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Looking for a close-to-home option for a spring break getaway or starting to plan a summer adventure with rewards points? Consider exploring a new part of the U.S. on a fly-and-drive road trip!

Fly-and-drive trips are a twist on the traditional road trip. Instead of getting in your own car and road-tripping from home, you fly to a further-afield destination as your starting point and then rent a car to go exploring.

See related: When you should pay a flight with cash, when with miles

Fly-and-drive road trip options

As a fly-and-driver, you can choose a one-way journey: Arrive and rent a car at one location, then return the car and depart from your second location. For example, fly into San Diego, adventure up the California coast and fly home from San Francisco.

Alternatively, you can start and end a fly-and-drive road trip at the same point by booking a simple same location return on both your car rental and plane ticket.

This type of trip allows you to explore a specific region – like flying in and out of Minneapolis and road tripping to explore Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters.

I personally discovered the adventure possibility of fly-and-drive trips while working to visit all 50 states.

While I’ve checked all the states off my list now, the experience showed me there are lots of places to discover that are a simple road trip away from some airport, so I’m still at it.

My last fly-and-drive trip was just last month when my friend Jes and I scored cheap Alaska Airlines tickets to Albuquerque (ABQ).

We explored Southern New Mexico’s national monuments, space stations, hot springs and alien landing sites – using our credit card rewards points to get great deals on hotel stays.

Here’s how we planned our fly-and-drive to New Mexico – and how you can use your rewards points to hit the road.

How to plan a fly-and-drive road trip

1. Arrive at your starting destination on points – or pick a cheap location

Some fly-and-drive trippers want to visit a special destination like a national park or historic landmark, others are willing to explore and find adventure in any location they can arrive to free or at a bargain.

The first time I did a fly-and-drive road trip around New Mexico, I chose it because I had never been to the state and always wanted to see Santa Fe.

The ticket from PDX-ABQ was expensive to purchase in peak season, so I “paid” for it with American Airline miles from my Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard. The second time I went was simply because there was a $39 flight.

• Watch for fare sales to discover possible locations. Airlines run sales in line with traditional shopping “holidays” and some offer reduced points sales on award tickets.
• Use a booking tool to find options for the cheapest destinations to fly to from your starting point. I use Google Flights to search from my home airport to the “United States,” and Skiplagged to search to “anywhere.”
• If you have Southwest Rapid Rewards points from the Southwest Rapids Rewards Premier Credit Card (or Chase Ultimate Rewards points transferrable to Rapid Rewards), search for a budget ticket on Southwest.
• Southwest has domestic routes to 40 states, and the points cost will be low because it’s based on the dollar cost of your bargain ticket. Plus, if you’ve already scored the Companion Pass, you can take a friend along for free.

2. Book your car

Wheels are a requirement for a fly-and-drive trip, but they don’t have to cost a lot. Rental cars can be acquired using either points or cash. My personal preference is to always look for a cheap car first. If I can find a car rental for $25 a day or under, I’ll usually save my points and pay for the rental.

• Use Autoslash to find the cheapest deals on car rentals.
• Expect to pay more (cash or points) for a one-way rental (i.e., drop off in a different city). If you are flexible and traveling offseason, check out Transfer Car for nearly free rental relocation options.
• Make a booking when you find a good deal but keep looking until you find a great one. Car rental reservations can be canceled without penalty (unless you’ve prepaid).
• Pay with a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve that offers primary insurance on the rental.

Using Autoslash, I was able to find an unbelievably cheap, all-in rental while in New Mexico for three days which only cost me $76. The Budget rental (via Priceline) was $111 cheaper than anything I could find searching sites directly, and insurance was covered with my credit card.

See related: Best cards for renting a car

3. Book free accommodation – or use points to wing it

Outside of big cities in the U.S., you’re likely to find roadside chain hotels in the lower to midrange category like the Holiday Inn Express (part of IHG), the Hampton Inn (part of Hilton Honors), or the Fairfield Inn (part of Marriott Bonvoy).

These hotels are rarely at capacity (unless it’s a holiday or local event) and are prime locations for using credit card points earned on co-branded cards.

• If your flight arrives in the evening, book your hotel for your first night in advance.
• If you know exactly how far you’ll be traveling each day, you can book hotels in advance.
• If a hotel is cheap – my rule is less than $80 – pay cash. Use your points for more expensive redemptions.
• Budget 20,000 rewards points per night for any chain hotel program if you’re relying on last-minute bookings (you may find rooms for 5,000-10,000 points per night, if you’re lucky).

For New Mexico, we pre-booked arrival and departure nights at the ABQ Hyatt Place using points – from the World of Hyatt Credit Card – as our flights arrived late and left early.

We left our other nights to chance as there were plenty of Marriott, IHG and Hilton options in the small cities we’d pass through.

The result was two nights at two different Holiday Inn Express properties for 15,000 points each  – from the IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card.

