Teach me about travel credit card points

[Lafayette]

It's the same as with Chase except that Amex has a travel agency feature so you can alternatively book direct with them and use points without moving them to an airline/hotel reward account.

American Express Travel: How to Pay with Points | Amex US

Use American Express Membership Rewards Points to Pay for your Next Trip. Find Out How to Use Amex Points on Flights, Hotels, Car Rentals & More.

www.americanexpress.com

Travel and leisure says not to do that by the way.

7 Best Ways to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points

Looking to maximize your American Express Membership Rewards? While the best way to use Amex points is by leaning on airline transfer partners, there are a few other ways to make the most of your savings.

www.travelandleisure.com

True, but for Chase (and I have Chase Sapphire Preffered), you go into their portal for redeeming points and you can book and use or transfer out to say United and use.

The key is that the exchanges vary from time to time, so if you find Chase points are going 1: 1.25 to Delta your best best is to have a Delta affinity account and transfer and book. So keep your eye out on the transfers.

For example, currently Chase Ulitmate points are at 1.25 with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Air France, KLM.

Current point transfer bonuses for May 2025

One way to get great value from transferable points programs is by taking advantage of point transfer bonuses. Find them all here.

frequentmiler.com

That's a good link to refresh once a month.

 

[mussels]

This all like trying to read a foreign language to me, which is why I just have a cash back credit card.

 

[Mike Honcho]

Thepointsguy.com is a great resource

 

[Scot-e]

All of the above. My wife and I are 2 million milers on Delta. We have a dedicated Delta card and a Chase card for hotels.
The only thing I can add is that we book some trips through Delta vacations when it works because we get points for everything.
Just spent 35 days in Africa and we flew front of the bus-16.5 hours direct- in Captown our hotel was “ free” off chase points.

 

[husky429]

"I don't spend a nickel if I can help it unless it somehow profits my mileage account" - Up In The Air

Frequent traveler here ... 20+ years straight of top tier flyer status (w/o having to fly that much in the last 5 years, since most airlines reward spend rather than distance)

If airline miles/status is the goal, then

• Pick one airline that suits your needs, and always fly it (or one of it's partners) ... even if the itineary is indirect
• Sign up for every promotion the airline offers, even if you don't think you'll do it
• Get an airline credit card
  • Pay it before interest is charged!
  • Use it for everything from a candy bar, electricity bill, tax bill, a bathroom renovation. You can even pay a mortgage via Western Union (but that's 200-level frequent flyer sickness)
• Understand who the airline's partners are, and how you can double or triple-earn miles - e.g. American Airlines, Marriott & Uber ... link your Uber account to accumulate Marriott Points, then transfer them to American Airlines. Most of the time I book hotels through the AA travel portal that offers bonus points for certain hotels.
  • Example: UConn / Texas game last Fall ... between the flight miles, status miles multiplier, a promotion going on at the time, Uber miles, and the hotel bonus miles (15,000 in this case), I earned 40,000+ miles for the one trip (that's 20% of what it takes t

• • become Executive Platinum on American) ... and if that wasn't enough, it was the team hotel

I don't think I'd ever get a card from an airline. I prefer the flexibility something like Chase offers to use it on flights, rental cars, whatever.

 

[husky429]

All of the above. My wife and I are 2 million milers on Delta. We have a dedicated Delta card and a Chase card for hotels.
The only thing I can add is that we book some trips through Delta vacations when it works because we get points for everything.
Just spent 35 days in Africa and we flew front of the bus-16.5 hours direct- in Captown our hotel was “ free” off chase points.

Where did you go in Africa?

I love Cape Town. I'd put it in my top-5 cities

 

[J187Money]

Yes, and then you could use the points to book a hotel outside Newark Airport after your United flight gets canceled.

lol I fly United almost exclusively and have never have had a flight OUT of Newark cancelled. No issues last Saturday morning either. Flying in? That’s a different story. But EWR is like LGA. The later in the day the more of a mess it is.

 

[J187Money]

Thepointsguy.com is a great resource

Absolutely. The guy is the truth.

