Frequent Flyer Tips for Experienced Travelers

RewardExpert.com is an independent website that is supported by advertising. RewardExpert.com may be compensated by credit card issuers whose offers appear on the site. Because we are paid by our advertising partners it may impact placement of products on the site, including the order in which they appear. Not all available credit card issuers or card offers are included on the site.

How to use Discount Air Carrier: Tips for Finding the Best Low-Cost Airline Fares

How to use Discount Air Carrier: Tips for Finding the Best Low-Cost Airline Fares

Everyone wants to know how to travel cheaply. They want to fly for as little money as possible, which is why so many discount airlines have popped up all over the world in the last decade or so to help travelers afford cheap vacations.

As an inveterate world traveler, I’ve flown on my share of discount airlines. Some I would gladly fly again … and with some, well I’d probably pay to ride a donkey to my destination instead.

Read more

How to travel cheap: 5 Tips for Budget Travel

5 Tips for Budget Travel

As someone who’s picked up more than three million airline miles traveling through some 63 countries, I know how to travel cheap.

Even if you don’t earn a lot of money, and even if you have debt that you think prohibits you from seeing the world, the fact is that numerous budget-travel options exist for you to travel to your dream destination.

Credit cards these days come with tons of travel perks beyond the simple accumulation of miles. Choose your credit cards wisely, and you can earn an abundance of rewards including hotel upgrades, free airfare and airline upgrades to business or first class that will allow you to book inexpensive vacations.

And even if you can’t travel completely for free, you can still collect and use travel rewards to radically reduce your travel costs.

Read more

2019’s Best Credit Cards for Young Adults and Millennials with Any Credit Score

Best Credit Cards for Young Adults

The best credit cards for young adults are those that reward you most for how you spend your money. If you like to travel, choose a card that offers airline miles or hotel points and provides benefits like upgrades, waived fees, and other perks. For foodies, find a credit card that will earn extra rewards or cash back when you go out to eat.

Additionally, you want to avoid paying big fees for benefits that you aren’t going to use. Some high-end credit cards offer amazing perks, but if you’re not in a position to use them, you’re just wasting your money. A credit card with no annual fee or one that is less than $100 per year is perfect for most people.

Read more

The Ultimate Guide To Credit Card Application Rules, Exceptions, and Restrictions

Credit Card Application Rules

Do not submit your next rewards credit card or cash back card application until you’ve read this ultimate guide on credit card application rules, exceptions, and restrictions. Banks have implemented many sign-up bonuses restrictions in the last few years. These new rules make it tougher than ever for people to get approved for rewards credit cards and receive sign-up bonuses. By reading this guide, you’ll know each bank’s rules and how they apply to your situation.

Read more

Capital One Venture Credit Card Adds Two New Transfer Partners. 14 Airlines to Choose From!

Capital One Venture Card Adds Two Transfer Partners; 14 Total

The Venture Card was already one of my favorite travel credit cards because you can earn two points for every dollar spent and no blackout dates when redeeming points for travel. When it was announced that the Capital One Venture Card was adding transfer partners for its points, the travel world went nuts. This catapulted the value of the Venture Card card over many others and put this credit card in the first position for many travelers. Today, it was announced that Capital One added two additional transfer partners, bringing the total transfer options to 14. Read on to find out who they are and how to transfer points to them. Also effective today, transfers to these airlines partners is now live.

Read more

How Western Union Helps To Protect You From Fraud

WE #befraudsmart

Sending money to friends and loved ones is a big business. And the most trusted name in money transfers is Western Union. They operate in 200 countries worldwide with over half a million agent locations to serve their customers. With such reach, it is no wonder why they are the global leader in money transfer services.

Read more

Save Money Shopping Online Or In-Store With GiftCardGranny

GiftCardGranny featured image

GiftCardGranny.com is a shopper’s best friend. Everyone loves a bargain and nobody likes paying full price. When you buy discounted gift cards from GiftCardGranny, even when your dream item isn’t on sale, you’ll still save money. And you won’t need to worry about hackers draining your balance because they offer a lifetime guarantee on every gift card that they sell.

Read more

Capital One Savor vs SavorOne: Which Cash Back Credit Card Is Best?

SavorOne vs Savor Card

Capital One made a huge splash this summer with the release of the Capital One Savor Card. For the first time, consumers were able to earn an unlimited 4% cash back rewards for dining and entertainment. The first year’s annual fee is waived, but should you keep the credit card in year two? Or does it make more sense to downgrade to the Capital One SavorOne Card? In this guide, we perform a detailed review of the Capital One Savor vs SavorOne. Our goal is to help you decide which Savor card is the best Capital One credit card for your wallet.

Read more

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Even More Valuable With 15+ Transfer Partners

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Card has been a favorite credit card of RewardExpert.com for a long time. It has a great sign-up bonus and cardholders earn 2 miles for every dollar that they spend. And the miles allow you to book any flight or make any hotel reservation without fear of blackout dates. Now, Capital One is making this awesome credit card even better by adding 15+ transfer partners!

This article will cover

What are the Benefits of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card?

