TRAVEL

Get Big Payofs for Globe-Trotting Capital One Venture X Card

COST: $395 PER YEAR

Love free flights? Then hold on to your (business-class) seat. The Venture X card ofers users five times the usual miles on flights and 10 times the usual miles on hotels and rental cars (when booked through Capital One Travel), plus double miles on all other purchases. It’s meant to reward people who travel a ton (so the high annual fee is ofset by the savings). If you use the card’s travel service, you may be able to freeze the price of a flight (for a fee) for a period. If the cost goes up, the company covers the diference (up to a limit); if it goes down, you pay the lower price.

WHY IT’S A WINNER: For anyone with a lot of travel expenses, whether it’s for work, to fly a college student home, or as part of a fun-filled retirement, Venture X will help rack up points faster than Steph Curry in a playof game. “The ability to freeze the price of a travel ticket is magic,” Tsoir says

Vacation on a Budget

Elude

COST: $0

Maybe you stumble on a supercheap flight to London, but when you Google “hotel London under $200 not skeezy,” you get no hits. Or a friend tells you about an afordable eco-resort in Costa Rica, but the flights are crazy expensive. With

Elude, you set your budget first, then the app suggests destinations you can aford Plug in your $5,000 total budget, select your departure city and dates, and swipe through trip options, with a breakdown of flights and hotels for both domestic (Big Sur, California) and international (Copenhagen! Cape Town! Tokyo!) adventures.

WHY IT’S A WINNER: We love that the app might open your eyes to a location you hadn’t thought of (or heard of!). Plus, you save hours of time not having to play travel agent. “This removes the drudgery of research and feels more like fun exploration,” McCullough says.

Take It To The Bank

Readers share the best investing and retirement advice they’ve ever received.

“My father told me, ‘Marry your stock.’ That advice kept me from making impulsive decisions when the market luctuated.”

RACHEL R. BAUM SARATOGA SPRINGS NEW YORK

REAL SIMPLE STAFFER SAYS: “It’s easy to figure out and fun for browsing deals and getting a feel for how much a trip would cost. If you want to just get away for a weekend without any planning or stress, it seems like the app would be perfect for that.” —

Keep All Your Points in One Place—and Maximize Them

The Points Guy App

COST: $0

Hannah Dorough, assistant editor

Turn a Random Mix of Points into an Actual Trip NerdWallet Airline Point Transfers and Partner Award Bookings Tool

COST: $0

Tell NerdWallet what you have—such as Delta SkyMiles or Citi ThankYou Points— and where you want to go (Europe? The Caribbean?). The tool walks you through several of the best ways to use or transfer your points for travel and provides tips on getting the lowest deal.

WHY IT’S A WINNER: Options! Who knew you could transfer credit card miles to a frequent flier program or use them to book flights on another airline? This tool knows the secrets and holds your hand through the process so you actually use the points you’ve earned. “I got great results in 10 seconds,” McCullough says.

This brand’s rep for hacking the travel points system is well deserved. Add your credit cards and all other loyalty programs (like hotels and flights), and the app will keep track of their value, which pops up at the top of your screen, and alert you if any are about to expire. Then search for a trip, and the app tells you how to use your points to get there, laying out the steps to transfer or combine points to turn a reach (first class to Cabo?) into a reality.

WHY IT’S A WINNER: The app is more than just a points tracker; you can browse the Deals section to see sale alerts. “I was blown away,” Sabatier says. “This app is a true innovator, with an exceptional number of tools, features, and automations to help you maximize your rewards.”

REAL SIMPLE STAFFER SAYS: “I find points programs so hard to keep track of Each credit card resets at a diferent date, and each month is a diferent category, so it’s hard to remember which card I should use at the grocery store or to buy plane tickets. Points Guy keeps track of my earned points and my missed points, so I can start to use my card to its full potential.”

—Erica Finamore, home director

“When you get a pay increase, When get a pay increa invest it. Don’t upgrade your standard of living!”

MAUREEN L. DALTON FARMINGDALE, NEW JERSEY

“My mom told me to take out a y mom told me to take ou small personal loan when I was all loan when I w still young, even though I didn’t even I did need one. I kept the money eed one. I money in savings, paid the payments paymen on time, and established a on and established a great credit rating.”

JEANNE NOWAK, CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS

“My grandfather always told me, ‘Pay yourself irst,’ old me, ‘Pay irst meaning save. I applied that lesson, and now I’m on hat and now I’m o track to retire at 60.”

KELLEY ATKINSON, ELDERSBURG, MARYLAND

“One of my very irst bosses One irst bosse told me to invest the maximum d maxim amount in my 401(k). He said, mount my 401(k). He sa ‘You won’t miss the small ‘You won’t paycheck deduction, but it aycheck deduction, but i will add up in the end.’ His advice helped me retire His helped me retir recently. I’m forever grateful.” ently. gratefu

JOAN TRABUCCO, PACIFICA, CALIFORNIA