Summer vacation is here, and this year, instead of spending your hard-earned money on the inflated prices that come with summer travel, there are smart ways to use travel rewards so you pay less for your next trip.
According to Kayak, a popular online travel agency, the cost of summer journey is down this year, but their summer travel study also shows that the average airfare in the United States is still $455. While that's 13% less than last summer, taking that summer trip certainly isn't cheap, so offset the costs by redeeming points and miles for plane tickets and hotel stays. 'hotel is the way to go.
Here are some tips for earning and redeeming travel rewards points and miles for your summer vacation. You will learn the best travel credit cards how to earn, how to effectively redeem your rewards, and tips for finding award flights and hotel stays.
To use travel rewards for free travel, you must first earn them. If you need a boost to get your travel rewards account where you want it to be, consider adding a new credit card to your account. wallet.
A lot of best travel credit cards come with welcome bonuses that will help you rack up travel rewards quickly. There are currently a handful of credit cards offer bonuses that are worth $1,000 or more on travel if you can meet the applicable minimum spending requirement.
For example, the popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Cardis a good option to consider adding to your portfolio. Currently, you can earn $300 in Chase Travel℠ credit, plus 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months.
Loyalty site The points guy values Chase Ultimate Rewards® points at 2.05 cents each, meaning those 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points are worth $1,200 or more when redeemed for maximum value by taking advantage The different Chase transfer partners.
Alternatively, if you're looking for a card that offers premium travel benefits, The Platinum Card® from American Express could be a good option despite its annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees). This card offers a welcome bonus of 80,000 American Express® Membership Rewards Points points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of account opening.
If you were to redeem these points for the maximum value, you could get $1,600 or more in value for your next vacation by transferring them to the program's partner hotels and airlines. Additionally, the card includes access to the airport loungemonthly Uber Cash credits and much more.
By quickly accumulating rewards via a welcome bonus, you can top up your accounts and use them for free travel while you plan your well-deserved summer vacation. Check out our article on best credit card welcome bonuses for more inspiration.
However, you shouldn't aim to win just any travel rewards. Specifically, it can help focus on achieving flexible rewards. After all, flexible rewards, like Hunt for ultimate rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Awards, Citi Thank You Rewards And Miles Capital One – are more versatile than if you were to earn rewards through a single airline or hotel loyalty program.
The great thing about flexible rewards is that they can be redeemed at any number of partner airlines and hotels. Each of the flexible currencies has its own portfolio of airline and hotel transfer partners. These cards also allow members to redeem them through their own travel portals at a fixed value.
For example, you can exchange Amex Membership Rewards Points through the American Express Travel Portalbut they can also be transferred to Amex's airline and hotel partners. The credit card issuer has 20 air and hotel transfer partners, including Delta SkyMiles, British Airways Executive Club, JetBlue TrueBlue, Virgin Atlantic Aeroclub, Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and others.
Transferring points to a transfer partner airline or hotel means you can take advantage of different “sweet spot” redemptions within each partner program. For example, you can transfer Amex, Bilt, Chase and Capital One points to the British Airways Executive Club for book short-haul flights to America and Alaska for less than 10,000 points each way.
If you're struggling to earn enough rewards for your next trip, you can also involve your spouse in contributing to that summer vacation.
You have two options for doing this. The first is to add your partner as an authorized user on your rewards credit card. This allows them to charge your purchases to your credit card account, helping you earn rewards.
Alternatively, your spouse may earn their own income credit card welcome bonus. This could be a great opportunity for your household to quickly earn more points to redeem toward that summer getaway. Plus, it allows you both to double down on some of the best welcome offers, as you can each open your own account and earn the bonus.
If you decide to each open your own travel rewards credit cardsyou may be able to combine points on your respective accounts. For example, with Citi Thank You Rewardsyou can share points with another member who has a Citi Thank You Card for free. You can share up to 100,000 Citi ThankYou points with other members per year. Likewise, Chase allows you to transfer Ultimate Rewards Pointsbetween accounts in the same household.
Check to see if your preferred program allows you to share points with another member and pay close attention to any applicable terms and conditions that may restrict the movement of your rewards.
If you want to maximize your travel rewards, flexibility regarding your travel dates, destination, and even the type of travel you take is essential.
