Getting Grandparents on Board With Using Rewards Credit Cards

My son was my parents’ first grandchild. As such, they travel to us a lot — at least six times a year. While they can appreciate the occasional road trip, the nearly 800-mile trek from Ohio to Florida can be a bit tedious, while the cost of bimonthly flights can add up quickly. That’s why I’m getting them on board with using points and rewards credit cards to help lessen the financial burden of their constant travel.

Read on for some stellar rewards credit card options for grandparents on the go: from cards that earn airline companion passes to those that earn you 2x points on dining and travel, to those that match your miles earned at the end of your first year.

Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card has no shortage of perks. First, there's the sign-up bonus, which has a spending threshold that’s quite a bit lower than offers from other rewards cards: Earn 40,000 points after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn 3X points on dining, including takeout and eligible delivery services, for the first year.

» Learn more: Southwest Priority Card review: Pay more, get more

The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card also allows you to earn 2 points for every $1 spent on Southwest Airlines purchases and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases, such as gifts for the grandkids. After all, that’s essentially what grandparents do, right?

You’ll also get 7,500 points every year on your cardmember anniversary. Think of it as a little “birthday” gift.

But perhaps the biggest perk of this card is the ability to earn the famous Southwest Companion Pass. This benefit is pretty well known in the airline rewards space and with good reason. It allows you to choose a companion to fly with you free of charge (minus taxes and fees) each time you purchase a flight, either with cash or miles.

» Learn More: Find the best airline credit card for you

Typically, to earn a Companion Pass, you need to fly 100 qualifying one-way flights or earn 125,000 qualifying points in one calendar year. The Companion Pass is good for both the remainder of the year in which you earned it and the next year. Then, two grandparents can fly for the price of one. This card’s annual fee is $149.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great option for grandma and grandpa, especially if they (like my parents) haven’t really used points or miles much.

The significant sign-up bonus is the first reason why: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

» Learn more: Chase Sapphire Preferred review: A must-have for travelers

This card is also great for grandparents because it offers 3x points on travel and dining. And "dining" covers it all, from a nice dinner out (hey, grandparents need breaks, too) to that early morning coffee run for mom and dad.

And if they need to redeem their Chase points for whatever reason, this card offers a 1:1 points transfer option with rewards programs from partners like JetBlue, Southwest and Marriott. This card’s annual fee is $95.

Discover it® Miles card

This $0-annual-fee card makes redeeming miles for flights easy. Simply charge airfare to the card and then redeem rewards toward the cost of flights.

The Discover it® Miles card lets you earn 1.5x miles for every dollar spent. But what really stands out about this card is that at the end of your first year, they’ll match all the miles you’ve earned. That means you can easily turn 20,000 miles earned into 40,000, which would be $400 to use toward your next trip to visit the grandkids. Christmas, anyone?

How to Maximize Your Rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for:

• Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

• No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

• Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card 

• Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

• Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card