Dreaming of seeing the world without breaking the bank? One of the smartest ways to achieve this is by leveraging credit cards with points for travelling. For years, savvy travellers have been using credit card rewards to significantly cut down travel costs, and even fly for free. Imagine turning your everyday spending into points that unlock flights, hotels, and unforgettable experiences. This guide will show you how to navigate the world of travel rewards credit cards and start your journey to seeing the world on points.
Understanding Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Travel rewards credit cards are more than just payment tools; they are your ticket to unlocking travel benefits. By strategically using these cards for your regular spending, you accumulate points or miles that can be redeemed for travel-related expenses. Unlike debit cards, which directly draw from your bank account, credit cards offer a line of credit and, when used responsibly, can be a powerful tool for earning travel rewards.
How Do Travel Rewards Credit Cards Work?
With every purchase you make on a travel rewards credit card, you earn points. These points are essentially rewards from the credit card issuer for using their card. The accumulation rate varies, with some cards offering bonus points for specific spending categories like dining or travel. Over time, these points add up, providing you with a valuable currency for travel.
Thoughtful traveler considering credit card options for maximizing travel points.
It’s crucial to treat your travel rewards credit card like a debit card. This means spending only what you can afford and paying your balance in full each month to avoid interest charges. Not only will you reap the rewards of travel points, but you’ll also build a strong credit score – a key factor in accessing the best travel credit cards and their perks. Setting up automatic payments ensures you never miss a payment, safeguarding your credit score and your travel reward strategy.
Types of Travel Rewards Credit Cards
Navigating the landscape of travel rewards credit cards can be simplified by understanding the two main categories: airline-specific cards and general travel cards. Choosing the right type depends on your travel habits and preferences.
Airline-Specific Credit Cards
Airline-specific credit cards are co-branded cards offered in partnership with a particular airline, such as United, Delta, or American Airlines. These cards typically reward you with airline miles within that specific program and often come with benefits tailored to that airline, such as priority boarding, free checked bags, and discounts on in-flight purchases.
If you frequently fly with one airline, especially if you are based in a hub city, these cards can be advantageous. Loyalty to a single airline can translate into faster points accumulation within their ecosystem and easier redemption for flights with that carrier. However, your rewards are generally locked into that specific airline’s network.
General Travel Credit Cards
General travel credit cards, often branded by banks like Chase, American Express (Amex), or Capital One, offer more flexibility. Instead of being tied to a single airline, these cards accumulate points within the bank’s rewards program. The real power of these cards lies in their transfer partnerships. Points earned can often be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs, usually at a 1:1 ratio.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points balance, showing accumulated travel points ready for redemption.
This flexibility allows you to choose the best redemption option for each trip, potentially leveraging different airline partners for different routes and maximizing the value of your points. Additionally, many general travel cards allow you to redeem points directly through their travel portals for flights, hotels, and car rentals, sometimes even with a point multiplier, increasing their value further.
Maximizing Travel with Credit Card Points
Once you’ve chosen your credit card and started earning points, the next step is to strategically redeem them for travel. Understanding the different redemption methods and maximizing bonus opportunities are key to unlocking free or heavily discounted travel.
Redeeming Points for Flights: Step-by-Step
Redeeming your travel points for flights can be done in a couple of primary ways, depending on the type of credit card you hold.
For general travel credit cards, transferring points to airline partners is often the most valuable redemption method. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to United Airlines MileagePlus, Air Canada Aeroplan, and many other programs. Typically, these transfers occur at a 1:1 ratio, meaning one Chase point becomes one airline mile. This opens access to award flights within the partner airlines’ networks, often offering better value than direct cash redemption.
Another option with general travel cards is to redeem points directly through the card issuer’s travel portal. These portals function like online travel agencies where you can book flights, hotels, and car rentals using your points. Sometimes, redeeming through the portal offers a point multiplier, for example, Chase Sapphire Reserve points are worth 1.5 cents each when redeemed this way, effectively increasing your points’ purchasing power for travel booked through their portal.
Consider this example: 100,000 travel points, when redeemed through a portal with a 1.5x multiplier, can be worth $1,500 in travel. Alternatively, these points could be transferred to an airline partner and potentially unlock a business class flight that might otherwise cost thousands of dollars.
The Power of Sign-Up Bonuses: Your Fast Track to Points
Sign-up bonuses are a game-changer in the world of travel rewards credit cards. These bonuses offer a substantial amount of points or miles after you meet a certain spending requirement within a specific timeframe after opening the card. Often, these bonuses alone can be enough to cover a round-trip flight or several nights in a hotel.
Credit card issuers frequently offer sign-up bonuses to attract new customers. These bonuses can range from 50,000 to 100,000 points or more, significantly boosting your travel rewards balance right from the start. The spending requirements to earn these bonuses typically range from $3,000 to $5,000 within the first 3 to 6 months of card membership.
Roame.travel showing business class flight award search results, highlighting points and cash costs.
A strategic approach is to consider applying for a new travel rewards credit card when you have a large upcoming purchase, ensuring you meet the spending requirement and unlock the sign-up bonus. Keep an eye on promotional periods as bonus offers can fluctuate, often increasing significantly during certain times of the year.
