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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Make the Most of Credit Card Rewards with Jubel and its Extraordinary Travel Experiences

Jubel Provides Extraordinary Travel Experiences
Matt Walker

Written by: Matt Walker

Matt Walker
Matt Walker

Copywriter and credit card strategist Matt Walker leverages his 15-plus years of experience to cover the finance industry through comprehensive consumer guides and in-depth features. His vast knowledge of the ins and outs of finance allows him to translate complex financial topics into readable articles suited for credit newbies and the most seasoned, tech-savvy investors alike. Matt’s straightforward language highlights the latest developments in the industry — from credit cards to credit unions — and informs consumers on how they can benefit from them.

Edited by: Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro
Lillian Guevara-Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of editing and journalism experience to the CardRates team. She has written and edited for major news organizations, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Times, and she previously served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Florida. Today, Lillian edits all CardRates content for clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement.

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Advertiser Disclosure

In a Nutshell: Traveling should be an adventure, according to Jubel. The tech-based, dynamic travel platform helps people plan exciting, one-of-a-kind trips without the logistical hassles of DIY booking and without the high price tag of a personal travel agent. Those who simply have the urge to go somewhere but haven’t decided on a destination yet can work with Jubel to plan out a unique trip based on their interests, time constraints, and budgets. The company even offers surprise trips for the most adventurous travelers. Jubel is offering a flexible cancellation policy during the COVID-19 pandemic so consumers can still book through Jubel with peace of mind.

Decision paralysis is real. I have spent many a night scrolling through movie options on Netflix only to realize that nearly an hour has passed, and I no longer even have time to watch a movie.

I’ve experienced similar scenarios when thinking about traveling abroad. Sure, London, Paris, and Rome are all fantastic, culturally rich, and common destinations for Americans. But there is a whole world of options out there after all.

Jubel LogoHow do you decide where to go when you’re ready for a destination outside of the usual suspects? Or when you’re ready to experience those places in new and unique ways?

Jubel can help with that.

“We’ve been operating for four years now, and we focus on experiential travel — making it easy to plan multi-destination trips at a fraction of the cost that you would normally have to plan with a travel agency,” said Nicolas S. Bergengruen, Jubel Co-Founder and Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer.

Of course, at CardRates, we carry a passion for all things credit card-related and we love to travel. So, we’d be remiss not to mention how traveling to new places and gaining unique experiences is also a fantastic way to cash in on credit card rewards.

We recently spoke with Bergengruen about the innovative Jubel platform, how technology is changing the way people plan and travel, and traveling in the age of COVID-19.

A Platform Built for Unique Travel Experiences that Meet a Range of Preferences and Budgets

Jubel Co-Founder and CEO JP Toscano notes on the company website that travelers of old — long before the internet, booking websites, and credit cards — embarked on adventures through new or unknown lands, not knowing what lay ahead of them. Even in more recent years, but still prior to the advent of the internet, traveling with just a map yielded a sense of adventure, a sense of the unknown.

“When traveling, I’ve always tried to recreate this feeling of adventure by exploring remote locations and staying as off-the-beaten-path as I could,” writes Toscano. “Surprisingly, it is still possible to discover places in this hyperconnected world that give you a thrilling sense of awe and wonder, akin to what the explorers of the past experienced.”

Nicolas S. Bergengruen

Nicolas S. Bergengruen is a Jubel Co-Founder and the Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer.

And that’s the basic motivation behind Jubel. Toscano wrote that he was still surprised at how difficult it was to plan these types of trips due to the overwhelming number of choices available today and the endless paths offered by the internet.

The Jubel team took on this challenge and created a platform fitting today’s modern adventurer who is not interested in preplanned, cookie-cutter trips booked through a traditional travel agency. Instead, Jubel makes it easy to embark on a one-of-a-kind experience.

“We help you embark on your perfect trip, experience the world in its authenticity, and transform regular vacations into once in a lifetime experiences, with tales to be told for years to come,” according to the company. “We’ll help you visit destinations that you may not even know exist yet, and experience things you never imagined you would love.”

