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For the past few days, I've been out at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, covering the country's biggest gadgetfest for CE Pro.

It's an exciting time, with lots of new product introductions and announcements, but it's also overwhelming — 140,000 people and not nearly as much time to see everything as you need.

CES is one of the four or so tradeshows I travel to every year for work, which brings with it some interesting money situations.

When I travel for work, I'm given a stipend of $55 per day for food. Now, $55 is a LOT more than I would normally spend a day for food, but when you have to eat out all of your meals, it adds up quickly.

At CES, I'm also expected to put my hotel room charges on my own credit card. For the five days I'm here, I'll rack up a bill of over $1,000.

Traveling also brings transportation bills (cabs, monorail, etc).

Of course, my company reimburses me for what I spend, but the money has to come from my pockets first. For that reason, I charge nearly everything to my credit card. I don't want the money coming out of my pocket any sooner than it has to!

Normally, it doesn't take too long for accounting to send out the checks for what I've paid. But when you're racking up a bill over $1,000, I want to make sure I have the money to pay it first.

Although I only have one credit card, it would make sense to use a card with cashback or airline miles. You get the points, but don't have to pay the bill.