 

[Scot-e]

Where did you go in Africa?

I love Cape Town. I'd put it in my top-5 cities

This trip was Tanzania and Namibia. Ended in Capetown which we love as well- amazing city and landscape!

 

[husky429]

Thepointsguy.com is a great resource

I've probably read 10 articles from this site this morning. Great stuff, very simple... I do wonder about content sponsorships though so I may get onto Reddit and a more "unbiased" source if I can.

What I need to figure out is how folks get these ridiculous flight rates. I'm pretty flexible on where I want to go, but it would need to be during peak times since I work in schools.

 

[husky429]

Feel free to DM me. I’m happy to help you put them to good use. @BigErnMcCracken Feel free as well.

I churn credit cards as a hobby/side hustle.

Since 2019 we’ve accumulated 7.5 Million points and we’ve redeemed 4.2M of our points for the equivalent of $170,000 in travel. Basically fly business class everywhere we go and stay in really nice hotels most of the time.

We just returned from Turks & Caicos in January and stayed 6 nights in a two bedroom suite at South Bank Resort that would have been $17k. In September we stayed 5 nights at Villa Petriolo in Tuscany, 5 nights at Grand Hotel Victoria in Lake Como, and 3 nights at Goldene Rose Karthouse in the Dolomites. The Italy trip would have been $20k.

Last 3.5 years we’ve done Maldives, Turks & Caicos x2, Anguilla, Antigua, Italy 3x (Florence, Venice, Lucca, Amalfi Coast, Dolomites, Tuscany, Lake Como), Paris, Amsterdam, Portugal (Lisbon, Porto, Douro Valley), Napa Valley, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, The Hamptons, Newport RI, Portland Maine (2x). We have California and Turks & Caicos booked in the next 12 months.

It’s not for everyone but it’s a fun and rewarding hobby for us.

TIL: What credit card churning is.

Does that have a big impact on your credit rating?

I've had the Chase Freedom and Sapphire since I left college-ish. Just never considered it more because I don't spend much at all other than when I travel.

 

[Lafayette]

TIL: What credit card churning is.

Does that have a big impact on your credit rating?

I've had the Chase Freedom and Sapphire since I left college-ish. Just never considered it more because I don't spend much at all other than when I travel.

Chase card churning in Sapphire is a 5 year rule - if you wanted Reserved and you have Preferred you need 5 years before applying for reserve.

Other churning they do - Chase has an entry card for college students and if over a year credit is good, they can up you to a better card with cash back and no annual fee.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

TIL: What credit card churning is.

Does that have a big impact on your credit rating?

I've had the Chase Freedom and Sapphire since I left college-ish. Just never considered it more because I don't spend much at all other than when I travel.

Not really, it’s a common misconception. The biggest part of your credit score is on time payments (35%) and utilization (40%). The more credit you have available, the lower the utilization.

I actually just got my credit pulled for a mortgage application and it was >800.

The Chase points you have are definitely enough to get you flights to and from Namibia or Jordan if that’s where you want to go and potentially some hotels as well. Though hotel options are limited with points, but as an example, the Grand Hyatt in Amman is 5,000 Hyatt points a night for a standard room and 8,000 points for a suite, you can transfer Chase points to Hyatt. The standard room is $150/nt and the Suite is $280/nt. So you’re getting 3 cents of value for every point on the standard room and 3.5 cents on the Suite. Can do similar with the Hyatt Regency in Aqaba Ayla.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Chase card churning in Sapphire is a 5 year rule - if you wanted Reserved and you have Preferred you need 5 years before applying for reserve.

Other churning they do - Chase has an entry card for college students and if over a year credit is good, they can up you to a better card with cash back and no annual fee.

It’s 48 months, and you can’t hold two Sapphires at the same time. You’d need to downgrade one to a Freedom / Freedom Unlimited or cancel the card.

