Travel Strategies - User contributions [en]

Best credit cards for travel spending

2021-11-06T19:30:57Z

Editor: /* Quick comparison */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|travel spending}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Our recommendations and a ranked list of all the credit cards that offer the best reward rates for the airfare and travel bonus category.}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Category Bonuses}}

{{Optimize Warning}}

{{ImageX|Travel.jpg|full}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Card suggestions|Card suggestions]]
*[[#Quick comparison|Quick comparison]]
*[[#Free travel insurance when you use your card|Free travel insurance when you use your card]]
*[[#When to use your hotel or airline card instead|When to use your hotel or airline card instead]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Card suggestions (for most people) ===

Most people are going to want at least one premium credit card (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum Card), so that they can get free access to airport lounges and other valuable benefits. And most of these premium cards also offer great reward rates on travel purchases. A few of them also provide free travel insurance when you use them to pay for your tickets. {{Link|premium cards}}

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
'''The simplest option is to stick with the Sapphire Reserve Card or Ink Preferred Card'''. They earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar, on every type of travel purchase, including ground transportation and cruises; and provide the best travel insurance available from any credit card (the Sapphire Reserve is slightly better).

If you buy through the Chase website, you can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|5}} cents per dollar, on airfare; and 10x on hotels and car rentals. But hotel purchases through Chase won't qualify for the hotel's own loyalty program and you will often be able to find better rates on hotels and car rentals on other sites.

After adjusting for its $300 travel credit and $60 DoorDash credit, the effective annual fee is $130-250. Its not a bad idea to stick to this card for your travel and restaurant purchases. But if you spend a lot of money on airfare and restaurants or decide on a different approach than the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you might be better off using one of the other cards for your travel spending.

{{CardItem|PlatinumCard}}
'''The Amex Platinum Card earns the most valuable rewards on airfare'''. It earns 5x Membership Rewards points, valued at {{Value|mr|5}} cents per dollar, on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel and offers travel insurance (but not baggage delay insurance). Also, you only get travel insurance if you book a round-trip itinerary (but you can pay independently for each of the different segments).

For most people, the effective annual fee on the Platinum Card is too high to justify the card just for the airfare rewards and other benefits. But if you are collecting signup bonuses or highly value some of the Platinum Card's benefits, you could easily wind up having one of the several different varieties, at least for a year at a time. If so, you should probably use it to earn extra points on your airfare purchases. Just be sure you are comfortable using the resulting Membership Rewards points for booking frequent flyer tickets.

The Platinum Card also provides 5x Membership Rewards points for prepaid hotel bookings bought through Amex Travel. But, when you book this way, you won’t get any credit or benefits with the hotel’s loyalty program and you are unlikely to get the best room rates. So, this is only a good option when you are staying at a non-chain hotel, the rates are prepaid (but possibly cancellable), and Amex’s prices happen to be good.

{{CardItem|Altitude}}
'''The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card can be your best option if you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer points or you don’t travel enough to warrant getting a more expensive card'''. It earns 4.5 cents per dollar on all travel purchases (as well as on anything bought with a mobile wallet). There are a few no-annual-fee credit cards that offer good bonus rewards on travel, but for most people, the limited lounge access and other benefits you’ll get from the Altitude Reserve, make it worth paying what amounts to $75 per year. For people who can't get the Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve provides the highest reward rate of any card that includes extensive travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

=== Recommended cards (other options) ===

{{List|Card}}
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
'''If you frequently travel on Amtrak, the Amtrak World Card offer perhaps the best rewards on travel spending'''. It earns 2x Amtrak points on all travel purchases, which can then be redeemed for {{Value|Amtrak|2}} cents on Amtrak travel. Points are extremely easy to redeem.
{{/List|card}}

=== Quick comparison ===

{{Quick Comparison Intro}}

{{Table|label|6in}}
!style="width: .5in;"|Value
!style="width: .5in;"|Earns
!Included Purchases
!style="width: .5in;"|Includes Insurance
!style="width: .5in;"|Annual Cost
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|10}}%

{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|10x UR

5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Hotels/Cars through Chase

Airfare through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$190-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|InkPreferred|short}} (Business card) plus Freedom Unlimited or Flex Card
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphirePreferred|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|2}}%
|5x UR

2x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$45-95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Fairwinds|only}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x Points
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$249
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels & rentals booked through US Bank
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PlatinumCard|only}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|5}}%
|5x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GoldBiz|short}} (if one of your two categories)
|-
|{{Value|MR|4}}%
|4x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$295
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Synovus|short}}*
|-
|6%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel (up to $5,000 per year)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$50
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Amtrak|only}}
|-
|{{Value|Amtrak|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$79
|-
|{{c|5}}[//cards.barclaycardus.com/cards/priceline-rewards-visa-card.html Priceline Rewards Card]
|-
|5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels rooms at Priceline and Cruises
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|4.5%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GreenCard|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|All Travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PremierRewards|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$30-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|-
|{{Value|TY|3}}%
|3x TY
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and hotels
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|BOAPremium|short}} / {{Card|BOATravel|short}}
|-
|2-4.1%
|2-4.1x#
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$45
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AltitudeConnect|only}}
|-
|4%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Propel|only}} (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) - Discontinued
|-
|3.9%
|3x GoFar
|style="text-align: left;"|Flights, hotels, car rentals, transit, homestays
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|EverydayPreferred|short}} (with 30 transaction bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.5}}%
|2.5 MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PenFedTravel|short}} (for account holders)
|-
|3.6%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel purchases
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Hyatt|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Hyatt|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Everyday|short}} (with 20 transaction per month bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.2}}%
|2.2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CrystalInfinite|short}}
|-
|3.3%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|Most Travel
|Yes
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|MorganStanley|short}}‡ (for Morgan Stanley customers only)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2}}%
|2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AAA|short}} (available to anyone)
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Costco|short}} / {{Card|SamsClub|short}}
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-/-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SWAPlus|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Southwest|2}}%
|2x miles
|style="text-align: left;"|Southwest, plus hotels and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$69
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Synovus Card is only available to people that live within their territory in the Southeast.

<nowiki>‡</nowiki> This card has a foreign transaction fees of 3%, making it a bad choice for booking foreign hotels and sometimes airfares.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points on travel purchases with the Premium Card, and 2.625 points with the Travel Rewards card. But, with both cards you'll earn a base rate of 3 points on purchases made through BOA's travel booking site. With the relationship bonus, this can be boosted as high as 4.125%.
</div>

=== Free travel insurance when you use your card ===

Several premium credit cards offer good reward rates on travel purchases and provide free travel insurance benefits when you use them to purchase travel. The Citibank cards used to have the best travel insurance benefits of any card, but as of September 2019, no longer provide this coverage.

{{Table|label|4in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|Chase Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|Other Chase
!style="width: 20%;"|Amex Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|BOA Premium Rewards
!style="width: 20%;"|Altitude Reserve
|-
|{{c|5}}Covers award flights
|-
|Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Cancellation & Interruption
|-
|$10,000
|$5,000 <br/>($10,000 Sapphire Preferred)
|$10,000
|$5,000
|$5,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|6 hours
|
|6 hours
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Lost / Damaged Bags (per passenger)
|-
|$3,000
|$3,000
|$3,000
|Yes
|$5,000 <br/>($2,000/bag)
|-
|{{c|5}}Travel Accident (Death and Dismemberment)
|-
|$1,000,000
|$500,000
|
|Yes
|$1,000,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Evacuation
|-
|$100,000
|None
|Unlimited (Platinum only)
|Yes
|$10,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Medical
|-
|$2,500
|None
|
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Auto Rental Coverage
|-
|Primary
|Primary*
|Secondary
|Secondary
|Secondary
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> For Sapphire Reserved and some other Chase cards. On Ink Preferred, rental must be for business purposes.
</div>

A few additional tips:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>The Amex Platinum Card gives you emergency evacuation coverage, just by having the card. You don’t have to use it to buy your airfare. So, you can use it along with any other coverages.</li>

<li>Trip cancellation and interruption insurance only covers expenses that were paid for with the card. With Chase, you need to pay for any portion of the cost, including award ticket fees. With Amex, the entire cost of the trip needs to have been purchased with the card or with Membership Reward points. So, if you want your Platinum Card's trip insurance to cover non-refundable hotel and other travel expenses, you need to charge them to your Platinum Card and not use a card that earns more valuable rewards on non-airfare spending.</li>

<li>Amex's travel insurance requires round-trip travel. You can purchase each segment separately, but all segments must be purchased with your card and you must wind up in the same city you left from.</li>

<li>Chase only covers family members on the same itinerary as you, not other travelling companions. Amex covers both family members and travelling companions </li>
</ul>

=== When to use your hotel or airline card instead ===

If you have a hotel or airline branded credit card, it will earn bonus rewards when you make purchases from that hotel company or airline. However, '''you can usually still earn more valuable rewards from one of the cards above, rather than the hotel or airline’s own card'''. You’ll also get more flexibility when redeeming your points and often some added travel protections.

{{Image|AirlineCC.png}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Prestige, American Express Platinum Card, they earn the highest rewards on airfare purchases. You may do even better with the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred & Freedom Unlimited Combo, as long as you are willing to buy your tickets through Chase'''. No airline card comes close. Plus, the Platinum, Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Preferred card offer great travel protections.</li>

{{Card|PlatinumCard|guide}}

<li>'''The Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve, and the Citi Prestige / Premier cards, (almost) always earn higher rewards than the hotel’s or airline’s card'''. The only exceptions are the {{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}, {{Card|HiltonAscend|only}}, {{Card|Hyatt|only}}, {{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}},{{Card|BestWestern|only}}, {{Card|JetBlue|only}}, {{Card|Wyndham|only}}, {{Card|WyndhamBiz|only}}, and (probably) the {{Card|Frontier|only}}.</li>

<li>'''If you are just using a general purpose reward card that earns 2-2.5%, you’ll always get more valuable rewards by using the hotel or airline card instead'''. Just make sure that you are likely to have a good chance to redeem whatever points you earn with a given hotel or airline program—it is often easier to take advantage of general bank points (or cashback) than the points you might earn separate hotel or airline programs. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|restaurant spending}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Best credit cards for travel spending

2021-11-06T19:30:41Z

Editor: /* Quick comparison */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|travel spending}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Our recommendations and a ranked list of all the credit cards that offer the best reward rates for the airfare and travel bonus category.}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Category Bonuses}}

{{Optimize Warning}}

{{ImageX|Travel.jpg|full}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Card suggestions|Card suggestions]]
*[[#Quick comparison|Quick comparison]]
*[[#Free travel insurance when you use your card|Free travel insurance when you use your card]]
*[[#When to use your hotel or airline card instead|When to use your hotel or airline card instead]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Card suggestions (for most people) ===

Most people are going to want at least one premium credit card (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum Card), so that they can get free access to airport lounges and other valuable benefits. And most of these premium cards also offer great reward rates on travel purchases. A few of them also provide free travel insurance when you use them to pay for your tickets. {{Link|premium cards}}

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
'''The simplest option is to stick with the Sapphire Reserve Card or Ink Preferred Card'''. They earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar, on every type of travel purchase, including ground transportation and cruises; and provide the best travel insurance available from any credit card (the Sapphire Reserve is slightly better).

If you buy through the Chase website, you can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|5}} cents per dollar, on airfare; and 10x on hotels and car rentals. But hotel purchases through Chase won't qualify for the hotel's own loyalty program and you will often be able to find better rates on hotels and car rentals on other sites.

After adjusting for its $300 travel credit and $60 DoorDash credit, the effective annual fee is $130-250. Its not a bad idea to stick to this card for your travel and restaurant purchases. But if you spend a lot of money on airfare and restaurants or decide on a different approach than the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you might be better off using one of the other cards for your travel spending.

{{CardItem|PlatinumCard}}
'''The Amex Platinum Card earns the most valuable rewards on airfare'''. It earns 5x Membership Rewards points, valued at {{Value|mr|5}} cents per dollar, on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel and offers travel insurance (but not baggage delay insurance). Also, you only get travel insurance if you book a round-trip itinerary (but you can pay independently for each of the different segments).

For most people, the effective annual fee on the Platinum Card is too high to justify the card just for the airfare rewards and other benefits. But if you are collecting signup bonuses or highly value some of the Platinum Card's benefits, you could easily wind up having one of the several different varieties, at least for a year at a time. If so, you should probably use it to earn extra points on your airfare purchases. Just be sure you are comfortable using the resulting Membership Rewards points for booking frequent flyer tickets.

The Platinum Card also provides 5x Membership Rewards points for prepaid hotel bookings bought through Amex Travel. But, when you book this way, you won’t get any credit or benefits with the hotel’s loyalty program and you are unlikely to get the best room rates. So, this is only a good option when you are staying at a non-chain hotel, the rates are prepaid (but possibly cancellable), and Amex’s prices happen to be good.

{{CardItem|Altitude}}
'''The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card can be your best option if you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer points or you don’t travel enough to warrant getting a more expensive card'''. It earns 4.5 cents per dollar on all travel purchases (as well as on anything bought with a mobile wallet). There are a few no-annual-fee credit cards that offer good bonus rewards on travel, but for most people, the limited lounge access and other benefits you’ll get from the Altitude Reserve, make it worth paying what amounts to $75 per year. For people who can't get the Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve provides the highest reward rate of any card that includes extensive travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

=== Recommended cards (other options) ===

{{List|Card}}
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
'''If you frequently travel on Amtrak, the Amtrak World Card offer perhaps the best rewards on travel spending'''. It earns 2x Amtrak points on all travel purchases, which can then be redeemed for {{Value|Amtrak|2}} cents on Amtrak travel. Points are extremely easy to redeem.
{{/List|card}}

=== Quick comparison ===

{{Quick Comparison Intro}}

{{Table|label|7in}}
!style="width: .5in;"|Value
!style="width: .5in;"|Earns
!Included Purchases
!style="width: .5in;"|Includes Insurance
!style="width: .5in;"|Annual Cost
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|10}}%

{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|10x UR

5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Hotels/Cars through Chase

Airfare through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$190-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|InkPreferred|short}} (Business card) plus Freedom Unlimited or Flex Card
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphirePreferred|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|2}}%
|5x UR

2x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$45-95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Fairwinds|only}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x Points
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$249
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels & rentals booked through US Bank
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PlatinumCard|only}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|5}}%
|5x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GoldBiz|short}} (if one of your two categories)
|-
|{{Value|MR|4}}%
|4x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$295
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Synovus|short}}*
|-
|6%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel (up to $5,000 per year)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$50
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Amtrak|only}}
|-
|{{Value|Amtrak|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$79
|-
|{{c|5}}[//cards.barclaycardus.com/cards/priceline-rewards-visa-card.html Priceline Rewards Card]
|-
|5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels rooms at Priceline and Cruises
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|4.5%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GreenCard|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|All Travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PremierRewards|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$30-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|-
|{{Value|TY|3}}%
|3x TY
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and hotels
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|BOAPremium|short}} / {{Card|BOATravel|short}}
|-
|2-4.1%
|2-4.1x#
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$45
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AltitudeConnect|only}}
|-
|4%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Propel|only}} (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) - Discontinued
|-
|3.9%
|3x GoFar
|style="text-align: left;"|Flights, hotels, car rentals, transit, homestays
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|EverydayPreferred|short}} (with 30 transaction bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.5}}%
|2.5 MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PenFedTravel|short}} (for account holders)
|-
|3.6%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel purchases
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Hyatt|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Hyatt|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Everyday|short}} (with 20 transaction per month bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.2}}%
|2.2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CrystalInfinite|short}}
|-
|3.3%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|Most Travel
|Yes
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|MorganStanley|short}}‡ (for Morgan Stanley customers only)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2}}%
|2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AAA|short}} (available to anyone)
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Costco|short}} / {{Card|SamsClub|short}}
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-/-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SWAPlus|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Southwest|2}}%
|2x miles
|style="text-align: left;"|Southwest, plus hotels and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$69
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Synovus Card is only available to people that live within their territory in the Southeast.

