Travel and entertainment credit cards typically offer generous rewards rates for airfare, hotel stays, rental cars and cruises, plus bonus points in categories like dining, grocery stores and drugstores.
Many of these cards allow users to transfer rewards directly into airline or hotel loyalty programs at the rate of one cent per point – though their annual fees may be high for some individuals.
Expense categories
When selecting a travel and entertainment credit card, it’s crucial to understand how each issuer classifies spending categories. Even though certain expenses might seem similar, credit card issuers use different merchant category codes (MCC) for every purchase category – making it hard to know which cards may offer better benefits on certain purchases.
Many travel and entertainment credit cards provide bonus rewards on specific categories, like dining and groceries, that often double or triple your points earned in these areas – making budget vacations possible!
Many credit cards offer additional perks, such as travel and rental car collision damage waiver coverage. Some even come equipped with concierge services to help plan trips and book accommodations, provide an expense summary report when filing taxes and even enable tracking via mobile apps.
Reward options
For travelers who love exploring, credit cards with travel rewards can provide money back into your wallet on every purchase. Some cards focus on specific verticals like dining, grocery shopping or airline miles while others offer more generalized rates of rewards. On top of earning points on all purchases made using these cards, these typically also provide benefits like airport lounge access, hotel discounts and travel accident insurance for rental cars.
Redeem your earned points and miles for travel bookings or for other items like cash back, statement credits, gift cards and charitable donations. Many travel and entertainment cards also provide additional perks such as no annual fee and bonus reward categories for specific types of spending.
Before selecting a travel and entertainment card, carefully evaluate your spending patterns. If you don’t travel frequently, a credit card with special airline earnings might not justify its annual fee – in which case a card with general entertainment rewards could be more suitable.
Fees
Many travel and entertainment cards provide detailed summaries of expenses, making tax time easier. Furthermore, they typically do not charge interest if your balance is paid off in full by the end of each month; some even provide benefits like frequent flyer miles or travel insurance coverage! Some credit card companies – American Express and Diners Club in particular – even provide other services that help reduce debt.
Select a card with premium rewards and benefits to justify its annual fee. A travel credit card should have no foreign transaction fees, which add 1%-3% onto purchases made outside the U.S. Some cards, like the American Express Platinum Card, offer access to airport lounges as well as extensive travel protection features that more than offset its annual fee. Unfortunately, not all cards offer equal services; what counts as travel purchase may differ between issuers.
Taxes
Eligible University of California Riverside career and contract employees may apply for the Travel and Entertainment Corporate Card, a University-sponsored credit card product with expense balances covered by UC Riverside; thus reducing out-of-pocket expenses by employees. As an added perk, card issuers usually define “travel purchases” broadly to include airfares, hotels, car rental agencies/bus lines/taxicabs/limousines as well as passenger railways/cruise lines/ferries etc.
