The Basics
What is award travel?
Award travel is using rewards, miles or points to book travel rather than money.
What are credit card rewards?
Credit card rewards are given when you spend money using specific credit cards.
Do all credit cards give rewards?
No, not all credit cards give rewards. Some cards give nothing for spending on them, some give cashback and some give rewards.
How do you get credit card points?
You get credit card points a few ways. The first is through a Sign up bonus which is where the credit card company offers you a reward for signing up for a new credit card. This can be something like 50,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months after opening the card. The second way is to spend money on the credit card. Different cards have different reward amounts for spending, and depending on the type of spending (grocery, gas, dining, etc.). Other offers such as adding an authorized user or referring someone to the card can give you extra points. Finally, you can earn points through promotions or third party sites such as Rakuten which gives you either cashback or American Express points just for your normal shopping.
How do you use credit card points?
You can use credit card points in a few ways depending on the card, and credit card company. One of the more common ways is to cover purchases made on the card, which is basically cash back. You can also exchange the points for rewards or gift cards. You can book travel directly using the points (for select cards). Finally, the way I prefer to use them, you can transfer them to airline or hotel loyalty programs to book travel.
What are hotel points?
Hotel points can be used to book a hotel room instead of using money.
How do you get hotel points?
There are 4 major ways to get hotel points. The first is to stay at the hotel and have a loyalty account. The second way is to purchase points from the hotel. The third is by transferring your credit card points to the hotel loyalty program. The final way is to use a credit card that is branded to a particular hotel.
How much are hotel points actually worth?
Each hotel group’s points are worth different amounts and even vary depending on specific properties. For a more in depth breakdown of point values, check out this page (coming soon).
What are airline miles?
Airline miles are very similar to hotel points in that they are rewards with the airline brand that can be used to buy your plane tickets.
How do you get airline miles?
The same 4 ways apply here also. Fly with the airline and have a loyalty account. Buy miles directly from the airline. Transfer credit card reward points to the airline. Using an airline branded credit card.
How much are they worth?
Again, this varies by airline, flight route and even season. Further breakdown here (coming soon).