Have questions about a specific credit
card points currency or perks?
Here's my overall ranking and valuation of several common airline, hotel, and credit
card points currencies.
Not exact matches
The Platinum
Card from American Express earns Membership Rewards
points, the
currency in AmEx's loyalty program.
Although each Hilton
point isn't as valuable as one
point from another
currency, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, the
card's high earning rate makes up for it.
The
card earns Membership Rewards
points, the
currency in Amex's loyalty program, which can be exchanged for statement credits or cash back, used to book travel through Amex's travel website, or, to get the most value, transferred to any of 17 airline and three hotel transfer partners (transferable
points are among the best).
There are a few reasons, including travel and purchase protections and other perks, but from a rewards perspective, Chase's
cards are particularly valuable because of the type of rewards
currency they earn: transferable
points.
The
currency of the site,
points, is either earned through on - site activity or can be purchased via a credit
card.
This bundle includes the following Task
Cards: 12 Google Slides Task
Cards: • Inserting slides • Changing slide background color • Adding a slide theme / design • Inserting images • Inserting Shapes • Inserting Word Art • Adding slide transition • Adding object animation • Creating Tables • Shading Tables • Downloading files to Microsoft PowerPoint from Google Slides • Uploading Microsoft PowerPoint documents into Google Slides 20 Google Sheets Task
Cards: • Inserting columns • Deleting columns • Deleting rows • Inserting rows • Adding
currency • Removing
currency • Adding decimal places • Removing decimal places • Adding borders • Changing border color • Adding fill color • Sorting data • Merging cells • Unmerging cells • Creating charts • Customizing Pie Charts — A closer look • Moving charts to new sheets • Changing Chart types • Adding New Sheets • Deleting sheets 12 Google Drawings Task
Cards: • Creating Tables • Shading tables • Insert Image • Insert Shape • Shape Fill • Line Thickness • Line Style • Line Color • Sending shapes to back • Bringing Shapes to Front • Rotating Shapes • Changing Shapes 12 Google Docs Task
Cards: • Creating Tables • Inserting Page Numbers • Inserting images • Formatting Text (Bold, Italic, Underline) • Shading tables • Word count • Line Spacing • Text Alignment • Inserting Bullet
Points • Inserting Numbered Lists • Downloading files to Microsoft Word • Uploading Microsoft Word documents into Google Docs
Because the
card gives you Chase Ultimate Rewards
points, instead of ordinary cash back, you are being paid in a significantly better rewards
currency.
In this case, you should look at
cards that offer more flexible
points currencies and / or cash back.
Despite the negative
points, the Home Trust Preferred
Card is still good if you're using it just for purchases in foreign
currencies.
I didn't think the «normal» sapphire was still being offered, but anyways I would not recommend it as the Sapphire preferred is so much superior and well worth the $ 95 / annual fee, which you can get back with the ability to make freedom
points (either unlimited at 1.5 X's or regular) into Ultimate rewards
points, the no foreign transaction fees (remember not to go for the trick: would you like this in
currency x or in dollars - it's tempting to go for a dollar dominated transaction, but in essence, the way I understand it, you get charged a «transaction fee» to go from the home foreign
currency into dollars, whereas the CSP
card already pays for this transaction fee, so it's really a tricky semi-scam in my opinion.
Earning rewards on foreign purchases — Charging in another
currency still yields reward
points, but make sure you have a
card that has an EMV chip, but doesn't have foreign transaction fees... (See Foreign
currency purchases)
While the fixed - rate
cards offer the ultimate in flexibility because you can use
points for whatever travel you want, the flexible
currency cards can offer substantially more value if you're shrewd when you redeem.
In this case, you should look at
cards that offer more flexible
points currencies and / or cash back.
The combined benefits of these
cards provide just about everything a travel hacker could want in their credit
card portfolio — high
points earning rates on everyday spend, a valuable transferable
points currency, and a wide variety of luxury travel benefits and purchase protections.
In our minds, we often have settled ideas about the value of these reward
currencies — that, say, charging $ 1 on a
card will earn you a
point, or accumulating 25,000 miles will yield a round - trip domestic plane ticket.
The combined benefits of this combo provide just about everything a travel hacker could want in their credit
card portfolio — high
points earning rates, a very valuable
currency, a diversified array of travel benefits and purchase protections, and
point transferability.
In the rewards
card world, they are known as a «flexible
points currency» — meaning you can redeem
points for a variety of options, including travel, merchandise, gift
cards and cash back.
Part of your credit
card strategy also involves signing up for the
points currencies that will give you the best value in terms of the sign up bonus, annual fees and rewards.
Chase Ultimate Reward
points can also be used for statement credits, gifts
cards, and a wide variety of other products through the Chase shopping portal, but that only offers a value of 1 cent per
point, which is definitely not the best use of this valuable
point currency.
Chase Ultimate Rewards
points are one of our favorite rewards program
currencies, for a combination of reasons: Ultimate Rewards
points are far more valuable than the average rewards
point, you have many options for racking up bonus
points — including several credit
cards that offer generous sign - up bonuses and a diverse array of bonus categories — and your redemption options are extremely flexible.
