 TITLE: How to Plan Your Honeymoon on a Budget CONTENT: Take Advantage of Travel Rewards Credit Cards\n---------------------------------------------\nCredit cards designed with the traveler in mind are fantastic honeymoon tools. You can use them to earn points and miles, then trade in the rewards for free airfare and hotel rooms. Other benefits of travel cards include:\n*   Flight and lodging upgrades\n*   No foreign transaction fees\n*   Reimbursements for TSA Precheck, Global Entry or CLEAR\n*   Early boarding\n*   Free checked bags\n*   Travel agents and special customer service\n*   Deals on car rentals\n*   Travel insurance\n*   Complimentary hotel breakfasts and dining credits\nThere are two basic types of travel cards: general-use and co-branded cards. General travel cards are the most flexible, as the rewards they accrue can be used with almost any airline or hotel chain. Co-branded cards are affiliated with specific airlines or hotels which offer greater discounts with those companies.\nTo qualify for most of these cards, your scores should be in the good to excellent range: 670 to 850. Research your travel credit card options and consider applying for the card that best matches your lifestyle and credit scores. Use Experian CreditMatch™ to see which cards are for you.\nSome travel cards have what's called an intro bonus, which is a certain amount of points or miles you can earn by opening the account and spending a certain sum within a few months. In general, credit cards with higher bonus points require a larger minimum spend, such as Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which offers 100,000 points (worth $1,250 when used for travel through Chase's Ultimate Rewards portal) after you charge $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening the account. Alternatively, the intro bonus for Chase Freedom Unlimited® can earn you $200 if you spend $500 in the first 3 months you have the card.\nTravel credit cards can come with high annual fees. Make sure the value of the benefits you will use outweigh that cost. The American Express® Gold Card, for example, has a $250 annual fee, but the card's ability to earn up to $120 in dining credits and up $120 in Uber Cash on Gold can help take the bite out of that annual fee. Before you apply, however, understand that the American Express® Gold Card works differently than traditional credit cards, and allows you to carry a balance only for certain charges, not all. Terms apply.\nWhichever travel card you obtain, it will come with the ability to accumulate rewards as you charge. The months preceding your honeymoon are perfect for building them, both from the bonus as well as by spending.\nYou may also be able to maximize points by spending in specific categories. Pay attention to high-value point accumulation opportunities. The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card earns 12 Hilton Honors points for every dollar you spend on eligible purchases charged to your card directly from a hotel in the Hilton portfolio; 6 points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas stations; and 3 points per dollar spent on all other purchases. Terms apply.\nYou can redeem rewards for many things, but it helps to understand where you can get the most value for your points or miles. With The Platinum Card® from American Express, for example, the redemption value is 1 cent per point for travel, but usually less when redeemed with partner sites. Terms apply.\n**_Credit card management tip_**: Using credit cards to build rewards can help you save, but keep debt to zero by paying your bill in full every month. Credit card rewards will never be worth more than the interest on revolved balances. Never spend unnecessarily in pursuit of rewards, and only use your rewards cards to make purchases you were already planning to make. END