How to Wanderlust

I know that sometimes reading a blog and watching other people score big and actually putting it all into practice are two different items.  Don’t let life pass you by as others score and you wait on the sidelines.  Make sure you jump into the game as well.  This post will hopefully outline in a basic format what it will require and how to wanderlust.

1. Ensure that your credit is at a great spot.  You can go to annualcreditreport.com to that nothing on your report looks wrong.  You can either order all three of the reports, or you can just get one of them.  One of our readers told me yesterday that he went to apply for one of the cards on our blog and was denied to bad credit history.  Turns out there was a collection on his Social Security number that wasn’t his.  He is now getting it fixed and working toward getting a few cards.
2. We will make more posts about credit later, but one large important thing about your credit is that you have long standing accounts on which you never have been late or missed any payments.  For this reason I always suggest that you have 1-2 “Staple” cards that you will keep always.  These are your cards that you will have forever to show that your credit history is good with them.  I think that they should be cards that don’t have an annual fee.  For this card I recommend the Blue Sky from American Express℠.  I have had this card for almost six years and redeemed hundreds in benefits.  I know that it isn’t the best card I’ve ever had, but there is no annual fee and I only use it between hot cards at this point.
3. Open an excel spreadsheet and start keeping track of all of your accounts that you have open.  You might not be able to memorize all of the loyalty programs’ numbers, so keep them in a spreadsheet.  You also want to keep track of all of the credit hits that you are getting from each card for which you are applying.  I hear people talking about people who have applied for 10 cards in one year.  With all of those inquiries on your credit you will want to make sure that you don’t get too many with any one of the three credit reporting agencies; Transunion, Equifax, and Experian.
4. Use www.worldwanderlusting.com to see all of the offers that are coming around.  We will talk about the hot ones and try to post them on our site when we find them.  Our goal is to help you to travel as a cost conscientious traveler, in return we ask that you use our site for any applications that you submit.  It’s a  fair trade.  We also ask that you share it with your friends.
5. If you already have a credit card, and have great history it is time to get started.  We have talked about a few cards that can help you to get started.  Some have links on the side of the page and we have posted about others.  The Continental Card expires on May 15th.  We have other cards on the site to earn points and miles.  We have the Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express, Gold Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express,The Platinum Card® from American Express as other cards that can help you get started today.
6. Lower your blood pressure by thinking about the trip that you will be enjoying.  I get a little anxious before applying for any of the cards, but my recent trip to Costa Rica has helped out a ton.  I’m confident going into them now because I’ve seen the benefits.

So Ashley, this post was for you.  I’m try to help everyone to outline their future.  Let’s all plan on taking a trip in 2011.  You have to start planning now and start working on it today.  Let us know how our site has helped you to plan your trips.  Leave a comment for us.