Credit Cards For Summer Vacations

By:Ed Vegliante

Summer is finally here, and so begins the season of long travel and family vacations. Approximately 52% of American families take at least one vacation between the months of May and August, which means that quite a bit of money is spent on both domestic and international travel.

Unfortunately, traveling with only cash and checks in your wallet is not recommended. Whether you plan to rent cars, fly on airplanes or stay in hotels, travel is always easier if you have a credit card at your disposal. Even if you only use it for the big purchases – like rental cars and airlines – your travel experience will be much smoother if you have plastic.

For one thing, credit cards allow you to easily document each transaction. When you purchase an airline ticket, a record of that purchase is made with your credit card company, and you can refer to that record if anything goes wrong. Flights are canceled every day, so you’ll want to plan for every contingency.

Credit cards are also easier to keep track of than large wads of cash or a bulky check book. When you visit theme parks and other tourist destinations, you can slip a credit card or two into a fanny pack, a pocket or a zippered compartment of your purse. It doesn’t add much weight and is about fifteen times less likely to be stolen than a protruding stack of paper bills.

So how do you choose a credit card for summer vacations? If you’re going to be charging your purchases, you should at least reap the rewards of the best credit cards available. Earning airline miles, cash back and reward points can making using plastic much more enticing. And since vacations are inevitably expensive, you might as well get something back for your efforts!

Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card

Most credit cards have very specific reward programs that allow you to redeem points only at specific locations or with certain vendors. The Chase Flexible Rewards card is a bit more diverse. With this card, however, you earn one reward point for every dollar spent (as well as 1,000 bonus points after your first purchase) and the points can be redeemed with a variety of merchants rather than just one or two. You can get cash back, gift certificates, or free travel, whichever works best for you. Customers also enjoy a 0% introductory APR and no annual fee.

HSBC MasterCard

This card is a cash back credit card that allows customers to earn 1% cash back on all purchases. This card is especially appealing because of its low APR; 0% for the first twelve months, and then a low ongoing rate. You also get travel accident insurance as a platinum benefit, which can be beneficial if you plan on taking lots of vacations this summer.

Blue Sky from American Express

This card has been getting a lot of media attention because of it’s travel rewards program. Customers receive one reward point for every dollar they spend, and the points can be redeemed for savings on airline tickets. It comes with no annual fee and a 0% interest rate for the first six months.. It is surprisingly easy to earn points, as well. If you save 7,500 points, for example, you can redeem them for $100 off your next airline ticket.

Summer vacations are made easier by carrying a credit card with you instead of cash or a checkbook, and you can even earn rewards for purchases made with certain credit cards. Take a look at three top picks for credit cards to use while on vacation.

Digg del.icio.us Blink Stumble Spurl Reddit Netscape Furl

Article keywords: chase, flexible rewards platinum, visa, rewards credit cards, credit card, cash back, cashback

Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com

Click here for the Chase Flexible Rewards Platinum Visa Card www.credit-card-surplus.com/chase.php. Ed Vegliante runs www.Credit-Card-Surplus.com, a directory helping consumers to compare and apply for credit cards.

