Credit cards that offer travel points can be an excellent way to unlock travel rewards; however, their value will depend on how they’re redeemed. Here are a few strategies for maximising their use.
Airlines and hotel loyalty programs typically provide travel cards that reward members with miles or points redeemable towards future travel – these rewards could potentially be worth as much as 1 cent per point if used strategically.
General travel cards
Travel cards offer points or miles you can redeem for rewards like free flights, upgrade seats and priority seating. They may also offer valuable perks like waived foreign transaction fees and TSA PreCheck statement credits – whatever your travel needs might be! NerdWallet provides a list of beginner-friendly cards as well as premium ones to meet them all.
Travel credit cards typically allow you to earn and redeem rewards in multiple ways, including purchasing airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, restaurants and attractions. They typically provide various redemption options such as cash back, merchandise gift cards or statement credits – some even allow for you to transfer them across loyalty programs for greater flexibility if you don’t hold strong allegiance with one airline or hotel chain.
Co-branded cards
Co-branded cards are the result of a partnership between a credit card issuer and another non-financial institution, such as an airline, hotel chain or retailer. Co-branded cards provide special benefits exclusive to each partner brand such as merchandise discounts, points or loyalty program benefits – yet can incur higher interest rates and fees than standard cards.
Co-branding partners collaborate closely with card issuers to design a reward structure that will draw customers and achieve desired results, whether that means linking into existing loyalty programs or developing one from scratch. They also determine features of cards like how they will be recognized.
Co-branded cards provide consumers with greater flexibility than private label cards that can only be used at their issuing store (such as Target’s REDcard or Victoria’s Secret Angel Card), making them the better option. Co-branded cards such as Visa or Mastercard provide open loop card networks which accept them, making co-branded cards an attractive alternative for consumers.
Transferable points
The top travel credit cards provide you with an array of rewards to choose from. Some cards are co-branded with specific airlines or hotel chains, while others provide more flexible reward points that can be transferred between partners. Transferable points accumulate as rewards that can be redeemed for gift cards, statement credits or travel through their bank’s travel portal; they’re more valuable than miles or points because they can be redeemed across many airlines and hotels.
American Express Membership Rewards points (MR) are among the most favored transferable points currencies, boasting 21 partners for redemption purposes. Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) also provide flexibility, with access to 11 airlines and three hotel chains as partners for transferring them; it can be challenging keeping up with all these options for redeeming travel credits, so understanding how they operate is crucial in getting maximum value from them. To help guide you in making informed decisions about travel credit card points NerdWallet provides a detailed guide.
Annual fees
Credit cards with annual fees can offer attractive earning and perk opportunities and benefits that exceed their fee, such as statement credits and travel perks like flight vouchers or trip insurance policies. It is wise to carefully consider your travel goals and spending capacity before determining if paying an annual fee makes sense for you.
Find a travel credit card that rewards the types of purchases you typically make, such as restaurants. For example, the Bilt Mastercard earns more points for food and beverage expenses, making this card especially suitable for frequent restaurant diners. Other card perks that could help justify its annual fee include generous sign-up bonuses or waived foreign transaction fees; additionally some co-branded travel cards allow users to transfer points directly into loyalty programs of airlines and hotels which increases its value significantly while turning purchases directly into travel arrangements that can be booked with them directly.
