First things first — you should understand what makes a credit card
with flyer rewards worth it.
Not exact matches
The Blue Delta SkyMiles is a great option for budget conscious travelers and frequent
flyers who want a secondary
rewards card — you fly Delta at least once a year but not enough to justify owning a Delta credit card
with an annual fee.
Generally, these kinds of
rewards cards are tied to frequent
flyer programs and the only way to rack up
rewards is to spend money
with a particular airline.
But if you are the kind of person who dreams of business and first class travel, or someone who occasionally has to book an expensive flight
with little advanced notice, then it might be worth it for you to play the travel
rewards game
with frequent
flyer miles and hotel points.
So much so, that whether it comes in the form of cash back on credit card purchases, frequent
flyer miles or special offers, many companies
reward their clients
with special perks in appreciation.
There are now several different credit card
reward programs that let you transfer your
rewards to frequent
flyer miles
with the airlines or hotel points.
But if you are the kind of person who dreams of business and first class travel, or someone who occasionally has to book an expensive flight
with little advanced notice, then it might be worth it for you to play the travel
rewards game
with frequent
flyer miles and hotel points.
Simply log in to your Membership
Rewards account and navigate to the points summary page, where you can link up your frequent
flyer account
with your Amex account (as long as it's a participating program).
Being familiar
with frequent
flyer programs and
reward systems is a sport in its own right!
Chase Ultimate
Rewards points earned
with your Chase Sapphire Preferred ® Card can be transferred to 9 elite airline frequent
flyer programs and four luxurious hotel loyalty programs, all at a rate of 1:1.
You can do that in a number of different ways: by booking travel
with your
rewards, using your co-branded credit card for purchases, buying a flight using your frequent
flyer number or shopping through the airline retail portals.
When you book through Amex Membership
Rewards, there are no blackout dates or seat restrictions and you can still earn frequent
flyer miles
with the airline.
If you're a frequent traveler you can maximize the
rewards by having a credit card that offers travel perks
with their frequent
flyer programs.
Rewards programs from most credit cards usually
reward cardholders
with cash backs, frequent
flyer miles, or points.
The points you earn
with the Southwest Rapid
Rewards ® Premier Business Credit Card count towards the Southwest Companion Pass — one of the most sought - after frequent
flyer perks.
If you are not loyal to one specific airline or you do not travel frequently, you should choose a general frequent
flyer credit card so you can redeem your
reward points or miles for a flight
with any airline.
And co-branded credit cards can be especially appealing to cardholders who have a particular affinity for a specific airline and want a faster way to accrue frequent
flyers miles, as these cards typically
reward you
with miles for every purchase.
A. Frequent
flyer programs work in conjunction
with your airline or travel
rewards credit card.
Rewards earned and deposited into your frequent
flyer or hotel loyalty account typically remain available even if you close the card associated
with the airline or hotel brand.
A frequent
flyer credit card
with a 25k sign - up bonus does not always give you a round - trip
reward ticket.
You can do this by booking flights or hotel stays
with your
rewards, using your card for purchases, or buying a flight using your frequent
flyer number.
With over 1,300 hotels and resorts, point transfer to select frequent
flyer programs, and point bonus for those transfers, the Starwood Preferred Guest ® Business Credit Card from American Express is one of our favorite travel
rewards cards on CreditDonkey for business owners.
A Companion Award eVoucher can only be used if and when the Eligible Member is booking a
Reward flight using Avios points (i.e. can not be booked using a combination of Avios points and cash or a charge to the Card) and can not be combined
with any other offer, promotion, mileage or frequent
flyer programme.
Some airlines will
reward you
with extra miles when you purchase miles through their frequent
flyer program.
Hotel loyalty programs are similar to frequent
flyer programs - you get
rewarded with points when you stay at a particular hotel.
In fact, credit cards often come
with perks like frequent -
flyer miles and cash back
rewards, which are free money to those who aren't saddled
with interest payments.
Perhaps the best part of an overall travel
rewards program, though, is that you can often use your
rewards in conjunction
with other airline
rewards, such as frequent
flyer miles, to really make the most of your savings.