Top Credit Articles
1). What Is a Good Credit Score – How Can I Raise Mine? By : Peter Crump What is a good credit score? When you request a free copy of your credit report, you will find a score assigned to your credit history. This score will determine whether or not creditors will grant you the loan or credit that you want because it gives them an idea of your risk to repay. Generally, the answer to the question “what is a good credit score?” is the higher the better.
2). Paying Off Your Credit Card Balances: Running The Numbers By : Stephen L. Nelson, CPA Ever thought about paying off your credit card balances? Maybe you would like to be debt free just to reduce your stress. Or perhaps you need to be debt free to retire. If you have Microsoft Excel running on your computer at home or work, you can use Excel’s NPER function to calculate how quickly you can pay off a debt such as a credit card balance.
3). Credit Card Faq - Credit Card Security And Authentication By : Joseph Kenny With the ever rising reports of credit card fraud, fraudulent use, internet phishing and identity theft, people are rightly concerned about credit card security. Fraudulent credit card use can be an annoyance at best, and seriously damage your credit at worst. It's only reasonable that people have questions about credit card security and authentication methods.
4). Online Credit Card Application: The Easiest Way To A Customer’s Heart By : David Riewe Many credit cards are offered in the market today thus, making companies more aggressive in advertising and marketing their card services. These companies (e.g. banks, department stores, specialty stores, airlines, hotels, etc.) have found a powerful tool in catching the attention of prospective card holders: online credit card application. What advantage/s does online credit card application offer? The bottom line of online credit card application is “convenience”.
5). How To Build Up Your Credit By : Ken Snow There are many effective ways to build credit. In order to keep creditors from bothering you, and in order for you to get a loan with a reasonable interest rate, you need to learn how to build your credit. The best place to start is to not buy things that you don’t need. If you always make impulse buys, you will find yourself in deeper debt very quickly.
6). Best Rewards Credit Cards By : Richie Chapin It's almost a guarantee when you check your mailbox you will have a couple pieces of mail offering you a pre-approved credit card. Now most people will casually discard them without any regard to the offer that is inside. But before you throw away that credit card offer you may want to take a peek at it. Many credit card companies are now offering you FREE rewards just for using your credit card.
7). How to Choose the Right Credit Card For You By : Richie Chapin So your thinking about getting a credit card but your not exactly sure what to look for right? Well there are a lot of different things to consider when applying for a credit card. Some things to think about are the interest rate, annual fees and features the credit card may offer. Here are a few tips that will help you choose the best credit card for you.
8). Instant Credit Approval - Avoiding Fees By : Robert Alan This article describes how to avoid paying fees on instant credit approval
9). Credit Bureaus Adopt New Credit Scoring System By : Rick Hendershot The three major consumer credit bureaus in the U.S. have recently created a new credit scoring system that will give financial institutions a more consistent evaluation of the credit worthiness of applicants. The three agencies -- Equifax, Experian and Transunion -- have introduced the new system called "VantageScore". The new scoring system will be used immediately for reporting to banks, lenders, and credit card companies, and will be available to consumers later in the year.
10). The Travails Of The Pros And Cons Of A Small Business Credit Card By : Sohel Katir For small business credit card getting a sense out of a deal is, in some instances, the most difficult thing to do. This is because most people could not instantly figure out the benefits they can derive from obtaining it. Take for example the case of small business credit card. Some people contend that business credit cards are crucial in the growth of a business, while other s contend that it is just one way of losing their investments.

New Credit Articles
1). Free Credit Reports, Where You Can Get Yours Today and Keep a Blazing Eye on Your Credit! By : Tom Jerico Everyone can get a free credit report. It is one of the most important things anyone can do to keep their credit in shape.
2). What You Need To Know About Legal Credit Repair Service By : Paul Johnson Legal credit repair service is a lucrative industry that is heavily based on making claims that suggest that they will be able to repair your credit without a hassle.
3). Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Credit Card - Pros and Cons By : George Allen The Chase Free Cash RewardsSM Visa® Card, issued by Chase, is designed for those with very good credit who would like a card that offers a cash back reward program.
4). When Considering Credit Card Benefits, Are Reward Cards Really A Bargain? By : Gregg Hall Now credit card companies are using reward systems to get people to sign up for their card. For the consumer this is great. You can now get rewarded just for using your credit card that you were going to use anyway.
5). Can Your Repair Credit Yourself? By : Paul Johnson Many companies that want to make a good deal of money exchanging your credit information will advise you against repairing your own credit.
6). Get Your Free Credit Repair Help By : Paul Johnson At first glance, free credit repair help may seem too good to be true.
7). Newbie Credit Repair Advice By : Paul Johnson You have credit rights and they are likely being violated.
8). How your Credit Rating Affects your Credit Card Application By : Jon Francis When you apply for a credit card, one of the factors that come most into play in whether or not you are approved is your credit rating.
9). Credit Repair - Where to Start? By : Paul Johnson Getting started in your path to credit repair can be mind-numbing. Read on to take that numb right out of your mind and get your credit repair process started.
10). Paying The Price Of Credit Card Jumping By : Joseph Kenny Having a debt and paying no interest on it seems almost too good to be true. But many consumers use their credit cards to do just that. The process is known as rate surfing or credit card jumping.