Every year, more than 40 million people visit Maryland, spending nearly $20 billion and generating $2.3 billion in tax revenue. To help pay for their trips, many visitors use credit card rewards such as airline miles, hotel points and cash back.
When travelers save money on the fundamentals of the trip — like airfare and hotel stays — they have more money to spend when they arrive. Those rewards contribute to Maryland’s robust tourism industry which supports 187,000 jobs and saves the average household $1,000 annually in taxes.
Marylanders also use these rewards to book vacations, making their next trip out of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport more affordable. As an avid traveler and credit card user, these rewards save me thousands of dollars each year.
Unfortunately, as part of the Credit Card Competition Act sponsored by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, and U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, Congress could eliminate these rewards, jeopardizing travel for millions of people who rely on them. I urge U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen to vote no on the bill (“Maryland lawmakers should support credit reforms,” May 13).
— Brian Oliver, Baltimore
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