<nowiki>‡</nowiki> This card has a foreign transaction fees of 3%, making it a bad choice for booking foreign hotels and sometimes airfares.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points on travel purchases with the Premium Card, and 2.625 points with the Travel Rewards card. But, with both cards you'll earn a base rate of 3 points on purchases made through BOA's travel booking site. With the relationship bonus, this can be boosted as high as 4.125%.
</div>

=== Free travel insurance when you use your card ===

Several premium credit cards offer good reward rates on travel purchases and provide free travel insurance benefits when you use them to purchase travel. The Citibank cards used to have the best travel insurance benefits of any card, but as of September 2019, no longer provide this coverage.

{{Table|label|4in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|Chase Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|Other Chase
!style="width: 20%;"|Amex Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|BOA Premium Rewards
!style="width: 20%;"|Altitude Reserve
|-
|{{c|5}}Covers award flights
|-
|Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Cancellation & Interruption
|-
|$10,000
|$5,000 <br/>($10,000 Sapphire Preferred)
|$10,000
|$5,000
|$5,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|6 hours
|
|6 hours
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Lost / Damaged Bags (per passenger)
|-
|$3,000
|$3,000
|$3,000
|Yes
|$5,000 <br/>($2,000/bag)
|-
|{{c|5}}Travel Accident (Death and Dismemberment)
|-
|$1,000,000
|$500,000
|
|Yes
|$1,000,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Evacuation
|-
|$100,000
|None
|Unlimited (Platinum only)
|Yes
|$10,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Medical
|-
|$2,500
|None
|
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Auto Rental Coverage
|-
|Primary
|Primary*
|Secondary
|Secondary
|Secondary
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> For Sapphire Reserved and some other Chase cards. On Ink Preferred, rental must be for business purposes.
</div>

A few additional tips:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>The Amex Platinum Card gives you emergency evacuation coverage, just by having the card. You don’t have to use it to buy your airfare. So, you can use it along with any other coverages.</li>

<li>Trip cancellation and interruption insurance only covers expenses that were paid for with the card. With Chase, you need to pay for any portion of the cost, including award ticket fees. With Amex, the entire cost of the trip needs to have been purchased with the card or with Membership Reward points. So, if you want your Platinum Card's trip insurance to cover non-refundable hotel and other travel expenses, you need to charge them to your Platinum Card and not use a card that earns more valuable rewards on non-airfare spending.</li>

<li>Amex's travel insurance requires round-trip travel. You can purchase each segment separately, but all segments must be purchased with your card and you must wind up in the same city you left from.</li>

<li>Chase only covers family members on the same itinerary as you, not other travelling companions. Amex covers both family members and travelling companions </li>
</ul>

=== When to use your hotel or airline card instead ===

If you have a hotel or airline branded credit card, it will earn bonus rewards when you make purchases from that hotel company or airline. However, '''you can usually still earn more valuable rewards from one of the cards above, rather than the hotel or airline’s own card'''. You’ll also get more flexibility when redeeming your points and often some added travel protections.

{{Image|AirlineCC.png}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Prestige, American Express Platinum Card, they earn the highest rewards on airfare purchases. You may do even better with the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred & Freedom Unlimited Combo, as long as you are willing to buy your tickets through Chase'''. No airline card comes close. Plus, the Platinum, Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Preferred card offer great travel protections.</li>

{{Card|PlatinumCard|guide}}

<li>'''The Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve, and the Citi Prestige / Premier cards, (almost) always earn higher rewards than the hotel’s or airline’s card'''. The only exceptions are the {{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}, {{Card|HiltonAscend|only}}, {{Card|Hyatt|only}}, {{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}},{{Card|BestWestern|only}}, {{Card|JetBlue|only}}, {{Card|Wyndham|only}}, {{Card|WyndhamBiz|only}}, and (probably) the {{Card|Frontier|only}}.</li>

<li>'''If you are just using a general purpose reward card that earns 2-2.5%, you’ll always get more valuable rewards by using the hotel or airline card instead'''. Just make sure that you are likely to have a good chance to redeem whatever points you earn with a given hotel or airline program—it is often easier to take advantage of general bank points (or cashback) than the points you might earn separate hotel or airline programs. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|restaurant spending}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Best credit cards for travel spending

2021-11-06T19:30:12Z

Editor: /* Quick comparison */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|travel spending}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Our recommendations and a ranked list of all the credit cards that offer the best reward rates for the airfare and travel bonus category.}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Category Bonuses}}

{{Optimize Warning}}

{{ImageX|Travel.jpg|full}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Card suggestions|Card suggestions]]
*[[#Quick comparison|Quick comparison]]
*[[#Free travel insurance when you use your card|Free travel insurance when you use your card]]
*[[#When to use your hotel or airline card instead|When to use your hotel or airline card instead]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Card suggestions (for most people) ===

Most people are going to want at least one premium credit card (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum Card), so that they can get free access to airport lounges and other valuable benefits. And most of these premium cards also offer great reward rates on travel purchases. A few of them also provide free travel insurance when you use them to pay for your tickets. {{Link|premium cards}}

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
'''The simplest option is to stick with the Sapphire Reserve Card or Ink Preferred Card'''. They earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar, on every type of travel purchase, including ground transportation and cruises; and provide the best travel insurance available from any credit card (the Sapphire Reserve is slightly better).

If you buy through the Chase website, you can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|5}} cents per dollar, on airfare; and 10x on hotels and car rentals. But hotel purchases through Chase won't qualify for the hotel's own loyalty program and you will often be able to find better rates on hotels and car rentals on other sites.

After adjusting for its $300 travel credit and $60 DoorDash credit, the effective annual fee is $130-250. Its not a bad idea to stick to this card for your travel and restaurant purchases. But if you spend a lot of money on airfare and restaurants or decide on a different approach than the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you might be better off using one of the other cards for your travel spending.

{{CardItem|PlatinumCard}}
'''The Amex Platinum Card earns the most valuable rewards on airfare'''. It earns 5x Membership Rewards points, valued at {{Value|mr|5}} cents per dollar, on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel and offers travel insurance (but not baggage delay insurance). Also, you only get travel insurance if you book a round-trip itinerary (but you can pay independently for each of the different segments).

For most people, the effective annual fee on the Platinum Card is too high to justify the card just for the airfare rewards and other benefits. But if you are collecting signup bonuses or highly value some of the Platinum Card's benefits, you could easily wind up having one of the several different varieties, at least for a year at a time. If so, you should probably use it to earn extra points on your airfare purchases. Just be sure you are comfortable using the resulting Membership Rewards points for booking frequent flyer tickets.

The Platinum Card also provides 5x Membership Rewards points for prepaid hotel bookings bought through Amex Travel. But, when you book this way, you won’t get any credit or benefits with the hotel’s loyalty program and you are unlikely to get the best room rates. So, this is only a good option when you are staying at a non-chain hotel, the rates are prepaid (but possibly cancellable), and Amex’s prices happen to be good.

{{CardItem|Altitude}}
'''The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card can be your best option if you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer points or you don’t travel enough to warrant getting a more expensive card'''. It earns 4.5 cents per dollar on all travel purchases (as well as on anything bought with a mobile wallet). There are a few no-annual-fee credit cards that offer good bonus rewards on travel, but for most people, the limited lounge access and other benefits you’ll get from the Altitude Reserve, make it worth paying what amounts to $75 per year. For people who can't get the Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve provides the highest reward rate of any card that includes extensive travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

=== Recommended cards (other options) ===

{{List|Card}}
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
'''If you frequently travel on Amtrak, the Amtrak World Card offer perhaps the best rewards on travel spending'''. It earns 2x Amtrak points on all travel purchases, which can then be redeemed for {{Value|Amtrak|2}} cents on Amtrak travel. Points are extremely easy to redeem.
{{/List|card}}

=== Quick comparison ===

{{Quick Comparison Intro}}

{{Table|label|7in}}
!style="width: .5in;"|Value
!style="width: .5in;"|Earns
|Included Purchases
!style="width: .5in;"|Includes Insurance
!style="width: .5in;"|Annual Cost
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|10}}%

{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|10x UR

5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Hotels/Cars through Chase

Airfare through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$190-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|InkPreferred|short}} (Business card) plus Freedom Unlimited or Flex Card
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphirePreferred|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|2}}%
|5x UR

2x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$45-95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Fairwinds|only}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x Points
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$249
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels & rentals booked through US Bank
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PlatinumCard|only}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|5}}%
|5x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GoldBiz|short}} (if one of your two categories)
|-
|{{Value|MR|4}}%
|4x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$295
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Synovus|short}}*
|-
|6%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel (up to $5,000 per year)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$50
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Amtrak|only}}
|-
|{{Value|Amtrak|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$79
|-
|{{c|5}}[//cards.barclaycardus.com/cards/priceline-rewards-visa-card.html Priceline Rewards Card]
|-
|5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels rooms at Priceline and Cruises
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|4.5%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GreenCard|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|All Travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PremierRewards|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$30-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|-
|{{Value|TY|3}}%
|3x TY
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and hotels
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|BOAPremium|short}} / {{Card|BOATravel|short}}
|-
|2-4.1%
|2-4.1x#
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$45
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AltitudeConnect|only}}
|-
|4%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Propel|only}} (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) - Discontinued
|-
|3.9%
|3x GoFar
|style="text-align: left;"|Flights, hotels, car rentals, transit, homestays
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|EverydayPreferred|short}} (with 30 transaction bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.5}}%
|2.5 MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PenFedTravel|short}} (for account holders)
|-
|3.6%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel purchases
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Hyatt|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Hyatt|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Everyday|short}} (with 20 transaction per month bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.2}}%
|2.2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CrystalInfinite|short}}
|-
|3.3%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|Most Travel
|Yes
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|MorganStanley|short}}‡ (for Morgan Stanley customers only)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2}}%
|2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AAA|short}} (available to anyone)
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Costco|short}} / {{Card|SamsClub|short}}
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-/-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SWAPlus|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Southwest|2}}%
|2x miles
|style="text-align: left;"|Southwest, plus hotels and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$69
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Synovus Card is only available to people that live within their territory in the Southeast.

<nowiki>‡</nowiki> This card has a foreign transaction fees of 3%, making it a bad choice for booking foreign hotels and sometimes airfares.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points on travel purchases with the Premium Card, and 2.625 points with the Travel Rewards card. But, with both cards you'll earn a base rate of 3 points on purchases made through BOA's travel booking site. With the relationship bonus, this can be boosted as high as 4.125%.
</div>

=== Free travel insurance when you use your card ===

Several premium credit cards offer good reward rates on travel purchases and provide free travel insurance benefits when you use them to purchase travel. The Citibank cards used to have the best travel insurance benefits of any card, but as of September 2019, no longer provide this coverage.

{{Table|label|4in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|Chase Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|Other Chase
!style="width: 20%;"|Amex Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|BOA Premium Rewards
!style="width: 20%;"|Altitude Reserve
|-
|{{c|5}}Covers award flights
|-
|Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Cancellation & Interruption
|-
|$10,000
|$5,000 <br/>($10,000 Sapphire Preferred)
|$10,000
|$5,000
|$5,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|6 hours
|
|6 hours
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Lost / Damaged Bags (per passenger)
|-
|$3,000
|$3,000
|$3,000
|Yes
|$5,000 <br/>($2,000/bag)
|-
|{{c|5}}Travel Accident (Death and Dismemberment)
|-
|$1,000,000
|$500,000
|
|Yes
|$1,000,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Evacuation
|-
|$100,000
|None
|Unlimited (Platinum only)
|Yes
|$10,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Medical
|-
|$2,500
|None
|
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Auto Rental Coverage
|-
|Primary
|Primary*
|Secondary
|Secondary
|Secondary
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> For Sapphire Reserved and some other Chase cards. On Ink Preferred, rental must be for business purposes.
</div>

A few additional tips:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>The Amex Platinum Card gives you emergency evacuation coverage, just by having the card. You don’t have to use it to buy your airfare. So, you can use it along with any other coverages.</li>

<li>Trip cancellation and interruption insurance only covers expenses that were paid for with the card. With Chase, you need to pay for any portion of the cost, including award ticket fees. With Amex, the entire cost of the trip needs to have been purchased with the card or with Membership Reward points. So, if you want your Platinum Card's trip insurance to cover non-refundable hotel and other travel expenses, you need to charge them to your Platinum Card and not use a card that earns more valuable rewards on non-airfare spending.</li>

<li>Amex's travel insurance requires round-trip travel. You can purchase each segment separately, but all segments must be purchased with your card and you must wind up in the same city you left from.</li>

<li>Chase only covers family members on the same itinerary as you, not other travelling companions. Amex covers both family members and travelling companions </li>
</ul>

=== When to use your hotel or airline card instead ===

If you have a hotel or airline branded credit card, it will earn bonus rewards when you make purchases from that hotel company or airline. However, '''you can usually still earn more valuable rewards from one of the cards above, rather than the hotel or airline’s own card'''. You’ll also get more flexibility when redeeming your points and often some added travel protections.

{{Image|AirlineCC.png}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Prestige, American Express Platinum Card, they earn the highest rewards on airfare purchases. You may do even better with the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred & Freedom Unlimited Combo, as long as you are willing to buy your tickets through Chase'''. No airline card comes close. Plus, the Platinum, Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Preferred card offer great travel protections.</li>

{{Card|PlatinumCard|guide}}

<li>'''The Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve, and the Citi Prestige / Premier cards, (almost) always earn higher rewards than the hotel’s or airline’s card'''. The only exceptions are the {{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}, {{Card|HiltonAscend|only}}, {{Card|Hyatt|only}}, {{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}},{{Card|BestWestern|only}}, {{Card|JetBlue|only}}, {{Card|Wyndham|only}}, {{Card|WyndhamBiz|only}}, and (probably) the {{Card|Frontier|only}}.</li>

<li>'''If you are just using a general purpose reward card that earns 2-2.5%, you’ll always get more valuable rewards by using the hotel or airline card instead'''. Just make sure that you are likely to have a good chance to redeem whatever points you earn with a given hotel or airline program—it is often easier to take advantage of general bank points (or cashback) than the points you might earn separate hotel or airline programs. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|restaurant spending}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Best credit cards for travel spending

2021-11-06T19:29:38Z

Editor: /* Quick comparison */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|travel spending}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Our recommendations and a ranked list of all the credit cards that offer the best reward rates for the airfare and travel bonus category.}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Category Bonuses}}

{{Optimize Warning}}

{{ImageX|Travel.jpg|full}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Card suggestions|Card suggestions]]
*[[#Quick comparison|Quick comparison]]
*[[#Free travel insurance when you use your card|Free travel insurance when you use your card]]
*[[#When to use your hotel or airline card instead|When to use your hotel or airline card instead]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Card suggestions (for most people) ===

Most people are going to want at least one premium credit card (like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Amex Platinum Card), so that they can get free access to airport lounges and other valuable benefits. And most of these premium cards also offer great reward rates on travel purchases. A few of them also provide free travel insurance when you use them to pay for your tickets. {{Link|premium cards}}

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
'''The simplest option is to stick with the Sapphire Reserve Card or Ink Preferred Card'''. They earn 3x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|3}} cents per dollar, on every type of travel purchase, including ground transportation and cruises; and provide the best travel insurance available from any credit card (the Sapphire Reserve is slightly better).

If you buy through the Chase website, you can earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points, valued at {{Value|UR|5}} cents per dollar, on airfare; and 10x on hotels and car rentals. But hotel purchases through Chase won't qualify for the hotel's own loyalty program and you will often be able to find better rates on hotels and car rentals on other sites.

After adjusting for its $300 travel credit and $60 DoorDash credit, the effective annual fee is $130-250. Its not a bad idea to stick to this card for your travel and restaurant purchases. But if you spend a lot of money on airfare and restaurants or decide on a different approach than the Chase Unlimited combo for your everyday spending, you might be better off using one of the other cards for your travel spending.

{{CardItem|PlatinumCard}}
'''The Amex Platinum Card earns the most valuable rewards on airfare'''. It earns 5x Membership Rewards points, valued at {{Value|mr|5}} cents per dollar, on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel and offers travel insurance (but not baggage delay insurance). Also, you only get travel insurance if you book a round-trip itinerary (but you can pay independently for each of the different segments).

