Deciding how much to tip depends on what kind of service provider you’re working with and how well they do their job. But if you’re looking for a general rule for services in the U.S., you should typically tip 15% to 20% of the bill, according to most etiquette experts we interviewed.

A 20% tip is generous and requires straightforward math. To calculate a 20% tip, first identify 10%, then double that amount. So, if the total cost of your service was $90.00, find 10% by moving the decimal one spot to the left, which leaves you with $9. Then double that $9 to find your 20% tip: $18.

Read on for the mechanics of how to tip, or jump to the list of how much to tip various professionals.

When tipping, try to give cash if you can. Leave it at your table for a dining service, or hand it directly to the service provider with a “thank you.”

You could also be prompted to tip a certain amount with the credit or debit card you’re using to pay for your service. You may see a line for gratuity at the bottom of your bill, for example. Or you could see electronic prompts to tip, typically through the service provider’s app or at the point of payment.

Before we get into how much you should tip, let’s start with why gratuity matters — particularly nowadays. Many people in the service industry have struggled financially and are “getting back on their feet,” says Diane Gottsman, founder of The Protocol School of Texas.

She points out that many of these workers are risking their health during the pandemic to serve, often with fewer hours and a larger workload. Given these circumstances, Gottsman says, “do the gracious thing” and leave a tip if you can.

Servers. For servers in sit-down restaurants, aim for at least 15% to 20% pretax. If you’re able to tip more than 20%, do so for servers who went “above and beyond,” says Elaine Swann, founder of The Swann School of Protocol, based in Carlsbad, California.

For example, she says, tip more for servers who accommodated a very large party of diners, gave several wine and food recommendations, or accommodated the needs of small children.

Food preparers and baristas. If you’re simply picking up an order from a restaurant, gratuity isn’t necessary but a kind gesture, Gottsman says. Shoot for 10% to 15%, if you can spare it. Same goes for baristas.

Bartenders. Consider a dollar or two per drink, or 15% to 20% of the tab, recommends The Emily Post Institute, a fifth generation family business that gives etiquette guidance.

Food and grocery delivery drivers. Gottsman suggests leaving a tip of at least 15%.

Rideshare drivers. Aim for 15% to 20% gratuity, says Patricia Rossi, a business etiquette coach based in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area. Tip extra to drivers who give helpful advice, she says, such as local spots to explore or avoid. Sparkling clean cars with extra touches — think water bottles and phone chargers — warrant an extra dollar or two. Rossi also recommends giving your driver a high rating for a positive experience.

Beauticians and cosmetologists. Plan to tip 15% to 20% for services related to your hair or skin, says Crystal L. Bailey, director of The Etiquette Institute of Washington, which is in D.C. Those services could include haircuts and styling, makeup application, eyelash extensions, waxes and manicures and pedicures. (Learn more about how much to tip a hairdresser.)

If you can, Bailey recommends leaning toward 20% for these professionals, given how close they must get to your face during the pandemic.

Massage therapists. Rossi says tipping 15% to 20% is usually appropriate. However, where you get your massage may determine how much gratuity (if any) is expected, says Taelour Wagler, a licensed massage therapist and owner of The Middle Wellness Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. Tipping is customary at businesses described as spas or resorts, she says, but not at chiropractic clinics or physical therapy offices.

If you’re unsure of tipping etiquette, Wagler suggests simply asking the massage therapist what’s appropriate. Or, explore our guide to how much to tip a massage therapist.

Skycaps, bellhops and door attendants. If you anticipate that someone will carry your luggage, get cash ahead of time — ideally in small bills. Give about $2 per bag handled by a bellhop at a hotel, Bailey says. As for skycaps at an airport, The Emily Post Institute suggests $2 for the first bag and $1 per additional bag.

Give $1 to $4 to door attendants for carrying luggage, and $1 to $2 for hailing you a cab, The Emily Post Institute recommends.

Hotel housekeeper. Aim for about $4 or $5 per night, Rossi suggests.

