for money they were already going to spend. However, these cards might also encourage unnecessary or unplanned spending just to accumulate points. People should always have their overall finances mind before using them.

Some rewards schemes can offer double advantages with certain transactions. A few of them offer discounts for their members when booking their peripheral travel costs such as car hire. This means that as well as having used their points to make their booking, they have also saved further money.

There are some definite disadvantages to these schemes, though, in terms of how easy it may or may not be to make use of the points accrued. Some providers will have black-out periods when bookings cannot be made and these are often at the most popular times to travel. There is also a tendency for only a limited number of flights to be available, leading to disappointment when it comes to trying to book. Many reward schemes will only fly to certain destinations, so it is well worth a potential customer doing some research and ensuring that the chosen destination is one the scheme supports before applying for a card.

When considering a card because of its reward program, it is worth investigating who their partners are, as it is often the case that points can be built up in ways other than spending on the card itself. Many grocery stores and utility companies are involved in similar schemes, so it could be that the potential to build up miles quickly is greater when looking at a combination of different suppliers.

A lot of travel reward schemes are geared towards frequent travelers and it may be difficult to build up enough points to actually be able to book a reward flight otherwise. However, there is no doubt that thousands of people make successful use of these cards and manage to make travel plans they may not have otherwise been able to afford.

A credit card should not be seen as a way to spend money that might not otherwise have been spent and should not be the first option when looking for credit. It may be possible to raise enough money for travel or holidays by using tools such as a mortgage calculator or a personal loan calculator to compare other credit options.