My Favorite Credit Card Perks (and How I Use Them)
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Although I’ve been utilizing credit card rewards for many years now, we really stepped up when my husband quit his full-time mortuary job last year with some of the best travel credit cards there are out there. Where we were once limited to three or four weeks of vacation a year, our travel dreams are now limited only by our imaginations – and our travel budget, of course.
Let’s face it, though; racking up points and miles makes budget travel a whole lot easier. With airline miles and hotel points, we’ve traveled to places like St. Maarten, England, France, Italy, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Mexico in just the last 18 months alone.
Related:
- Italy On a Budget: Part 1, Rome and Capri
- Italy On Credit Card Rewards: Part 2
- How We Booked a FREE Jamaican Spring Break for Four
- Traveling to St. Maarten On Points
- Trip Report: Europe On a Budget
When you’re paying very little out-of-pocket for flights or hotel stays, you can afford to take guided tours, enjoy the local cuisine, and take in all the sights and sounds. And when the bulk of your trip is almost-free, you can even afford to splurge at times.
My Favorite Credit Card Perks of All Time
Still, that’s not even the whole story. While airline miles and hotel points are great, I get a lot more out of the deal than that. In reality, a ton of my favorite travel credit cards and general rewards cards offer perks I find highly beneficial. While I don’t always use all of the credit card perks available, the benefits I score through certain cards makes travel cheaper and easier – or, at the very least, provides me with some peace of mind.
Here are my favorite credit card perks of all time – and how I use them to my benefit:
Primary Auto Rental Coverage
Since we travel often with our children in tow, there are times when we want to rent a car and drive around. While our personal auto insurance covers us in rental cars, I would much rather use the free primary auto rental coverage offered through my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
With the primary rental car coverage offered, I wouldn’t need to rely on my own insurance if I got in a wreck or experienced theft. Straight from the Chase website, it says to “decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.”
Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
Another perk I love using is the trip cancellation and interruption insurance I get through my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Plus® Business Credit Card. Several other top travel cards offer their own version of trip cancellation and interruption insurance, of course, but I tend to rely on the coverage offered through Chase because I actually had to use it once.
Yep, Greg and I once got stranded in Jamaica for two extra days due to awful winter weather in the southern part of the United States. As a result of our extra 48 hours in paradise, we had to pay an additional $590 for two nights at our hotel. Since I had purchased our airfare with our card, I filed a claim with Chase when I got home. After just a few weeks, they reimbursed me for the entire $590. Here’s how Chase describes their version of this coverage on their website:
“If your trip is canceled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per trip for your prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours and hotels.”
The best part about this coverage is that it’s free. All you need to do is sign up for the right travel credit card and use it to book your trip.
Airport Lounge Access
The fact that we fly a lot more often now means that we rely heavily on the comforts of airport lounges. Although I have several credit cards that offer a lounge benefit, my favorites are my Citi Prestige® Card and Platinum Card® from American Express.
With my Citi Prestige® Card, I get complimentary access to American Airlines Admirals Club® lounges, plus hundreds of VIP lounges through Priority Pass™ Select. I prefer Admirals Clubs if I have the option, but any lounge is better than no lounge in my eyes.
The fact that my Platinum Card® from American Express offers access to Centurion lounges is absolutely awesome! During our recent trip to Grand Cayman, Greg and I spent several hours at the Centurion Lounge in Miami, and we thought we were in heaven. Not only did the lounge have free (and fast) WiFi, but they had a huge spread of food, unlimited beverages (including some alcohol), and complimentary massages and manicures. That’s crazy talk if you ask me, but I was happy to enjoy some food and drink while I surfed the web.
Southwest Companion Pass
If you love flying Southwest Airlines like I do, the Southwest Companion Pass is the holy grail. To earn this pass, you have to rack up 110,000 Southwest miles in a single year. While points transferred from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card don’t count towards the total, points earned with the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card and the Plus version of the card do. And yes, that includes the 50,000 point bonus offer that is currently being doled out on the Southwest Premier Credit Card.
The Southwest Companion Pass lets your “companion” fly free all year long – whether you pay for your flight with points or cash. I just added up our trips and it appeared that we used our Companion Passes six times in 2015 (when we each had one) and eight times for trips planned in 2016 (only Greg has the CP this year). Either way, it is a huge benefit that should not be ignored if you fly domestic or to the Caribbean and want to save money.
Dispute Resolution and Zero Fraud Liability
My favorite thing about using credit exclusively is the fact that I won’t be on the hook for any fraudulent purchases made with my card. Why? Because nowadays, credit cards come with zero fraud liability, meaning fraudulent charges made without your permission are not your responsibility. And in reality, federal law limits your liability for fraudulent credit card purchases to $50, provided you report the transaction in a timely manner.