Concierge. Tip a concierge if they made you dinner reservations, booked you a tour or otherwise went out of their way to enhance your trip. Rossi recommends giving $5 to $30 “or more if they went way above and beyond.” For example, perhaps they somehow secured you sold-out concert tickets.

Say someone helps you, but you don’t know if tipping is appropriate. “Always err on the side of yes,” Gottsman says.

Still feel weird about it? “When in doubt, ask,” she adds. Pose something along the lines of: “I appreciate your help and would like to tip you — does your company allow you to accept tips?”

Experts’ opinions vary on what to do if your finances won’t allow you to tip. Swann says that restaurant servers are the only professionals for whom tipping is a “staple” in the United States.

For other kinds of services, she says it’s OK to pay only the base price if you must.

But most experts urge you to plan for that tip. “Put yourself in a position where you can budget an extra 20%,” says Pamela Capalad, a New York-based certified financial planner.

So, if you’re planning on getting an $80 massage, make sure you feel comfortable stashing aside an additional $16 for a 20% tip.

If the idea of shelling out $96 total doesn’t work for you, consider rethinking your plans. “Be honest about what it costs,” says Delia Fernandez, a Los Alamitos, California-based CFP. “If you can’t afford it, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it, or not doing it as often.”

Say your experience was unpleasant. Consider discussing your dissatisfaction — calmly and privately — with the person you worked with or their manager.

If possible, “look for an opportunity to resolve it,” Swann says. For example, if your new hair color is far from what you expected, perhaps you could request that it be adjusted for free at another appointment.

As far as tipping, most experts say it’s OK to tip below 15%. But try to give at least some grace (and gratuity).

Whether to take a river cruise through Europe or go on a one-way road trip, sometimes you want to book flights that aren’t just a simple round trip. However, especially when traveling internationally, one-way flights can be much more expensive than round-trip flights.

Chase points collectors, particularly, can avoid the upcharge of booking one-way flights. Since many airlines let you book two one-way flights together to form an “open-jaw” itinerary for around the same price as a round trip, and Chase points are transferrable to a variety of airlines, affordable options abound.

Say you want to take a river cruise starting in Budapest, Hungary and ending near Munich, Germany. Rather than backtracking to Budapest to fly home, you could save time by flying into Budapest to start your trip and flying back home from Munich. This type of multi-destination trip is called an “open-jaw” itinerary.

You might assume you need to book two one-way flights — one to Budapest and one back from Munich. But booking that way is likely much more expensive than a simple round-trip flight.

Instead, many airlines let you book these trips as a “multi-city” booking where you reserve two (or more) one-way flights together on one ticket. Instead of paying the more expensive one-way costs of booking separate tickets, airlines generally group the destinations together and price the ticket similarly to a round-trip ticket. Effectively, you’ll pay half the round-trip price of each route, before taxes and fees.

One of the great benefits of earning Chase Ultimate Rewards® points is the variety of redemption options. When it comes to booking flights, you have two primary choices:

1. Transferring points to airline partners for an award booking.

2. Buying fares through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal.

Generally speaking, transferring points to airline partners is a straightforward process. Booking travel through the Ultimate Rewards® portal, on the other hand, may require the additional step of calling a Chase phone agent (depending on the number of legs of your flight itinerary).

If you’re splurging for business or first class, transferring your points to an airline loyalty program will generally require fewer Chase points. But if the cash price for your flights is affordable, booking economy fares through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal often makes more sense.

If you find a stellar deal on an airline that’s a Chase transfer partner, it’s often wise to book through the airline itself rather than through the Chase portal.

First, check the list of Chase transfer partners and determine which ones might offer the cheapest rates to your destination. Our airline partner booking tool should be able to help with that.

Let’s say you’ve picked United Airlines to go to Europe. You’ll want to use the advanced search feature in the lower left-hand corner of the United homepage to find open-jaw routes.

Then, select the box that indicates you want flight prices to be displayed in miles. Choose the “multi-city” tab to input your departure and arrival locations for your open-jaw itinerary.

