When it comes to traveling, you're leaving money on the table if you aren't preparing for it with a solid credit card strategy. That goes double if you are someone who has to travel for work. It's also true if you regularly buy things for work that end up being reimbursed. So,let's talk about how you can get closer to your next travel destination every time you swipe that card.
The Chase Family of Cards
Hard to beat double points on most things. Although Triple points is pretty great...
Chase has several credit cards that all give out Chase Points. Which card you should choose depends on your financial situation and how much money you spend on a credit card generally. We'll start with the cards that have no annual fee, but lower rewards. Taking it from the bottom to the top:
Chase Freedom
You have two versions of this card, the Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Unlimited.. The Freedom card gives you 5% back in Chase points, up to $1500 each quarter. This is a good deal, however, the points are allocated to a different category every month. So, for April-June, points go to grocery stores. It's a bit of a game but pays off. The Unlimited card pays you back 1.5% on every purchase, and doesn't have the $1,500 limit. So choose which game you want to play.
Chase Sapphire: Preferred
This is a solid choice since it gives you 2 points every time you spend money on travel or dining. Travel covering: Plane tickets, train tickets, subway cards, hotels and tours. Dining is everything from a 5 star restaurant to Mcdonald's. It has a bonus of 50,000 bonus points (which is worth at least $500) when you spend $4,000 on it in the first 3 months of the account being open. It also has no annual fee for the first year, (it's$95 after that).
Chase Sapphire Reserve
This is Chase's highest end card. It offers 3 points for every dollar you spend on travel and also comes with a 50k bonus after spending 4k in the first 3 months. It also comes with a $300 annual travel credit you can apply to any trip you take. Plus it pays for Global Entry or TSA Precheck which if you ever travel, really at all, is a huge time saver. However, this has a $450 annual fee and is not waived for the first year. So, if you are going to fly at least 2-3 times a year this is probably worth it. If you travel only once a year, it is probably not.
Chase Ink Preferred
This also offers you 3 points for every dollar you spend on travel plus for any dollar you spend on internet and phone service. This card offers 80k bonus points if you spend 5k on purchases in the first 3 months. It also only has an $95 annual fee. The big however on this card is it can only be used by 'businesses,' so, you need to have a business, or be able to convince Chase that you have a business.
The Citi ThankYou Point Cards
Worry not, Linda Walker will get all of the points.
Citi also has a variety of cards depending on your budget and how much you end up swiping in a given month.
Citi ThankYou Preferred Card
You receive 2 ThankYou points for every dollar you spend on dining and entertainment. That's both dinner and a movie. (Yes, someone probably made that exact pitch in a meeting.) Plus you get 1x on everything else. It has the big benefit of having no annual fee and an APR (how much they charge you to hold a balance month to month) of 0% for the first 15 months. Which is great if you aren't starting a job for a while, or looking for a job.
Citi ThankYou Premier Card
This has 3x on all travel including gas stations. The same 2x for dining out and entertainment and 1x on everything else. Plus a solid sign up bonus of 50k ThankYou points after you spend $4k in the first 3 months. The annual fee is only $95 and waived the first year.
Citi Prestige Card
This is their high end card. This has all the same benefits as the card above, except not gas stations apparently people with this card don't pump their own gas. It also doesn't have a signing bonus currently. The big perk this card has is a complimentary 4th night free in a hotel when you book through their service. If you are someone who spends business time or vacation time in hotels, this can be a gigantic savings.
The American Express Cards
Who is this Greek Hero? Can he get me a cheap flight?
This is probably the oldest and most trusted rewards program out there. In fact, many of their competitors are slightly better only because they are attempting to steal people away from these programs.