For most people, the effective annual fee on the Platinum Card is too high to justify the card just for the airfare rewards and other benefits. But if you are collecting signup bonuses or highly value some of the Platinum Card's benefits, you could easily wind up having one of the several different varieties, at least for a year at a time. If so, you should probably use it to earn extra points on your airfare purchases. Just be sure you are comfortable using the resulting Membership Rewards points for booking frequent flyer tickets.

The Platinum Card also provides 5x Membership Rewards points for prepaid hotel bookings bought through Amex Travel. But, when you book this way, you won’t get any credit or benefits with the hotel’s loyalty program and you are unlikely to get the best room rates. So, this is only a good option when you are staying at a non-chain hotel, the rates are prepaid (but possibly cancellable), and Amex’s prices happen to be good.

{{CardItem|Altitude}}
'''The U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve Card can be your best option if you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer points or you don’t travel enough to warrant getting a more expensive card'''. It earns 4.5 cents per dollar on all travel purchases (as well as on anything bought with a mobile wallet). There are a few no-annual-fee credit cards that offer good bonus rewards on travel, but for most people, the limited lounge access and other benefits you’ll get from the Altitude Reserve, make it worth paying what amounts to $75 per year. For people who can't get the Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve provides the highest reward rate of any card that includes extensive travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

=== Recommended cards (other options) ===

{{List|Card}}
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
'''If you frequently travel on Amtrak, the Amtrak World Card offer perhaps the best rewards on travel spending'''. It earns 2x Amtrak points on all travel purchases, which can then be redeemed for {{Value|Amtrak|2}} cents on Amtrak travel. Points are extremely easy to redeem.
{{/List|card}}

=== Quick comparison ===

{{Quick Comparison Intro}}

{{Table|label|7in}}
!style="width: .5in;"|Value
!style="width: .5in;"|Earns
!style="width: 1in;"|Included Purchases
!style="width: .5in;"|Includes Insurance
!style="width: .5in;"|Annual Cost
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphireReserve|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|10}}%

{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|10x UR

5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Hotels/Cars through Chase

Airfare through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$190-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|InkPreferred|short}} (Business card) plus Freedom Unlimited or Flex Card
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|3}}%
|5x UR

3x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SapphirePreferred|short}}
|-
|{{Value|UR|5}}%

{{Value|UR|2}}%
|5x UR

2x UR
|style="text-align: left;"|Travel through Chase

All other travel
|Yes
|$45-95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Fairwinds|only}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x Points
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$249
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|7.5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels & rentals booked through US Bank
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PlatinumCard|only}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|5}}%
|5x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>Yes</nowiki>
|$250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GoldBiz|short}} (if one of your two categories)
|-
|{{Value|MR|4}}%
|4x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$295
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Synovus|short}}*
|-
|6%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel (up to $5,000 per year)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$50
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Amtrak|only}}
|-
|{{Value|Amtrak|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$79
|-
|{{c|5}}[//cards.barclaycardus.com/cards/priceline-rewards-visa-card.html Priceline Rewards Card]
|-
|5%
|5x
|style="text-align: left;"|Prepaid hotels rooms at Priceline and Cruises
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Altitude|short}}
|-
|4.5%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|GreenCard|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|All Travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PremierRewards|short}}
|-
|{{Value|MR|3}}%
|3x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$30-250
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|-
|{{Value|TY|3}}%
|3x TY
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and hotels
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|BOAPremium|short}} / {{Card|BOATravel|short}}
|-
|2-4.1%
|2-4.1x#
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|Yes
|$45
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AltitudeConnect|only}}
|-
|4%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Propel|only}} (with Wells Fargo Visa Signature) - Discontinued
|-
|3.9%
|3x GoFar
|style="text-align: left;"|Flights, hotels, car rentals, transit, homestays
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|EverydayPreferred|short}} (with 30 transaction bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.5}}%
|2.5 MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$95
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|PenFedTravel|short}} (for account holders)
|-
|3.6%
|4x
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel purchases
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Hyatt|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Hyatt|2}}%
|2x
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|Yes
|$75
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Everyday|short}} (with 20 transaction per month bonus)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2.2}}%
|2.2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|CrystalInfinite|short}}
|-
|3.3%
|3x
|style="text-align: left;"|Most Travel
|Yes
|$150
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|MorganStanley|short}}‡ (for Morgan Stanley customers only)
|-
|{{Value|MR|2}}%
|2x MR
|style="text-align: left;"|Airfare and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|AAA|short}} (available to anyone)
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|Costco|short}} / {{Card|SamsClub|short}}
|-
|3%
|3%
|style="text-align: left;"|All travel
|<nowiki>-/-</nowiki>
|$0
|-
|{{c|5}}{{Card|SWAPlus|short}}
|-
|{{Value|Southwest|2}}%
|2x miles
|style="text-align: left;"|Southwest, plus hotels and car rentals
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|$69
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Synovus Card is only available to people that live within their territory in the Southeast.

<nowiki>‡</nowiki> This card has a foreign transaction fees of 3%, making it a bad choice for booking foreign hotels and sometimes airfares.

<nowiki>#</nowiki> Cardholders with more than $20,000 in combined balances at BOA / Merrill Lynch earn bonus rewards, maxing out at 3.5 points on travel purchases with the Premium Card, and 2.625 points with the Travel Rewards card. But, with both cards you'll earn a base rate of 3 points on purchases made through BOA's travel booking site. With the relationship bonus, this can be boosted as high as 4.125%.
</div>

=== Free travel insurance when you use your card ===

Several premium credit cards offer good reward rates on travel purchases and provide free travel insurance benefits when you use them to purchase travel. The Citibank cards used to have the best travel insurance benefits of any card, but as of September 2019, no longer provide this coverage.

{{Table|label|4in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|Chase Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|Other Chase
!style="width: 20%;"|Amex Premium
!style="width: 20%;"|BOA Premium Rewards
!style="width: 20%;"|Altitude Reserve
|-
|{{c|5}}Covers award flights
|-
|Yes
|Yes
|Yes
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Cancellation & Interruption
|-
|$10,000
|$5,000 <br/>($10,000 Sapphire Preferred)
|$10,000
|$5,000
|$5,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|$500
|-
|{{c|5}}Trip Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|12 hours
|6 hours
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (max. amount)
|-
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|$500 <br/>($100/day)
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Baggage Delay (min. hours)
|-
|6 hours
|6 hours
|
|6 hours
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Lost / Damaged Bags (per passenger)
|-
|$3,000
|$3,000
|$3,000
|Yes
|$5,000 <br/>($2,000/bag)
|-
|{{c|5}}Travel Accident (Death and Dismemberment)
|-
|$1,000,000
|$500,000
|
|Yes
|$1,000,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Evacuation
|-
|$100,000
|None
|Unlimited (Platinum only)
|Yes
|$10,000
|-
|{{c|5}}Emergency Medical
|-
|$2,500
|None
|
|
|
|-
|{{c|5}}Auto Rental Coverage
|-
|Primary
|Primary*
|Secondary
|Secondary
|Secondary
{{/Table}}

<div style="margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;">
<nowiki>*</nowiki> For Sapphire Reserved and some other Chase cards. On Ink Preferred, rental must be for business purposes.
</div>

A few additional tips:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>The Amex Platinum Card gives you emergency evacuation coverage, just by having the card. You don’t have to use it to buy your airfare. So, you can use it along with any other coverages.</li>

<li>Trip cancellation and interruption insurance only covers expenses that were paid for with the card. With Chase, you need to pay for any portion of the cost, including award ticket fees. With Amex, the entire cost of the trip needs to have been purchased with the card or with Membership Reward points. So, if you want your Platinum Card's trip insurance to cover non-refundable hotel and other travel expenses, you need to charge them to your Platinum Card and not use a card that earns more valuable rewards on non-airfare spending.</li>

<li>Amex's travel insurance requires round-trip travel. You can purchase each segment separately, but all segments must be purchased with your card and you must wind up in the same city you left from.</li>

<li>Chase only covers family members on the same itinerary as you, not other travelling companions. Amex covers both family members and travelling companions </li>
</ul>

=== When to use your hotel or airline card instead ===

If you have a hotel or airline branded credit card, it will earn bonus rewards when you make purchases from that hotel company or airline. However, '''you can usually still earn more valuable rewards from one of the cards above, rather than the hotel or airline’s own card'''. You’ll also get more flexibility when redeeming your points and often some added travel protections.

{{Image|AirlineCC.png}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Prestige, American Express Platinum Card, they earn the highest rewards on airfare purchases. You may do even better with the Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred or Ink Preferred & Freedom Unlimited Combo, as long as you are willing to buy your tickets through Chase'''. No airline card comes close. Plus, the Platinum, Sapphire Reserve, and Sapphire Preferred card offer great travel protections.</li>

{{Card|PlatinumCard|guide}}

<li>'''The Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Altitude Reserve, and the Citi Prestige / Premier cards, (almost) always earn higher rewards than the hotel’s or airline’s card'''. The only exceptions are the {{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}, {{Card|HiltonAscend|only}}, {{Card|Hyatt|only}}, {{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}},{{Card|BestWestern|only}}, {{Card|JetBlue|only}}, {{Card|Wyndham|only}}, {{Card|WyndhamBiz|only}}, and (probably) the {{Card|Frontier|only}}.</li>

<li>'''If you are just using a general purpose reward card that earns 2-2.5%, you’ll always get more valuable rewards by using the hotel or airline card instead'''. Just make sure that you are likely to have a good chance to redeem whatever points you earn with a given hotel or airline program—it is often easier to take advantage of general bank points (or cashback) than the points you might earn separate hotel or airline programs. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
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{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Venture points

2021-10-30T06:45:02Z

Editor: /* Hotel transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|venture points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Card|Venture|none}}

For years, the Capital One Venture program has been the most famous of the "fixed value" reward programs. You earned 2 "miles" per dollar on every purchase. But these miles didn't work like real frequent flyer miles. While you didn't need to worry about award availability, each mile had a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Essentially the card worked the same as a 2% cashback card, just one in which the only reasonable way to redeem your points was to refund travel purchases.

In late 2018, Capital One turned Venture points into a true transferable reward program. You can still use Venture "miles" to offset any travel purchase at 1 cent each, but you can also transfer them to over a dozen different frequent flyer programs in order to redeem them for frequent flyer tickets.

<blockquote>
Venture Rewards is a valuable and worthwhile credit card program, but generally not quite as useful as the Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou programs. However, if you are a big fan of booking vacation rentals, you might want to prioritize the Capital One program in order to earn as many Wyndham points as you can.
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, it can be hard to get approved for the Venture or Spark cards. But if you can, they typically have very valuable signup bonuses and give you the flexibility of earning 2 or more Capital One "miles" per dollar.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#Capital One "transferable points" credit cards|Capital One "transferable points" credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Comparing to the other transferable points programs|Comparing to the other programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Points transfers are either instantaneous or take a day or two'''. The main exception is Cathay Pacific, where transfers can take up to a week. You can transfer points in 100 point increments, as long as you transfer a minimum of a 1,000 points at a time. {{Link|transfer times}}.

Like the Membership and ThankYou Rewards programs, Capital One occasionally offers transfer bonuses (where you get bonus miles when you transfer your points to a specific airline partner). See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page]. for a list of current bonuses.

When Capital One first launched the transfer program, your points didn't transfer one-to-one. With some airlines you needed to transfer 2 Capital One miles for every actual frequent flyer mile. With other airlines, you needed to transfer 3 Capital One Miles for every 2 frequent flyer miles. The rationale was that Capital One was giving you 2x points for every dollar spent, rather than just 1 or 1.5, and didn't want to give you a full 2 airline miles per dollar.

Since then, they have moved to the much simpler (and more lucrative) model of giving 1 frequent flyer mile for every Capital One mile, with the exception of EVA which requires 4 points for every 3 miles. As a result, Capital One's "miles"have probably become more valuable for frequent flyer tickets than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou points.

{{Table|center|7in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Air Canada''' <br/>(Aeroplan)
|'''Air France / KLM''' <br/>(Flying Blue)
|'''Cathay Pacific''' <br/>(Asia Miles)
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''
|'''Alitalia'''
|'''British Airways'''
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Qantas'''
|
|-
|'''EVA Air'''
|
|'''Finnair'''
|
|-
|'''Singapore'''
|
|
|
|-
|'''TAP Portugal'''
|
|
|
{{/Table}}

Capital One brings together many of the useful options that are available in the other programs such as somewhat hard-to-deal with Avianca for great Star Allinace values, British Airways for short-distance Oneworld flights, Air France / KLM for solid access to SkyTeam flights, as well as Air Canada and Cathay Pacific's solid programs.

Capital One has perhaps ThankYou Reward's best partner in Turkish Airlines (which is fantastic for many United and Star Alliance flights and isn't a partner of Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards) and some nice partners that aren't available through ThankYou Rewards.

Etihad can be an attractive option for many of its partners, including American Airlines, but is also available through both Membership and ThankYou rewards.

Finnair and TAP Air Portugal, Capital One's unique partners, aren't particularly useful. Neither are Qantas and EVA, which are also part of the Citibank ThankYou points program, but not part of the generally more useful Membership or Ultimate Rewards programs. The possible exception are good rates for flights on El Al with the Qantas program or to access extra premium-cabin award space on EVA.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your Venture points to Air Canada and then use the Air Canada miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Air Canada's other airline partners. With all the various partnerships, you can redeem your Venture points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

You can transfer your Venture points to three hotel partners. And two of them are worthwhile (the only other good hotel point transfer option among the big four programs is Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Wyndham Rewards'''. Venture points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Since we value Wyndham points at {{Value|Wyndham|1}} cents each, this seems like a low-value redemption. However, Wyndham points can be MUCH more valuable when used to book vacation rentals. If this is something that you will be able to frequently take advantage of, the ability to earn 2x Wyndham points per dollar with the Capital One cards may be the main reason you'll want to take advantage of. If not, it may still be worthwhile for more valuable Wyndham hotel redemptions. {{Link|Wyndham}}.</li>

<li>'''Accor Live Limitless (ALL)'''. Accor is the loyalty program for a very large number of primarily European and Luxury brands, including Novotel, Sofitel, and Fairmont. They offer a fixed-value reward program, where each point is worth exactly .02 Euros (around 2.2 cents). Venture points transfer at a 2:1 ratio, so you are getting around 1.1 cents per Venture point. This is slightly more than you would get by using your Venture points for regular travel purchases. {{Link|Accor}}.</li>

<li>'''Choice Privileges'''. Since you can "buy" Choice points for .8 cents each with the Cash & Points trick (or receive 2 Choice points for each ThankYou point you transfer), it doesn't make sense to transfer your Capital One points to Choice. You'd be better off cashing them out at 1 cent each (or transferring them to some more valuable program. {{Link|Choice}}.</li>

</ul>

Wyndham and Acccor don't participate with the other transferable credit card reward programs.

=== Cashing out your points ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your can always use your Venture points to pay for most other travel purchases'''. Unlike programs like Ultimate Rewards, you don't need to make your purchase through a travel portal that is run by the credit card company. You can just use your Capital One Card to make almost any travel purchase and then use your points to "erase" the charges on your statement. For example, you can make a direct purchase at Hilton, a secret hotel purchase on Hotwire, or a payment directly to a taxi cab driver, and then use your points to offset the charge on your statement.</li>

You have up to 90 days to make a redemption, so you can eventually use points you haven't earned yet to offset purchases you make with your card.

Unlike many other fixed-value points, there is no minimum redemption. If you have a $2 train ticket, you can use 200 points to "erase" it. However, if you only want to use points for part of the charged amount, you'll need to use at least 2,500 points.

<li>'''You also have the option of making a point-based purchase directly through Capital One's travel portal'''. But you'll probably receive better pricing, and often receive additional benefits and reward points, by booking elsewhere and then using your Capital One points to offset the credit card charge.</li>

<li>'''Even better, you can get actual cash from the points you earn from Spark Cash or Savor Card'''. If you don't want to transfer them to partners, don't transfer them to your Venture or Spark Miles account and you can redeem them directly as cashback.</li>

</ul>

=== Capital One "transferable points" credit cards ===

'''Only the Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles Cards earn points that can be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners'''. However, if you have one of those cards, points from the Spark Cash, Savor, Savor One, and Quicksilver cards can be transferred to one of these cards and then transferred out.