Aside from the 2 miles per dollar spent on the Capital One Venture Rewards Card, there are many other benefits available. This is why the Venture Rewards Card is one of our favorite cards to create a balanced wallet of points, miles, and cash back.

  • 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • Up to $100 reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Travel accident insurance
  • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
  • Extended Warranty
  • Capital One Lounge

And now the miles you earn are even more valuable with the addition of 15+ transfer partners.

Who are the 15 Transfer Partners?

Spending on the Capital One Venture Rewards Card earns 2 miles per dollar spent. No matter where you are spending or what you are buying. When you book hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel, you’ll earn 5X miles on those bookings.

Instead of buying travel at $0.01 per point, now you can transfer your points to one of 15+ travel loyalty programs to get even more value!

Most transfers to 15+ travel loyalty programs are at a 1:1 transfer ratio.

Here are the 15+ Capital One Transfer Partners

Transfer PartnerVenture MilesTarget Loyalty Program
ALL - Accor Live Limitless1000500
Aeromexico Club Premier 10001000
Air Canada Aeroplan® 10001000
Avianca LifeMiles 10001000
Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles 10001000
Etihad Guest 10001000
EVA Air - Infinity MileageLands 1000750
Finnair Plus 10001000
Flying Blue (Air France KLM) 10001000
Qantas Frequent Flyer 10001000
British Airways Avios10001000
Choice Privileges®10001000
Emirates Skywards10001000
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer10001000
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go10001000
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles10001000
Virgin Red Virgin Points10001000
Wyndham Rewards10001000

Miles earned from the Capital One VentureOne, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, and the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business can also be transferred to these 15+ Capital One miles transfer partners.

What is the Miles Transfer Ratio?

For every 1,000 miles that you transfer to one of these 15+ transfer partners, you will receive 1,000 miles or points with most partners. The minimum transfer amount is 1,000 Capital One miles. You will also need to register for an account with the loyalty program if you don’t already have one.

This basically means that you will be getting the same 2 airline miles or points for every dollar that you spend on all categories. Most airline cards only earn 1 mile per dollar that you spend (aside from a couple of categories). This means that the Capital One Venture Rewards Card can be a better card to earn miles for those partners than their own credit card for everyday spend.

And you’ll still maintain the option to use the Capital One Venture Rewards Card miles as cash to purchase flights when transferring miles doesn’t make sense or if there are no award flights available. This is truly the best of both worlds.

When can You Start Transferring Miles to Travel Partners?

You can transfer miles as soon as you have accumulated a minimum of 1,000 miles. To transfer your Capital One miles, you need to sign in to your account on the Capital One wesite or through the Capital One Mobile app. Then you need to navigate to the rewards page and follow the prompts. Once you receive a confirmation code, save it for your records.

Please note that once you’ve transferred your Capital One miles, they can’t be transferred back to your Capital One rewards account.

Why is This Important?

I love having options and the Capital One Venture Rewards Card is full of options. And the options have just expanded with the addition of 15+ transfer partners!

Capital One Venture Card

Here are just a few of the many ways you can use your Capital One Venture Rewards Card points to travel for free:

  • Book any flight without blackout dates
  • Reserve any hotel room without blackout dates
  • Transfer miles to airline miles to top off account for award flight redemption
  • Transfer miles to airline miles to book flight for better value

Which is Better? Cash or Miles to Book a Flight?

We’ve found that most travelers are better off paying cash (ok, actually using points as cash) for domestic flights because airlines have increased the miles required for economy flights. It used to be that 25,000 miles was the standard for a domestic round-trip economy flight redemption.
Not any more.

With flights at or near capacity, airlines have continued to increase the number of miles required to book an economy flight. I’ve seen some economy flights priced at 50,000 miles. Umm, no thanks.

I like to redeem miles from credit cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Card that I can use like cash to book domestic flights. This allows me to save my miles for international flights to the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, and South America where you can receive incredible value for your miles.

For example, I booked flights to St Kitt’s in the Caribbean for my family and me that would have been over $900 each.

booked flights

Instead, I redeemed 30,000 American Airline miles and paid less than $60 in taxes per ticket.

Instead, I redeemed 30,000 American Airline miles and paid less than $60 in taxes per ticket.

This is a great example of why using airline miles instead of cash can be a great idea. With miles, we booked tickets that would have cost over $3600. If we redeemed 120,000 Capital One miles for cash, we could have only bought $1,200 worth of airfare.

Should You Apply for the Capital One Venture Card?

The addition of 15 transfer partners to the Capital One Venture Card is a huge win for consumers. So many banks are implementing rules to restrict applying for or earning sign-up bonuses, that we need more options.

Chase has their 5/24 Rule. American Express has a once per lifetime rule. Citibank has a two-year rule. And Bank of America has a 2/3/4 Rule. So much to keep track of!

Fortunately, Capital One has not implemented specific rules limiting new cardholders. So, if you’ve been locked out getting a new credit card because other banks don’t want you, maybe it is time to consider Capital One.

Are You Ready to Apply for the Capital One Venture Rewards Card?