But still — having both
cards allows these two benefits to stack up and get some pretty good value out of ThankYou
points compared to other
currencies if you want to limit your cash spending, especially if you can use it on a hotel with low taxes.
Finally, if you're transferring a bank
currency to a hotel or airline worth less than 1.5 cents per
point, does a simple Capital One Venture Rewards
card make more sense at that
point, or even a 2 % cashback
card?
Points are a
currency earned when you utilize certain business services with a credit
card or open a loyalty account open with them.
Foreign transaction fees (where the credit
card company charges an additional few percentage
points on the purchase to convert
currencies) are actually where credit
card companies do make money off me; something sadly unavoidable since no Canadian travel credit
cards offer free foreign transaction fees.
Their Gold
Points aren't the most lucrative travel
currency out there, but the value of the credit
card far outweighs the nominal cost to keep it.
Some of the other exciting facilities include modem
points in all rooms, separate spa bath and shower, complimentary on site parking and shuttle service, audio visual equipment, secretarial service, wheelchair access, security door lock system, in room safe, daily newspapers, dry cleaning service, foreign
currency exchange, tour and rental car bookings and of course all major credit
cards accepted.
Finally, it's important to have estimations for award
currencies like Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou
Points because with credit
cards always changing you'll be constantly re-evaluating which
cards to get and which
cards to put your spend on.
For those inclined to engage in manufactured spending, the Freedom Unlimited
card is really amazing — you reduce the cost per
point by earning more than 1
point per dollar and you are earning a valuable
currency that can be redeemed for travel at a significant savings.
On top of getting money back via TopCashback I can pay with my rewards credit
card (so I earn
points in my preferred
currency), I have my status recognised at the hotels I book at and I earn further
points in the hotel's loyalty program too.
In the US credit
card companies like Amex, Chase and Citi will also offer their own
points programs whose
currencies can be converted into miles and
points and these can be a great fit for anyone not wedded to a single airline or hotel chain.
This is the area where having the Freedom Unlimited
card really helps create value: Ultimate Rewards is a very valuable
currency, and with this
card you will earn at least 1.5
points per dollar on all purchases.
Starpoints earned on the SPG credit
card are the single most valuable
points currency in the world.
Buying products and services with your
card, in most cases, will count as a purchase; however, the following types of transactions won't count and won't earn Rewards
points: balance transfers, cash advances, travelers checks, foreign
currency, money orders, wire transfers or similar cash - like transactions, lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers or similar betting transactions, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.
Buying products and services with your
card, in most cases, will count as a purchase; however, the following types of transactions won't count and won't earn
points: balance transfers, cash advances, travelers checks, foreign
currency, money orders, wire transfers or similar cash - like transactions, lottery tickets, casino gaming chips, race track wagers or similar betting transactions, any checks that access your account, interest, unauthorized or fraudulent charges, and fees of any kind, including an annual fee, if applicable.
None of the major credit
card currencies convert to Starpoints — which means that Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou
points and Amex Membership Rewards are of no help if you're looking to build up a Starpoints balance.
While IHG
points aren't the most valuable travel
currency out there, the annual free night makes this
card worth getting for just about anyone.
The way I try to protect myself from airline devaluations is by concentrating my credit
card earnings on transferable
currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou
Points, American Express Membership Rewards
Points and Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints.
Most importantly, all the credit
cards I've listed above earn transferable
currencies (they can be moved to a number of other loyalty programs) while the
points earned thought the Marriott Rewards credit
card are really only of any use at Marriott properties....
The ability to earn a fixed two
points per dollar in a valuable transferable rewards
currency is unique in the rewards credit
card industry.
This could be useful for spend in categories where none of your other credit
cards offers a bonus — 2 Membership Rewards
points are generally more valuable than one
point / mile in any other major loyalty
currency.
Both of these
cards earn Ultimate Rewards
points, a valuable
points currency that is extremely flexible when you are looking to redeem them.
Aside from Ultimate Rewards
points earned on the Chase
cards mentioned above, in my opinion, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) Starpoints are the next most valuable
currency in the
points and miles game.
Better still, pick
cards that will earn you
points in a
currency that can be converted to numerous loyalty programs (Amex Membership rewards
cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards
cards etc...) to protect yourself from unforeseen changes in a single loyalty program.
Even if the gift
card never gets used the Membership Rewards
points are still being purchased at a very good price... even with my conservative valuation of Amex's
currency.
Miles and
points - earning
cards will always have the advantage of having the potential of being much more valuable since miles /
points aren't a fixed - value
currency and can fluctuate.
After you get the sign - up bonus, this
card is best for earning Alaska Airlines rewards and supplementing your everyday
cards that have more versatile
points currencies.
The most important benefit is that the
card earns Chase's Ultimate Rewards
currency (one of my favorites along with SPG Starpoints and Citi's Thank You
Points).
If you already «collect» certain
currencies, like Membership Rewards
points, Ultimate Rewards
points or others, it's perfectly fine to top up your
points / miles with a lesser bonus from another credit
card.