As a young professional, you’re probably well aware of the benefits of a credit card; while it apparently can’t buy you love, a credit card can be a useful tool to help you buy just about anything else you may need.
Nowadays though, especially for the active millennial, getting your hands on the right credit card is about much more than simply making purchases.
It’s about convenience, access, protection and perks. In one word, it’s about experience.
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That reality becomes very apparent when you use your credit card for travel, as I did when I used my Scotia Momentum® Visa InfiniteTM to facilitate my recent dream trip to Maderas Beach in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua is beautiful, it’s relaxing and it’s one of the few remaining places in the Western Hemisphere that’s “accessible for tourists” and “inexpensive”. That being said, there are no direct flights into Managua from Toronto, I was staying at a property almost three hours from the airport (and 20 minutes outside the nearest city by way of alpine-esque unpaved roads).
So back to summarizing things with one word, I was pretty keen on securing some “insurance”. By using my Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card to pay for the trip, I automatically had all the coverage under control.
Coverage included: Travel emergency benefits for up to $1 million over 15 consecutive days (mine was 14); Trip interruption insurance for up to $2,000 (significant delays, family tragedy, etc.); rental car insurance (never having to “check that box”); delayed and lost baggage benefits. That last one is especially important – I unfortunately have had items in my luggage lost before.
With peace of mind established, it was time to relax and the get the dream on its way. 6:30am–7:00am, slowly wake up to the sound of monkeys grunting and “hoo”ing; 7am–9am, write; 9am–10am eat breakfast burrito and drink smoothie; 10am–12pm, write; 12pm–3:30pm, surf; 3:30pm–6:00pm, drink beer, watch surfers, read and ogle sunset; 6:00pm–7:45pm, listen to music, drink Juan Dalys, play dominos (Juan Daly = Arnold Palmer + Rum = John Daly + Spanish Linguistic Twist = Juan Daily); 7:45pm–9:00pm, dinner; 9:00pm–?, shenanigans.
Then, sprinkle in the following to really put it over the top: disc golf, morning yoga, a catamaran trip to a private beach (twice), lobster lunch at a very local dining establishment, a party in San Juan del Sur, and an amazing one hour massage two minutes from the beach for $40.
The Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card made all of that easier. For one, I needed to take out more cash in town (who ever brings enough on trips like this?). While one of my other credit cards could not be read at several bank machines – an issue I have also experienced several times in South America –with my Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite I was able to easily refresh the bank roll to cover a few extra beach beers.
For two weeks of livin’ the dream the total came to about $1,200 – all in. If you’ll recall, the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card is a cashback card. For purchases like this, it’s 1% cashback (2% for recurring bills and pharmacy, 4% for groceries and gas). When you consider all my other trip expenses I paid for with my card, the cashback really does start to add up, at the end of the year the earned cashback is redeemed.
Needless to say, while I still totally blow at surfing, my dream trip was far from a nightmare. Much of that had to do with the beautiful scenery, the engaging activities, the incredible people, the top notch accommodations and the impeccable weather. Honestly though, much of it also had to do with packing the right plastic.
Next dream trip? Hong Kong, I think. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to pull it off, but I am sure which card I’ll be using to pay for it.
While you look into planning your own trip, sign up for the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite , and from now until June 4th there is no fee for signup, see all of the details here.
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