While some travel hackers used to employ the strategy of opening cards for the bonus and then cancelling them after a year (once the annual fee becomes due), it’s important to be cautious with this approach. Frequent account openings and closures can potentially negatively impact your credit score. A more sustainable strategy is to choose cards that you’ll continue to use long-term due to their ongoing benefits and rewards structure, even after the first year.
Finding Award Flights: Tools and Techniques
Finding available award flights, especially when using airline miles, can sometimes be challenging. Award flight availability can be limited, and it takes some know-how to search effectively. Fortunately, several tools and techniques can simplify this process.
Websites like Roame.travel are designed specifically to search for award flight availability across multiple airlines and programs simultaneously. These tools allow you to input your desired route and dates and then display available award flights from various airlines and their partners. This saves significant time compared to searching each airline’s website individually.
When searching for award flights, flexibility with your travel dates and destinations can greatly increase your chances of finding available seats. Being open to flying on slightly different days or considering alternative airports can unlock more award flight options.
Understanding airline alliances and partnerships is also beneficial. Airlines within alliances like Star Alliance, SkyTeam, or Oneworld partner with each other, allowing you to book flights on one airline using miles from another partner airline. For example, United Airlines (Star Alliance) miles can be used to book flights on Air Canada (Star Alliance), opening up a wider range of flight options.
Recommended Credit Cards for Travel Enthusiasts
Choosing the right travel rewards credit card depends on your individual spending habits and travel goals. Here are some top recommendations that are popular among frequent travelers, catering to different needs and preferences.
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is consistently ranked as a top travel credit card, albeit with a higher annual fee of $550. However, the card is packed with premium benefits that can easily offset this cost for frequent travelers. One of the most valuable perks is the $300 annual travel credit, automatically reimbursed against travel purchases like flights, hotels, taxis, and more.
Promotional image for Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, highlighting limited time bonus offer.
Cardholders also receive a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees, expediting airport security and customs processes. Furthermore, the Chase Sapphire Reserve provides access to Priority Pass airport lounges worldwide, offering a comfortable and amenity-rich airport experience, as well as excellent travel insurance and purchase protection benefits. You earn 3x points on travel and dining purchases globally, maximizing rewards on common travel-related spending. Currently, there’s a limited-time offer to earn a significant bonus points after meeting the spending requirement, making it an even more attractive option.
Amex Gold Personal
The Amex Gold Personal card is another strong contender in the travel rewards space, particularly for those who spend significantly on dining and groceries. With a $250 annual fee, it offers a compelling rewards structure and benefits. Cardholders earn 4x points on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1x) and at restaurants worldwide, plus 4x points on airfare booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
While the annual fee is lower than the Sapphire Reserve, the Amex Gold still provides valuable travel benefits and access to the Amex Membership Rewards program, which has a wide array of airline and hotel transfer partners. The current sign-up bonus offers a substantial points haul after meeting the spending requirement, making it a great time to consider this card. It’s an excellent choice for those who prioritize rewards on food spending and want access to Amex’s transfer partners.
Chase Business Ink Preferred & Unlimited
For business owners, the Chase Ink Business credit cards offer powerful rewards-earning potential on business expenses. The Chase Ink Business Preferred card, with a $95 annual fee, earns 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, internet, cable and phone services, and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. These bonus categories align well with typical business spending.
The Chase Ink Business Unlimited card, on the other hand, has no annual fee and earns a flat 1.5% cash back on all purchases. While technically a cash-back card, points earned with the Ink Business Unlimited can be combined with points from other Chase Ultimate Rewards cards, like the Sapphire Reserve or Ink Business Preferred, unlocking the ability to transfer those points to travel partners. The Ink Business Unlimited also comes with a generous sign-up bonus, making it a valuable addition to a business rewards strategy, especially for everyday spending that doesn’t fall into bonus categories.
Choosing the Right Card for You: Key Considerations
Selecting the best Credit Card With Points For Travelling is a personal decision that should be based on your individual circumstances. Consider these key factors when making your choice:
- Spending Habits: Analyze your spending patterns. Where do you spend the most? Dining, groceries, travel, business expenses? Choose a card that offers bonus rewards in your highest spending categories.
- Travel Goals: What are your travel aspirations? Do you prefer domestic or international travel? Economy or business class? Are you loyal to a specific airline or hotel chain? Your travel preferences will influence whether an airline-specific or general travel card is a better fit.
- Annual Fee vs. Benefits: Weigh the annual fee against the benefits offered by the card. Do the travel credits, lounge access, bonus categories, and other perks justify the annual fee for your travel frequency and spending habits?
- Point Transfer Partners: If you opt for a general travel card, examine the list of point transfer partners. Does the program offer transfer options to airlines and hotels that align with your travel needs and preferences?
- Sign-Up Bonus: Pay attention to the current sign-up bonus offers. A large bonus can significantly jumpstart your points balance and accelerate your free travel goals.
By carefully evaluating these factors and researching different credit card options, you can choose the perfect credit card with points for travelling that will help you unlock amazing travel experiences and see the world without overspending. Start your research today and turn your everyday spending into your next adventure!