A combination of card allows you to earn bonus "miles" on restaurant and dining and to increase the number of "miles" you can earn from signup bonuses.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|Venture|short}}
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95
|-
|{{Card|VentureOne|short}}
|20,000
|1.25x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Quicksilver|short}}
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|SparkMiles|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkMilesSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|-
|{{Card|Spark|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Savor|short}}
|30,000
|4x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$95
|-
|{{Card|SavorOne|short}}
|20,000
|3x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$0
{{/Table}}

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Points are worth at least 1 cent each'''. You are likely to get a more when redeeming for frequent flyer tickets and potentially Wyndham points. Because you can transfer you points to whichever of several frequent flyer programs that offers the best deal for whatever trip you are trying to take, Venture miles are worth more than most regular frequent flyer miles. {{Link|transferable points}}.</li>

<li>'''It is worthwhile to collect miles from the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus of 50,000 points can still be redeemed for $500 in travel purchases and can be worth considerably more when transferred to frequent flyer programs.</li>

<li>'''You can only receive a new Capital One personal credit card every six months'''. And you can only have a total of two cards at one time.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to be approved for Capital One cards'''. They seem to prefer people who don't pay off your balance every month. If you fall into this category, you should focus on reducing your interest rates (and paying off your debt), not on collecting signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer points to any other Capital One cardholder''', not just a spouse or family member. You'll need to call in, as there is no way to do this online.</li>

<li>'''Each Capital One credit card accrues miles into a separate account, but you can freely move miles between cards'''. When it is time to transfer miles to a partner, offset travel purchases, or cancel a card, you can easily combine the miles into the account associated with any one of your cards.</li>

<li>'''You'll need to keep one of these cards open if you want to maintain your points balance'''. However, you should be able to downgrade your card into a one of the options that doesn't charge an annual fee. Other options are to use your points for a travel purchase or transfer them to the partner you are mostly likely to want to leverage in the future.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing to the other transferable points programs ===

The things we love about the Capital One program are:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The ability to transfer to Wyndham to take advantage of vacation rental opportunities'''. Getting a 1 bedroom vacation house for only 15,000 points per night is a great deal. Because awards include the cleaning and other fees, they make it reasonable to book a vacation house for only one or two nights.</li>

<li>'''A better set of airline partners than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou Rewards program''', including Turkish Airlines, what had been Thank You Rewards unique strength compared to the other programs.</li>

<li>'''Great options for cashing out your points''' (although slighlty less than with the Sapphire Reserve Card).</li>
</ul>

But there are some drawbacks:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is much harder to easily acquire lots of points'''. The other programs make it easier to collect large number of points from signup bonuses (and referral and upgrade bonuses with Membership Rewards). While there aren't that many more Ultimate and ThankYou rewards credit cards than there are Capital One cards, it is very difficult to collect more than a couple Capital One bonuses. Because it is hard to get approved for a Capital One card, you can't rely on cancelling cards and then reapplying for a new bonus. You are also limited to only two total personal cards at any one time.</li>

It is also somewhat more difficult to earn lots of Capital One points with bonus categories. The Savor cards offer decent rewards on dining, groceries, and entertainment. But overall, Chase, Amex, and Citibank offer some higher reward rates and some additional categories.

<li>'''For frequent flyer tickets, Membership Rewards isa better option'''. It has many more airline partners and the most transfer bonuses, and it is the easiest program to accumulate a lot of points. On the other hand, if you aren't willing and able to get a business card, you can only earn 1.5x points per dollar with Amex (and then only with the annoying 30-transaction minimum on the Everyday Preferred card). So, you might choose to use the Venture as your general-purpose card and earn your Membership Reward points through bonuses.</li>

<li>'''For general-purpose points, we recommend Ultimate Rewards for most people'''. We love hotel points, and for most people, Hyatt is a much better partner than Wyndham and Accor. Ultimate Rewards is a bit weaker than Capital One for frequent flyer tickets but not enough to ovecome Chase's advantage with Hyatt and richer portfolio of cards. And if you need to "cash out", you can get up to 1.5 cents per point (or 2.25% on everyday purchases) with Chase, versus 1 cent per point (or 2% on everyday purchases) with Capital One.</li>

<li>'''Capital One might be a better option than Citi as a third program'''. If you are already have stashes of Membership and Ultimate Rewards points and Amex and Chase cards that earn good bonus categories, Capital One might be a better option than Citibank (as a third program). In any event, if you are going for a third program, you might as well take advantage of all four.</li>

<li>'''Capital One does provide the ultimate one-card solution'''. If you absolutely want to stick with a single card, the Venture card is probably your best bet. You have the option of 2% cash back, while maintaining the upside of potentially getting more value through frequent flyer tickets or good value Wyndham redemptions.</li>

<li>'''However, both Chase and Citi have two-card solutions that are probably better and don't cost any more each year'''. The Citi Double Cash / Premier combo earns a great set of bonus category rewards and the same cashback rate. It is also easier to get a periodic signup bonus boost. The main thing you'll miss is the Wyndham option, but for most people, the all-in-one bonus categories of the Premier card more than make up for that.</li>

Like the Citi combo, the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire combo also has the advantage of bonus category rewards. More importantly, most people will get great value out of redeeming the points on Hyatt hotel stays, without the difficulties of using points for frequent flyer tickets. In most cases 1.5 Hyatt points is much better than 2 Wyndham points.
</ul>

Despite any potential advantages with the other programs, there is plenty of value to be had with Capital One's program. And there is nothing to stop you from earning a pile of points with a couple of Capital One signup offers and earning 2x Capital One miles on a chunk of your everyday spending, alongside earning points with the other programs.

{{/Main|article}}
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Venture points

2021-10-30T06:44:09Z

Editor: /* Comparing to the other transferable points programs */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|venture points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Card|Venture|none}}

For years, the Capital One Venture program has been the most famous of the "fixed value" reward programs. You earned 2 "miles" per dollar on every purchase. But these miles didn't work like real frequent flyer miles. While you didn't need to worry about award availability, each mile had a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Essentially the card worked the same as a 2% cashback card, just one in which the only reasonable way to redeem your points was to refund travel purchases.

In late 2018, Capital One turned Venture points into a true transferable reward program. You can still use Venture "miles" to offset any travel purchase at 1 cent each, but you can also transfer them to over a dozen different frequent flyer programs in order to redeem them for frequent flyer tickets.

<blockquote>
Venture Rewards is a valuable and worthwhile credit card program, but generally not quite as useful as the Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou programs. However, if you are a big fan of booking vacation rentals, you might want to prioritize the Capital One program in order to earn as many Wyndham points as you can.
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, it can be hard to get approved for the Venture or Spark cards. But if you can, they typically have very valuable signup bonuses and give you the flexibility of earning 2 or more Capital One "miles" per dollar.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#Capital One "transferable points" credit cards|Capital One "transferable points" credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Comparing to the other transferable points programs|Comparing to the other programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Points transfers are either instantaneous or take a day or two'''. The main exception is Cathay Pacific, where transfers can take up to a week. You can transfer points in 100 point increments, as long as you transfer a minimum of a 1,000 points at a time. {{Link|transfer times}}.

Like the Membership and ThankYou Rewards programs, Capital One occasionally offers transfer bonuses (where you get bonus miles when you transfer your points to a specific airline partner). See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page]. for a list of current bonuses.

When Capital One first launched the transfer program, your points didn't transfer one-to-one. With some airlines you needed to transfer 2 Capital One miles for every actual frequent flyer mile. With other airlines, you needed to transfer 3 Capital One Miles for every 2 frequent flyer miles. The rationale was that Capital One was giving you 2x points for every dollar spent, rather than just 1 or 1.5, and didn't want to give you a full 2 airline miles per dollar.

Since then, they have moved to the much simpler (and more lucrative) model of giving 1 frequent flyer mile for every Capital One mile, with the exception of EVA which requires 4 points for every 3 miles. As a result, Capital One's "miles"have probably become more valuable for frequent flyer tickets than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou points.

{{Table|center|7in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Air Canada''' <br/>(Aeroplan)
|'''Air France / KLM''' <br/>(Flying Blue)
|'''Cathay Pacific''' <br/>(Asia Miles)
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''
|'''Alitalia'''
|'''British Airways'''
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Qantas'''
|
|-
|'''EVA Air'''
|
|'''Finnair'''
|
|-
|'''Singapore'''
|
|
|
|-
|'''TAP Portugal'''
|
|
|
{{/Table}}

Capital One brings together many of the useful options that are available in the other programs such as somewhat hard-to-deal with Avianca for great Star Allinace values, British Airways for short-distance Oneworld flights, Air France / KLM for solid access to SkyTeam flights, as well as Air Canada and Cathay Pacific's solid programs.

Capital One has perhaps ThankYou Reward's best partner in Turkish Airlines (which is fantastic for many United and Star Alliance flights and isn't a partner of Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards) and some nice partners that aren't available through ThankYou Rewards.

Etihad can be an attractive option for many of its partners, including American Airlines, but is also available through both Membership and ThankYou rewards.

Finnair and TAP Air Portugal, Capital One's unique partners, aren't particularly useful. Neither are Qantas and EVA, which are also part of the Citibank ThankYou points program, but not part of the generally more useful Membership or Ultimate Rewards programs. The possible exception are good rates for flights on El Al with the Qantas program or to access extra premium-cabin award space on EVA.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your Venture points to Air Canada and then use the Air Canada miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Air Canada's other airline partners. With all the various partnerships, you can redeem your Venture points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

You can transfer your Venture points to three hotel partners. And two of them are worthwhile (the only other good hotel point transfer option among the big four programs is Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Wyndham Rewards'''. Venture points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Since we value Wyndham points at {{Value|Wyndham|1}} cents each, this seems like a low-value redemption. However, Wyndham points can be much more valuable when used to book vacation rentals. If this is something that you will be able to frequently take advantage of, the ability to earn 2x Wyndham points per dollar with the Capital One cards may be the main reason you'll want to take advantage of. If not, it may still be worthwhile for more valuable Wyndham hotel redemptions. {{Link|Wyndham}}.</li>

<li>'''Accor Live Limitless (ALL)'''. Accor is the loyalty program for a very large number of primarily European and Luxury brands, including Novotel, Sofitel, and Fairmont. They offer a fixed-value reward program, where each point is worth exactly .02 Euros (around 2.2 cents). Venture points transfer at a 2:1 ratio, so you are getting around 1.1 cents per Venture point. This is slightly more than you would get by using your Venture points for regular travel purchases. {{Link|Accor}}.</li>

<li>'''Choice Privileges'''. Since you can "buy" Choice points for .8 cents each with the Cash & Points trick (or receive 2 Choice points for each ThankYou point you transfer), it doesn't make sense to transfer your Capital One points to Choice. You'd be better off cashing them out at 1 cent each (or transferring them to some more valuable program. {{Link|Choice}}.</li>

</ul>

Wyndham and Acccor don't participate with the other transferable credit card reward programs.

=== Cashing out your points ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your can always use your Venture points to pay for most other travel purchases'''. Unlike programs like Ultimate Rewards, you don't need to make your purchase through a travel portal that is run by the credit card company. You can just use your Capital One Card to make almost any travel purchase and then use your points to "erase" the charges on your statement. For example, you can make a direct purchase at Hilton, a secret hotel purchase on Hotwire, or a payment directly to a taxi cab driver, and then use your points to offset the charge on your statement.</li>

You have up to 90 days to make a redemption, so you can eventually use points you haven't earned yet to offset purchases you make with your card.

Unlike many other fixed-value points, there is no minimum redemption. If you have a $2 train ticket, you can use 200 points to "erase" it. However, if you only want to use points for part of the charged amount, you'll need to use at least 2,500 points.

<li>'''You also have the option of making a point-based purchase directly through Capital One's travel portal'''. But you'll probably receive better pricing, and often receive additional benefits and reward points, by booking elsewhere and then using your Capital One points to offset the credit card charge.</li>

<li>'''Even better, you can get actual cash from the points you earn from Spark Cash or Savor Card'''. If you don't want to transfer them to partners, don't transfer them to your Venture or Spark Miles account and you can redeem them directly as cashback.</li>

</ul>

=== Capital One "transferable points" credit cards ===

'''Only the Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles Cards earn points that can be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners'''. However, if you have one of those cards, points from the Spark Cash, Savor, Savor One, and Quicksilver cards can be transferred to one of these cards and then transferred out.

A combination of card allows you to earn bonus "miles" on restaurant and dining and to increase the number of "miles" you can earn from signup bonuses.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|Venture|short}}
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95
|-
|{{Card|VentureOne|short}}
|20,000
|1.25x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Quicksilver|short}}
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|SparkMiles|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkMilesSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|-
|{{Card|Spark|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Savor|short}}
|30,000
|4x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$95
|-
|{{Card|SavorOne|short}}
|20,000
|3x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$0
{{/Table}}

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Points are worth at least 1 cent each'''. You are likely to get a more when redeeming for frequent flyer tickets and potentially Wyndham points. Because you can transfer you points to whichever of several frequent flyer programs that offers the best deal for whatever trip you are trying to take, Venture miles are worth more than most regular frequent flyer miles. {{Link|transferable points}}.</li>

<li>'''It is worthwhile to collect miles from the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus of 50,000 points can still be redeemed for $500 in travel purchases and can be worth considerably more when transferred to frequent flyer programs.</li>

<li>'''You can only receive a new Capital One personal credit card every six months'''. And you can only have a total of two cards at one time.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to be approved for Capital One cards'''. They seem to prefer people who don't pay off your balance every month. If you fall into this category, you should focus on reducing your interest rates (and paying off your debt), not on collecting signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer points to any other Capital One cardholder''', not just a spouse or family member. You'll need to call in, as there is no way to do this online.</li>

<li>'''Each Capital One credit card accrues miles into a separate account, but you can freely move miles between cards'''. When it is time to transfer miles to a partner, offset travel purchases, or cancel a card, you can easily combine the miles into the account associated with any one of your cards.</li>

<li>'''You'll need to keep one of these cards open if you want to maintain your points balance'''. However, you should be able to downgrade your card into a one of the options that doesn't charge an annual fee. Other options are to use your points for a travel purchase or transfer them to the partner you are mostly likely to want to leverage in the future.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing to the other transferable points programs ===

The things we love about the Capital One program are:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The ability to transfer to Wyndham to take advantage of vacation rental opportunities'''. Getting a 1 bedroom vacation house for only 15,000 points per night is a great deal. Because awards include the cleaning and other fees, they make it reasonable to book a vacation house for only one or two nights.</li>

<li>'''A better set of airline partners than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou Rewards program''', including Turkish Airlines, what had been Thank You Rewards unique strength compared to the other programs.</li>

<li>'''Great options for cashing out your points''' (although slighlty less than with the Sapphire Reserve Card).</li>
</ul>

But there are some drawbacks:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is much harder to easily acquire lots of points'''. The other programs make it easier to collect large number of points from signup bonuses (and referral and upgrade bonuses with Membership Rewards). While there aren't that many more Ultimate and ThankYou rewards credit cards than there are Capital One cards, it is very difficult to collect more than a couple Capital One bonuses. Because it is hard to get approved for a Capital One card, you can't rely on cancelling cards and then reapplying for a new bonus. You are also limited to only two total personal cards at any one time.</li>

It is also somewhat more difficult to earn lots of Capital One points with bonus categories. The Savor cards offer decent rewards on dining, groceries, and entertainment. But overall, Chase, Amex, and Citibank offer some higher reward rates and some additional categories.

