This past summer, my family and I went on a two-week vacation that took us to seemingly every major city in Italy, the south of Switzerland and Paris. I knew this trip wasn’t going to be cheap, so in the months prior, I developed a credit card strategy to accrue rewards that would (somewhat) lessen the cost of travel.
NerdWallet’s 2026 Summer Travel Report found that 32% of travelers planned to do the same — namely, to use credit card points or miles to cover trip expenses.
About a year before our trip, my husband and I each got a travel credit card with a large welcome bonus. By meeting the bonus requirements, we scored 150,000 miles and $500 in travel credits.
It was a hearty cache, and yet it wasn’t enough to fund the entire vacation. Not even close. We used the miles and credits to pay for our flights, and that’s about it. Everything else was paid out of pocket.
Here’s what our travel rewards didn’t cover — with a "cost" scale (up to four dollar signs) indicating how relatively expensive each category was, plus some tips on how to save and/or what to look out for.
Use this list as you budget for your next vacation.
🤓Nerdy Tip
One possible solution to "things your travel rewards can't cover"? A cash-back credit card. It can function as a travel card, too, if you use your cash rewards toward trip expenses. Paying yourself back this way is much simpler than booking travel with points or miles, where you may have to navigate differing point values, blackout dates and transfer partners. The downside? Less opportunity for snagging outsize value on flights and hotels. Unlike points or miles — which can range widely in value — cash back is worth what it's worth.Parking
Cost: $$
I live about an hour away from a major airport, so taking an Uber or Lyft there and back would be expensive. We could have parked our car at the airport, but at $200 for two weeks, that was similarly pricey. To save money, I found a nearby hotel that allowed us to park there for half that price.
Of course, if you go this route, you’ll need to factor in the cost of a taxi or rideshare to the airport (unless the hotel has free airport shuttles).
Cell phone data
Cost: $
This expense applies only to those traveling internationally. Before departing for Italy, I purchased an eSim card for $9.99 so that I could talk, text and, perhaps most crucially, use my phone’s GPS to navigate the labyrinthine streets of Venice.
If you have an eligible credit card, it might be possible to get such a plan for free.
Checked bag fees
Cost: $$
You can avoid this expense by carrying a co-branded airline credit card ... which I didn’t have for the airline I was flying. Checking bags on the departing and return flights cost about $170.
Even if you do have an airline card, consult the fine print. It may not give you enough free checked bags for everyone in your party, or the perk may apply only to domestic flights.
Pet care
Cost: $$$
Whether you board your pet or hire a pet sitter, leave room in your travel budget for pet care.
Boarding our dog for two weeks cost about $1,000, and that price includes the teacher discount we got thanks to my husband. (Many pet boarding places offer discounts for educators, members of the military and first responders. Ask your preferred boarder about what discounts you’re eligible for and how to qualify.)
Of course, you could also decide to just take your pet with you — but that comes with its own challenges and costs.
Tips
Cost: $$
Depending on where you travel, tipping may not always be encouraged or expected. But in cases where it is, credit card rewards can’t help when most people prefer tips in cash.
Among the people you might want to tip include restaurant servers, drivers, tour directors, housekeepers and the hotel concierge. Our collective tips totaled around 250 euros.
Laundry
Cost: $
Longer vacations will likely require you to do laundry at some point during the trip. My family of three needed to clean clothes twice in a two-week period, opting for local laundromats rather than the hotel laundry service to save money.
However, I met some seasoned world travelers on vacation who advocated handwashing clothes as the most frugal solution. If you decide to go this route, prep beforehand by purchasing a good travel laundry detergent and maybe a clothesline.
🤓Nerdy Tip
From laundry detergent tablets to sandwich bags, here are some other packing recommendations from NerdWallet that you may not have considered.Souvenirs
Cost: $
In some places along our trip, it felt like the only thing to do was to shop. (Milan, I’m talking about you.) My family and I bought only a few souvenirs — my son's favorite was a 25 euro beach towel from Cinque Terre that he forever calls our "Italy towel" — but some of my fellow travelers bought something in nearly every city.
For those who like to pick up a trinket here, there and everywhere, keep in mind that it could end up costing you extra in overweight bag fees. Pack light whenever you can.
Experiences
Cost: $$$
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do” was my very literal philosophy as we traveled through Europe. Am I not going to let my son ride a gondola in Venice? Are we not going to the Tuscan farmhouse for a rustic dinner that served the best balsamic vinegar in the world? Were we going to miss out on the cable car ride that took us to the top of the Swiss mountains with a view of the Alps? No, of course not.
But once-in-a-lifetime experiences aren’t cheap. We spent about $1,000 on ours. Keep your budget in check by taking only the most desirable excursions for everyone in your traveling party.
Local transportation
Cost: $$
The right credit card could cover the cost of a rental car if you booked through the issuer’s travel portal and paid for the rental with travel credits or credit card rewards. My family relied on rideshares and airport taxis to get around, but I used my credit card’s benefits — bonus rewards on rideshares paired with a card-linked offer — to cover some of the costs.
Some credit cards have rental car benefits, too, including insurance and status with certain car rental brands.
Food and drinks
Cost: $$$$
The biggest line item in my travel budget was food — and we blew past it and then some. Our accommodations didn’t have a kitchen, so we dined out for almost every meal for 14 days straight. Plus, many of the places we visited were major tourist areas with inflated prices. In Sorrento, for example, a lunch for three cost $98.47.
While I certainly didn’t have enough credit card rewards to cover food expenses for two weeks, I did pay for our dining expenses with a credit card that earned 3% back on dining with no foreign transaction fees. That way, I recouped a small fraction of what we spent on food and drinks.
Of course, not all of these expenses will apply to every vacation. Still, it’s worth budgeting beyond transportation and lodging. Those additional expenses can cost just as much, if not more.
