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If you’re confused about airline miles, hotel points, bank rewards points, and earning 5X points if you buy groceries on Wednesday during a full moon, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let’s start with the basics.
Repeat after me: A point is not a point is not a point.
So what does this mean? It means that 50,000 American Airlines miles, 50,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points and 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points are not “worth” the same. Each of them can be exchanged for free flights or free hotel nights. They also have limits on how you redeem them, and knowing how to best redeem them allows you to get the most bang for your buck.
The way we see it is that the most valuable point or mile out there is the one that gets your where you want to go, when you want to go, at a price you’re happy to pay. Having 1,000,000 miles in a program that can’t get you a flight where you want to go isn’t very valuable. Think of airline miles, hotel points and bank rewards points as different forms of currency. A dollar isn’t worth the same as a euro, a Japanese yen or even the Canadian dollar.
With this said, every airline, hotel, rental car, bank rewards and promotional points programs are completely different. It’s our duty as Frugal Travel Guys and Gals to learn about our options and figure out which one works best for us. Knowing what works best for us and then properly diversifying our point portfolio (just like you would for your 401k) will arm us with the tools we need to succeed.
Airline Rewards
Airline miles are typically the least flexible of any point. The most popular way to earn airline miles used to be flying. Business and frequent travelers still accrue millions of miles this way each year, but in recent years we’ve seen a shift to allow less frequent travelers to earn miles through credit card promotions and everyday use of an airline co-branded credit card. An Example? The Gold Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. Airlines are very restrictive when it comes to transferring miles between accounts and will, as a general rule, only allow transfers of miles between accounts for a fee. One thing that airline miles allow, which you might not know, is that if you have miles in your account you can redeem those miles for a flight for someone else. In fact, almost all programs allow you to redeem travel rewards for someone else from your account. You can earn those miles and then use them to fly your son or daughter wherever they want to go.
Hotel Rewards
Hotel points provide more flexibility than airline miles. They not only allow you to book hotel rooms, but most programs have a selection of airline programs that they partner with that allow you to convert your hotel points to airline miles in your preferred airline program. The rate at which points convert differs from program to program, but this added flexibility provides additional value to hotel points. Our favorite hotel program is Starwood Preferred Guest, as members can book hotels, transfer points to over 20 airline programs at a 1:1 ratio, transfer points to a spouse/significant other (for free!), and even book flights directly using Starpoints and earn frequent flier miles.
Rental Car Rewards
Rental car points, for most people, are an afterthought. You usually can’t transfer them, nor can you convert them to other programs. One thing many people do when they make a rental car reservation is enter their preferred airline program account number into the reservation in order to earn airline miles instead of rental car points. We’ll talk later about monster promotions when airlines or hotel programs offer them with rental cards, but in general, you won’t get rich in your travel bank with rental car points.
Bank Rewards
Bank Rewards are the closest thing to travel gold. The most flexible points out there, they’re our favorite recommendation for someone new to the game. Programs such as American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards allow you to book travel directly and redeem points or leverage their airline and hotel travel partners to convert points to any number of programs.
Vouchers and Credits
In traveling, we may accumulate credits or vouchers. This can occur as a service provider recompense for a failure in service or an offer of thanks for flexibility in travel (i.e. giving up your seat on an oversold flight). In general, vouchers, “free flights,” or “free nights” will have very limited flexibility, if any. You’ll personally be able to redeem them with the airline or hotel program, but will have little to no luck redeeming them for someone else. Free is free, but keep in mind the terms and conditions attached to it.
Flexibility is that critical attribute we need to keep in mind when looking at what programs make sense for us.
- Are you flexible when you travel?
- How about your destination? Are you set on it?
- Do you need to stay at a specific hotel?
- Are you planning around a specific event and need to coordinate with others?
Look at your travel goals, identify how flexible you need your points to be, and then pick the rewards program that makes sense for you.
Up next: How Your Good Credit Can Help You Travel for Free
*Terms and restrictions apply.
More Rookie Guide:
- Introduction and Background
- Set Your Goals
- Points, Miles and Credits
- Airline Miles
- Hotel Points
- Rental Cars
- Bank Rewards
- Vouchers and Credits
- How Your Good Credit Can Help You Travel for Free
- Airline and Airline Alliances
- Hotels and Their Programs
- Program Partnerships
- Saving with Consolidators
- Priceline
- Hotwire
- Expedia Express and Others
- Double and Triple Your Bonuses with Online Shopping Portals
- Earning Without Even Thinking About It
- Rewards Network Dining
- Plink and Others
- Keeping Track of All Those Points and Miles
- AwardWallet
- FTG Wallet
- Spreadsheets Galore
- Review your goals
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Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
Add to Favorites
- Earn 40,000 bonus miles and 10,000 MQMs after you spend $3,000 in purchases with your new Card in the first 3 months.†
- Earn 15,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) and 15,000 bonus miles after you reach $30,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in the calendar year.
- Earn 2 Miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases made directly with Delta. Earn 1 mile on every eligible dollar spent on purchases.
- Settle into your seat sooner with Priority Boarding and enjoy 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases in the form of a statement credit.
- Pay no foreign transaction fees when you spend overseas.‡
- Complimentary Delta Sky Club® Access.‡
- Terms and limitations apply
- See Rates & Fees
Delta® Reserve for Business
- Annual Fee: $450 fee
- Foreign Fees: No
- Card Type: Travel
| FTG Review | Reward Breakdown | Points Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
Breakdown
Earn (pt.)
Spend
3 months
0
$3,000
Per dollar on eligible purchases with Delta Purchases
2.00
$1
All Purchases
1.00
$1
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Already have this card? Maximize your rewards.
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