Money Management

Some of the perks of achieving frequent flyer status are well-known. Read on for some you might not be aware of. 

Some perks of achieving elite status as a frequent flyer are widely known. For example, you’ve probably seen the priority check-in lines at the airport, and you’ve likely noticed an “upgrade list” at the gate as empty first or business class seats are allocated to elite status members.

However, there’s more to frequent flyer status than shorter check-in lines and occasional first-class upgrades (believe me, the latter doesn’t happen as often as you may think).

Each airline with a loyalty program offers a different assortment of travel benefits as well as a different number of elite tiers. Some even offer dedicated travel credit cards that come with additional perks. So, your favorite airline’s program might not offer all of these. However, these are some of the most common perks of achieving frequent flyer status that you might not be aware of yet.

1. Free checked bags

For frequent flyers, free checked bags can be one of the most valuable benefits of all. Most airlines allow their elite status members to check one or more bags for free, and best of all, this benefit typically extends to other travelers on the same reservation.

As a personal example, I have status in the American Airlines AAdvantage program, which typically charges $30 per checked bag. If I fly five round trips solo each year and two with my family of four, this translates to savings of $780, assuming one bag per traveler on every flight. Plus, elite members get priority baggage handling, so yours will be among the first off the plane.

2. Free premium seats

As mentioned, first-class upgrades do happen sometimes, but not as often as you might think — especially if you’re in one of the lower tiers of an airline’s elite status program.

However, airlines typically have seats in desirable locations, such as toward the front of the airplane or in exit rows, and some have premium main cabin seating, such as Delta’s Comfort Plus, where the seats have extra legroom and complimentary alcoholic beverages. Elite members often can select these seats for no additional charge, either at the time of booking or in a specific window before traveling.

3. Systemwide upgrades

These are generally reserved for higher-tier elite status members, but they are one of the most valuable perks offered by frequent flyer programs. In simple terms, a systemwide upgrade allows you to upgrade to the next class of service (such as from economy to business class) on a one-way trip, regardless of how long it is. As you might imagine, if you use one to upgrade on a flight to say, Australia, this can be a massive value.

Now, you can’t necessarily redeem these on every flight — they are still subject to space availability. But they get higher priority over other upgrade types and can be worth thousands of dollars on a single flight.

4. Car rental perks

Many airlines partner with rental car companies to offer perks to their frequent flyers. For example, if you achieve elite status on United Airlines, you can earn significantly more miles on car rentals with Avis and Budget than you otherwise would. Delta elite flyers get elite status in Hertz’s Gold Plus Rewards program, which can give you free upgrades, a second driver with no charge, and more.

The list could go on (and on and on)

Airline loyalty programs often have long lists of benefits for their elite customers, and that’s especially true for members who achieve the highest status levels. For example, some airlines offer complimentary alcoholic beverages to certain status members, some have reciprocal status benefits with partner airlines, and some give airport lounge access to certain elite members (or at least a discounted membership).

If you’re on the fence about whether elite status could be worth pursuing, I’d suggest checking the website of your favorite airline’s loyalty program. You might be surprised at what you learn – and how gaining frequent flyer status could positively impact your personal finances.

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Canceling a credit card can damage your credit, but it may still be worth doing in certain situations. Here’s how to tell if you should close a card account. 

In 2024, you may want to do some spring cleaning of your finances to help get you on the path to a more secure future. If you’re taking a look at the big picture of your personal finances, you may find that you have some credit cards that you’re no longer using.

If that’s the case and you’re tempted to just cancel the credit cards, be sure to truly understand what that involves and what the long-term implications of doing so could be. Here’s what you need to consider to help you decide if you should cancel a credit card in 2024.

Does the card have an annual fee?

If your credit card has an annual fee, you want to make sure the cardholder perks justify paying it. For example, if you’re paying $95 for an annual fee but you get a $100 airline incidental credit on your statement, the fee may be justified if you charge $100 in purchases on airlines over the course of the year — but not if you never travel.

If you have a card with a fee that you aren’t getting enough benefits from, then that’s a pretty strong argument that you should cancel it. After all, why throw away money when there are free cards out there that wouldn’t force you to do that?

How big of a hit will your credit score take?

Closing your card can hurt your credit score. But it’s hard to know how much since that depends on a lot of factors.

Your credit score is determined based on factors like your payment history, amount of credit used versus credit available, and age of credit. If you close your oldest credit card or you close a card with $50,000 in available credit, your score is going to take much more of a hit than if you close a card you opened last year or one with a $500 limit.

Take a look at what the card is actually doing for you. If it’s an older card or one with a long positive payment history, that’s a strong argument for keeping it open.

Can you downgrade the card instead of giving it up?

Sometimes, card issuers allow you to downgrade a card, which means you can switch from a card with an annual fee to a similar one in the card issuer’s lineup that doesn’t come with this charge.

If you can do that, then you may want to opt to downgrade rather than close the card — especially if it’s one of your older cards or one that has a high credit limit and closing the card would have a big impact on your credit score.

Will you need to do any big-time borrowing any time soon?

Finally, you’ll want to think about whether you are taking out a mortgage loan, a car loan, or any other large loan in the near future. If you’re going to be taking on a lot of debt, you don’t want your credit score to go down right before you do. In this instance, you may want to wait to close your card until after you’ve got the best possible rate on your big loan.

By answering these questions, you can decide if you should cancel a card in 2024. The bottom line is, if you’re no longer using a card but it doesn’t have an annual fee, it doesn’t hurt to keep it open — especially if you’re going to be borrowing a large sum of money anytime soon.

