Do airline rewards programs trump cash rewards programs?
; A CreditCards.com survey of airline blackout dates; Frequent flier miles: Earn them quickly with these strategies;
Do airline reward programs trump cash reward programs?
See related: Airline frequent flier fees and rules, The evolution of frequent flier cards, A CreditCards.com survey of airline blackout dates, Frequent flier miles: earn them quickly with these strategies,
Do airline reward programs trump cash reward programs?
Not exact matches
Though
airline rewards are often cited as best - of examples, most people don't truly realize how successful these
programs are.
While general points
programs like Chase Ultimate
Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards give you the most flexible rewards, some of the best rewards do come from loyalty to one specific airline or hotel
Rewards and American Express Membership
Rewards give you the most flexible rewards, some of the best rewards do come from loyalty to one specific airline or hotel
Rewards give you the most flexible
rewards, some of the best rewards do come from loyalty to one specific airline or hotel
rewards, some of the best
rewards do come from loyalty to one specific airline or hotel
rewards do come from loyalty to one specific
airline or hotel brand.
Airline loyalty
programs like AAdvantage differ from bank - established points
programs (like Chase Ultimate
Rewards or American Express Membership
Rewards) because you don't need an affiliated credit card to start earning miles right away.
Experienced players of the
rewards program game often
do best by combining travel at a single hotel or
airline with everyday use of its co-branded credit card.
And many
programs have other perks that don't cost
rewards points, like complimentary access to
airline lounges, giving the business traveler a comfortable place they can plug in their laptop while waiting for their next flight.
Miles and points earned on co-branded hotel and
airline travel
rewards cards
do expire usually if you are not active in redeeming them for 12 to 24 months, depending on the terms of the hotel or
airline loyalty
program.
However, the Membership
Rewards program's travel partners include something that Citi ThankYou
does not have — a domestic
airline that's part of a major
airline alliance.
As everyone knows,
airlines are
doing whatever they can to make money from us so they have also become more stingy and mysterious with their
rewards programs.
You can also
do a 1:1 point transfer to leading
airline and hotel loyalty
programs to be used for their travel
rewards, which can be much more valuable.
Here are a few ideas of what you could
do with your Ultimate
Rewards points transferred to the Singapore
Airlines Krisflyer
program:
Don't worry, some of the best credit cards for
airline miles let you transfer their miles to a number of different
rewards programs so you can earn miles without worrying about one particular carrier.
Some
airline specific cards
do have solid
rewards programs.
Airline loyalty
programs like AAdvantage differ from bank - established points
programs (like Chase Ultimate
Rewards or American Express Membership
Rewards) because you don't need an affiliated credit card to start earning miles right away.
The very first thing to
do is go to all the
airlines, hotels and car rental agencies and sign up for their
rewards programs.
In terms of
airline rewards, you can often get tons of savings from
programs that don't actually
reward you
airline miles at all — at least, not directly.
If you
do not have a particular
airline or hotel preference, look for a credit card
rewards program with miles that you can redeem toward travel with any
airline and any hotel.
• Choose
airlines that operate in your preferred airport - If you want to redeem your
airline miles with as little hassle as possible, the smartest thing to
do is sign up for frequent flier
programs and
rewards credit cards that are affiliated with
airlines that operate in your area.
The best frequent flyer
programs do more than
reward you for your loyalty; they dole out free
airline miles that let you score free travel.
However, the Membership
Rewards program's travel partners include something that Citi ThankYou
does not have — a domestic
airline that's part of a major
airline alliance.
Q:
Do I need to be a member of a frequent flyer
program in order to redeem Club
Rewards points for miles on that
airline?
While they usually don't belong to major
reward programs, there are ways to use points to book flights... (See
Rewards for international
airlines)
The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card unfortunately falls short on its
airline lounge offering, but it
does feature an extensive list of luxury benefits and an excellent
rewards program that includes a generous travel credit, a bonus on travel purchases and a 50 percent boost in point value for travel redemptions.
You don't have as many shopping options as UK - based members, and not nearly as many as you'd have with a U.S. - based
airline loyalty
program or your Ultimate
Rewards portal, but you can probably find something.