<li>'''For frequent flyer tickets, Membership Rewards isa better option'''. It has many more airline partners and the most transfer bonuses, and it is the easiest program to accumulate a lot of points. On the other hand, if you aren't willing and able to get a business card, you can only earn 1.5x points per dollar with Amex (and then only with the annoying 30-transaction minimum on the Everyday Preferred card). So, you might choose to use the Venture as your general-purpose card and earn your Membership Reward points through bonuses.</li>

<li>'''For general-purpose points, we recommend Ultimate Rewards for most people'''. We love hotel points, and for most people, Hyatt is a much better partner than Wyndham and Accor. Ultimate Rewards is a bit weaker than Capital One for frequent flyer tickets but not enough to ovecome Chase's advantage with Hyatt and richer portfolio of cards. And if you need to "cash out", you can get up to 1.5 cents per point (or 2.25% on everyday purchases) with Chase, versus 1 cent per point (or 2% on everyday purchases) with Capital One.</li>

<li>'''Capital One might be a better option than Citi as a third program'''. If you are already have stashes of Membership and Ultimate Rewards points and Amex and Chase cards that earn good bonus categories, Capital One might be a better option than Citibank (as a third program). In any event, if you are going for a third program, you might as well take advantage of all four.</li>

<li>'''Capital One does provide the ultimate one-card solution'''. If you absolutely want to stick with a single card, the Venture card is probably your best bet. You have the option of 2% cash back, while maintaining the upside of potentially getting more value through frequent flyer tickets or good value Wyndham redemptions.</li>

<li>'''However, both Chase and Citi have two-card solutions that are probably better and don't cost any more each year'''. The Citi Double Cash / Premier combo earns a great set of bonus category rewards and the same cashback rate. It is also easier to get a periodic signup bonus boost. The main thing you'll miss is the Wyndham option, but for most people, the all-in-one bonus categories of the Premier card more than make up for that.</li>

Like the Citi combo, the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire combo also has the advantage of bonus category rewards. More importantly, most people will get great value out of redeeming the points on Hyatt hotel stays, without the difficulties of using points for frequent flyer tickets. In most cases 1.5 Hyatt points is much better than 2 Wyndham points.
</ul>

Despite any potential advantages with the other programs, there is plenty of value to be had with Capital One's program. And there is nothing to stop you from earning a pile of points with a couple of Capital One signup offers and earning 2x Capital One miles on a chunk of your everyday spending, alongside earning points with the other programs.

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Venture points

2021-10-30T06:34:23Z

Editor: /* Hotel transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|venture points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Card|Venture|none}}

For years, the Capital One Venture program has been the most famous of the "fixed value" reward programs. You earned 2 "miles" per dollar on every purchase. But these miles didn't work like real frequent flyer miles. While you didn't need to worry about award availability, each mile had a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Essentially the card worked the same as a 2% cashback card, just one in which the only reasonable way to redeem your points was to refund travel purchases.

In late 2018, Capital One turned Venture points into a true transferable reward program. You can still use Venture "miles" to offset any travel purchase at 1 cent each, but you can also transfer them to over a dozen different frequent flyer programs in order to redeem them for frequent flyer tickets.

<blockquote>
Venture Rewards is a valuable and worthwhile credit card program, but generally not quite as useful as the Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou programs. However, if you are a big fan of booking vacation rentals, you might want to prioritize the Capital One program in order to earn as many Wyndham points as you can.
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, it can be hard to get approved for the Venture or Spark cards. But if you can, they typically have very valuable signup bonuses and give you the flexibility of earning 2 or more Capital One "miles" per dollar.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#Capital One "transferable points" credit cards|Capital One "transferable points" credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Comparing to the other transferable points programs|Comparing to the other programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Points transfers are either instantaneous or take a day or two'''. The main exception is Cathay Pacific, where transfers can take up to a week. You can transfer points in 100 point increments, as long as you transfer a minimum of a 1,000 points at a time. {{Link|transfer times}}.

Like the Membership and ThankYou Rewards programs, Capital One occasionally offers transfer bonuses (where you get bonus miles when you transfer your points to a specific airline partner). See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page]. for a list of current bonuses.

When Capital One first launched the transfer program, your points didn't transfer one-to-one. With some airlines you needed to transfer 2 Capital One miles for every actual frequent flyer mile. With other airlines, you needed to transfer 3 Capital One Miles for every 2 frequent flyer miles. The rationale was that Capital One was giving you 2x points for every dollar spent, rather than just 1 or 1.5, and didn't want to give you a full 2 airline miles per dollar.

Since then, they have moved to the much simpler (and more lucrative) model of giving 1 frequent flyer mile for every Capital One mile, with the exception of EVA which requires 4 points for every 3 miles. As a result, Capital One's "miles"have probably become more valuable for frequent flyer tickets than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou points.

{{Table|center|7in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Air Canada''' <br/>(Aeroplan)
|'''Air France / KLM''' <br/>(Flying Blue)
|'''Cathay Pacific''' <br/>(Asia Miles)
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''
|'''Alitalia'''
|'''British Airways'''
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Qantas'''
|
|-
|'''EVA Air'''
|
|'''Finnair'''
|
|-
|'''Singapore'''
|
|
|
|-
|'''TAP Portugal'''
|
|
|
{{/Table}}

Capital One brings together many of the useful options that are available in the other programs such as somewhat hard-to-deal with Avianca for great Star Allinace values, British Airways for short-distance Oneworld flights, Air France / KLM for solid access to SkyTeam flights, as well as Air Canada and Cathay Pacific's solid programs.

Capital One has perhaps ThankYou Reward's best partner in Turkish Airlines (which is fantastic for many United and Star Alliance flights and isn't a partner of Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards) and some nice partners that aren't available through ThankYou Rewards.

Etihad can be an attractive option for many of its partners, including American Airlines, but is also available through both Membership and ThankYou rewards.

Finnair and TAP Air Portugal, Capital One's unique partners, aren't particularly useful. Neither are Qantas and EVA, which are also part of the Citibank ThankYou points program, but not part of the generally more useful Membership or Ultimate Rewards programs. The possible exception are good rates for flights on El Al with the Qantas program or to access extra premium-cabin award space on EVA.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your Venture points to Air Canada and then use the Air Canada miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Air Canada's other airline partners. With all the various partnerships, you can redeem your Venture points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

You can transfer your Venture points to three hotel partners. And two of them are worthwhile (the only other good hotel point transfer option among the big four programs is Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Wyndham Rewards'''. Venture points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Since we value Wyndham points at {{Value|Wyndham|1}} cents each, this seems like a low-value redemption. However, Wyndham points can be much more valuable when used to book vacation rentals. If this is something that you will be able to frequently take advantage of, the ability to earn 2x Wyndham points per dollar with the Capital One cards may be the main reason you'll want to take advantage of. If not, it may still be worthwhile for more valuable Wyndham hotel redemptions. {{Link|Wyndham}}.</li>

<li>'''Accor Live Limitless (ALL)'''. Accor is the loyalty program for a very large number of primarily European and Luxury brands, including Novotel, Sofitel, and Fairmont. They offer a fixed-value reward program, where each point is worth exactly .02 Euros (around 2.2 cents). Venture points transfer at a 2:1 ratio, so you are getting around 1.1 cents per Venture point. This is slightly more than you would get by using your Venture points for regular travel purchases. {{Link|Accor}}.</li>

<li>'''Choice Privileges'''. Since you can "buy" Choice points for .8 cents each with the Cash & Points trick (or receive 2 Choice points for each ThankYou point you transfer), it doesn't make sense to transfer your Capital One points to Choice. You'd be better off cashing them out at 1 cent each (or transferring them to some more valuable program. {{Link|Choice}}.</li>

</ul>

Wyndham and Acccor don't participate with the other transferable credit card reward programs.

=== Cashing out your points ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your can always use your Venture points to pay for most other travel purchases'''. Unlike programs like Ultimate Rewards, you don't need to make your purchase through a travel portal that is run by the credit card company. You can just use your Capital One Card to make almost any travel purchase and then use your points to "erase" the charges on your statement. For example, you can make a direct purchase at Hilton, a secret hotel purchase on Hotwire, or a payment directly to a taxi cab driver, and then use your points to offset the charge on your statement.</li>

You have up to 90 days to make a redemption, so you can eventually use points you haven't earned yet to offset purchases you make with your card.

Unlike many other fixed-value points, there is no minimum redemption. If you have a $2 train ticket, you can use 200 points to "erase" it. However, if you only want to use points for part of the charged amount, you'll need to use at least 2,500 points.

<li>'''You also have the option of making a point-based purchase directly through Capital One's travel portal'''. But you'll probably receive better pricing, and often receive additional benefits and reward points, by booking elsewhere and then using your Capital One points to offset the credit card charge.</li>

<li>'''Even better, you can get actual cash from the points you earn from Spark Cash or Savor Card'''. If you don't want to transfer them to partners, don't transfer them to your Venture or Spark Miles account and you can redeem them directly as cashback.</li>

</ul>

=== Capital One "transferable points" credit cards ===

'''Only the Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles Cards earn points that can be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners'''. However, if you have one of those cards, points from the Spark Cash, Savor, Savor One, and Quicksilver cards can be transferred to one of these cards and then transferred out.

A combination of card allows you to earn bonus "miles" on restaurant and dining and to increase the number of "miles" you can earn from signup bonuses.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|Venture|short}}
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95
|-
|{{Card|VentureOne|short}}
|20,000
|1.25x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Quicksilver|short}}
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|SparkMiles|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkMilesSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|-
|{{Card|Spark|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Savor|short}}
|30,000
|4x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$95
|-
|{{Card|SavorOne|short}}
|20,000
|3x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$0
{{/Table}}

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Points are worth at least 1 cent each'''. You are likely to get a more when redeeming for frequent flyer tickets and potentially Wyndham points. Because you can transfer you points to whichever of several frequent flyer programs that offers the best deal for whatever trip you are trying to take, Venture miles are worth more than most regular frequent flyer miles. {{Link|transferable points}}.</li>

<li>'''It is worthwhile to collect miles from the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus of 50,000 points can still be redeemed for $500 in travel purchases and can be worth considerably more when transferred to frequent flyer programs.</li>

<li>'''You can only receive a new Capital One personal credit card every six months'''. And you can only have a total of two cards at one time.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to be approved for Capital One cards'''. They seem to prefer people who don't pay off your balance every month. If you fall into this category, you should focus on reducing your interest rates (and paying off your debt), not on collecting signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer points to any other Capital One cardholder''', not just a spouse or family member. You'll need to call in, as there is no way to do this online.</li>

<li>'''Each Capital One credit card accrues miles into a separate account, but you can freely move miles between cards'''. When it is time to transfer miles to a partner, offset travel purchases, or cancel a card, you can easily combine the miles into the account associated with any one of your cards.</li>

<li>'''You'll need to keep one of these cards open if you want to maintain your points balance'''. However, you should be able to downgrade your card into a one of the options that doesn't charge an annual fee. Other options are to use your points for a travel purchase or transfer them to the partner you are mostly likely to want to leverage in the future.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing to the other transferable points programs ===

While we really like the Capital One program, we think it is somewhat less useful than the other three big transferable point programs (unless you can frequently take advantage of the Wyndham vacation rental opportunity).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is much harder to easily acquire lots of points'''. The other programs make it easier to collect large number of points from signup bonuses (and referral and upgrade bonuses with Membership Rewards). While there aren't that many more Ultimate and ThankYou rewards credit cards than there are Capital One cards, it is very difficult to collect more than a couple Capital One bonuses. Because it is hard to get approved for a Capital One card, you can't rely on cancelling cards and then reapplying for a new bonus. You are also limited to only two total personal cards at any one time.</li>

It is also somewhat more difficult to earn lots of Capital One points with bonus categories. The Savor cards offer decent rewards on dining, groceries, and entertainment. But overall, Chase, Amex, and Citibank offer some higher reward rates and some additional categories.

<li>'''For frequent flyer tickets, Membership Rewards is, by far, the best option'''. It has many more airline partners and the most transfer bonuses, and it is the easiest program to accumulate a lot of points. On the other hand, if you aren't willing and able to get a business card, you can only earn 1.5x points per dollar with Amex (and then only with the annoying 30-transaction minimum on the Everyday Preferred card). So, you might choose to use the Venture as your general-purpose card and earn your Membership Reward points through bonuses.</li>

While Capital One has a slightly better set of partners than ThankYou Rewards, it doesn't provide full 1:1 transfers on many of their best programs. For award tickets, we still prefer a ThankYou point to a Capital One mile, even without the 10% boost from the Citi Rewards+ card. But with Capital One's changes in 2021, it is getting close.</li>

<li>'''For general-purpose points, we recommend Ultimate Rewards for most people'''. We love hotel points, and for most people, Hyatt is a much better partner than Wyndham and Accor. Ultimate Rewards is a bit weaker than Capital One for frequent flyer tickets, but has the advantage of 1:1 transfers with all their partners. And if you are collecting Membership Rewards as well, you may want to use most of your Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt stays. And if you need to "cash out", you can get up to 1.5 cents per point (or 2.25% on everyday purchases) with Chase, versus 1 cent per point (or 2% on everyday purchases) with Capital One.</li>

<li>'''Capital One might be a better option than Citi as a third program'''. If you are already have stashes of Membership and Ultimate Rewards points and Amex and Chase cards that earn good bonus categories, Capital One might be a better option than Citibank (as a third program). This primarily comes down to whether you can get approved for a Capital One card and whether the ability to acquire Wyndham points is more valuable than the higher transfer rate to Turkish Airlines. In any event, if you are going for a third program, you might as well take advantage of all four.</li>

<li>'''Capital One does provide the ultimate one-card solution'''. If you absolutely want to stick with a single card, the Venture card is probably your best bet. You have the option of 2% cash back, while maintaining the upside of potentially getting more value through frequent flyer tickets or good value Wyndham redemptions.</li>

<li>'''However, both Chase and Citi have two-card solutions that are probably better and don't cost any more each year'''. The Citi Double Cash / Premier combo earns a great set of bonus category rewards, the same cashback rate, and slight more valuable points for frequent flyer redemptions. It is also easier to get a periodic signup bonus boost. The main thing you'll miss is the Wyndham option, but for most people, the all-in-one bonus categories of the Premier card more than make up for that.</li>

Like the Citi combo, the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire combo also has the advantage of bonus category rewards. More importantly, most people will get great value out of redeeming the points on Hyatt hotel stays, without the difficulties of using points for frequent flyer tickets. In most cases 1.5 Hyatt points is much better than 2 Wyndham points.
</ul>

Despite any potential advantages with the other programs, there is plenty of value to be had with Capital One's program. And there is nothing to stop you from earning a pile of points with a couple of Capital One signup offers and earning 2x Capital One miles on a chunk of your everyday spending, alongside earning points with the other programs.

{{/Main|article}}
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{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
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Venture points

2021-10-30T06:33:23Z

Editor: /* Airline transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|venture points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Card|Venture|none}}

For years, the Capital One Venture program has been the most famous of the "fixed value" reward programs. You earned 2 "miles" per dollar on every purchase. But these miles didn't work like real frequent flyer miles. While you didn't need to worry about award availability, each mile had a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Essentially the card worked the same as a 2% cashback card, just one in which the only reasonable way to redeem your points was to refund travel purchases.

In late 2018, Capital One turned Venture points into a true transferable reward program. You can still use Venture "miles" to offset any travel purchase at 1 cent each, but you can also transfer them to over a dozen different frequent flyer programs in order to redeem them for frequent flyer tickets.

<blockquote>
Venture Rewards is a valuable and worthwhile credit card program, but generally not quite as useful as the Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou programs. However, if you are a big fan of booking vacation rentals, you might want to prioritize the Capital One program in order to earn as many Wyndham points as you can.
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, it can be hard to get approved for the Venture or Spark cards. But if you can, they typically have very valuable signup bonuses and give you the flexibility of earning 2 or more Capital One "miles" per dollar.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#Capital One "transferable points" credit cards|Capital One "transferable points" credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Comparing to the other transferable points programs|Comparing to the other programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Points transfers are either instantaneous or take a day or two'''. The main exception is Cathay Pacific, where transfers can take up to a week. You can transfer points in 100 point increments, as long as you transfer a minimum of a 1,000 points at a time. {{Link|transfer times}}.

Like the Membership and ThankYou Rewards programs, Capital One occasionally offers transfer bonuses (where you get bonus miles when you transfer your points to a specific airline partner). See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page]. for a list of current bonuses.