The Starwood Preferred Guest Card
This is the go- to card for consultants and sales people who spend far too much time in hotels. You get 2x Starpoints for every dollar you spend at Starwood hotels. Occasionally they run promotions and this can end up being 5x for every dollar. To be clear that is a pretty narrow slice of the world but if you travel regularly for work this adds up quickly. Also to be clear Starpoints are way more valuable than most of the other points. The big use is for getting free hotel rooms around the world at a lower rate than any other program. So, if you stay at hotels in say Chicago all the time for work and want to stay at hotels in Paris for vacation this is the way to go. Only a $95 annual fee after the first year waived.
Blue Delta SkyMiles American Express
This is also a go-to card for people who fly a lot for work. Instead of getting points through American Express, you get miles with Delta that can be exchanged for flights with Delta. This comes with 2x Delta miles if you are at a restaurant, and no annual fee. Also a solid 10k bonus miles when you spend only $500 in the first 3 months.
Premier Rewards Gold Card
This is the American Express that you probably think about if you have an image of one in your head. It's gold and has a Gladiator head design on it. This gives you 3x points for flights you book with the airline. 2x points at restaurants, gas stations and supermarkets. Plus $100 airline fee credit. You know how now all airline tickets charge extra for everything including bag fees and sometimes peanuts? This can offset up to $100 of that. Also gives 25k points when you spend just 2k in the first 3 months. It's annual fee of $195 is a bit steep but is waived for the first year.
The big thing to remember when you're making a decision on which credit card to use is how much money do you spend and where do you spend it? It's no good to get $400 in travel rewards if you need to pay a $500 annual fee to get them. At the same time an additional $95 in annual fee could get you hundreds more dollars in rewards. So take a minute and look at how much money you spend on your credit cards now. Regardless of the answer there is a card out their that can get you to your next vacation faster. Happy and safe travels!
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Every time payday rolls around, I’m on top of the world. Jeff Bezos-level rich - even though I’m anything but. And then somehow the very next day, rent is due.
The cycle continues. The next payday, bills for my apartment. I find myself without a surplus of savings since I just moved and newly-furnished my apartment completely.
Even more terrifying is the looming presence of the holiday season. Halloween’s officially over and before we know it, hello Thanksgiving…and then there’s Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s. It’s insane.
I’ve been feeling very British lately. Not in a Union-Jack-obsessed, “Keep Calm and Carry-On” way. I went through that phase in 2012 with everyone else… no thank you. And it’s not even a surge of patriotism catalyzed by the Queen dying — I’m firmly team Diana and team Meghan.
Now that fall is officially here, the holidays will sweep in and I’ll have to contend with the fact that I won’t be spending them with my family in the UK. I went home to London earlier this year, so there’s not much left in my travel budget for another trip across the pond. A few domestic jaunts might be in my future, but the closest I’ll get to England this winter is watching Love Island and Love, Actually.
So in that spirit, I’ve been filling my days with content from my favorite Brits. I’m listening to all the old British rock bands I grew up listening to, patiently awaiting the new Arctic Monkeys album, and rewatching anything with Michaela Coel in it. I even shipped myself an order of British Baked Beans, so you know it’s dire.
I’ve also been watching British YouTubers like Grace Beverley — my favorite. Generally, I only go on YouTube to watch Vogue Beauty Secrets and AD Open Door videos. But I’m so glad I stumbled on Grace. Her content is a mix of London lifestyle (what lured me in), relatable entrepreneurship, and mindful productivity. I’m not a hustle-and-grind-girlboss, but as a creative person in a 9-to-5, I need all the help I can get to stay plugged in. So, the video “how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmed” changed my approach to WFH.
Grace outlines her own productivity method: the to-do table. Instead of making a simple to-do list, she divides her tasks into a table that anyone can follow. As someone who’s survived with to-do lists for years, I recently implemented Grace’s method, and it’s revolutionized my workdays.
how to be really really really productive without getting overwhelmedwww.youtube.com
I follow her routine to a tee. Here’s how it works:
Essentially, she divides her daily responsibilities into four categories: quick ticks, tasks, projects, and non-negotiables.
