What’s the best use of my points?
49% God Save the Points
51% Other
The best use of your points is the one that aligns with your personal travel goals, needs, and flexibility. God Save the Points +4
Maximize Value for Travel
- Book premium cabin flights (e.g., business or first class) when you can secure high-value redemptions, especially for long-haul or international trips.
- Use points for last-minute or expensive bookings that would otherwise require cash—this turns a high-cost trip into a no-cost one.🔗
Prioritize Practical and Personal Needs
- Cover essential travel for your family or loved ones, even if the per-point value seems lower. Freeing up cash for holidays or reunions can be more valuable than chasing high-value metrics.
- Use points to book multi-night hotel stays or family trips, especially when cash would otherwise be spent.🔗
Non-Travel and Smart Redemption Options
- Redeem points for statement credits via services like Chase’s Purchase Eraser, which can offer higher value than standard redemptions.
- Use points to pay for everyday purchases (e.g., via PayPal or store-specific portals) when you don’t need the travel, especially if it avoids fees or earns cash back.🔗
Keep Points Active and Flexible
- Avoid hoarding points for “perfect” redemptions if it means not using them at all. Points lose value the longer they sit unused.
- Reevaluate your goals regularly—what’s valuable today may not be in a few months.🔗
You Are Travel 10%
Reminder: The Best Points Redemption is The One That Works For You
💡 tl;dr—This piece is a friendly reminder that the single source of truth on whether a redemption is a ‘good’ one is ‘you.’ Point valuations are helpful but are just consideration when determining where to redeem your rewards. Getting too hung up on stretching every dollar out of your rewards could make you miss out on unique travel experiences. When contemplating what redemptions to make, prioritize your current goals and situation, and remember thatoneyou can always get more points. I often receive some version of the following questions: My very best answer: The best redemption will always
FrequentMiler 4%
From 180K Chase points to avoiding Chase shutdowns, most rewarding hotel programs, and more.
Whether you’re looking to collect 180K points from Chase business cards or avoid getting your Chase accounts shut down, this week at Frequent Miler we wrote the key tips you need to know. In between, you’ll find some good uses of Thank You points, Marriott’s confusing new breakfast policies, and more. Read on for the Frequent Miler week in review. There’s been a new addition to our Frequent Miler resources pages — our latest addition covers how to sign up for Chase Ink cards. People often have questions about what kind of business is required, how to fill out
Points with a Crew 5%
I just got a Chase Sapphire Reserve (and didn’t even get the signup bonus)
KEY LINK: If you want to get a Chase Sapphire Reserve and support Points With a Crew you can compare it with other cards here The Chase Sapphire Reserve has been the new hotness in the credit card world since it came out back in 2016. In my time in the miles and points world, I’ve never seen a card with so much buzz. (SEE ALSO: Comparing the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Chase Sapphire Preferred) (SEE ALSO: Comparing Chase Sapphire Reserve vs American Express Platinum vs Citi Prestige) When the Sapphire Reserve came out, I never
God Save the Points 12%
Is This Really The Right Way To Value Points and Miles?
Ahhh, points. They’re wonderful. Unlocking experiences once only dreamed about is incredibly satisfying — and that satisfaction is addicting. People take their love of points and miles to crazy levels of spreadsheets, equations, multiple “players” and more, all in search of the next great score. But what is a “great” score? For people taking “points and miles masterclass” type things online, it’s usually exotic first class flights dangled as the bait. And there’s a common equation offered up which is useful, but like many datapoints, fails to account for an entire picture of value. Making matters
God Save the Points 18%
The Mistakes People Make With Credit Card Points…
Credit card points are there for the spending, designed to heighten your enjoyment from any purchase, with savings on the transaction. But how you spend your points can leave you kicking yourself minutes, days or years later, wishing you’d been wiser with the mystifying currency known as credit card points. Here’s some sage advice to keep you from kicking yourself, and hopefully find yourself an upgraded travel experience. Let’s say points should be worth at least one cent a piece. So if you have 100,000 points, you’ve got a minimum of $1,000 of value on your hands. With many
Miles to Memories 11%
Points in the Bank – 15 Simple Options for Transforming Rewards into More Savings
I recently described 15 easy ways to save without significant lifestyle changes. I just scraped the surface of all possible options in that article, and it didn’t include any points- or miles-related possibilities! Today’s article is focused on how to save money with points, credit cards, and other loyalty programs. Some options involve taking tried and true methods and tweaking them for cash over travel. Others involve redirecting lifestyle creep possibilities to more practical, everyday savings solutions. I continue to save money with points, and so can you! Here are a few ways how. Let’s start with one of
View from the Wing 12%
The Million Mile Secrets Interview
Daraius from Million Mile Secrets has been running a series of interviews of frequent flyer bloggers. He interviewed me last month (and I extended on the most asked about story from the interview here.). For a new blogger, it’s a great strategy to bring in an audience I imagine, since the more highly trafficked bloggers link to you. Plus it happens to also be interesting, I’ve enjoyed the stories of the bloggers who are my daily reads.source a blog post! 🙂 Since Darius is a relatively new blogger, but whose posts have been interesting and useful, I thought
God Save the Points 5%
New Capital One x PayPal Partnership Lets You Redeem Points Easily
Capital One has been busy during the pandemic. The increasingly popular credit card brand responded to changing consumer trends by adding new partnerships from 5X points or 5% cash back at Uber Eats, to new ways to use points at Amazon; and now PayPal too. With fewer people traveling and more people putting money towards online shopping amusement and safe at home culinary delight, it makes sense. If you’ve got a Capital One Venture, Quicksilver, Savor or Spark card, you’ll soon be able to use points to cover PayPal purchases right on the spot, without having to login to
Eye of the Flyer 9%
How Do YOU Use YOUR Points and Miles?
As a points, miles, and travel enthusiast, I love learning how others use rewards to create great experiences for themselves, their families, friends, and others. These discussions usually provide great ideas for future trips, different ideas on how to save money (and points/miles), and inspire ideas about personal points/miles strategies. Most of all, though they’re fun discussions. (These informal chats happen all the time at the Chicago Seminars, BTW. Will I see you there?) A recent FlyerTalk discussion about using SkyMiles was interesting to read. Some people Points It Forward and treat others to trips. Others use
God Save the Points 14%
Chase Ultimate Rewards: 11 Brilliant Ways To Maximize (2022)
Since Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the most popular transferable points programs out there, with some incredible ways to turn points into smiles, let’s waste no time and get get right to it. Yes, when points unlock luxury travel you could only dream of, without the price tag – it’s time to smile. Before we dive into some of these fun ways to redeem your Ultimate Rewards points, we want to remind beginners that Chase is the place you want to start when it comes to credit card points, if you’re applying for new cards. That’s because