If the card does have an annual fee, consider downgrading if possible instead of closing the card. If you can’t do that, then you may want to cancel as long as you aren’t planning on taking any big loans soon — especially if it’s a newer card or one with a low credit limit and your credit score won’t be impacted too badly.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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As a long-time business owner, there are a few key moves I’ve had to master to find success. Discover the wisdom you need to run your business well. 

I have been running my own small business for 16 years and my company has provided me with some great opportunities, including the ability to work anywhere and the ability to spend my time working with people that I respect and admire. I’ve also been able to grow my income substantially since my company started, so it now provides a nice living.

During the many years when I’ve been operating my company, I’ve learned a few important lessons which may be helpful for other business owners — especially those just getting started. Here’s what they are.

1. Paying for the right tools is well worth it

One of the single most important things I learned is that I should not be afraid to pay for the tools I need to do my job efficiently and effectively. For me, this means I buy myself a nice new laptop every year or two so it runs quickly, and I pay for software that makes it easier for me to manage my work and keep track of all the links I need to have on hand. These are worthwhile expenses I can cover with a business credit card.

You may need different tools for your business, but don’t skimp on spending what it takes to get the equipment necessary to do your job well the first time. If you’re wasting a ton of time or producing a substandard product because you don’t want to spend on the right tools and materials, your company will suffer in the end.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Since I’ve been running my business, I’ve been fortunate to encounter many great people who are always happy to share their wisdom with me. In asking for help on things where I wasn’t as strong, I’ve been able to acquire lots of new skills that enabled me to grow my business. For example, as a writer, crafting good headlines was initially a challenge for me — until I got to work with a great editor who worked with me to get better at this skill.

As you run your business, you’re also likely to find people with more expertise than you in certain areas who may be eager and willing to share their acquired wisdom. Never be afraid to ask them for help and advice, as long as you’re also willing to reciprocate and work hard to help them out if and when they need it.

3. Find the best professionals you can to accomplish certain tasks

When you start out running your company, you may feel as if you need to do everything yourself. But that’s not necessarily the case, and it can be a waste of your time and effort to try to tackle every task on your own. You could also make mistakes that cost you.

For example, I hire a professional every year to do my taxes because it takes time to do so and I don’t want to make an error on IRS forms and end up owing penalties. Hiring professional help for things like taxes, accounting, legal advice, and compliance with government regulations can be well worth it.

4. Make a plan for work/life balance

Finding a work/life balance is also really important. For a long time, I was tempted to work all the time because the more I worked, the more money I could make. Unfortunately, this can lead to burnout and can also result in too little time to do other important things that you value.

Now, I limit the amount of work I do each day to make sure I spend time with my husband and kids, and also have time to do other hobbies. With as many as one-third of small business owners reporting they work more than 50 hours a week and a quarter working more than 60 hours per week, it’s important not to lose sight of what you’re actually working for: Living a good life.

5. Know how to value your time

Finally, it’s important to learn how to value your time. When you’re just starting out, you may want to take most jobs that come your way. But as you develop expertise, you need to be choosier about who you work for and make sure that you’re making a good hourly rate as you have only so many hours in a day.

If you’re running your own business, whether you’re just getting started or have been doing it for a while, ideally these tips can help you to be more successful and happier as an entrepreneur.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Paying off your credit card debt forever is a great goal for the new year. Here’s what you’d need to do to make that a reality. 

If you’re in credit card debt, you’re most likely well aware of how stressful it is to have that monthly payment to make each month. You also probably already know that credit cards charge very high interest rates (averaging 21.19% as of August 2023) so you know all too well that your card is costing you a fortune.

With that in mind, you may be really eager to pay off your outstanding credit card balance once and for all and never go into debt again. If that’s a goal you’ve set for yourself and you’re hoping to make it happen in 2024, ask yourself these four questions to see if you’re likely going to succeed in this goal or if you need to make some changes in order to make it happen.

1. Do I have a payoff plan?

Your credit card debt is not going to pay off itself, and it’s going to take many, many years to pay off if you only pay the minimums. If you want to become free of it in 2024, you need to make a plan to do so.

To figure out how to get rid of your credit card debt for good, use an online calculator to estimate how big your monthly payments would need to be in order to hit a $0 balance by the end of 2024. If you have a $2,500 balance and a 21.19% interest rate and your goal is to be debt free in 12 months, for example, you’d need to pay $233.00 a month.

2. Am I willing to put in the extra work?

Depending on how big your payments must be in order to become debt free by 2024, you may have to go the extra mile to ensure that you can send your creditors enough money each month to wipe out your balance.

For example, if you need to pay $233 a month, but you only have enough money right now to pay an extra $150 a month, you’ll have to find that extra $83. You could slash your budget and make some sacrifices — like not eating out or buying new clothes next year — in order to find the extra $83 a month. Or you could take on a side gig to make the money to cover the added payments.

While it most likely will require sacrifice and some extra effort, it’s worth trying to find a way to make the minimum payments necessary to say goodbye to your credit card debt forever.

3. Have I automated my payoff process?

It’s easy to set goals like becoming debt free, but it’s harder to stick to them. That’s why you should try to make it automatic. If you know you need to pay an extra $233 a month to get rid of your debt by the end of the year, set it up so that payment is automatically withdrawn from your checking account and sent to your creditor each month.

You do need to be sure that you won’t overdraft your bank account, though — which is where your plan for cutting costs or earning more comes in.

4. Do I have a plan to stay out of debt?

Finally, if you want to make sure you pay off your cards for good, you need a plan to avoid charging up your cards again in the future. This usually means making a budget to live within your means and saving up cash in an emergency fund to cover three to six months of living costs so you are prepared for surprise expenses.

If you can answer these four questions and take the associated steps, you may be able to get out of debt and stay out of it — and can keep all that extra money you were wasting on credit card interest charges and put it towards something that betters your life instead.

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We’re firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers.
The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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