When talking to people about the principals of frugal travel, one of the most common questions I get is about where to start building in this hobby. For many, the idea of spending towards points and miles is a very big concept, which can result in critical mistakes, which may have bigger negative ramifications now and into the future.
Although it may be tempting to swing for the biggest cards available, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, those who are new to the hobby may not necessarily be best served from the top cards available. Instead, it is smart to remember that building points and miles are a long-term marathon and not a sprint.
For those who have never participated in this hobby before, it is never too late to start. Here are three easy cards for new frugal travelers to start their adventures with.
Chase Freedom Card
Today, Chase Ultimate Rewards are considered the pinnacle of flexible points and miles programs. However, the high-fee Chase Sapphire Preferred is not necessarily the best card for everyone, especially if they are just starting out in the game. Rather, utilizing the Chase Freedom card should be the place every frugal traveler starts to look for good rewards.
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Chase Freedom®
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$0 annual fee
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Get a $150 Bonus after spending $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Chase Freedom® |
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First off, the Chase Freedom card offers no annual fee to cardholders, with great cash back rewards. New qualifying cardholders can get a $150 cash back bonus after spending $500 within the first three months. From there, travelers earn one percent cash back for every purchase, with multipliers for rotating categories every quarter.
Between the low minimum spend and no annual fee, the Chase Freedom card is a good way to introduce travelers into the points and miles game. In addition, those who hold this card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card can always up-convert their Freedom cash back to Ultimate Rewards points!
Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express
At one point in time, American Express Membership Rewards were considered the top rewards program available – in part, because they were one of the originals. Although Membership Rewards points are not what they used to be, they can still introduce the concept of points to those new in this hobby.
Unlike most points bearing cards, the Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express comes with a number of bonuses at no annual fee. The EveryDay card offers a 10,000 Membership Rewards point bonus after spending $1,000 in the first three months, followed by double points at grocery stores. In addition, those who use this card at least 20 times in a month will receive a 20 percent Membership Rewards points bonus.
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Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express
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$0 first year
$0 after first year |
Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you use your new Card to make $1,000 in purchases in your first 3 months. Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express |
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With no annual fee and numerous points redemption options, the Amex EveryDay Credit Card offers a lot of upside for those new to the hobby. This card offers a great introduction to the value of flexible points, which will only allow new travelers to improve their redemptions over time.
Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature Card
While I do not usually recommend a branded points card over a flexible points card, the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature card offers a unique value proposition. With no annual fee and multiplier categories, this card can offer strong insight to how branded points work for new travelers.
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Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card
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$0 first year
$0 after first year |
75,000 Hilton HHonors™ Bonus Points After making $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening* Read Review » |
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Already have this card? Track it and maximize your rewards.
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Citi® Hilton HHonors™ Visa Signature® Card |
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| Apply Now Add to Favorites | ||||||
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| Read the FTG Review » | ||||||
First off, the card offers an enormous 75,000 Hilton HHonors points bonus for qualifying customers after spending $2,000 within the first three months of opening the card. From there, travelers earn three points on groceries, gas and pharmacy purchases, with one point everywhere else. Hilton HHonors points can be used to book Hilton properties around the world, or transferred to other partner programs through their website.
With the vast amount of Hilton properties around the world, combined with a no annual fee card, those new to collecting points and miles can learn a lot from holding the Citi Hilton HHonors Visa Signature. Therefore, this is one of my picks for a good starting frugal travel card.
While points earning opportunities can be limitless, they can only be actualized with wisdom and knowledge. By starting with these cards, travelers can develop spending strategies that work, build their credit and lead up to even better opportunities from higher-end cards.
Which cards would you recommend to new frugal travelers? Let me know your ideas in the comments below!
[Image via Getty]