Intended for just a solo post, Part 1 – here became too large, so we pick up with flights, Credit Cards and the Points game!
Booking Flights
The longer the flight, the earlier booking is generally better…. the best booking days are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. This is not a guaranteed standard of course as there are specials that are offered during specific times. The aforementioned TripIt app monitors the prices and notifies you if price adjustments are made so you can capture the savings should an early booking turn south in prices….
Shorter flights, while not talking out of the other side of our mouth, if you have an absolute last-minute travel … check various airlines because if there’s an empty seat, you may frequently find a really good deal, but in the majority of cases, it’s much more expensive to wait until the very last minute. Check as many sources as you can, as there might be a deal that you can just luckily walk into…. the Tripit app will not have enough runway of time to help on this one!
Credit Cards –
From our Credit Card post six years ago on how to use them carefully
Before we begin. we want to remind everyone that credit card debt is a no-no, it is one of the most expensive … it is not tax-deductible, and if you’re not careful can really create problems. So, if you have ever been behind or had high credit card debt please continue doing what you are doing right now and certainly do not open a credit card to try and use some of the techniques that follow.
In the afore mentioned post, we comment on the do’s and don’t, but in this travel post context we are gaining Travel Advantages, so here are the keys with Travel Advantages in mind.
Pick as few Card carriers as possible i.e No clothing or specialty cards generally.
Choices should be with services you may use most. In my example, miles are always used for flights, so with Southwest and American being the carriers in my neck of the woods, only cards with those points are used. You may need Airport accommodations like lounges, special carrier services for international flights, or other transportation services.
Focus on a just few and your status, points, and accumulation, will likely occur faster than you expect.
One warning that we experienced in an attempt to capture a large amount of points. The card had a higher than normal annual renewal which worked out to be just fine given the points earned, but the annual renewal occurred on the last day of the credit card cycle and ended up in an interest payment so before warned.
Your are locked and loaded, some final tips !
Stay away from popular times if possible. With the last regular school senior exiting this summer, while our heart hurts to see him go, our wallet will certainly feel less pain. The country basically has the same non higher education spring break, March, after labor day School starts for most… stay away from very popular seasonal times when possible will make all of your hard work go farther.
Have a Great “Travel Tip Reminder” Day!
John A. Kvale CFA, CFP
AI Content Authenticity: AI created the plane image. All of the following text content has been completed by myself and has not been edited or created by AI. Occasionally we do use AI for images and will note when appropriate.
Founder of J.K. Financial, Inc.
A Dallas Texas based fee only
Financial Planning Total Wealth
Management firm.
