3 Common Money Traps (And Their Superior Alternatives)

Billions of dollars are spent each year with one goal: taking your money.

This is called advertising.

In today’s article, we’ll look at three overhyped money traps and their superior alternatives.

Read on if you’re looking to get more bang for your buck.

1. Flying First-Class (Even With Credit Card Points)

First-class travel is something many people aspire to. Getting on a plane and having your own private cabin and 3-course meal sounds fantastic. You can relax and unwind, while the passengers in coach deal with crying babies and cramped seating.

Here’s the thing, first-class travel is often outrageously expensive — even if you play the credit card game and use reward points.

This isn’t a hypothetical either.

I currently have 115,000 points on my American Express Gold Card.

This is more than enough to fly first-class to many cities around the world. But here’s the catch. You can also convert your American Express points into gift cards.

You can redeem 71,429 points for a $500 Best Buy gift card.

That’s enough to buy a laptop, PlayStation 5, 60-inch TV, or Google Pixel 7.

Likewise, you can convert your points to Airbnb or hotel gift cards.

107,143 points gets you a $750 gift card. That’s a major upgrade on your next vacation, or 2—3 months worth of rent in a city like Petropolis, Brazil or Xalapa, Mexico.

While there’s nothing wrong with redeeming credit card points for first-class travel, just know that you’ll get more longevity from gift certificates.