Marriott
Rewards does offer the ability to transfer your points into other rewards programs, but the transfer rates are dismal compared to the SPG ® program (which offers plenty of airline mileage programs with much better transfer
Rewards does offer the ability to transfer your points into other
rewards programs, but the transfer rates are dismal compared to the SPG ® program (which offers plenty of airline mileage programs with much better transfer
rewards programs, but the transfer rates are dismal compared to the SPG ®
program (which offers plenty of
airline mileage
programs with much better transfer rates).
According to one study, nearly 60 percent of Americans with frequent flyer miles admit they don't know how
airline reward programs work.
It's not hard to earn
airline miles with
airline rewards programs: all you have to
do is fly or use a branded credit card.
This will be easiest to
do with miles or points you've earned in the
airline program through a co-branded
airline credit card or transferred from a flexible
rewards program directly to the
airline.
However, even if you don't live on the West Coast, you may still find Alaska's
rewards program valuable, thanks to Alaska's vast partner
airline network.
The Bank of America Business Advantage Travel
Rewards World MasterCard is not affiliated with any
airline or hotel loyalty
program and
does not facilitate earning any elite status.
Many
rewards credit cards partner with
airlines» frequent flyer
programs, so even if you don't have enough points through the
airline itself, you can combine them with points from your
rewards card to maximize your earnings.
Not only
do you have to deal with blackout dates, seating limitations and complicated
rewards charts, but loyalty
programs (especially
airline programs) often come with a dense list of guidelines that limit how you can use your
rewards.
If you
do not have a particular
airline or hotel preference, look for a credit card
rewards program with miles that you can redeem toward travel with any
airline and any hotel.
And many
programs have other perks that don't cost
rewards points, like complimentary access to
airline lounges, giving the business traveler a comfortable place they can plug in their laptop while waiting for their next flight.
JAL Mileage bank offers some fantastic award redemption opportunities that other
airlines»
rewards programs do not (I discussed one such example here) but there are only very limited opportunities to earn JAL Miles if you're based outside of Japan — Starwood's Starpoints come in very useful here.
There are 16
airline loyalty /
rewards programs into which you can transfer Starpoints but which
do not accept transfers from any of the other major transferable currencies:
But a lot of people probably don't realize that they also have other options, using
reward programs of
airlines that don't fly anywhere near their home airport.
Our take: The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card unfortunately falls short on its
airline lounge offering, but it
does feature an extensive list of luxury benefits and an excellent
rewards program that includes a generous travel credit, a bonus on travel purchases and a 50 percent boost in point value for travel redemptions.
(Don't forget that you can transfer Chase Ultimate
Rewards points to your Hyatt Gold Passport account or many other
airline and hotel loyalty
programs at a 1:1 ratio.)
See related: Your rights when dealing with canceled flights, Debunking myths about frequent flier
programs, How to find the best
airline rewards bonus miles deal, Tricks and tips to keep frequent flier miles from expiring,
Do you lose your miles if you cancel your
rewards card?
Additionally, members
do not have to choose how to spend their rebate checks in advance, unlike some
airline reward cards which lock the customer into a specific frequent flier
program.
This sets Rapid
Rewards aside from the legacy
airlines»
reward programs that are yet to go fully revenue - based (something we already know Delta would like to
do)
I haven't register for every single
rewards program,
airline's
program or hotel
rewards, but
do believe I need to diversify my current portfolio.
You just search for a flight either by city or airport codes, then select one of the desired
programs such as CHASE Ultimate
Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, AMEX Membership rewards, SPG Preferred Guest, and / or sixty airline programs (sadly they don't have AA as a partne
Rewards, Citi Thank You Points, AMEX Membership
rewards, SPG Preferred Guest, and / or sixty airline programs (sadly they don't have AA as a partne
rewards, SPG Preferred Guest, and / or sixty
airline programs (sadly they don't have AA as a partner yet).
The reason why I like Starpoints quite as much as I
do is because they're so incredibly versatile — they can be transferred into to just about every major
airline rewards program out there (35 in total) and, in most cases, they transfer over at a ratio of 1 Starpoint to 1
airline mile.
The main three transfer
programs Chase Ultimate
Rewards, American Express Membership
Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest have a variety of cards to choose from, as
do the major
airlines.
Chase Ultimate
Rewards transfer partners include a variety of airline and hotel rewards programs... but do you know which th
Rewards transfer partners include a variety of
airline and hotel
rewards programs... but do you know which th
rewards programs... but
do you know which they are?
I actually have two of the great Qatar Airways fares already booked and I don't know which
airline's
rewards program I should credit it to.