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Earning Companion Pass Status with Southwest Airlines using the Southwest Airlines Credit Card is how we initially started traveling and ultimately how we ended up in Mexico! So for us, spending some time picking and choosing the right travel credit card is something we truly believe in. After all, we literally wouldn’t be in Mexico if it weren’t for that! Now that we live in Mexico, using the Southwest card isn’t as beneficial for us so we decided to put in a bit more time researching which travel credit card would work best given our specific circumstances.
A few months ago, we decided to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card.
The travel rewards are perfect whether you travel frequently or just a few times a year! At the time that we applied for the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, they were offering $300 dollars annual travel credit as reimbursement for any travel-related purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year. This travel credit was super helpful for us as it quickly (and automatically) reimbursed us for a few a Uber trips, a hotel stay, and part of a future vacation with our family! The reimbursement was automatic within Chase and I didn’t have to lift a finger to get our $300 back!
This particular card comes with an annual fee of $550. Take that easy-to-earn $300 travel credit and BAM, that quickly brings that fee right on down to $250.
The next (and biggest) perk that we use from this travel credit card is free access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide! That means any time we fly out of the Mexico City airport we can kick back in one of the many VIP lounges instead of sitting in that giant open hall. It also means we never have to buy airport food again since each of the lounges have a wide variety of food and beverage (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) options that are complementary. Free food?! You know we like the sound of that.
Before this card, we would easily spend $250 each year in airport food alone, so although the $550 annual fee seems a bit steep at first glance, the $300 dollar annual travel credit along with access to all of those swanky airport lounges quickly pays the annual fee itself in just one or two trips!
Click here to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. If you're looking for another great travel card that still earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points but has a lower annual fee, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. You can click here to learn more about this card and its benefits!
Feel free to email us at kinetickennons@gmail.com with any other credit card-related questions you may have and we would be happy to help!
Until next time, Have Less. Do More. Be More.
The Kinetic Kennons have partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card
products. The Kinetic Kennons and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
