I do a fair amount of business travel for my job. I view it as a necessary evil until FI, and would appreciate ideas about how I can (ethically) use it to my benefit.
Here's what I've been doing:
- Put all US-dollar expenses on 1.5% cash back, no annual fee MasterCard. Earns me cash money, which is the best.
- Put all foreign expenses on AA MasterCard with no foreign transaction fee (am transitioning this to Chas Amazon Visa with no FTF and no annual fee). Earns me American Airlines miles, soon to be Amazon credits.
- Fly on AA or a partner airline whenever I can to maximize frequent flier miles.
- Use hotel loyalty programs when there is one (gets me a free hotel night or upgrade for family travel now and then).
- Use my airport's frequent parker program (lets me park for free at the airport for occasional personal travel).
A few parameters worth mentioning:
- I don't get a per diem, but am reimbursed for actual (reasonable) expenses. It's been years since anyone gave me a hard time about an expense report, as I'm pretty conservative about what I submit.
- About half my travel is domestic & half international.
- I rarely can choose hotel but often can choose airline.
- I often bring my own snacks (at my expense) because I'm doing one of those low-carb, high fat diets. Other than that, food & beverages are typically reimbursed.
So, any ideas on what else I could be doing? I'd appreciate any suggestions.