By Alyssa Furtado, RateHub.ca

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Active and casual travelers have long known that one of the best ways to save on their vacations is by using travel rewards credit cards. It’s pretty simple: Sign up for a travel rewards program, collect points, and redeem them when you have enough saved.

What makes travel rewards credit cards so appealing is the fact that many offer huge sign-up bonuses. Usually there’s a minimum spend required within a set amount of time, but that seems pretty minor when you’re getting a few hundred dollars in return.

In addition, many travel credit cards offer additional benefits that help you save on your travel. For instance, many include travel emergency medical and car rental collision/loss damage waiver insurance. That’s easily worth a few hundred dollars a year.

The downside to travel rewards programs is that they can be difficult to understand for some. Here’s a look at three popular programs to help you decide the one that’s best for you.

BMO Rewards

With BMO Rewards, points can be used for flights, hotels, and more. They’re only redeemable on the BMO Rewards website or by calling the BMO Rewards Centre (a $29.95 booking fee applies), but there’s still some decent flexibility here. There are no blackout dates, you can book with any airline or hotel, and you can use your points to pay for taxes and fees. You receive $1 credit for every 100 points you redeem. That values each BMO Rewards point at $0.01 apiece. Continue Reading…