Pros and Cons of Travel Credit Cards

The advent of plastic money has transformed our lives in so many ways that we would never have dreamt possible even a few decades ago. Back then, taking a trip abroad in itself was the dream of a lifetime, often realized after years of scrimping and saving money. One of the major advantages of using travel credit cards is the flexibility that they offer both, in terms of spending and also rewards received.

Since travel credit cards are commonly offered by leading banks in affiliation with airlines, many travel credit card issuers offer fascinating deals and rewards for spends made using the card. In some cases, these points acquired can be redeemed for food, accommodation or travel while other travel credit cards may directly convert every dollar spent using the card into a certain number of airline miles. Some cards also offer money back options.

On the flip side, while the rewards accumulate as travel mile on your account, when it comes to redeeming your travel miles, you may not always get a booking on a flight of your choice or a specific date at a given moment. Most airlines might black out certain kinds of seat reservations, especially at peak travel season when the airline would benefit from selling a premium paid seat to a passenger rather than offering you a free one. When it comes to redemption, many people find that it is far easier to redeem the points earned against a hotel booking than as conversion to an air ticket.

Also, most travel cards earn you points only based on money spent and so even if you are a frequent flyer, you may not be able to add those miles to the points available on your card.

Also, these exciting deals and offers of reward miles may entice you into spending far more than you can afford. This is always a risk for credit card users as the availability of relatively high levels of credit can lull you into a false sense of financial security. Those who find it difficult to be disciplined with regard to credit card payments would do well to use travel credit cards with utmost caution.