With the addition of 15+ transfer partners, the Capital One Venture Rewards Card is going to be the talk of the travel world. Combing the benefits of card that earns 2x miles everywhere with no blackout dates on redemptions with the ability to convert those miles to airline miles at a reasonable transfer ratio is a huge win. I literally just applied for the Capital One Venture Rewards Card as soon as I heard about this new benefit.

If travel isn’t your major focus, the Capital One Savor Card might be a better bet for you. It offers 4% cash back on dining and entertainment and 3% cash back on groceries. It’s the perfect card for foodies and people who go out a lot.

Have you applied for the Capital One Venture Rewards Card before?

What’s your favorite benefit of this credit card?

Let us know in the comments below.

Read more

How to Build Credit the Easy Way

How-to-build-credit-the-easy-way-Copy

Everyone tells you that you need a good credit score. But how many of those people can actually tell you how to build credit? This comprehensive guide will show you the best way to build credit and improve your credit score. No matter if you’re a seasoned pro or are just starting out, we have actionable tips for you that will show you how to build credit fast and improve your credit score.

Read more

How many credit cards should I have? Is there a perfect number?

Cartoon man wonders how many credit cards he should have

The average consumer may have 3 credit cards, but if you’re really into travel rewards like I am, you may have applied for more than 3 credit cards just in the last 90 days. When people ask me “how many credit cards should I have,” I reply that it depends on your situation. Let’s look at the pros and cons of having multiple credit cards to help you determine the right number of credit cards for you.

Read more

How to Earn Over 20% Cash Back on Dining

Shows people dining and message How to Earn 20% when Eating out

Whether you are staying home or out traveling the world, one thing is constant. You will spend money eating out. Here’s an awesome way to earn more than 20% cash back when eating out.

Read more

How To Pay Off Debt: Average US Credit Card Debt Reaches $15K!

Pay off your debt

Credit card debt can be a huge obstacle to your financial goals. Recent studies show that the average credit card debt is now over $15,000 per household. With the average American credit card debt rising beyond levels last seen leading up to the 2008 Great Recession, this could spell trouble for the economy and consumer finances. There is no single best way to pay off credit card debt – there are several to choose from. The path that you take is a personal choice, but the most important thing is that learn how to pay off credit card debt so you can become debt free.

Read more

How to Get a Free FICO Credit Score from all 3 Credit Bureaus

there is a boxing performance and spectators

Credit scores are a quick way for banks, insurance companies, and others to rank us based on our past behavior. Keeping track of your credit score is an important way to monitor your progress towards a better financial future. But how do you get a free FICO credit score? There are actually many ways how to check your credit score for free. Follow along, and I’ll show you how.

Read more

850 FICO: Do you really need the highest credit score?

Shows rich man

While many people struggle to improve their credit scores, there are some super prime consumers who have earned a perfect credit score of 850. The higher your credit score, the better terms you’ll get on loans and perks on your credit cards. But do you really need the highest credit score possible to get the best loan interest rates and credit card benefits? And what steps can you take to improve your credit score?

Read more

Why the Free Checked Bag Benefit Doesn’t Always Mean “Free”

Woman holding a suitcase

The airlines are making a killing by charging us for checked bags. In 2017, airlines made over $4.5 billion from this additional source of revenue. Now, checking a bag is getting more expensive for travelers because United and JetBlue are increasing the first checked bag fees from $25 to $30. And the other airlines are sure to follow.

Read more

Credit Utilization: Everything You Need to Know to Increase Your Score

Credit Utilization: Everything You Need To Know To Increase Your Score

To increase your credit score, you want to focus on what you can change the quickest. Credit utilization is the second largest factor in your credit score. And it is the one you have the most control over on a monthly basis. Simply put, the lower your balances versus the amount of credit you have, the better your score will be. We’re going to discuss everything you need to know to increase your credit score by controlling your credit utilization rate.

Read more

10 Passive Income Ideas to Rock Your World

shows couple chilling on the beach

The only thing better than making money is making money while you sleep. That’s the whole concept behind passive income. You can spend more time with your family and friends, perfect your golf swing or learn another language. The possibilities are endless because you’ve set up passive income streams that provide you a paycheck without needing to clock in. Here are the 10 best passive income ideas that will rock your world.

Read more

Soft Credit Check vs. Hard Inquiry

Soft Credit Check vs. Hard Inquiry

I don’t know about you, but I’m very protective of my credit. When I learned that allowing credit card issuers and businesses to simply look at my credit could ding my score, I became a lot more protective of who gets access.

This whole idea of a soft credit check vs. a hard inquiry was something that I felt like I needed to know all about. Once I really understood the difference, I was more protective of my score in some ways but not as worried in others.

Read more

Singapore Airlines Devaluation

Singapore Airlines Devaluation

Regular airline and hotel program devaluations are becoming the norm, and recently Singapore Airlines has announced program changes without giving us a whole lot of warning. Effective December 7, 2017, many flights booked on Star Alliance partners will be changing in price and there are a few non-price related changes as well. All in all this is a pretty big deal.

Read more