How to Maximize Travel Credit Card Points

Let’s break down all misconceptions about credit cards. If you’re responsible and know how to use them right, they are fundamental to healthy travel habits. These are my recommendations for earning and spending credit cards points for travel. They apply to my 2 favorite types of travel cards.

Buckle up because there is a lot of math involved.

Travel Credit Card Hacking

Everyday Purchases

Most people think that the best part of travel credit cards is to rack up points through everyday purchases. That’s wrong. That is a gruelingly slow process. Yes, you should do it, but do not rely on it exclusively.

Entry Rewards

This is the money bag.

The entry reward points are by far the most effective way to gain points. That’s because the reward is always worth more than the miles earned from normal spending.

Math: The Capital One Venture X card offers you 75,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. Normally, you would get $4,000 X 2 points for normal spending = 8,000 points. That’s almost 10X the points by simply signing up.

Pro tip: If you don’t want to spend as much as the card requires, make purchases for trusted friends and family and have them immediately reimburse you. It’s a super easy way to reach your minimums.

Portal Purchases

Many travel cards have a portal through which you can book flights, hotels, and cars. This isn’t always the cheapest way to book. But if it is (or close to it) it’s worth it for the extra points.

Math: The Chase Sapphire Reserve Card offers 10X the points on Hotels booked through their portal. You’re essentially getting 10% back on every hotel booking because those miles then transfer into dollars.

$100 Hotel Stay = 1,000 miles = $10 to cover purchases

Purchase Credit

Before I go on, promise you will NEVER ever make a portal purchase with your miles. Always purchase with your card FIRST and then retroactively cover the purchase. That way, you earn points while simultaneously covering your costs. See below.

Benefits

My Capital One Venture X credit card is the best thing that ever happened to me because of the benefits. No, this post has not been sponsored. But if you’re reading this, I am available to promote you Capital One Gods.

I travel frequently so it makes sense for me to have the Venture X. It offers access to airport lounges around the world, $400 in travel credit, and free TSA pre check and Global entry. However, it cost $395 a year.

Although it pays for itself, you might not want to spend that much on a card. Make sure you weigh the pros & cons of each card’s benefits to see what suits your lifestyle.

Airline Credit Cards

Everyone should have at least one airline credit card. Look up an airline’s Flight Map to see if it applies to you. You do not need to have one to be a loyalty member nor rack up points. However, they offer multiple points when you book through them directly and it really adds up.

Math: An airline may offer 5X the points using their card for any flight you book (not just the ones under your name). A $500 round trip flight for you and your partner will now earn you $500 X 2 people X 5 points = 10,000 miles.

You can also buy extra miles at a discounted rate when you book a flight.

I book all of my family’s flights to/from DR and continuously rack up my miles. You can do this hand-in-hand with every day purchases and save up for bigger trips.

Airline Alliances

Almost every airline is a part of an alliance in which they partner with other airlines around the world. The big 3 are Star Alliance, One World, and Sky Team. This is a MAJOR part of finding deals because your airline may not provide a route to purchase with money but they might provide it for miles.

For example: I have a United Card. They do not fly to the Galapagos Islands but one of their partner airlines does so I can book using my miles on their page. See below.

This is just an example. In this case, there are definitely better/shorter flight routes through other airlines. I always double check to verify.

Airline Card Secret Formula

I don’t know what airlines use to calculate their rates. It is not each literal mile traveled = 1 mile. Nor is it 1 dollar in cost = 1 mile. They use some secret formula. This is good news because if you’re lucky you can stumble upon an incredible deal. Let’s look at examples:

Math: A NY to Sydney flight is 55K Miles = $1216 after removing taxes. That’s about 45 Miles = $1. Not bad.

Math: NY to Santo Domingo shows 10.9K Miles = $147 after taxes which means 74 miles = $1. Terrible. You are giving more miles away for less coverage.

Although the DR flight seems cheaper (less miles) it actually costs you more than the Sydney one. I would buy the DR flight with cash and the Sydney one with miles.

Two Year Hits

Two years is the length of time a credit card hit remains on your credit report. This means, as long as you’re not getting a ton of other hits, you can get a new card every two years or so.

I am NOT a financial advisor. You know your own spending habits. I only do this if my credit card statements are paid in FULL and on time EVERY month.

Pro tip: If you’re in a loving partnership, you can take turns getting new cards. That way, you only get a card under your name every two years but you get a full paid vacation every year.

Cancellations

Personally, I cancel old cards whenever the entry rewards are up and I no longer use them. Then, I focus on racking up points on the newer ones. This does not negatively affect your credit score unless you’re drastically changing the amount of credit available to your name (i.e. going from $30K to $20K is huge reduction).

Pro tip: Certain companies will transfer your balance from a cancelled card onto another card within the same account. This way, your available credit doesn’t change on your credit report. Call and ask if your bank offers this.

I know that was a lot of information but it will be worth it when you pay for a roundtrip flight and full week stay on an island. The system was built for you to travel. Use it wisely!