Credit card travel points can be valuable when used to redeem for high-value airfare and hotel stays; however, you must understand all available redemption options to you before redeeming them.
General travel cards typically allow you to redeem points for statement credits, cash back or gift cards – plus may offer access to airline and hotel loyalty program partners so that you can gain maximum value from them.
Points
There are various travel credit cards that offer loyalty programs from airlines, hotels and banks that earn points in loyalty programs. But for newcomers to travel rewards programs it may be confusing how these work and how best to leverage them for maximum value.
General travel credit card reward points systems such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards offer more flexible redemption options, often including airfare, hotel stays and car rentals. Card issuers generally provide travel portals where you can redeem points. Their value will depend on what kind of trip is planned but is often higher than cash back options or gift card rewards.
Attaining maximum reward value faster can also be accomplished through taking advantage of limited-time offers in your travel card’s shopping portal, earning referral bonuses and paying off the balance each month to reduce interest charges. Keep these strategies in mind to maximize value of rewards faster.
Miles
Airline miles are an increasingly popular form of credit card travel rewards. You can earn them either with co-branded airline cards, or more general travel rewards cards that reward with miles when spending overall. Airlines typically award miles based on distance and flight cost; certain programs even provide elite status perks or offer accelerated earnings on specific types of purchases.
Credit cards that award airline miles often allow users to transfer them between airlines. This program can help diversify redemption options while mitigating risk from airline devaluations.
Redeeming rewards points is a personal choice that should take into account your spending habits, travel plans and point valuations to determine an acceptable redemption price. There are various outlets offering point and mile valuation tools that can assist in this regard.
Transfers
General travel cards often provide points transferrable to airline and hotel loyalty programs, making redemption options flexible. Chase and Citi are two card issuers that enable this feature for maximum flexibility in redemption options.
These programs often provide a range of flight and hotel redemption choices, as well as packages that help maximize their value. Each redemption option carries different values; with travel purchases usually yielding the greatest ROI.
Some cards allow you to redeem points directly with their issuer via online portal for statement credits, gift cards or cash back; however, these options typically don’t offer as great of value than booking travel through travel portals.
Redeeming
Most travel cards offer various redemption options, such as statement credits, cash back and gift cards. Issuers of travel cards typically maintain online portals listing redemption options and points values; certain programs even provide bonus points when booking through these channels.
For maximum credit card rewards, it is crucial that you understand the value of each redemption option. In order to do this, it’s necessary to know both how much a specific redemption costs in cash as well as the total worth of points or miles accrued through rewards redemptions.
Travel rewards redemption options typically include flights, hotel stays, and car rentals – the most valuable redemption options being flights, hotel stays and rentals respectively. Not all redemption options are created equal; some redemption options can be more valuable than others and some require many points or miles for redemption. Bankrate’s points and miles valuations allow you to see exactly how much each redemption option is worth as well as provide an overview of popular travel rewards programs.