How the Tech-Based Platform Works for Travelers

Bergengruen said that it takes around 30 hours, on average, and visiting 140 different websites for a person to plan a trip. That doesn’t even include navigating around outdated articles, dead-end deals, and other internet pitfalls that leave those credit card awards unclaimed.

“At the other end of the spectrum, you have travel agents, which are pretty expensive and outdated for most people,” Bergengruen said. “They are modernizing in some ways, but for the most part, they still come with a pretty high price tag. And it’s a very friction-heavy process. A lot of emails, a lot of phone calls.”

And, whether using the DIY approach or the travel agent approach, many travelers still end up with a fairly predictable trip that stays on the path most traveled. Jubel can help people diverge from this path into worlds more diverse.

Beach View

Jubel helps travelers embark on one-of-a-kind vacations without logistical headaches.

“We’ve set out to create a platform that makes it easier for you to book these trips, and democratize what a luxury travel adviser would be able to give you — which is a fully personalized solution,” Bergengruen said. “And do that in a way where you retain all the fun elements of travel planning, which are the exploratory individual parts.”

And Jubel handles the tedious, logistical components such as simply figuring out and planning how to get from point A to B to C, he said.

Oftentimes, when travelers decide they want to take a trip, they don’t even know where they want to go.

“The big booking platforms don’t help you in the trip consideration phase, which is where we really focus,” Bergengruen said.

For the undecided, Jubel’s website can help them determine the course of their next adventure by guiding them through a selection process. Users answer a few questions about their interests — choosing between categories such as Adventure, Beach, Culture, Nature, and Nightlife — length of trip, and budget.

For the most adventurous travelers, Jubel offers surprise trips to mysterious destinations, which was one of the company’s earliest offerings. Travelers again provide some basic information and Jubel sends them a complete trip proposal.

“Today, hundreds of travelers have embarked on these unique adventures and they keep coming back for more,” according to the company. “Whether it’s to step out of your daily routine, give the control-freak a break, find yourself, be the envy of your friends, avoid choice paralysis, or rekindle a romantic spark — studies show that surprises intensify your emotions by over 400 percent.”

Travel in the Age of COVID-19 Includes a Flexible Cancellation Policy and High Safety Standards

Bergengruen also discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the travel industry in general, and how Jubel is responding to it as well.

“Obviously, right now with COVID, the whole industry has come to a complete halt, which is a shame,” he said. “There are so many cool companies out there, and I’m sure a lot of people took the leap right now where maybe they got hit hard. Luckily, we’re backed by really good businesses.”

While travelers may understandably be hesitant to pull out their credit cards and plan a trip at the moment, they can still book with confidence through Jubel, with the company’s experts who keep the COVID-19 pandemic at top of mind, according to the website. Jubel has also implemented a flexible cancellation policy to help give travelers peace of mind.


“For bookings made after May 20th and before October 31st, we are giving you the flexibility of knowing that, for any circumstance or reason at all, you may postpone your trip or cancel it for a 100% future travel credit,” according to the website. “Your travel investment is always fully protected, including airfare. No strings attached.”

Although Jubel can’t change how the coronavirus will continue to spread or what travel limitations will be imposed by certain governments, it is well prepared for unpredictable circumstances.

“Collectively we have 15-plus years of experience in facing unforeseen predicaments stirred by global events,” according to the website. “And, with specialists who are experts in their destinations and remain your single point of contact before and while you travel, you’re in safe hands.”

Offsetting Carbon Emissions

One of the next journeys Jubel will be embarking on is becoming carbon neutral.

“It’s one of the big things that we’re working on. We committed with this company called Climate Neutral, which is a very cool company, to start offsetting carbon emissions for our clients which we think is very important,” Bergengruen said.

He said that beginning in 2021, Jubel will begin offsetting all the carbon emissions for its sales for 2020 moving forward.

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