How To: Maximize Credit Card Programs
I am a big advocate of maximizing the benefits of travel credit card programs. I’ve had a lot of people ask me for advice, so I thought I’d provide you all with my personal recommendations.
Before I go further: PLEASE use credit cards responsibly. I’m not a financial guru, and I’m not here to offer financial advice. But, my personal use with credit cards ALWAYS sticks to one rule: Pay the damn thing off in full EVERY month.
Now. On to the good stuff!
Which Cards Do I Use?
There are a LOT of travel credit card options out there. And I’ve tested quite a few of them. However, for the purposes of this post, I’m going to share with you the two cards I will always have in my wallet, for the rest of my life (assuming the benefits don’t go away!):
The American Express Platinum Charge Card
The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Both of these cards carry a hefty annual fee, $550 a year. Each. However, if you travel a lot, it’s easy to recoup this money every year. Each card carries a whole host of benefits and their websites will break down every single category for you. For the purposes of this post, I’m only going to tell you where I have personally found the most benefits for each card.
** Quick Disclaimer: These cards are US accounts. Other countries may vary. **
American Express Platinum
This credit is deposited to your Uber account every month (you get a little bit extra in December). However, it can only be used in the United States.
This is a big one for travelers!
You will receive 5x the points on all flights and hotels booked through this site.
Credit is for the major airline of your choice and can be changed at the beginning of each year. This can’t be used for tickets, but can be used on other fees such as baggage fees, food/drinks purchased onboard, etc.
This membership gives you access to thousands of airport lounges and Centurion Lounge access. This is a game changer for long layovers!
With your AmEx Platinum, you will automatically receive elite status with both the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy programs.
If I know I want to stay in a luxury hotel on a trip, I always check this program first. For the same price you would spend on just the stay through any other website, you’re given additional complimentary benefits. For me, this has included early check-in and late check-out privileges, room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, $100 dining credits at the property’s restaurant, and one hour massages.
Another game changer if you’re a frequent traveler. You can use this credit once every 4-4.5 years, saving you another $100.
These offers change frequently and come standard with all AmEx cards (though exact offers will vary amongst the cards). I’ve used offers that maximize my points on purchases (ex. 7x the points if I buy flowers at a certain shop, 10k bonus points for booking at a specific hotel, etc.) and I’ve used offers that give me credits for purchases ($10 off a purchase of $50 or more at a specific business).
Chase Sapphire Reserve
This is used on literally anything that could fall under the “travel” category: planet tickets, train tickets, hotels, Airbnbs, etc. I definitely use this credit every year as SOON as I hit my card anniversary and it effectively brings your yearly fee down to $250.
In addition to DashPass, you’re given $60 in DoorDash credits every year (through 2021). DashPass saves you delivery fees and reduces the DoorDash service fee by a percentage.
Complimentary year of Lyft Pink and 10x the points on Lyft rides (through March 2022).
Again, don’t ever get a card for travel if it doesn’t include this feature!
This one is great, and it’s how I rack up points so quickly. Unlike most travel credit cards that will only give you these benefits at US restaurants, this card benefit applies at ALL restaurants and travel worldwide.
Points can be used in the Chase Travel Portal at a rate of 1.5 cents per point (most cards are only a 1:1 transfer rate).
This one also has rotating offers that I’ll check weekly. One of my frequent favorites is the 5% back on Airbnb charges. To date, I’ve saved $207 using offers on my card alone.
In fact, as I type this out, Chase has just emailed me saying I can get 6 months of Spotify Premium for free if I enroll with my card. BRB while I go do that…
Often, you’ll get emails from Chase telling you they’ve added special offers in the ways you earn points. Currently, I’m earning 5x the points on all DoorDash and grocery store purchases.
Okay, so I've earned the points. Now what??
Because I exclusively use my Chase and AmEx cards for all purchases I make, I very quickly accrue credit card points. (As a quick point of reference, I cashed in all 100k of my points last October to buy our flights to Madrid, and by July I’m already back up to 120k.) I will especially check any offers before I make any purchases I know I need to make…quite often, I’ll find an offer for extra points.
Now, you could very easily book your travel directly through the AmEx or Chase Travel portals, and cash in your points directly for a ticket or hotel stay. However, where I’ve found I can really maximize my points is through a direct card-to-partner transfer. Specifically, direct to airline partners. And because Chase and AmEx have a lot of the same airline partners, I can dump points from both cards into the same bank to use for tickets directly from the airline.
Let me give you an example.
For our trip to Spain, we flew direct from JFK to Madrid. It was a 7 hour, overnight flight and I decided it was finally time I tried out international business class. A bed in the sky?? Yes, PLEASE. As frequently as I travel, you’d think I could sleep anywhere. This is 100% not the case! I was ready to land in Madrid fresh because I was actually able to lie at 180 degrees on the flight over! However, I wasn’t willing to shell out the $5000 it cost to purchase a ticket. Yikes.
Insert credit card points!
First, it takes a lot of research. I looked up all the airline partners for both my Chase card and my AmEx, and then I notated all the airlines that partnered with both cards. From there, I started looking at flights on those airlines and how many miles it would cost to book that flight. I finally landed on Virgin Atlantic.
A roundtrip, JFK-MAD plane ticket for my dates cost 100k miles. I could transfer all of my points from both credit cards directly to Virgin Atlantic airline program miles at a 1:1 transfer rate. BOOM. $5000 plane ticket secured, and I didn’t spend a penny.
Now, for comparison’s sake, let’s assume I had used 100k points just through the Chase Travel Portal. With the 1.5x redemption rate, that entitles me to a credit of $1500 through the travel portal. Nowhere near the $5000 I needed for the ticket.
Same amount of points, but an extra $3500 in value just by transferring directly to a partner airline.
This is exactly the reason why I don’t recommend cashing in your points directly through the travel portal and I definitely recommend you cash in for airline tickets specifically — especially if you want upgrades!
Added bonus on this particular example: while booked on Virgin Atlantic, the flight was operated by Delta. I checked Delta’s website just to see how many miles the same flight would cost booked through them and it was 120k! Just goes to show, check the partners! You may save yourself quite a bit of money.
Major Take-Aways
I hope this all made sense. I know it’s a little confusing, but here’s what you can take away from it:
- Get cards that maximize travel points (i.e. Chase Sapphire Reserve with its 3x points on travel and dining is by far one of the best ones out there).
- Sign up for all the programs that come with that card (I can no longer imagine travel without Priority Pass and Global Entry).
- Transfer those points directly to a partner airline vs. using the card’s travel portal.
- Book your upgraded flight entirely on points you’ve earned just by making purchases you would make anyway!
Are you credit card savvy? Tell me about any great deals you’ve been able to score in the comment section!
A Weekend in Quito
