Travelers who are savvy in the ways of purchasing cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages are usually equally well informed about deciding whether to sign up for reward credit cards offering cash back or miles.
To decide which is best for you, you need to consider your spending habits. If you have an airline miles credit card, you should look at how many miles you have accrued over the past 12 months and how often you redeemed them. Then you should compare the value of your free tickets vs. how much you could have earned with a cash back card.
For many people cash back is a more desirable way to go because they dont travel enough to make earning miles a better value. Cash rewards are easy to value, usually 1 to 5 percent of your spending, whereas miles can be devalued or difficult to value since free seats are often so difficult to secure.
The following are questions worth considering before deciding which type of rewards program to go with:
How frequently do you travel and what are your future travel plans? If you only fly a couple of times a year, reward miles are likely to have little value.
Is a cards annual fee and annual percentage rate (APR) on balances acceptable for the reward you could earn?
What credit card balance do you typically carry? Cash back cards usually charge a more expensive APR and require excellent credit. If you do not pay off your cards entire balance each month, you should select a card offering the lowest APR.
How many airline miles have you already earned? If you are close to having enough miles to purchase an expensive round trip ticket, it might be worth staying with a airline mileage earning credit card or signing up for such a card.
How much do you charge on a credit card? Cards charging greater annual fees usually offer better potential rewards, but only if you spend enough to earn those rewards.
What has greater value to you today cash in your pocket or future travel rewards? www.cheapfares.com