 

[Flipside]

Thepointsguy.com is a great resource

also Airlines and Mileage Programs - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Flipside]

I don't think I'd ever get a card from an airline. I prefer the flexibility something like Chase offers to use it on flights, rental cars, whatever.

yep, it all comes down to personal preference ... my focus is the flight experience - require complimentary 1st class and lie-flat bed seats when traveling internationally, early boarding, priority lanes, airport club, etc - makes the entire travel experience fun, even when an airport is experiencing chaos

 

[husky429]

yep, it all comes down to personal preference ... my focus is the flight experience - require complimentary 1st class and lie-flat bed seats when traveling internationally, early boarding, priority lanes, airport club, etc - makes the entire travel experience fun, even when an airport is experiencing chaos

My wife is one of those freaks who likes flying, and I take benzos and blast off to outer space anyways, so we fly economy. You could put me on a bed of lava and I'd sleep for 8 hours. Much prefer to spend the extra on hotels than flights.

 

[Flipside]

What I need to figure out is how folks get these ridiculous flight rates. I'm pretty flexible on where I want to go, but it would need to be during peak times since I work in schools.

Flight prices change hourly ... be patient and search for flight deals off hours

 

[Flipside]

My wife is one of those freaks who likes flying, and I take benzos and blast off to outer space anyways, so we fly economy. You could put me on a bed of lava and I'd sleep for 8 hours. Much prefer to spend the extra on hotels than flights.

but see, there is no spending extra - you still buy coach ... once you start accumulating status (miles/points) on an airline, you get more free stuff, and better service

 

[husky429]

Not really, it’s a common misconception. The biggest part of your credit score is on time payments (35%) and utilization (40%). The more credit you have available, the lower the utilization.

I actually just got my credit pulled for a mortgage application and it was >800.

The Chase points you have are definitely enough to get you flights to and from Namibia or Jordan if that’s where you want to go and potentially some hotels as well. Though hotel options are limited with points, but as an example, the Grand Hyatt in Amman is 5,000 Hyatt points a night for a standard room and 8,000 points for a suite, you can transfer Chase points to Hyatt. The standard room is $150/nt and the Suite is $280/nt. So you’re getting 3 cents of value for every point on the standard room and 3.5 cents on the Suite. Can do similar with the Hyatt Regency in Aqaba Ayla.

That's good to know.

Are there any search engines where you can look at flights and points?

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

That's good to know.

Are there any search engines where you can look at flights and points?

Yes a few that have popped up over the last two years or so, which makes it easier for everyone. Some are free, most are not.

Flights:
Pointsyeah.com
Awardtool.com
Point.me
Seats.aero
Roame.travel

Hotels:
Maxmypoint.com
Pointsyeah.com
Rooms.aero
Awardtool.com

Note that for a lot of airline programs, the cost can vary by day using points. Something could be 60k one day and 20k the next day. Hotel pricing is typically more standard so long as standard award availability exists.

 

[Lafayette]

Flight prices change hourly ... be patient and search for flight deals off hours

Just got back from a interview with the points guy founder and United's loyalty program head: consensus is the algo's airlines use to price flights tend to rise closer to the flight (if purchasing) and early morning is thought to be best as it calculates from prior night and hasn't started increasing.

Also early morning flights are the most on time.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Thepointsguy.com is a great resource

He's a massive sell out unfortunately

 

[husky429]

Yes a few that have popped up over the last two years or so, which makes it easier for everyone. Some are free, most are not.

Flights:
Pointsyeah.com
Awardtool.com
Point.me
Seats.aero
Roame.travel

Hotels:
Maxmypoint.com
Pointsyeah.com
Rooms.aero
Awardtool.com

Note that for a lot of airline programs, the cost can vary by day using points. Something could be 60k one day and 20k the next day. Hotel pricing is typically more standard so long as standard award availability exists.

This is super helpful--looks like PointsYeah is free so I may poke around on there for a couple weeks.

 

[Edward Sargent]

We fly a lot to and from Tampa to NY and Boston with Jet Blue. We took out a JB card which gives us double miles, free baggage check and preferred boarding. We also move our Amex points to JB. Get lots of free flights