Where would you head on a fly-and-drive trip? Use your points to plan an adventure — the road awaits!

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Kroger has added another one of its store chains to its ban of Visa credit cards.

The supermarket giant announced on March 1 its Smith Food & Drug Stores division would stop accepting Visa credit cards beginning April 3. The ban includes 142 stores and 108 gas stations located in Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and Arizona.

Last August, Kroger-owned Foods Co. Supermarkets said it would no longer take Visa credit cards. That ban covers 21 stores and five fueling centers in central and northern California.

Shoppers are still able to use Visa debit cards, as well as cards from other networks such as Mastercard, Discover and American Express.

Retailers pay card networks an interchange fee – also called a “swipe fee” – of about 2 or 3 percent of the purchase price each time a consumer uses a credit card. Experts say the costs of the swipe fees typically get passed on to the consumer. Visa and Mastercard are reportedly planning to raise swipe fees in April.

“Visa has been misusing its position and charging retailers excessive fees for a long time,” Kroger vice president Mike Schlotman said in a news release. “They conceal from customers what Visa and its banks charge retailers to accept Visa cards. At Smith’s, Visa’s credit card fees are higher than any other credit card brand that we accept.”

A Kroger spokesman said in August the ban could be expanded to the parent company’s stores. Kroger operates 2,782 grocery stores in 35 states under nearly two dozen brands, according to its website.

See related: Card surcharge ban laws take another blow in California court

Retailers have fought the card networks in court over swipe fees in recent years. In 2014, Wal-Mart filed a lawsuit against Visa, alleging the latter used its dominant market position to jack up swipe fees. The lawsuit said retailers paid $350 million in interchange and network fees from 2004 to 2012.

American Express has also faced pushback from retailers and corporate partners over its high swipe fees, which have kept it at a lower acceptance rate in the U.S. than chief rivals Visa and Mastercard. But Amex announced March 2018 it would cut its interchange fees to their lowest levels in nearly 20 years.

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Elaine Pofeldt is a journalist whose articles on entrepreneurship and careers have appeared in Fortune, Working Mother, Money and many other publications. She is a former senior editor at Fortune Small Business magazine and an entrepreneur herself, as co-founder of 200kfreelancer.com, a website for independent professionals. She writes “Your Business Credit,” a weekly column about small business and credit, for CreditCards.com.

Ask a question.

Dear Your Business Credit,
I have been renting my car out on Craigslist for a few years. Before renting, I ask the renter to sign a contract including their credit card information and consent to me charging the card should fees be incurred (tickets, maintenance etc.), but because I’m not an actual business entity paying taxes this has been more of a scare tactic to ensure all is shipshape before the car is returned. I have never used the credit information provided. My question is: Can I charge someone’s credit card using their credit card number and a mobile app in the above scenario? Thank you. – Matt

Dear Matt,
What an interesting side hustle! Renting out your car when you are not using it is a great way to add a little income, but make sure you are not skirting IRS rules.

Assuming your contract is valid, it does appear you can use a credit card number and a mobile app to charge your customers. Let’s say you want to use the service Square, a popular one for people who do not have a merchant account. Square says you can use its service for both individual and business use on its website.

It is possible to key in a transaction manually on Square if you do not have the physical card, but you need the name on the card, the billing address, card number, expiration date and the credit card’s security code to process it. As Square notes, keyed-in payments are “inherently riskier because the customer does not have to be physically present.”

Bear in mind that when you charge a would-be car renter’s credit card, there is a risk they could complain about the charge to their credit card issuer, leading to a chargeback. You will need to respond to collect your money, and there is a chance the issuer will side with the customer, leaving you to absorb the loss.

I am not sure why you are not paying taxes, but I would recommend asking an accountant about whether you should be. It’s worth noting that if you do a high volume of transactions, Square will send you a form called a 1099-K at the end of the year.

“Sellers who process more than $20,000 (cash excluded) and 200 credit card payments in a calendar year are eligible for a Form 1099-K. If eligible, a Form 1099-K will be uploaded to the Tax Forms section of your online Square Dashboard by January 31,” the Square website says. This is money that will be reported to the IRS.

Even if you have not exceeded $20,000, it appears renting your car may actually be considered operating a business in the eyes of the IRS, even if you have not formed a business entity. Many people operate businesses as sole proprietors without forming an LLC or incorporating.

The IRS says on its website, “A trade or business is generally an activity carried on for a livelihood or in good faith to make a profit.” I’m assuming that you do wish to make a profit from renting your car or would not wish to deal with the stress of trusting strangers to drive it.

The IRS says it does not matter if you run your business full-time or part-time. “You do not have to carry on regular full-time business activities to be self-employed,” the IRS says.

And, as the IRS puts it on its website, “All businesses except partnerships must file an annual income tax return.” I’d highly recommend keeping good records so you can do that if you are required to do so.

See related: Charged Up! podcast: How to start a profitable side hustle, Mastering the side hustle to beat down debt, Accepting international payments with Square

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