How to Plan Your Travel Rewards Card Strategy

There are many different types of credit card rewards. If you want to focus your efforts on earning travel rewards, you should create a credit card strategy to maximize the value you get for your spending patterns.

Here's how to find the best approach for you. Having a strategy can be especially helpful as you plan for travel after a year of being largely shut-in.

Some key points:

  • Most travel credit cards offer sign-up bonuses, which are sums of cash, points, or miles you can earn by spending a certain amount in the first few months of owning the card.
  • One basic rule of thumb for anyone chasing travel rewards is to pay off your card balance every month. Otherwise, interest costs can eat up the value of any rewards you earn.
  • Shop around and compare the best travel credit cards to find the best credit card combination for you.
  • Make sure to track your spending as well to ensure you're getting the best return on each purchase and to avoid overspending for the sake of earning rewards.

For a more extensive discussion of this strategy, be sure to read this article on The Balance website.