You’ll be able to select each flight separately. Find out how many miles it’ll cost for both flights; then, transfer those miles from your Chase Ultimate Rewards® account to United so you can book your trip.

When booking with airline miles, the mileage price will typically be the same whether you book a round trip or two one-way flights. However, the taxes and fees may be lower when you book an open-jaw itinerary than they would be for two one-way flights — especially when traveling to Europe.

For example, here’s a flight from Detroit to Paris, with a return flight from Amsterdam to Detroit, booked through Virgin Flying Club — a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards®. When booked together as an open-jaw, your seat in Delta One business class will cost 100,000 Virgin points, plus $65.17 in taxes and fees.

If you book these two flight separately, it’ll still cost you 100,000 Virgin points total (50,000 each way), but it’ll cost you about $300 in taxes and fees. Grouping the flights into a single open-jaw itinerary saves you about $235.

There are other benefits of booking multiple award flights together in the same booking. For example, when booking qualifying awards through United MileagePlus, you can score a free one-way flight through United’s Excursionist Perk. You can use this perk to really hop around Europe.

Instead of transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to an airline and booking your flight there, you can redeem points within the Chase travel portal itself.

Unfortunately, finding eligible, affordable open-jaw tickets can be a bit tricky when booking through the Chase travel portal. Before checking the Chase travel portal, we recommend using an online flight search tool like Google Flights to see what options are available for your selected dates and destinations. Enter your preferences, and Google Flights will automatically find the cheapest open-jaw itinerary.

Nerdy tip: To get the best rates, search for open-jaw flights operated by the same airline or its partners in both directions.

For example, on SAS you can currently book an open-jaw itinerary from Los Angeles to Stockholm, Sweden with a return flight from Gothenburg, Sweden for $370 round trip.

However, if you want to book a return flight from Prague instead, SAS doesn’t have any availability. In that case, you’d want to book through Delta, Air France or KLM.

Don’t worry, you won’t need to cross-check every airline out there to find the best option. Look closer at the options recommended by Google Flights, make your selection, and then prepare for booking in the Chase travel portal.

Open the portal. From there, you’ll see three booking options: Round-trip, one-way or multi-city. If you want to book three flights for your open-jaw itinerary, you can proceed and book through the portal. If you only need two flights, however, you’ll need to call Chase at 866-951-6592 to book — regardless of whether you’re paying with points or cash.

Thankfully, you should have no issues getting hold of an agent. Chase travel advisors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Advise the agent that you want to use or earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, and provide your dates and routes. Make sure that the price jibes with what you found through Google Flights or another flight search engine before agreeing to book.

You have options when booking flights with Chase points. You can transfer points to Chase’s airline transfer partners, redeem points to book through the Ultimate Rewards® travel portal, or book airfares with cash in the portal.

Booking a two-leg open-jaw itinerary isn’t currently possible on the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal. However, you can call to book these itineraries over the phone. Just make sure to price out the trip through another online source before calling. That way, you’ll have an idea of how much the open-jaw flights should cost — and whether you should transfer your points to airlines to book award flights instead.

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for:

You may have seen or heard it. At the workplace water cooler, the holiday dinner table and just about every place else you go, proud travel hackers are boasting about scoring free flights to far-off destinations.

Ready to get in on the action? Here’s everything you need to know about how to get free flights, starting with a caveat: “Free flights” aren’t usually free. You often pay at least $5.60 each way for Transportation Security Administration fees on your ticket. For certain international flights, you’ll also be on the hook for fuel surcharges, which can sometimes cost around $200 each way for economy class and more than $700 each way in business class.

Now that you know award travel means “mostly” free, here are the most reliable ways to get free flights.

With time, strategic spending and the right credit cards, you’ll be well on your way to flying at deep discounts.

Sign up for an airline loyalty program (joining is free). Every time you fly the airline, you will earn miles or points that can be redeemed for free flights.

The number of miles you earn varies by airline. Most award you miles based on the cash price of your ticket. For example, United Airlines’ MileagePlus program members earn 5 MileagePlus miles per dollar spent on qualifying tickets. Premier members of the program get bonus miles on top of that.