When Capital One first launched the transfer program, your points didn't transfer one-to-one. With some airlines you needed to transfer 2 Capital One miles for every actual frequent flyer mile. With other airlines, you needed to transfer 3 Capital One Miles for every 2 frequent flyer miles. The rationale was that Capital One was giving you 2x points for every dollar spent, rather than just 1 or 1.5, and didn't want to give you a full 2 airline miles per dollar.

Since then, they have moved to the much simpler (and more lucrative) model of giving 1 frequent flyer mile for every Capital One mile, with the exception of EVA which requires 4 points for every 3 miles. As a result, Capital One's "miles"have probably become more valuable for frequent flyer tickets than Ultimate Rewards or ThankYou points.

{{Table|center|7in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Air Canada''' <br/>(Aeroplan)
|'''Air France / KLM''' <br/>(Flying Blue)
|'''Cathay Pacific''' <br/>(Asia Miles)
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''
|'''Alitalia'''
|'''British Airways'''
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Qantas'''
|
|-
|'''EVA Air'''
|
|'''Finnair'''
|
|-
|'''Singapore'''
|
|
|
|-
|'''TAP Portugal'''
|
|
|
{{/Table}}

Capital One brings together many of the useful options that are available in the other programs such as somewhat hard-to-deal with Avianca for great Star Allinace values, British Airways for short-distance Oneworld flights, Air France / KLM for solid access to SkyTeam flights, as well as Air Canada and Cathay Pacific's solid programs.

Capital One has perhaps ThankYou Reward's best partner in Turkish Airlines (which is fantastic for many United and Star Alliance flights and isn't a partner of Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards) and some nice partners that aren't available through ThankYou Rewards.

Etihad can be an attractive option for many of its partners, including American Airlines, but is also available through both Membership and ThankYou rewards.

Finnair and TAP Air Portugal, Capital One's unique partners, aren't particularly useful. Neither are Qantas and EVA, which are also part of the Citibank ThankYou points program, but not part of the generally more useful Membership or Ultimate Rewards programs. The possible exception are good rates for flights on El Al with the Qantas program or to access extra premium-cabin award space on EVA.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your Venture points to Air Canada and then use the Air Canada miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Air Canada's other airline partners. With all the various partnerships, you can redeem your Venture points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

You can transfer your Venture points to three hotel partners. And two of them are worthwhile (the only other good hotel point transfer option among the big four programs is Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Wyndham Rewards'''. Venture points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Since we value Wyndham points at {{Value|Wyndham|1}} cents each, this seems like a low-value redemption. However, Wyndham points can be much more valuable when used to book vacation rentals. If this is something that you will be able to frequently take advantage of, the ability to earn 2x Wyndham points per dollar with the Capital One cards may be the main reason you'll want to take advantage of. If not, it may still be worthwhile for more valuable Wyndham hotel redemptions. {{Link|Wyndham}}.</li>

<li>'''Accor Live Limitless (ALL)'''. Accor is the loyalty program for a very large number of primarily European and Luxury brands, including Novotel, Sofitel, and Fairmont. They offer a fixed-value reward program, where each point is worth exactly .02 Euros (around 2.2 cents). Venture points transfer at a 2:1 ratio, so you are getting around 1.1 cents per Venture point. This is slightly more than you would get by using your Venture points for regular travel purchases. {{Link|Accor}}.</li>

<li>'''Choice Privileges'''. Since you can "buy" Choice points for .8 cents each with the Cash & Points trick, it doesn't make sense to transfer your Capital One points to Choice. You'd be better off cashing them out at 1 cent each (or transferring them to some more valuable program. {{Link|Choice}}.</li>

</ul>

Wyndham and Acccor don't participate with the other transferable credit card reward programs.

=== Cashing out your points ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your can always use your Venture points to pay for most other travel purchases'''. Unlike programs like Ultimate Rewards, you don't need to make your purchase through a travel portal that is run by the credit card company. You can just use your Capital One Card to make almost any travel purchase and then use your points to "erase" the charges on your statement. For example, you can make a direct purchase at Hilton, a secret hotel purchase on Hotwire, or a payment directly to a taxi cab driver, and then use your points to offset the charge on your statement.</li>

You have up to 90 days to make a redemption, so you can eventually use points you haven't earned yet to offset purchases you make with your card.

Unlike many other fixed-value points, there is no minimum redemption. If you have a $2 train ticket, you can use 200 points to "erase" it. However, if you only want to use points for part of the charged amount, you'll need to use at least 2,500 points.

<li>'''You also have the option of making a point-based purchase directly through Capital One's travel portal'''. But you'll probably receive better pricing, and often receive additional benefits and reward points, by booking elsewhere and then using your Capital One points to offset the credit card charge.</li>

<li>'''Even better, you can get actual cash from the points you earn from Spark Cash or Savor Card'''. If you don't want to transfer them to partners, don't transfer them to your Venture or Spark Miles account and you can redeem them directly as cashback.</li>

</ul>

=== Capital One "transferable points" credit cards ===

'''Only the Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles Cards earn points that can be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners'''. However, if you have one of those cards, points from the Spark Cash, Savor, Savor One, and Quicksilver cards can be transferred to one of these cards and then transferred out.

A combination of card allows you to earn bonus "miles" on restaurant and dining and to increase the number of "miles" you can earn from signup bonuses.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|Venture|short}}
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95
|-
|{{Card|VentureOne|short}}
|20,000
|1.25x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Quicksilver|short}}
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|SparkMiles|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkMilesSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|-
|{{Card|Spark|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Savor|short}}
|30,000
|4x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$95
|-
|{{Card|SavorOne|short}}
|20,000
|3x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$0
{{/Table}}

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Points are worth at least 1 cent each'''. You are likely to get a more when redeeming for frequent flyer tickets and potentially Wyndham points. Because you can transfer you points to whichever of several frequent flyer programs that offers the best deal for whatever trip you are trying to take, Venture miles are worth more than most regular frequent flyer miles. {{Link|transferable points}}.</li>

<li>'''It is worthwhile to collect miles from the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus of 50,000 points can still be redeemed for $500 in travel purchases and can be worth considerably more when transferred to frequent flyer programs.</li>

<li>'''You can only receive a new Capital One personal credit card every six months'''. And you can only have a total of two cards at one time.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to be approved for Capital One cards'''. They seem to prefer people who don't pay off your balance every month. If you fall into this category, you should focus on reducing your interest rates (and paying off your debt), not on collecting signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer points to any other Capital One cardholder''', not just a spouse or family member. You'll need to call in, as there is no way to do this online.</li>

<li>'''Each Capital One credit card accrues miles into a separate account, but you can freely move miles between cards'''. When it is time to transfer miles to a partner, offset travel purchases, or cancel a card, you can easily combine the miles into the account associated with any one of your cards.</li>

<li>'''You'll need to keep one of these cards open if you want to maintain your points balance'''. However, you should be able to downgrade your card into a one of the options that doesn't charge an annual fee. Other options are to use your points for a travel purchase or transfer them to the partner you are mostly likely to want to leverage in the future.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing to the other transferable points programs ===

While we really like the Capital One program, we think it is somewhat less useful than the other three big transferable point programs (unless you can frequently take advantage of the Wyndham vacation rental opportunity).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is much harder to easily acquire lots of points'''. The other programs make it easier to collect large number of points from signup bonuses (and referral and upgrade bonuses with Membership Rewards). While there aren't that many more Ultimate and ThankYou rewards credit cards than there are Capital One cards, it is very difficult to collect more than a couple Capital One bonuses. Because it is hard to get approved for a Capital One card, you can't rely on cancelling cards and then reapplying for a new bonus. You are also limited to only two total personal cards at any one time.</li>

It is also somewhat more difficult to earn lots of Capital One points with bonus categories. The Savor cards offer decent rewards on dining, groceries, and entertainment. But overall, Chase, Amex, and Citibank offer some higher reward rates and some additional categories.

<li>'''For frequent flyer tickets, Membership Rewards is, by far, the best option'''. It has many more airline partners and the most transfer bonuses, and it is the easiest program to accumulate a lot of points. On the other hand, if you aren't willing and able to get a business card, you can only earn 1.5x points per dollar with Amex (and then only with the annoying 30-transaction minimum on the Everyday Preferred card). So, you might choose to use the Venture as your general-purpose card and earn your Membership Reward points through bonuses.</li>

While Capital One has a slightly better set of partners than ThankYou Rewards, it doesn't provide full 1:1 transfers on many of their best programs. For award tickets, we still prefer a ThankYou point to a Capital One mile, even without the 10% boost from the Citi Rewards+ card. But with Capital One's changes in 2021, it is getting close.</li>

<li>'''For general-purpose points, we recommend Ultimate Rewards for most people'''. We love hotel points, and for most people, Hyatt is a much better partner than Wyndham and Accor. Ultimate Rewards is a bit weaker than Capital One for frequent flyer tickets, but has the advantage of 1:1 transfers with all their partners. And if you are collecting Membership Rewards as well, you may want to use most of your Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt stays. And if you need to "cash out", you can get up to 1.5 cents per point (or 2.25% on everyday purchases) with Chase, versus 1 cent per point (or 2% on everyday purchases) with Capital One.</li>

<li>'''Capital One might be a better option than Citi as a third program'''. If you are already have stashes of Membership and Ultimate Rewards points and Amex and Chase cards that earn good bonus categories, Capital One might be a better option than Citibank (as a third program). This primarily comes down to whether you can get approved for a Capital One card and whether the ability to acquire Wyndham points is more valuable than the higher transfer rate to Turkish Airlines. In any event, if you are going for a third program, you might as well take advantage of all four.</li>

<li>'''Capital One does provide the ultimate one-card solution'''. If you absolutely want to stick with a single card, the Venture card is probably your best bet. You have the option of 2% cash back, while maintaining the upside of potentially getting more value through frequent flyer tickets or good value Wyndham redemptions.</li>

<li>'''However, both Chase and Citi have two-card solutions that are probably better and don't cost any more each year'''. The Citi Double Cash / Premier combo earns a great set of bonus category rewards, the same cashback rate, and slight more valuable points for frequent flyer redemptions. It is also easier to get a periodic signup bonus boost. The main thing you'll miss is the Wyndham option, but for most people, the all-in-one bonus categories of the Premier card more than make up for that.</li>

Like the Citi combo, the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire combo also has the advantage of bonus category rewards. More importantly, most people will get great value out of redeeming the points on Hyatt hotel stays, without the difficulties of using points for frequent flyer tickets. In most cases 1.5 Hyatt points is much better than 2 Wyndham points.
</ul>

Despite any potential advantages with the other programs, there is plenty of value to be had with Capital One's program. And there is nothing to stop you from earning a pile of points with a couple of Capital One signup offers and earning 2x Capital One miles on a chunk of your everyday spending, alongside earning points with the other programs.

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
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{{/Page|article}}

Venture points

2021-10-30T06:14:59Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|venture points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Card|Venture|none}}

For years, the Capital One Venture program has been the most famous of the "fixed value" reward programs. You earned 2 "miles" per dollar on every purchase. But these miles didn't work like real frequent flyer miles. While you didn't need to worry about award availability, each mile had a fixed value of 1 cent per point. Essentially the card worked the same as a 2% cashback card, just one in which the only reasonable way to redeem your points was to refund travel purchases.

In late 2018, Capital One turned Venture points into a true transferable reward program. You can still use Venture "miles" to offset any travel purchase at 1 cent each, but you can also transfer them to over a dozen different frequent flyer programs in order to redeem them for frequent flyer tickets.

<blockquote>
Venture Rewards is a valuable and worthwhile credit card program, but generally not quite as useful as the Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou programs. However, if you are a big fan of booking vacation rentals, you might want to prioritize the Capital One program in order to earn as many Wyndham points as you can.
</blockquote>

Unfortunately, it can be hard to get approved for the Venture or Spark cards. But if you can, they typically have very valuable signup bonuses and give you the flexibility of earning 2 or more Capital One "miles" per dollar.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#Capital One "transferable points" credit cards|Capital One "transferable points" credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Comparing to the other transferable points programs|Comparing to the other programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Points transfers are either instantaneous or take a day or two'''. The main exception is Cathay Pacific, where transfers can take up to a week. You can transfer points in 100 point increments, as long as you transfer a minimum of a 1,000 points at a time. {{Link|transfer times}}.

Like the Membership and ThankYou Rewards programs, Capital One occasionally offers transfer bonuses (where you get bonus miles when you transfer your points to a specific airline partner). See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page]. for a list of current bonuses.

The number of miles you get for each point depends on the airline. With some airlines, you get as much as a full mile per point (or 2 miles for every dollar spent with your card). In the worst cases, you only get ½ mile per point (or 1 mile per dollar). And many of their better airline partners are in-between—you get ¾ miles per point (or 1.5 mile pr dollar).

{{Table|center|7in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Air Canada''' (1:¾)<br/>(Aeroplan)
|'''Air France / KLM''' (1:¾) (Flying Blue)
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (1:1) <br/>(Asia Miles)
|'''JetBlue''' (1:¾)
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines''' (1:¾)
|'''Alitalia''' (1:¾)
|'''British Airways''' (1:¾)
|'''Etihad''' (1:1)
|-
|'''Avianca''' (1:1)
|'''Aeromexico''' (1:1)
|'''Qantas''' (1:1)
|'''Emirates''' (1:½)
|-
|'''EVA Air''' (1:¾)
|
|
|'''Finnair''' (1:1)
|-
|'''Singapore''' (1:½)
|
|
|
|-
|'''TAP Portugal''' (1:1)
|
|
|
{{/Table}}

At first glance, Capital One has a better set of frequent flyer transfer partners than Ultimate Rewards and ThankYou Rewards. However, it is harder to earn lots of points with the Capital One program. More importantly, with many of the partners you get less than 1 mile per point.

For example, Capital One has perhaps ThankYou Reward's best partner in Turkish Airlines (which is fantastic for many United ans Star Alliance flights and isn't a partner of Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards) and some nice partners that aren't available through ThankYou Rewards, but 2 Venture points only gets you 1.5 Turkish miles, while 2 ThankYou points gets you 2 Turkish miles.

Similarly British Airways is great for many shorter Oneworld flights and Air France / KLM Flying Blue can be good for SkyTeam flights, but you'll get 1:1 transfers with the other transferable point programs and only 1:¾ with Capital One. Air Canada is another good Star Alliance partner and one that is not available with Ultimate and ThankYou rewards, but suffers from the lower transfer rate.

While Avianca can be a pain to deal with, it is often a great option for Star Alliance flights and is available as a 1:1 transfer partner (just like Membership and ThankYou Rewards). Cathay is another good 1:1 partner (for Oneworld flights), but is a partner with all the other programs. Etihad can be an attractive option for many of its partners, including American Airlines, but is also available through both Membership and ThankYou rewards.

Finnair and TAP Air Portugal, Capital One's unique partners, aren't particularly useful. Neither are Qantas and EVA, which are also part of the Citibank ThankYou points program, but not part of the generally more useful Membership or Ultimate Rewards programs. The possible exception are good rates for flights on El Al with the Qantas program or to access extra premium-cabin award space on EVA.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So, you can transfer your Venture points to Air Canada and then use the Air Canada miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any other of Air Canada's other airline partners. With all the various partnerships, you can redeem your Venture points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

You can transfer your Venture points to three hotel partners. And two of them are worthwhile (the only other good hotel point transfer option among the big four programs is Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Wyndham Rewards'''. Venture points transfer at a 1:1 ratio. Since we value Wyndham points at {{Value|Wyndham|1}} cents each, this seems like a low-value redemption. However, Wyndham points can be much more valuable when used to book vacation rentals. If this is something that you will be able to frequently take advantage of, the ability to earn 2x Wyndham points per dollar with the Capital One cards may be the main reason you'll want to take advantage of. If not, it may still be worthwhile for more valuable Wyndham hotel redemptions. {{Link|Wyndham}}.</li>

<li>'''Accor Live Limitless (ALL)'''. Accor is the loyalty program for a very large number of primarily European and Luxury brands, including Novotel, Sofitel, and Fairmont. They offer a fixed-value reward program, where each point is worth exactly .02 Euros (around 2.2 cents). Venture points transfer at a 2:1 ratio, so you are getting around 1.1 cents per Venture point. This is slightly more than you would get by using your Venture points for regular travel purchases. {{Link|Accor}}.</li>

<li>'''Choice Privileges'''. Since you can "buy" Choice points for .8 cents each with the Cash & Points trick, it doesn't make sense to transfer your Capital One points to Choice. You'd be better off cashing them out at 1 cent each (or transferring them to some more valuable program. {{Link|Choice}}.</li>

</ul>

Wyndham and Acccor don't participate with the other transferable credit card reward programs.

