The economic recession of the past couple of years has been hard on people, especially those with families that they provide for. Those looking to make ends meet for their families have often run up credit card debt, because it’s much easier to go into debt than to allow your family to go hungry. However, if you have a family, and decent financial footing and like to travel, credit cards can actually end up saving you and your family a significant amount of money over the course of the year if used correctly.
Here are the top 3 credit cards geared towards families:
1. United MileagePlus Explorer – The United MileagePlus Explorer card from Chase is a great choice for families who do a lot of traveling. With the MileagePlus Explorer card, you stand to earn 30,000 bonus points just by spending $1,000 in the first 3 months that you have the card. While $1,000 isn’t exactly a drop in the bucket, if you have several family members using the card, you will most likely hit that threshold. The MileagePlus Explorer card also offers a $0 annual fee for the first year, and just $95 per year after that. The card also allows the cardholder and one companion to check their first bag for free on all United-operated airline flights when using the MileagePlus Explorer card to book. Lastly, the card offers priority boarding privileges, and double miles for all purchased on United Airlines.
2. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is another excellent choice for families looking to save money through benefits earned from credit card usage. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 on the card in the first 3 months. These points can be used to make purchases with United Airlines, British Airways, The Hyatt, Marriott, Holiday Inn, and numerous other partners. The $95 yearly fee is actually waived in the first year, and the card also features a $0 foreign transaction fee. Lastly, you receive a 7% bonus at the end of the year on all the points you earned throughout that year.
3. American Express Starwood Preferred Guest – The Starwood Preferred Guest card from AMEX is another great travel credit card for families. The Starwood Preferred Guest card offers 10,000 bonus rewards points just for making your first purchase on the card, and another 15,000 bonus rewards points after your spend $5,000 on the card in the first 6 months that you have it. The Starwood Preferred Guest rewards points that you earn on this card can be redeemed on hotel stays at Starwood Hotels which include Westin, Aloft, W, Sheraton, and more. In addition, you can transfer the points into airline mile points for use on flight purchases. There is a $65 annual fee for this card, but it is waived in year 1.
If you have a steady income enough to pay your credit card balance in full every month, your family stands to benefit significantly by earning free flights and hotel stays using the aforementioned credit cards.