Summer is a great time to enjoy a family vacation. A road trip can be a great way to spend time together, and have a fun and interesting vacation. You can even stretch your vacation dollars with the right planning. Make credit cards a part of your vacation experience, and you can even enjoy great cash back, and other savings.
Use Your Canadian Rewards Credit Card on Vacation
One of the best ways to rack up the savings, as you can see from the infographic below, is to use your Canadian rewards credit card. Every time you make a purchase while on the road, use your credit card. This includes when you visit a restaurant, fill up the gas tank, or rent a car. Your credit card can be used to book flights and hotel rooms as well. It's a great way to quickly accumulate points.
Once you have the points, you can redeem them for rewards -- including cash back. If you have been planning on taking a family vacation, don't leave the credit card home. In fact, if you use your credit card, you might even have better protections. There is no liability for fraudulent charges on your credit card, so if it is lost or stolen, you can take avoid some of the problems that come with it; if your cash is stolen, you have no such protection.
You do need to be careful, though. Don't use the rewards as an excuse to spend money you didn't plan to. You don't want your vacation to land you in debt. Instead, save up the money for your family vacation, then take the rewards credit card with you. Make all of your vacation purchases with the card. When you get back (and after you've earned the rewards), pay off the entire balance with the money you've saved up.
There are also some things you can do to maximize your rewards, like get a credit card affiliated with a specific program, or watch for special spending categories that earn more reward points. The infographic below offers you plenty of great tips for racking up the reward points and spending smart on your Canadian road trip. And don't forget to check out the other helpful infographics in our Canadian infographic gallery.
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This post was included in the Festival of Frugality at Discount Coder.