=== Cashing out your points ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you don’t want to mess around with frequent flyer tickets, your can always use your Venture points to pay for most other travel purchases'''. Unlike programs like Ultimate Rewards, you don't need to make your purchase through a travel portal that is run by the credit card company. You can just use your Capital One Card to make almost any travel purchase and then use your points to "erase" the charges on your statement. For example, you can make a direct purchase at Hilton, a secret hotel purchase on Hotwire, or a payment directly to a taxi cab driver, and then use your points to offset the charge on your statement.</li>

You have up to 90 days to make a redemption, so you can eventually use points you haven't earned yet to offset purchases you make with your card.

Unlike many other fixed-value points, there is no minimum redemption. If you have a $2 train ticket, you can use 200 points to "erase" it. However, if you only want to use points for part of the charged amount, you'll need to use at least 2,500 points.

<li>'''You also have the option of making a point-based purchase directly through Capital One's travel portal'''. But you'll probably receive better pricing, and often receive additional benefits and reward points, by booking elsewhere and then using your Capital One points to offset the credit card charge.</li>

<li>'''Even better, you can get actual cash from the points you earn from Spark Cash or Savor Card'''. If you don't want to transfer them to partners, don't transfer them to your Venture or Spark Miles account and you can redeem them directly as cashback.</li>

</ul>

=== Capital One "transferable points" credit cards ===

'''Only the Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles Cards earn points that can be directly transferred to airline and hotel partners'''. However, if you have one of those cards, points from the Spark Cash, Savor, Savor One, and Quicksilver cards can be transferred to one of these cards and then transferred out.

A combination of card allows you to earn bonus "miles" on restaurant and dining and to increase the number of "miles" you can earn from signup bonuses.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|Venture|short}}
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95
|-
|{{Card|VentureOne|short}}
|20,000
|1.25x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Quicksilver|short}}
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|SparkMiles|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkMilesSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|-
|{{Card|Spark|short}} (business)
|50,000
|2x all purchases
|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|SparkSelect|short}} (business)
|20,000
|1.5x all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|Savor|short}}
|30,000
|4x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$95
|-
|{{Card|SavorOne|short}}
|20,000
|3x dining, entertainment, & streaming

3x groceries
|$0
{{/Table}}

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Points are worth at least 1 cent each'''. You are likely to get a more when redeeming for frequent flyer tickets and potentially Wyndham points. Because you can transfer you points to whichever of several frequent flyer programs that offers the best deal for whatever trip you are trying to take, Venture miles are worth more than most regular frequent flyer miles. {{Link|transferable points}}.</li>

<li>'''It is worthwhile to collect miles from the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus of 50,000 points can still be redeemed for $500 in travel purchases and can be worth considerably more when transferred to frequent flyer programs.</li>

<li>'''You can only receive a new Capital One personal credit card every six months'''. And you can only have a total of two cards at one time.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to be approved for Capital One cards'''. They seem to prefer people who don't pay off your balance every month. If you fall into this category, you should focus on reducing your interest rates (and paying off your debt), not on collecting signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer points to any other Capital One cardholder''', not just a spouse or family member. You'll need to call in, as there is no way to do this online.</li>

<li>'''Each Capital One credit card accrues miles into a separate account, but you can freely move miles between cards'''. When it is time to transfer miles to a partner, offset travel purchases, or cancel a card, you can easily combine the miles into the account associated with any one of your cards.</li>

<li>'''You'll need to keep one of these cards open if you want to maintain your points balance'''. However, you should be able to downgrade your card into a one of the options that doesn't charge an annual fee. Other options are to use your points for a travel purchase or transfer them to the partner you are mostly likely to want to leverage in the future.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing to the other transferable points programs ===

While we really like the Capital One program, we think it is somewhat less useful than the other three big transferable point programs (unless you can frequently take advantage of the Wyndham vacation rental opportunity).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is much harder to easily acquire lots of points'''. The other programs make it easier to collect large number of points from signup bonuses (and referral and upgrade bonuses with Membership Rewards). While there aren't that many more Ultimate and ThankYou rewards credit cards than there are Capital One cards, it is very difficult to collect more than a couple Capital One bonuses. Because it is hard to get approved for a Capital One card, you can't rely on cancelling cards and then reapplying for a new bonus. You are also limited to only two total personal cards at any one time.</li>

It is also somewhat more difficult to earn lots of Capital One points with bonus categories. The Savor cards offer decent rewards on dining, groceries, and entertainment. But overall, Chase, Amex, and Citibank offer some higher reward rates and some additional categories.

<li>'''For frequent flyer tickets, Membership Rewards is, by far, the best option'''. It has many more airline partners and the most transfer bonuses, and it is the easiest program to accumulate a lot of points. On the other hand, if you aren't willing and able to get a business card, you can only earn 1.5x points per dollar with Amex (and then only with the annoying 30-transaction minimum on the Everyday Preferred card). So, you might choose to use the Venture as your general-purpose card and earn your Membership Reward points through bonuses.</li>

While Capital One has a slightly better set of partners than ThankYou Rewards, it doesn't provide full 1:1 transfers on many of their best programs. For award tickets, we still prefer a ThankYou point to a Capital One mile, even without the 10% boost from the Citi Rewards+ card. But with Capital One's changes in 2021, it is getting close.</li>

<li>'''For general-purpose points, we recommend Ultimate Rewards for most people'''. We love hotel points, and for most people, Hyatt is a much better partner than Wyndham and Accor. Ultimate Rewards is a bit weaker than Capital One for frequent flyer tickets, but has the advantage of 1:1 transfers with all their partners. And if you are collecting Membership Rewards as well, you may want to use most of your Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt stays. And if you need to "cash out", you can get up to 1.5 cents per point (or 2.25% on everyday purchases) with Chase, versus 1 cent per point (or 2% on everyday purchases) with Capital One.</li>

<li>'''Capital One might be a better option than Citi as a third program'''. If you are already have stashes of Membership and Ultimate Rewards points and Amex and Chase cards that earn good bonus categories, Capital One might be a better option than Citibank (as a third program). This primarily comes down to whether you can get approved for a Capital One card and whether the ability to acquire Wyndham points is more valuable than the higher transfer rate to Turkish Airlines. In any event, if you are going for a third program, you might as well take advantage of all four.</li>

<li>'''Capital One does provide the ultimate one-card solution'''. If you absolutely want to stick with a single card, the Venture card is probably your best bet. You have the option of 2% cash back, while maintaining the upside of potentially getting more value through frequent flyer tickets or good value Wyndham redemptions.</li>

<li>'''However, both Chase and Citi have two-card solutions that are probably better and don't cost any more each year'''. The Citi Double Cash / Premier combo earns a great set of bonus category rewards, the same cashback rate, and slight more valuable points for frequent flyer redemptions. It is also easier to get a periodic signup bonus boost. The main thing you'll miss is the Wyndham option, but for most people, the all-in-one bonus categories of the Premier card more than make up for that.</li>

Like the Citi combo, the Freedom Unlimited / Sapphire combo also has the advantage of bonus category rewards. More importantly, most people will get great value out of redeeming the points on Hyatt hotel stays, without the difficulties of using points for frequent flyer tickets. In most cases 1.5 Hyatt points is much better than 2 Wyndham points.
</ul>

Despite any potential advantages with the other programs, there is plenty of value to be had with Capital One's program. And there is nothing to stop you from earning a pile of points with a couple of Capital One signup offers and earning 2x Capital One miles on a chunk of your everyday spending, alongside earning points with the other programs.

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|best offers}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Capital one venture, spark, and quicksilver cards

2021-10-30T06:14:22Z

Editor: /* Introduction to Capital One Points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Capital One Venture, Spark, and Quicksilver Cards}}
{{Page|card|capital one}}

<div class="top" style="width: 3in; margin:auto;">
{{Card|Venture|3in}}
</div>

<div style="width: 3in; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
{{CardInfobox
|Bank=Capital One
|Webpage=//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/
|ApplyLink=
|BusinessVersion=yes
|Fee=varies
|Waived=
|FTF=0
|Credit=
|CurrentOffer=
|CurrentOfferCustom=
|CurrentSpend=
|CurrentSpendCustom=
|OfferLink=
|NormalOffer=
|NormalSpend=
|NormalCustom=varies
|NormalValue =
|NormalPer =
|PointType=
|SignupBonusChart=
|BonusCategories=None
|CreditScore=
|Logo = MR
|Program = Venture Points
}}

{{Main|card}}
<div class="middle">
{{Card|Venture|4in}}
</div>

'''While the cards can be hard to get, Capital One offers a valuable points ecosystem. As long as you have one of the "miles" cards, you can transfer your points to a number of attractive airline partners and to Wyndham hotels (where you can redeem them for valuable Vacasa vacation rentals). You usually get fewer than 1 mile per point, but there are several good options for earning 2x points per dollar, so you are still getting great value from your spending.'''

{{Box|Higher Than Normal Offer for the Venture}}
You can earn up to 100,000 points. You'll earn 50,000 points with $3,000 spend in the first three months and another 50,000 with a total of $20,000 in spending during the first year. At an estimated value of {{Value|Venture}} cents per point, the base offer has a net signup value of $550 (.19/$), the full offer is worth $1,200 (.06/$).
{{/Box}}

{{TOC|All}}
*[[#Introduction to Capital One Points|Intro to Capital One Points]]
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
*[[#Notable Benefits|Notable Benefits]]
*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
{{/TOC}}

=== Card Options ===

Capital One offers a variety of general-purpose cards. These cards don't have bonus categories or much in the way of special benefits. They just offer a certain rate of Capital One "miles" or cashback on all your purchases. The annual-fee versions of the cards offer better rates and bonuses than their no-annual-fee siblings.

{{Table|Basic}}
!Card
!Rate
!Fee
!Typ. Bonus
!Current Bonus
|-
|{{c|5}}Personal cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/ Venture]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|60,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-venture-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver/ Quicksilver]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|15,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-quicksilver-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/ VentureOne]
|1.25x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-ventureone-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|{{c|5}}Business Cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles/ Spark Miles]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|50,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-miles-business-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-plus/ Spark Cash Plus]
|2% cash
|$150
|50,000
|50K + 50K [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-cash-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles-select/ Spark Miles Select]
|1.5x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/ Spark Cash Select]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|20,000
|50,000
{{/Table}}

Annual fees are typically waived the first year, but that is dependent on the specific signup offer that is available.

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Introduction to Capital One Points ===

Some Capital One cards, like the Venture Card, earn "miles". Other cards, like the Quicksilver Card, earn "cash back".

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Miles'''. Capital One "miles" can be used at 1 cent each to erase travel purchases you make one of the miles-earning cards, but they can also be transferred to a over a dozen frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. </li>

You can then use the miles to book award tickets, hotel nights, or vacation rentals. For example, you could transfer your points to Etihad's frequent flyer to book American Airlines flights for what are often fewer miles than American Airlines would charge. Or you could transfer your points to Wyndham's loyalty program to get fantastic value on Vacasa vacation rentals.

The value of these awards varies, but in most cases, you can receive considerably more than 1 cent in value per point. Given Capital One's nice set of airline partners and the potential value from Wyndham points, we value them at {{Value|Venture}} cents each. {{Link|Venture Points}}.

<li>'''Cashback'''. The points you earn from Capital One's cashback cards can be redeemed directly as statement credits (no need to use them to erase travel purchases).</li>

<li>'''If you have a card that earns "cash back" and another card that earns "miles". you can transfer your points between them to redeem the way you want'''. If you want to cash out directly to your statement, transfer points from your miles card to your cashback card. If you want to use them for frequent flyer miles, transfer them from your cash bard to your miles card. This includes the points from signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is worth signing up for some of these cards just for the signup bonuses'''. Typical signup bonuses for the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash cards are worth a minimum of $500 (before expenses), often with a waived annual fee. Bonuses are worth more if you can use them on good frequent flyer and hotel redemptions. We value transferable Capital One points at {{Value|venture}} each, making a 50,000 point offer worth about {{Value|venture|50000}}.</li>

Promotional signup bonuses can be much higher (although they often require large amounts of spending).

<li>'''Capital One limits you to only two personal cards at a time''' (co-branded cards don't count against these limits). This limits the speed at which you can earn signup bonuses. The best offer is almost always from the Venture Card. If you are looking for a second signup consider the Savor Card, unless the bonuses from the VentureOne or Quicksilver are substantially larger. That will give you the option of earning extra miles on your restaurant and entertainment spending.</li>

<li>'''These limits don't apply to the business cards'''. Offers on the Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards are often identical. The Spark Miles Card is usually the better option because it has the flexibility of being able to transfer to travel partners without needing another card. It also includes a possibly valuable $100 TSA credit. On the other hand, the Spark Cash Card doesn't show up on your personal credit report (and won't affect your Chase 5/24 status) and the Spark Miles Card will. There is no reason to avoid trying to sign up for as many of these cards as you can. </li>

<li>'''It can be hard to get approved for Capital One cards'''. So think twice before cancelling a card that you really want to keep, in order to earn reapply (or apply for a different Capital One Card) just to earn a new signup bonus.</li>
</ul>

=== Notable Benefits ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Access to special Capital One events''' (personal cards). These are available to all cardholders. [//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/access/ Current list of events].</li>

<li>'''$100 TSA fee credit''' (Venture and Spark Miles only). Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).</li>

<li>'''Fixed-rate roadside assistance''' (business cards). Assistance isn't free, but rates are pre-negotiated to $70, including up to 5 miles of towing.</li>

{{Benefit Elite}}
</ul>

=== Bonus Categories ===

'''None of these cards have bonus categories'''. You can earn 3-4x points on dining and entertainment with the [[Capital one savor cards|Capital One Savor Cards]].

'''It only makes sense to spend with the cards that offer at least 2%''' (Venture, Spark Miles, Spark Cash).

{{/Main|card}}

{{/Page|card}}

Capital one venture, spark, and quicksilver cards

2021-10-30T06:13:33Z

Editor: /* Introduction to Capital One Points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Capital One Venture, Spark, and Quicksilver Cards}}
{{Page|card|capital one}}

<div class="top" style="width: 3in; margin:auto;">
{{Card|Venture|3in}}
</div>

<div style="width: 3in; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
{{CardInfobox
|Bank=Capital One
|Webpage=//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/
|ApplyLink=
|BusinessVersion=yes
|Fee=varies
|Waived=
|FTF=0
|Credit=
|CurrentOffer=
|CurrentOfferCustom=
|CurrentSpend=
|CurrentSpendCustom=
|OfferLink=
|NormalOffer=
|NormalSpend=
|NormalCustom=varies
|NormalValue =
|NormalPer =
|PointType=
|SignupBonusChart=
|BonusCategories=None
|CreditScore=
|Logo = MR
|Program = Venture Points
}}

{{Main|card}}
<div class="middle">
{{Card|Venture|4in}}
</div>

'''While the cards can be hard to get, Capital One offers a valuable points ecosystem. As long as you have one of the "miles" cards, you can transfer your points to a number of attractive airline partners and to Wyndham hotels (where you can redeem them for valuable Vacasa vacation rentals). You usually get fewer than 1 mile per point, but there are several good options for earning 2x points per dollar, so you are still getting great value from your spending.'''