Why # 13: Other Chase cards linked to Ultimate
Rewards should be higher priority, since Ultimate
Rewards can transfer 1:1 to United MileagePlus miles (as well as the flexibility of transferring to other frequent
flyer programs), and the Chase cards above come
with higher signup bonuses.
Make sure to pair this
with an Ultimate
Rewards - linked card such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred in order to be able to transfer out to airline frequent
flyer programs such as Singapore KrisFlyer, Korean Air SkyPass, United MileagePlus, and Air France / KLM Flying Blue.
As part of that program, you'll be able to transfer your points to 17 different frequent
flyer programs.In addition to getting access to British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic, which also partner
with Ultimate
Rewards, you'll be able to transfer points to five North American carriers: Delta, JetBlue, Virgin America, Air Canada and Aeromexico; luxury airlines Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways and Emirates; European airlines Alitalia and Iberia; Japan's ANA; Israel's EL AL; and perennial frequent
flyer favorite, Hawaiian Airlines.
Again, the next step is to subtract the value of the credit card
rewards you could have earned from your credit card, as well as any frequent
flyer miles or hotel points that you could have received by paying for your flight or hotel room
with a card instead of points or miles.
With a little research, you can find co-branded hotel
rewards cards that not only grant you frequent
flyer miles, but free nights in any resort bearing their brand.
They put up hundreds of
flyers, offered a several hundred dollar
reward, called over a megaphone and searched for eight days
with no sightings.
Possibly even a better
rewards hack than open jaws, stopovers are a special for
rewards flyers (meaning you won't get them if you pay
with cash or credit for your flight).
As part of that program, you'll be able to transfer your points to 17 different frequent
flyer programs.In addition to getting access to British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic, which also partner
with Ultimate
Rewards, you'll be able to transfer points to five North American carriers: Delta, JetBlue, Virgin America, Air Canada and Aeromexico; luxury airlines Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways and Emirates; European airlines Alitalia and Iberia; Japan's ANA; Israel's EL AL; and perennial frequent
flyer favorite, Hawaiian Airlines.
Unlike the miles you earn
with co-branded airline cards, Membership
Rewards points are more valuable as you are protected from frequent
flyer program devaluations.
According to one study, nearly 60 percent of Americans
with frequent
flyer miles admit they don't know how airline
reward programs work.
Some frequent
flyer miles,
reward points can be inherited — You aren't going to be able to take those frequent
flyer miles
with you on that trip to the great beyond, but you might be able to pass them on to your kids... (See Inheriting frequent
flyer points)
Bonus tip:
With frequent
flyer program shopping portals, you earn extra
rewards on every purchase.
With its large sign - up bonus, fairly high
rewards rate on both United purchases and general purchases and unlimited access to United Club lounges, the United MileagePlus Club Card is a good deal for loyal United
flyers.
With the addition of either of those cards, you'll be able to transfer points directly to frequent
flyer programs and get more value when redeeming through the Ultimate
Rewards travel portal.
If you are a frequent
flyer who thrives on superior
rewards, exclusive travel, and entertainment benefits, then this may be the card for you (even
with the high annual fee!).
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.
It's always
rewarding to stay
with Langham Hotels Collect mileage points under our frequent
flyer programme partnerships when you stay at Langham hotels and resorts on qualifying room rates.
Partner
with 20 + frequent
flyer programmes worldwide, book direct and enjoy our exquisite premium Langham's «Art of Stay» services and
reward yourself
with mileage of your preferred choice!
If you want to make the best possible use of frequent
flyer miles, you'll have plenty of options
with Membership
Rewards» 17 airline transfer partners.
As
with nearly every airline, Southwest also offers a co-branded credit card that allows you to earn
rewards in its frequent
flyer program, as well as other benefits.
Like Capital One's Venture
Rewards cards, the miles you earn
with either of the Spark cards can not be transferred to frequent
flyer programs.
The Pay
with Points option can be a good one because there are no black out dates on flights and you'll still earn frequent
flyer miles for airline tickets booked
with Membership
Rewards points.
So for example 500 of your Choice Ultimate
Rewards points would be equal to 500 points
with any eligible frequent
flyer program.