- Quick Ticks: Actions that take less than 5-minutes
- Tasks: To-do’s that take up to 30-minutes. Probably don’t take too much brain energy.
- Projects: Long-term list items. These help guide your priorities, even if you’re not crossing them off in one day.
- Non-negotiables: Pick 3 things each day that you must get done. This is how you’ll truly measure success.
With everything written down and sorted, next address your schedule. Meetings, deadlines, and time blocks — whatever works best for you. Write it down. Then make a pact with yourself to stick to them.
This way of categorization provides a roadmap for prioritizing your day — making you far more productive. Have you ever spent the entire day on small tasks and then suddenly realized you hadn’t moved the needle on any task? Or do you spend way too much time on tasks that aren’t a priority? No more. With your non-negotiables laid out, you know what to laser-focus on and what to dedicate energy towards.
Also, it pays to know your working style. I’m not a morning person. Yet, I have to be up and at ‘em super early. So, first thing in the morning, I march through my Quick Ticks to warm me up. I set a time limit, so I can knock out some easy wins which is totally inspiring. Then I move on to bigger things without lingering on emails or admin. For others, it might be more helpful to tackle the big things with all that early-in-the-day brain power earlier.
Grace has great tips on avoiding overwhelm and burnout. My favorite is taking more intentional breaks rather than scrolling through social media. I call this scrolling “productive” because I’m “coming up with pitches.” Oh, the lies we tell ourselves. It’s more productive in the long run to giving my brain a break with non-screen related stimuli.
Grace’s solution? Set a timer to read a real, an actual book. I’ve never thought of this. It’s a genius way to check off some books on my TBR and kickstart my creativity. After reading a good book, I’m completely inspired to write. So having books near my desk helps me step away from the computer during my lunch break for an actual reset. (And yes, the current books I’m reading are by British authors: Assembly by Natasha Brown, and Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalolu.)
In my pursuit of switching out my WFH set-up and getting my life together, I’ve engineered my workstation for success. With my new WFH essentials and Grace’s productivity technique, I’m revitalized for work — despite the fall blues and my melancholy about the pending holidays.
Here are the things getting me hyped for work and helping me crush my Grace Beverley-inspired to-do tables — no lists in sight:
Southwest Airlines Sale 2022
Pack your bags — Southwest Airlines is having a major sale! Fares are as low as $59 one-way if you book by October 3rd.
This end-of-summer super sale is a game-changer for your travel plans through the end of the year. Summertime travel gets all the glory. But why not take advantage of your long weekends, holidays, and PTO this fall. You’ll be surprised at how much travel you can fit in. Keep the fall/winter season exciting with domestic trips that give you all the excitement without breaking the bank. All thanks to Southwest.
Here’s the breakdown:
Where can you go?
You’ll find discounted tickets to and from most airports. Sale fares apply to cross country travel, and even Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean! Whether you’re visiting a new city or revisiting your last beach vacation, this sale has fares to make your travel dreams come true.
What do the fares cover?
Southwest Airlines has multiple fare tiers, each with various benefits. Wanna Get Away fares start at $59, while Wanna Get Away Plus fares start at $89. You can also find great deals on Anytime fares, which offer priority boarding and express lanes. Then there’s Business Select tickets for a luxe experience at an affordable price point.
Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member?
You may think these sale fares are too good to be true. Is there a catch? Do you have to be a Southwest Rapid Rewards member to access them? You’re in luck — anyone can attain these fares for a limited time.
But, insider tip, you should consider signing up for Southwest Rapid Rewards. With a free sign up, you earn points and miles with each trip you take. And with this sale, each dollar you spend on these discounted tix can stretch super far until you eventually earn free travel. The only thing better than a sale is free stuff.
So pack your bags and brace yourself for those chaotic airport lines. Everyone’s hopping on this deal so get on it. Don’t miss out — grab your sale tickets by October 3rd!
I’ve been browsing the Southwest Airlines site, checking out flights and dreaming.