When we looked at the American Express Gold Rewards Card we liked the fact that you earn 25,000 points as a Welcome Bonus when you spend $1,500 in the first 3 months of your membership. Now, I don’t know about you, but when it comes to shopping for the 4 of us – in one month’s time it’s easy to spend $1,500 on just gas and grocery purchases! And there’s more – we’re earning 2 points for every $1 spent on those eligible everyday purchases…ding ding ding, perfect!! Lastly, we got a free Supplementary Card which lets Craig and I earn points when shopping apart. This was so important and the best way to maximize earning points towards our travel goals!
When budgeting for family travel it’s so important to plan ahead and stay organized. When Craig and I know we have big projects around the house, we make sure to purchase everything with our Gold Rewards Card to earn as many points as possible towards our travel plans. When we travelled to Vancouver this year we even earned points towards our next trip! And then when it’s time to book our next trip we can pay for ANY type of travel with points including flights on any airline, hotels, car rentals or vacation packages and EARN more points!
Ways we keep focused on budgeting for family travel:
- COMMUNICATION: Craig and I sit back once a week to discuss family budgets, what’s on the table this coming month, what our plans are and if there are any opportunities to manage funds better. We communicate about our travel plans, which is a great way to keep the focus and excitement on travel plans.
- DETAILS: Knowing specific amounts you want to save for family travel is a great way to keep your family travel budget goals realistic and achievable. If you want to travel once as a family every winter, have an amount in mind for that trip and that goal can help you plan your destination, accommodations & excursions to the finest detail.
- SAVINGS: Savings accounts are always handy and can be debited automatically and earn interest as well. We each have one that we put money into every month towards family travel, getting us closer to our next trip.
- SPENDING SMART: As I’ve mentioned before, we pay with our American Express Gold Rewards Card whenever we can. We are all about using a Card that works with us and for us by earning points towards our travel goals.
These are some of the ways we make sure that we have extra funds to put towards travel and there are always more ways too! Learn more about the benefits of the American Express Gold Rewards Card by clicking {here}.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this second part of the series and I look forward to sharing more!
This post was made in partnership with American Express Canada, all opinions are my own!
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