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Between the credit cards that I use every day, the cards I keep for their annual bonuses (like free night certificates in hotels) and the new cards I work for, I have close 30 cards in reserve at the moment. . With all these cards, it would be very easy to lose track of things and forget to use the benefits or pay extra fees. Here are the tools I use to make sure this does not happen.
I had used a spreadsheet to keep track of all the details of my credit cards – when I opened them, what benefits did I get from them, how much was the annual fee and when it would be due, and if I had completed the necessary expenses to obtain a registration bonus. But thanks to Travel Freely, my calculation days are (mostly) behind me – and I'm saving a lot of time!
Travel Freely is a free website that offers a set of powerful and easy-to-use tools to anyone earning travel rewards with their credit cards. Just check your free CreditKarma credit file and then enter the card name and the account opening date. Travel Freely collects all the information you need on the map, categories of benefits and bonuses at the moment you expect to become one. billed an annual fee.
In addition, e-mail reminders allow you to ensure that you do not miss an expense bonus term and never pay an annual accident fee on a card you intend to cancel.
Travel Freely does not stop tracking your credit card information; It also uses all this information to provide personalized recommendations on the cards you should get afterwards. The CardGenie ™ tool examines cards you have had in the past, taking into account restrictions such as Chase 's 5/24 rule and the policy of a card bonus to life. American Express, and will provide you with a list of the best cards that you are actually eligible to open.
Clear instructions and video tutorials make it easy to navigate the site. I strongly recommend that you travel freely to everyone, whether you have more credit cards than me or that you present your first credit card.
AwardWallet is an indispensable resource for anyone with miles, hotel points or any other type of reward.
The site lists a bewildering number of rewards programs: almost every airline you've heard about (and many more), hotel loyalty programs, credit card rewards and refund, store-specific rewards, back portals, and more.
Regular e-mail updates keep you informed of changes to your balance – no need to ask if points have been counted for your most recent flight or stay. You can also see how close you are to achieving elite status or going to the next level. This also provides an important security feature – AwardWallet can help you detect it in time to call the loyalty program and solve the problem, if you have the misfortune to mysteriously lose points due to a technical problem or a problem. malicious intruder.
And you do not just monitor the balance of your points, you can also monitor benefits such as companion tickets, free nights at the hotel and travel credits for cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve and Platinum Card. ;American Express. AwardWallet will even track your credit score for you.
Perhaps most importantly, AwardWallet will calculate the expiry dates of your rewards in all loyalty programs and will warn you a long time in advance so you can use your points or plan a way to keep your account active. With the help of AwardWallet, your hard-lost days are over.
Like Travel Freely, AwardWallet is not just about aggregating your reward balances; he also uses his access to the history of your credit cards to check your expenses and identify places where you may be able to earn more points, either with a card you already have, or with a new card offering more rewards.
I can not count the number of times that AwardWallet has avoided losing points in an inactive account or helped me realize that I had cash on a random pay portal web site that could be used in my bank account. .
Credit cards are not just miles, but you also need to keep a close eye on your expenses. QuickBooks Self-Employed is designed to help freelancers and entrepreneurs track their expenses, but it's an intuitive and affordable way for anyone to control their expenses.
Automatic synchronization with your bank accounts every time you open the application means that you are always up to date and that it's easy to separate your business expenses from your personal expenses in one click. The more you use the application, the easier it will be to predict how to categorize your expenses. And since it is manufactured by Intuit – the company behind TurboTax – it strives to maximize potential tax deductions.
The use of QuickBooks has allowed me to better understand how much money I make and spend every month, and that alone is worth the subscription fee, which starts at $ 5 a month.
A good spreadsheet in the old
My spreadsheet days are mostly behind me, but not completely. I always use a spreadsheet every month to keep track of balances on my cards, when payment is due and when (and how much) a payment I need to make. This forces me to check that I do not accidentally miss a minimum payment on a card.
Curious to know which cards I use and why? Here are some of my favorites:
- Chase Sapphire Reservebecause it offers great travel rewards and integrated travel insurance when things do not go as planned. It also offers great rewards on meals (3x points).
- Chase Freedom Unlimitedbecause it offers a cash back of 1.5% (1.5 times Ultimate Rewards points) on all purchases. This is my first choice for purchases that do not earn bonuses with another card.
- Chasing freedom, thanks to its quarterly rotation categories that generate 5% cashback (5x points) on purchases of up to $ 1,500 each quarter activated. A great way to accumulate serious points!
- Platinum Card from American Expressbecause it gives me access to the wonderful Centurion lounges of American Express and the credit for the Uber rides every month.
- IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card, mainly for a free night in IHG hotels each year, only for the payment of the annual fee.
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