Your Player 2
By: Keegan (the other half of PWP 🩷)
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EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE:
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
“I’m going to sign you up for a credit card”
These might not have been the exact words that roped me into points and miles as my wife’s player 2…but it’s close. I wish I would have taken the time to memorialize my first thoughts about the whole experience, but back then I hadn’t the slightest idea of just how far, and how many memories, we would get out of our first year traveling on points and miles. ✈️
My first thoughts weren’t about the places we could go, the experiences we would have, the people we could meet - all I could think about was my credit score and travel debt. I would be surprised if I was the only reluctant rewards travel player 2, and I would be even more surprised if my fellow reluctant player 2’s didn’t share the same concerns.
And wow, was I wrong.
Like, really wrong….
So let’s get the first concern out of the way - my credit score.
When we were first married, my credit score was bad. Really bad. Now? I’m over 800 on a consistent basis, and yes, that is with opening more credit cards in the last year than I even knew existed. It took a few months to see the improvement, but over time with increased credit availability, a healthy debt to income ratio, and established credit history, I started to see my player 1 had it figured out.
Reward travel alone doesn’t guarantee a good credit score, it requires financial responsibility. A later post will cover the credit score impact of traveling on points and miles, but for now, know that the goal of rewards travel is to use credit cards to spend within your means to maximize the travel benefits for your dream trip.
That takes us to travel debt.
I remember when we would literally save up extra money to stash in a jar for a trip to the beach.
Our honeymoon was a year after the wedding so we could scrape up enough for an all-inclusive resort. When I was stationed in Italy for the Army, we were quite familiar with the cost of international flights, which could be quite high even in economy.
It all adds up, and adds up quick. 😵💫 The total for airfare, accommodations, actives, and amenities can reach exorbitant levels. And that’s all I could think about in my rewards travel reluctance. What were we getting into?
That first nearly free trip….
It took our first trip to Hawaii for me to see how points and miles would impact our travel experiences in the best way possible. I always thought the cost would put these kinds of trips out of reach (or would require years of saving), but when a $9,503 trip to Hawaii only cost us $291 out of pocket, I was sold on the whole idea. And the best part? We earned all the points with money we were spending anyway on life; from bills and eating out, to movie tickets and home repairs.
Our spending strategy allowed us to get the most out of credit card bonuses and rewards while staying in budget and out of debt.👏🏻
Now, when my wife says “I’m going to sign you up for a credit card”, I only have one question: where are we going next?
My question to you is, where do you want to go?
👉🏻Your next step: check out all the best offers in one place, and don’t forget about those amazing referral bonuses when you refer your player 1/player 2 to their next card!
If you have a reluctant player 2, my best advice is to start small. Open one or two credit cards. Watch as your credit score increases. Plan one smaller nearly free trip. And let the travel experiences speak for themselves.
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
