Fly First Class for Free | Best Credit Card for Miles and Points in 2024 | Germany
Brian Kelly, also known as "The Points Guy." He recently took an international trip through Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa, do you know how much he paid for that trip? Only $5.60! If you are a traveler, you know the pain. How often have we paid extraordinary fares to fly in economy class with cramped seats, bad service, and long waiting times? We don't have to be smart like Brian Kelly. But if we can just put a little bit of thought into how we spend our money, then we can easily get business class upgrades or even 1 to 2 free flights a year. This is not a trick, and how to do that is exactly what we are going to talk about in this blog. So let's get started.
If you are new to the blog, my name is Srijith, and here we talk everything about wealth, happiness, and sometimes credit cards.
What are credit card reward points?
Brian Kelly didn't have to pay a single penny out of his pocket because he covered all expenses using credit card reward points. It works this way. Every time you use your credit card to make a purchase, you earn points that you can exchange for rewards. You may be familiar with frequent flyer miles offered by some airlines. Every time you fly with that airline, you earn a certain number of miles which you can redeem for rewards such as free flights, upgrades, or discounts. It's similar to that. Why does an airline or a credit card company do that? Because they want the one-time clients to be customers who will stay loyal to them.
But have we always heard that credit cards are bad? Like debt in any form is bad, rt. So is it a good idea to get one?
Is it worth having one?
What we have to understand is that all debts aren't bad. A bad debt is difficult to repay or doesn't offer any long-term benefits. A loan on a real estate property that you can give on rent is not a bad debt. A credit for starting a new business is not a bad debt. If you are someone, who is responsible with your finances, having a credit card with a reward program could be one of the most beneficial financial decisions you can make. A credit card is a type of loan that you get for 0% interest. If you pay it back within the due period. Otherwise, they are the worst, anywhere between 15 and 20%. That's a door you don't want to open.
But when used wisely, they offer many benefits such as building your credit score, providing fraud, consumer protection on your purchases, travel insurance, and many others. But where they shine is with reward programs. Now if you are someone who is shopping for such a credit card, you will be in for a surprise. They come in many forms. Cashback, Co-branded, Hotel Credits, Airline Miles, Transferable rewards, and many more. So which one should you get?
Which one to get?
It all comes down to your lifestyle and your spending habits. Do you fly a lot? Then a travel card that offers flight miles would be good for you. If most of the money is spent on groceries and shopping, a cashback card that gives you a percentage in return for every purchase you make may be the ideal choice. Or you can choose a co-branded card, which a financial institution such as a bank offers in partnership with major airlines and hotel programs. For example, Lufthansa Miles and More, Hilton Honors. However, the option that tends to be more suitable and flexible for most cardholders offers transferable points, where you can transfer the earned points to other partners such as airlines or hotels.
Who are the major players?
If you live in the US, then you are in luck. You have so many options to choose from cash back cards, such as the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which offers 2.% back and has no annual fee to the Chase Sapphire card for travelers, which gives you 300 travel credits, airport lounge access, and an initial bonus of 60,000 points. If you fly often, you have a United Club℠ Infinite Card, which gives you 80,000 welcome bonus miles and 4 times reward points for every dollar spent on a United flight.
Do you remember the Points Guy? If you are confused about which card to get, he has a website where you can check the features and read reviews to choose the best card that suits your lifestyle.
But unfortunately, I am not in the US, and things are a bit different here in Germany. Germans have a different attitude towards money, debt, and saving. Ideally, cash is still the king here. So if you are searching for a credit card that offers reward points, there are only limited options to choose from.
For frequent fliers, there is the Lufthansa Miles and More Blue Card, which costs 4.58 euros/month, or the Gold Card, which 9.16 euros/month. They are part of the frequent flyer and reward program of Lufthansa and offer 1 travel mile as a reward for every 2 euros you spend. That can be redeemed later for flights, hotels, and other travel-related expenses.
Then there is the payback card, a free loyalty program with over 600 partner companies. Every time customers present their PAYBACK card to a partner company at checkout, they collect points you may exchange for cash or rewards. There are no fees whatsoever, but you are paying for all this by having Payback collect all data about your purchases and transactions. But by far most interesting credit card currently available on the German market is the American Express Gold Card which is the one that I currently own. Now, this blog is not anyway sponsored by American Express. I wish it was, but no. Having said that, let's look into the reasons why you should get this one over others.
Pros
They have one of the best sign-in bonus point programs. You can get 40000 points if you register with the link in the description and spend around 3000 euros in the first 6 months. Your grocery and fuel costs itself will cover a major part of it. If you want, you can directly redeem each point for 2 cents. That means it's not just free for the first year; you get paid to use it.
That's not it. I am someone who travels a lot. Previously I had travel health insurance with Hansemerkur for 18 euros per year and travel cancellation insurance with Europe assistance for 99 euros. But with the Amex Gold card, this is automatically covered. Additionally, they offer travel comfort insurance for baggage loss and flight delays. You can also get 10-15% discounts on your car rentals with Avis, Hertz, and Sixt. You also have the opportunity to use the Priority Pass service at a 30% discount, which gives you access to 1,300 airport lounges in 130 countries.
They also have a Shop-Garant feature, where all purchases get 90-day coverage against burglary, theft, and damage.
These travel and shopping benefits should be enough for me to get this card. But then there is more. Their reward system. You get one reward point with every 1 euro purchase, which can later be used for discount or flight upgrades. And there is a turbo feature which you can activate for a fee of 15 euros/year, which gives you 3 points for every 2 euros you spend. You also get a partner card free of cost and can earn points with the purchases done with that too.
But the coolest thing about their reward system is that they have a partnership with all the major airlines and hotels, so you can transfer your points to airline miles or hotel rewards.
Lufthansa
Cathay Pacific
Singapore Airlines
Sas EuroBus
British Airways
Iberia Plus
Asia Miles
Finnair Plus
Qatar Airways
Air France/KLM
Delta SkyMiles
Alitalia MilleMiglia
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
For example, you can upgrade to business class for a flight from Frankfurt to Doha with Qatar Airways for 20,000 Avios miles. Your signing bonus reward points of 40,000 converted at a ratio of 5:4 to Avios miles will easily cover this. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There are some drawbacks too.
Cons
For transactions outside the eurozone, there is a 2% fee. Also, there is a 4% ATM withdrawal charge at home and abroad. The card may not be accepted at all places, like a visa or master card. But all the major players, like Aldi, Rewe, Obi, etc., are covered.
Bonus
Can this be your only credit card??. Maybe not. I also own a Barclays Visa card. But the Amex Gold Card is one of the best cards in Germany to get started with miles and points. And if you want to sign up for one, please use the link in the description below. Do this before the 19th of April to get 40,000 points with the referral program. This is worth more than the 140 euros signing bonus you get directly from their website without the referral. So don't wait.
While there are many good reasons to get a credit card, it's not a decision to take lightly. If you can follow and remember the two golden rules of credit cards, then you will be okay. Don't spend more than you can afford, and pay off your dues on time.