But some credit card issuers, including Chase, take this a step further. If you have a problem with almost any of your bills, or you believe are wrong, they will take the bull by the horns and settle the dispute for you.
I took advantage of this service once when a super-shady moving company, All My Sons, tried to rip me off when I hired them to move our furniture. Basically, they added “extra charges” to my bill after I already signed, then charged them to my credit card bill. Chase actively tried to settle this, but couldn’t get any kind of excuse or resolution from All My Sons. At the end of the day, Chase refunded the extra monies they charged me and withheld those funds from All My Sons as well. See, there really is justice in this world!
Related:
The Bottom Line
These are just a few of the credit card benefits I rely on regularly, but there are plenty of others. The best part is that the majority of the benefits I love are absolutely free…as long as you pay your balance in full each month and never pay interest on your purchases.
If you want see the other rewards cards I love and their respective benefits, check out these posts as well:
Related:
- Best Credit Card Rewards Offers
- Best Travel Credit Cards for 2017
- Best Cash Back Credit Cards for 2017
What are your favorite credit card perks? What would you add to this list?
I didn’t even know the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offered these perks. I need to go back and re-read the fine print. 🙂
Do it! =)
We’re big fans of the CP and have used ours at least 8-10 times over the past 18 months – it’s even better when you can pair it up with sales like SW had a week or so ago. We’ve had to use the dispute resolution several times as well and while it sucks to have to use it, it’s nice to have that as a possibility. We like to take advantage of the special spending categories as well to earn extra points where we can.
Great list of perks! Some I had definitely never heard of or thought about, but probably should. We have taken advantage of the Southwest companion pass before, although just once.
The Green Swan
One day, one day…that companion pass is my dream. This is a fantastic list. Great reminder to review all the perks of all my credit cards!
I hear ya! I’ll be really sad when my husband’s companion pass expires at the end of this year. We have had it for the last three years straight.
Trip Cancellation/Interruption insurance is a huge perk! I often opt not to purchase travel insurance when I buy my flights/hotels. So having a credit card that offers that would give me peace of mind.
Same here! It’s nice to have the coverage for free.
Very informative post! I had no idea airport lounge access was a benefit even offered by credit cards. I just got my first credit card – a Capital One Venture One card. It gives me a little cash back for traveling. I only travel a few times a year, so that seems sufficient for me, but once I can travel more I will definitely look into these cards!
I never cared about airport lounges until this last year. Now I am hooked!
do you know if the Sapphire offers the insurance when you book a free rental car through them?
Also, not exactly related, but when people travel via rental car in Texas with a free rewards rental, make sure you pay for the unlimited tolls (as all their toll roads are cash-less). That state is too broke for free roads so every new highway built is essentially a toll road in the Dallas/Austin area.
Yes, use your card to put down the damage deposit and it’s covered. As long as you use your card for the transaction you’ll get the coverage.
It’s awesome to hear from somebody that has actually used the credit card perks. I personally like using credit because of the zero fraud liability & while the dispute process is going on you don’t have to wait for the bank to reimburse your bank account as opposed to debit cards.
I recently had one of my cards compromised and the person went on a $700 spending spree. I didn’t realize it until I tried to get gas & couldn’t as my account was frozen. It took about 10 days to resolve with my credit union, but didn’t have to pay a dime.
Great list of perks…other than just points! I haven’t had the chance to experience the lounges but would like to one of these times. And it’s great to have rental insurance because the ones they sell at the rental car counter are so expensive.
I’m definitely excited that Sapphire has the rental insurance. I get a little worried about it each year when Tim rents a car on his Seattle trip, but I’m also not willing to pay the heinous daily rate. That and travel insurance is awesome! I was going to check about insurance when I booked his trip, so it’s good to know I don’t have to investigate that issue either.
Yes! Just make sure he uses the CSP to book your rental car.
I screwed up scheduling our trip to Florida this Summer. I have to free passes to the United lounge but our flight out of MSP is super early in the morning! It would have been a good time to use them.
Yeah, it doesn’t always work out. But it’s a nice perk when it does.
Credit cards beat debit cards hands down when it comes to traveling.
The car rental places are sneaky when they ask about adding insurance coverage they ask if I want the basic plan or the comprehensive plan. I’m like, “Uhhh, the decline insurance plan.”
I know, ugh! Greg once bought the add-on insurance because he didn’t know any better, and it added an extra $180 to our bill. We had to get back in line and have them take it off. Annoying!
I had no idea about the airport lounge perks so I feel like a dolt 🙂 The trip cancellation/interruption insurance is also great seeing as I seem to try my luck without insurance which is not the best practice.
I never knew y’all were getting manicures in those lounges! Now I’m definitely jealous.
Great list! 🙂
The Southwest Companion Pass sounds amazing! I Love traveling as well and that would be a huge benefit for me and my husband.