Other airlines, such as Hawaiian Airlines, award miles based on how far you fly. A 2,397-mile flight from San Francisco to Honolulu, for example, puts 2,397 HawaiianMiles in your loyalty program account.

You can also earn miles with your preferred airline by flying on one of its partners. For example, if you fly JetBlue, you can use your HawaiianMiles member number when booking to earn miles on Hawaiian. Or, book a flight to Paris on Air France, use your Delta Air Lines SkyMiles number when booking and you’ll earn Delta miles for your trip. Determine which airlines partner with your preferred carrier to see all your options for earning miles.

So how many miles do you need to rack up before you have enough for a free flight? That depends on the airline miles you collect, where you’re going and when. Search your preferred airline’s website for sample award bookings for your travel dates and other dates to see how award prices can vary.

Airlines partner with financial institutions to offer airline credit cards that award your spending with miles or points deposited directly into your loyalty program account. You can earn enough points or miles for an award flight without ever buying a plane ticket with one of these credit cards.

For example:

• Prefer dining out? Lots of cards will up your rewards when you make charges at restaurants. If you’re a more frequent United flyer, the United℠ Explorer Card also offers 2 United miles per dollar on dining purchases, including eligible delivery services.

• With the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, you can earn bonus miles for both cooking at home and eating out. You’ll earn 2 SkyMiles per dollar on restaurant purchases and at U.S. supermarkets. Terms apply.

Before you sign up for a card, think about where you spend most of your money. Then compare credit card annual fees, and find one that fits your budget and has valuable benefits.

The fastest way to get enough miles for a free flight is to snag a credit card “welcome bonus.” These offers typically include a big stack of points or miles, often in the tens of thousands. You earn this welcome bonus when you sign up as a new cardmember then hit a spending minimum in a set period — usually the first three months after opening.

For example, the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card is offering this welcome bonus: Get 40,000 bonus miles plus Alaska’s Famous Companion Fare™ from $121 ($99 fare plus taxes and fees from $22) with this offer. To qualify, make purchases of $2,000 or more within the first 90 days of opening your account.

Chase, American Express, Capital One, Citi and other financial institutions offer travel credit cards that pay points. You can redeem points for flights on the issuer’s travel booking site or, for some of these programs, convert your points into your favorite airline’s miles. Others allow you to redeem them for a statement credit to compensate for the cost of a flight or hotel.

For example, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card earns you 1.5 points per dollar. You can use those points to book a free flight in Bank of America’s travel booking portal, or you can purchase a flight using the credit card, then apply your points for a statement credit to offset the purchase.

These flexible rewards cards give you a more comprehensive selection of airlines to choose from. But they don’t offer some perks, like free checked bags or bonus miles for buying same-brand flights with an airline’s co-branded card.

Nerdy tip: Airline-branded cards work best for travelers who favor a single airline, while broader travel rewards cards are better for those who aren’t loyal to one brand.

Some airlines offer a chance to earn a “companion pass,” which lets a second passenger fly with you for free (not including taxes or fees). For example, you can earn the Southwest Companion Pass by flying 100 one-way flights or accumulating 125,000 qualifying points through purchasing flights or spending on a Southwest credit card. The Southwest Companion Pass lets you pick one person who can fly with you on the same itinerary for the cost of taxes and fees, which start at $5.60 each way. It’s valid for the remainder of the year in which you earned it, plus the entire following calendar year. You can even change your designated companion up to three times a year.

The Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® credit card also comes with a one-time-use companion fare each year, which gets your companion on a flight with you starting at just $121 in taxes and fees.

Travelers who want to join the ranks of those who get free plane tickets, plan your strategy carefully. First, consider where you’ll travel and on what airlines. Next, sign up for loyalty programs, then look at credit card welcome bonuses and other ways to earn miles. Even if you don’t make a lot of credit card charges, you can slowly work toward low-cost or nearly free airline tickets.

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2021, including those best for: