Easily Find Your Credit Card Benefits
Not understanding your credit card benefits is a pretty common mistake among beginners in this hobby. While it doesn't make our list of ToP 10 newbie mistakes, it must be close and maybe there at #11. We see it frequently where cardholders don't know the benefits of their card or delay using those benefits, especially those that need used by end of year. Understanding your credit card benefits is crucial. The same goes for knowing what your welcome offer is, how much the annual fee is, how a card perk can help your award travel, and knowing your card's travel protections. In this guide I'll show you how to easily find your credit card benefits and why that is important.
Knowing How To Manage All Of Your Credit Card Benefits
Most of the credit card companies make it easy to learn about your benefits. Having said that, many of us still don't know where to find them, or realize they are just a few clicks away. First, save the booklet that comes with your card don't automatically toss it in the recycle bin. I have an entire special area where I keep all of mine.
Second, familiarize yourself with each bank's website and app for what cards you have. This includes lounge access apps like Priority Pass. Keeping a spreadsheet of benefits used, or notes of some kind, can come in handy throughout the year. You can check them off as you use them, plus follow up with the website as some will show you when a benefit has been used.
Finally, have your benefits guide bookmarked in your browser or starred in your email. This would include all of your travel protections to include trip delay and cancelation, as well as lost luggage. Here are some examples of how to locate and find your benefits with the two biggest banks in the game.
How To Easily Find Your American Express Credit Card Benefits
American Express makes it easy whether on a desktop or the app to located your credit card benefits. The benefits tab is easily found in both, so it doesn't matter which you prefer to use. I use this frequently for all my cards, but especially my Business Platinum Card from American Express when I'm traveling.
Amex Benefits Location On Computer
As you can see above it is pretty easy to locate your American Express benefits on a computer. Once you select which card you want to dive deeper into the benefits on the option is just to the left of the card image. Click on that and then select benefits on the right side of the Rewards & Benefits page.
After that you will see all of the benefits listed for a particular card. You can even click the sections to limit down what you are looking for. Doing it for an Amex Platinum (pictured above) can be overwhelming with all of the unique perks. This can narrow down your search a bit.
Amex Benefits Location On App
You can easily find your credit card benefits in the American Express app too. In the app simply look to the bottom of your screen. Click on the membership tab and you will open a wealth of information including all the benefits.
It's all easily viewable and you can click through to find even more.
Once you open all of your benefits, you can click through and review each benefit. Amex makes it easy to find all the terms for each benefit. Remember that for some Amex benefits, you need to enroll first. Conveniently, the app shows you whether you are enrolled in the benefit.
American Express Lounge Access
Another question that comes up a lot, usually when someone is at the airport, is lounge access. Luckily, Amex has once again made this easy right in the app at your fingertips while traveling.
You can then access a full list of all the lounges available to you. It will default to closest airport, but you can also search here to plan ahead.
How To Easily Find Your Chase Credit Card Benefits
Chase's benefits guide may not be quite as easy as Amex's but you can still find it all in one location, it just takes a few more clicks. If you need your benefits guide quickly for Chase, you can simply google your card name plus the words benefits guide. You can also save it as a PDF as I did with my Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Chase Benefits Location On Computer
The quickest way to find your benefits on Chase's own cards (i.e. Ultimate Rewards earning cards) is to log directly into your Ultimate Rewards account (link here). You can also log into Chase's main site and navigate to your Ultimate Rewards account that way. You would select the card you want first, or any UR earning card, and then select to go to your Ultimate Rewards account. Once you click to see the benefits, you can scroll through all the benefits. As you can see, this requires more steps than Amex, but still accomplishes what you need. You can click on any of these to see more details.
For non Ultimate Rewards Cards, like the World of Hyatt card, you just go to the card page and select more. One of the options is benefits and once you click that it takes you to the card's benefits page.
How To Easily Find Your Credit Card Benefits: ToP Thoughts
Understanding your credit card benefits will not only help you maximize the value of your card, but make you more prepared should any travel issues arise. While traveling, you will know how to access valuable perks like airport lounges. If you have reviewed the travel protections and need to access them while traveling, you will be ahead of the issues and know exactly what is covered. Finally, at the end of the year, hopefully you can relax knowing you have used up any credits, perks, or other benefits that reset after the new year. And hopefully this helps you easily find your credit card benefits whenever that need should arrise.
Do you understand your credit card benefits? Have questions? Come over to our Facebook group and share your thoughts.
