If you like to travel, it’s a good idea to have a travel credit card. As you may know, travel credit cards earn points or miles that you can use for travel expenses like airfare and hotel stays, so they can help you save money on your trips. But that’s not the only reason to get one.
Many of these cards also have benefits that can improve your travel experience. Some of them even include luxury perks that are normally reserved for travelers who pay extra. Here are a few of the most popular travel card perks that can get you an instant upgrade.
1. Airport lounge access
Waiting around for your flight is often one of the worst parts of traveling. Airport food is notoriously overpriced. The boarding area may be packed. If you don’t arrive early enough, you might not even find a seat — they tend to fill up fast, especially because so many people seem to think their bags and coats also need seats of their very own.
You can deal with that every time you fly, or you can get a travel card with airport lounge access. Then, while you’re at the airport, you can visit a lounge in your credit card’s lounge program. Lounges normally have free food and drinks, much better seating, and fewer people, since not everybody can access them.
Many of the credit cards that offer this benefit include a Priority Pass membership. That’s a program with over 1,300 lounges around the world. Or, if you always fly with the same airline, look into its airline credit cards. Some airline cards include either a few lounge passes per year or a complimentary lounge program membership.
SEE OPTIONS: Best Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access
2. A TSA PreCheck/Global Entry membership
The other common gripe about flying is airport security. Unless you’re flying on a private jet, you’ll need to go through the stressful security process. Take off your shoes and jacket, remove your laptop from your bag, strike a pose in those ridiculous full-body scanners — you know the drill.
It’s a lot less stressful if you’re enrolled in an expedited security program. TSA PreCheck allows you to go through security without removing your shoes or jacket, taking out your laptop, or pulling out liquids from your bag. It’s not that expensive, costing $78 for a five-year membership. But there are also lots of travel cards that cover the cost of a membership for you.
These cards cover the cost of either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Global Entry is $100 for a five-year membership, and it allows you to go through expedited immigration and customs when flying into the United States from abroad (at airports with Global Entry kiosks). The advantage with Global Entry is that it also includes a TSA PreCheck membership, so you can get both if you sign up for that.
LEARN MORE: How TSA PreCheck and Global Entry Work
3. Status with your favorite hotel
Ever seen those special check-in desks at the hotel? They usually have much shorter lines, and they’re reserved only for select members of the hotel’s loyalty program.
A faster check-in process is one of the many benefits of having status with a hotel. Other perks may include:
- Complimentary breakfast
- Complimentary upgrades when available
- Access to the hotel’s executive lounge
- Early check-in and late checkout when available
- Free high-speed internet
The traditional way to get status with a hotel is to stay there often. The easier way is to get a credit card with your hotel brand of choice. Hotel cards often include complimentary status in the hotel’s loyalty program. They may also help you earn points toward the next status tier more quickly.
SEE OPTIONS: Best Hotel Credit Cards
There are lots of travel perks you can get from top credit cards. Compare your card options to see which one has most or all of the benefits you want. That way, you can pick the card that will upgrade your travel experience the most.
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