Over the years, we have been incredibly fortunate in our travels, logging over 860,000 miles in the air and spending a cumulative 278 days traveling the globe. Whether we are enjoying fresh Vietnamese passion fruit in Tam Coc, grabbing seafood at The Freshy Fish in Playa del Carmen, or settling into our balcony for a cruise out of Galveston, we are constantly asked one question: “How do you afford all this?”
The secret to affording our travel plan is attributable to our financial planning and budgeting, but the real magic is in one essential skill: credit card hacking. We want to share some practical tips and dive deep into the absolute best ways to use credit cards when traveling to maximize your budget.
The Incredible Power of Points and Miles When you decide, very intentionally, to build a life around travel, understanding how to use points and miles to maximum benefit for airfare and hotels is everything. We dedicated an entire segment of our channel and our b2g.travel newsletter to credit card hacking because it completely changes the game. Instead of paying cash for every flight or hotel stay, we strategically funnel our daily living expenses through specific rewards cards to earn sign-up bonuses and category multipliers. By transferring these points to airline and hotel loyalty programs, we unlock outsized value. If you learn to master these strategies, you can pull off amazing redemptions. We even made a video showing you exactly how we used a credit card travel hack to stay completely for free at the luxurious Atlantis Bahamas! It takes a little bit of organization, but the payoff is massive.
Why You Should Always Choose Credit Over Debit When Traveling We love sharing practical tips from our journeys, and one of the most critical rules we follow is that it is infinitely better to use a credit card than a debit card when you are on the road. Why? It all comes down to security and cash flow. When you use a debit card, it is directly linked to your checking account. If a card skimmer captures your information while you are exploring a busy tourist spot, thieves can drain your actual cash, leaving you stranded. Credit cards offer robust fraud protection because you are playing with the bank’s money, not your own. Furthermore, hotels and rental car agencies routinely place large temporary holds for incidentals. Using a debit card locks up your hard-earned vacation funds, whereas a credit card simply utilizes a portion of your available credit line, keeping your cash liquid.
Dodging Unnecessary Fees: Foreign Transactions and ATMs When we took our recent birthday trip to Greece or when we figured out how to open a bank account down in Mexico, navigating different currencies was a major factor. The importance of carrying credit cards that do not have a fee for processing foreign transactions or using foreign ATMs cannot be overstated. Many standard credit cards charge an exorbitant 3% foreign transaction fee on every single purchase made internationally. That means every dinner, taxi ride, and souvenir costs you more. You must ensure your wallet is packed with cards that offer 0% foreign transaction fees. Additionally, for times when cash is absolute king, carrying a specialized checking or debit account card that reimburses foreign ATM fees is crucial so you aren’t nickel-and-dimed by international banking surcharges.
Building Your Travel Wallet: The Best Card Examples If you want to graduate from our Travel Hacker University with flying colors, you need the right tools in your wallet. Here is a review of some of the best examples:
- Premium Travel Cards: Heavy hitters like the American Express Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, or Citibank Strata Premier are absolute must-haves for frequent flyers. The Amex Platinum provides unparalleled access to global airport lounges—which we personally love using to work on our content—while the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers incredibly flexible travel credits and top-tier trip insurance. The Citibank Strata Premier is fantastic for accumulating points on daily spending.
- Airline-Branded Cards: If you fly consistently with one carrier, an airline-branded card is a lifesaver. The core benefits include free checked bags and priority boarding, saving you significant money and stress before you even reach your destination.
- Hotel-Branded Cards: We love our “floating hotels” (cruises), but for land-based stays, hotel-branded cards are incredible. They often grant automatic elite status—meaning free breakfasts and room upgrades—and provide annual free night certificates that easily offset the card’s annual fee.
At the end of the day, having a smart credit card strategy means less stress and more resources to invest in the experiences that matter. We believe travel brings people closer, and life truly gets better together.
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