{{Box|Higher Than Normal Offer for the Venture}}
You can earn up to 100,000 points. You'll earn 50,000 points with $3,000 spend in the first three months and another 50,000 with a total of $20,000 in spending during the first year. At an estimated value of {{Value|Venture}} cents per point, the base offer has a net signup value of $550 (.19/$), the full offer is worth $1,200 (.06/$).
{{/Box}}

{{TOC|All}}
*[[#Introduction to Capital One Points|Intro to Capital One Points]]
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
*[[#Notable Benefits|Notable Benefits]]
*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
{{/TOC}}

=== Card Options ===

Capital One offers a variety of general-purpose cards. These cards don't have bonus categories or much in the way of special benefits. They just offer a certain rate of Capital One "miles" or cashback on all your purchases. The annual-fee versions of the cards offer better rates and bonuses than their no-annual-fee siblings.

{{Table|Basic}}
!Card
!Rate
!Fee
!Typ. Bonus
!Current Bonus
|-
|{{c|5}}Personal cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/ Venture]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|60,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-venture-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver/ Quicksilver]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|15,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-quicksilver-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/ VentureOne]
|1.25x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-ventureone-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|{{c|5}}Business Cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles/ Spark Miles]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|50,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-miles-business-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-plus/ Spark Cash Plus]
|2% cash
|$150
|50,000
|50K + 50K [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-cash-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles-select/ Spark Miles Select]
|1.5x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/ Spark Cash Select]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|20,000
|50,000
{{/Table}}

Annual fees are typically waived the first year, but that is dependent on the specific signup offer that is available.

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Introduction to Capital One Points ===

Some Capital One cards, like the Venture Card, earn "miles". Other cards, like the Quicksilver Card, earn "cash back".

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Miles'''. Capital One "miles" can be used at 1 cent each to erase travel purchases you make one of the miles-earning cards, but they can also be transferred to a over a dozen frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. You can then use the miles to book award tickets, hotel nights, or vacation rentals. The value of these awards varies, but in most cases, you can receive considerably more than 1 cent in value per point. Given Capital One's nice set of airline partners and the potential value from Wyndham points, we value them at {{Value|Venture}} cents each. {{Link|Venture Points}}.</li>

For example, you could transfer your points to Etihad's frequent flyer to book American Airlines flights for what are often fewer miles than American Airlines would charge. Or you could transfer your points to Wyndham's loyalty program to get fantastic value on Vacasa vacation rentals.

<li>'''Cashback'''. The points you earn from Capital One's cashback cards can be redeemed directly as statement credits (no need to use them to erase travel purchases).</li>

<li>'''If you have a card that earns "cash back" and another card that earns "miles". you can transfer your points between them to redeem the way you want'''. If you want to cash out directly to your statement, transfer points from your miles card to your cashback card. If you want to use them for frequent flyer miles, transfer them from your cash bard to your miles card. This includes the points from signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is worth signing up for some of these cards just for the signup bonuses'''. Typical signup bonuses for the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash cards are worth a minimum of $500 (before expenses), often with a waived annual fee. Bonuses are worth more if you can use them on good frequent flyer and hotel redemptions. We value transferable Capital One points at {{Value|venture}} each, making a 50,000 point offer worth about {{Value|venture|50000}}.</li>

Promotional signup bonuses can be much higher (although they often require large amounts of spending).

<li>'''Capital One limits you to only two personal cards at a time''' (co-branded cards don't count against these limits). This limits the speed at which you can earn signup bonuses. The best offer is almost always from the Venture Card. If you are looking for a second signup consider the Savor Card, unless the bonuses from the VentureOne or Quicksilver are substantially larger. That will give you the option of earning extra miles on your restaurant and entertainment spending.</li>

<li>'''These limits don't apply to the business cards'''. Offers on the Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards are often identical. The Spark Miles Card is usually the better option because it has the flexibility of being able to transfer to travel partners without needing another card. It also includes a possibly valuable $100 TSA credit. On the other hand, the Spark Cash Card doesn't show up on your personal credit report (and won't affect your Chase 5/24 status) and the Spark Miles Card will. There is no reason to avoid trying to sign up for as many of these cards as you can. </li>

<li>'''It can be hard to get approved for Capital One cards'''. So think twice before cancelling a card that you really want to keep, in order to earn reapply (or apply for a different Capital One Card) just to earn a new signup bonus.</li>
</ul>

=== Notable Benefits ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Access to special Capital One events''' (personal cards). These are available to all cardholders. [//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/access/ Current list of events].</li>

<li>'''$100 TSA fee credit''' (Venture and Spark Miles only). Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).</li>

<li>'''Fixed-rate roadside assistance''' (business cards). Assistance isn't free, but rates are pre-negotiated to $70, including up to 5 miles of towing.</li>

{{Benefit Elite}}
</ul>

=== Bonus Categories ===

'''None of these cards have bonus categories'''. You can earn 3-4x points on dining and entertainment with the [[Capital one savor cards|Capital One Savor Cards]].

'''It only makes sense to spend with the cards that offer at least 2%''' (Venture, Spark Miles, Spark Cash).

{{/Main|card}}

{{/Page|card}}

Capital one venture, spark, and quicksilver cards

2021-10-30T06:13:19Z

Editor: /* Introduction to Capital One Points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Capital One Venture, Spark, and Quicksilver Cards}}
{{Page|card|capital one}}

<div class="top" style="width: 3in; margin:auto;">
{{Card|Venture|3in}}
</div>

<div style="width: 3in; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
{{CardInfobox
|Bank=Capital One
|Webpage=//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/
|ApplyLink=
|BusinessVersion=yes
|Fee=varies
|Waived=
|FTF=0
|Credit=
|CurrentOffer=
|CurrentOfferCustom=
|CurrentSpend=
|CurrentSpendCustom=
|OfferLink=
|NormalOffer=
|NormalSpend=
|NormalCustom=varies
|NormalValue =
|NormalPer =
|PointType=
|SignupBonusChart=
|BonusCategories=None
|CreditScore=
|Logo = MR
|Program = Venture Points
}}

{{Main|card}}
<div class="middle">
{{Card|Venture|4in}}
</div>

'''While the cards can be hard to get, Capital One offers a valuable points ecosystem. As long as you have one of the "miles" cards, you can transfer your points to a number of attractive airline partners and to Wyndham hotels (where you can redeem them for valuable Vacasa vacation rentals). You usually get fewer than 1 mile per point, but there are several good options for earning 2x points per dollar, so you are still getting great value from your spending.'''

{{Box|Higher Than Normal Offer for the Venture}}
You can earn up to 100,000 points. You'll earn 50,000 points with $3,000 spend in the first three months and another 50,000 with a total of $20,000 in spending during the first year. At an estimated value of {{Value|Venture}} cents per point, the base offer has a net signup value of $550 (.19/$), the full offer is worth $1,200 (.06/$).
{{/Box}}

{{TOC|All}}
*[[#Introduction to Capital One Points|Intro to Capital One Points]]
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
*[[#Notable Benefits|Notable Benefits]]
*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
{{/TOC}}

=== Card Options ===

Capital One offers a variety of general-purpose cards. These cards don't have bonus categories or much in the way of special benefits. They just offer a certain rate of Capital One "miles" or cashback on all your purchases. The annual-fee versions of the cards offer better rates and bonuses than their no-annual-fee siblings.

{{Table|Basic}}
!Card
!Rate
!Fee
!Typ. Bonus
!Current Bonus
|-
|{{c|5}}Personal cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/ Venture]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|60,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-venture-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver/ Quicksilver]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|15,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-quicksilver-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/ VentureOne]
|1.25x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-ventureone-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|{{c|5}}Business Cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles/ Spark Miles]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|50,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-miles-business-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-plus/ Spark Cash Plus]
|2% cash
|$150
|50,000
|50K + 50K [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-cash-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles-select/ Spark Miles Select]
|1.5x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/ Spark Cash Select]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|20,000
|50,000
{{/Table}}

Annual fees are typically waived the first year, but that is dependent on the specific signup offer that is available.

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Introduction to Capital One Points ===

Some Capital One cards, like the Venture Card, earn "miles". Other cards, like the Quicksilver Card, earn "cash back".

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Miles'''. Capital One "miles" can be used at 1 cent each to erase travel purchases you make one of the miles-earning cards, but they can also be transferred to a over a dozen frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. You can then use the miles to book award tickets, hotel nights, or vacation rentals. The value of these awards varies, but in most cases, you can receive considerably more than 1 cent in value per point. Given Capital One's nice set of airline partners and the potential value from Wyndham points, we value them at {{Value|Ventur}} cents each. {{Link|Venture Points}}.</li>

For example, you could transfer your points to Etihad's frequent flyer to book American Airlines flights for what are often fewer miles than American Airlines would charge. Or you could transfer your points to Wyndham's loyalty program to get fantastic value on Vacasa vacation rentals.

<li>'''Cashback'''. The points you earn from Capital One's cashback cards can be redeemed directly as statement credits (no need to use them to erase travel purchases).</li>

<li>'''If you have a card that earns "cash back" and another card that earns "miles". you can transfer your points between them to redeem the way you want'''. If you want to cash out directly to your statement, transfer points from your miles card to your cashback card. If you want to use them for frequent flyer miles, transfer them from your cash bard to your miles card. This includes the points from signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is worth signing up for some of these cards just for the signup bonuses'''. Typical signup bonuses for the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash cards are worth a minimum of $500 (before expenses), often with a waived annual fee. Bonuses are worth more if you can use them on good frequent flyer and hotel redemptions. We value transferable Capital One points at {{Value|venture}} each, making a 50,000 point offer worth about {{Value|venture|50000}}.</li>

Promotional signup bonuses can be much higher (although they often require large amounts of spending).

<li>'''Capital One limits you to only two personal cards at a time''' (co-branded cards don't count against these limits). This limits the speed at which you can earn signup bonuses. The best offer is almost always from the Venture Card. If you are looking for a second signup consider the Savor Card, unless the bonuses from the VentureOne or Quicksilver are substantially larger. That will give you the option of earning extra miles on your restaurant and entertainment spending.</li>

<li>'''These limits don't apply to the business cards'''. Offers on the Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards are often identical. The Spark Miles Card is usually the better option because it has the flexibility of being able to transfer to travel partners without needing another card. It also includes a possibly valuable $100 TSA credit. On the other hand, the Spark Cash Card doesn't show up on your personal credit report (and won't affect your Chase 5/24 status) and the Spark Miles Card will. There is no reason to avoid trying to sign up for as many of these cards as you can. </li>

<li>'''It can be hard to get approved for Capital One cards'''. So think twice before cancelling a card that you really want to keep, in order to earn reapply (or apply for a different Capital One Card) just to earn a new signup bonus.</li>
</ul>

=== Notable Benefits ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Access to special Capital One events''' (personal cards). These are available to all cardholders. [//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/access/ Current list of events].</li>

<li>'''$100 TSA fee credit''' (Venture and Spark Miles only). Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).</li>

<li>'''Fixed-rate roadside assistance''' (business cards). Assistance isn't free, but rates are pre-negotiated to $70, including up to 5 miles of towing.</li>

{{Benefit Elite}}
</ul>

=== Bonus Categories ===

'''None of these cards have bonus categories'''. You can earn 3-4x points on dining and entertainment with the [[Capital one savor cards|Capital One Savor Cards]].

'''It only makes sense to spend with the cards that offer at least 2%''' (Venture, Spark Miles, Spark Cash).

{{/Main|card}}

{{/Page|card}}

Capital one venture, spark, and quicksilver cards

2021-10-30T06:11:05Z

Editor: /* Introduction to Capital One Points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Capital One Venture, Spark, and Quicksilver Cards}}
{{Page|card|capital one}}

<div class="top" style="width: 3in; margin:auto;">
{{Card|Venture|3in}}
</div>

<div style="width: 3in; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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|Webpage=//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/
|ApplyLink=
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|Fee=varies
|Waived=
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|CurrentOfferCustom=
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{{Main|card}}
<div class="middle">
{{Card|Venture|4in}}
</div>

'''While the cards can be hard to get, Capital One offers a valuable points ecosystem. As long as you have one of the "miles" cards, you can transfer your points to a number of attractive airline partners and to Wyndham hotels (where you can redeem them for valuable Vacasa vacation rentals). You usually get fewer than 1 mile per point, but there are several good options for earning 2x points per dollar, so you are still getting great value from your spending.'''

{{Box|Higher Than Normal Offer for the Venture}}
You can earn up to 100,000 points. You'll earn 50,000 points with $3,000 spend in the first three months and another 50,000 with a total of $20,000 in spending during the first year. At an estimated value of {{Value|Venture}} cents per point, the base offer has a net signup value of $550 (.19/$), the full offer is worth $1,200 (.06/$).
{{/Box}}

{{TOC|All}}
*[[#Introduction to Capital One Points|Intro to Capital One Points]]
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
*[[#Notable Benefits|Notable Benefits]]
*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
{{/TOC}}

=== Card Options ===

Capital One offers a variety of general-purpose cards. These cards don't have bonus categories or much in the way of special benefits. They just offer a certain rate of Capital One "miles" or cashback on all your purchases. The annual-fee versions of the cards offer better rates and bonuses than their no-annual-fee siblings.

{{Table|Basic}}
!Card
!Rate
!Fee
!Typ. Bonus
!Current Bonus
|-
|{{c|5}}Personal cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/venture/ Venture]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|60,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-venture-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/quicksilver/ Quicksilver]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|15,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-quicksilver-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/ventureone/ VentureOne]
|1.25x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-ventureone-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|{{c|5}}Business Cards
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles/ Spark Miles]
|2x miles
|$95
|50,000
|50,000 [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-miles-business-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-plus/ Spark Cash Plus]
|2% cash
|$150
|50,000
|50K + 50K [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/capital-one-spark-cash-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Chart]
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-miles-select/ Spark Miles Select]
|1.5x miles
|$0
|20,000
|20,000
|-
|[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/spark-cash-select/ Spark Cash Select]
|1.5% cash
|$0
|20,000
|50,000
{{/Table}}

Annual fees are typically waived the first year, but that is dependent on the specific signup offer that is available.

A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.

=== Introduction to Capital One Points ===

Some Capital One cards, like the Venture Card, earn "miles". Other cards, like the Quicksilver Card, earn "cash back".

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Miles'''. Capital One "miles" can be used at 1 cent each to erase travel purchases you make one of the miles-earning cards, but they can also be transferred to a over a dozen frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs. You can then use the miles to book award tickets, hotel nights, or vacation rentals. The value of these awards varies, but in most cases, you can receive considerably more than 1 cent in value per point. {{Link|Venture Points}}.</li>

For example, you could transfer your points to Etihad's frequent flyer to book American Airlines flights for what are often fewer miles than American Airlines would charge. Or you could transfer your points to Wyndham's loyalty program to get fantastic value on Vacasa vacation rentals.

<li>'''Cashback'''. The points you earn from Capital One's cashback cards can be redeemed directly as statement credits (no need to use them to erase travel purchases).</li>

<li>'''If you have a card that earns "cash back" and another card that earns "miles". you can transfer your points between them to redeem the way you want'''. If you want to cash out directly to your statement, transfer points from your miles card to your cashback card. If you want to use them for frequent flyer miles, transfer them from your cash bard to your miles card. This includes the points from signup bonuses.</li>
</ul>

=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is worth signing up for some of these cards just for the signup bonuses'''. Typical signup bonuses for the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash cards are worth a minimum of $500 (before expenses), often with a waived annual fee. Bonuses are worth more if you can use them on good frequent flyer and hotel redemptions. We value transferable Capital One points at {{Value|venture}} each, making a 50,000 point offer worth about {{Value|venture|50000}}.</li>

Promotional signup bonuses can be much higher (although they often require large amounts of spending).

<li>'''Capital One limits you to only two personal cards at a time''' (co-branded cards don't count against these limits). This limits the speed at which you can earn signup bonuses. The best offer is almost always from the Venture Card. If you are looking for a second signup consider the Savor Card, unless the bonuses from the VentureOne or Quicksilver are substantially larger. That will give you the option of earning extra miles on your restaurant and entertainment spending.</li>

<li>'''These limits don't apply to the business cards'''. Offers on the Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards are often identical. The Spark Miles Card is usually the better option because it has the flexibility of being able to transfer to travel partners without needing another card. It also includes a possibly valuable $100 TSA credit. On the other hand, the Spark Cash Card doesn't show up on your personal credit report (and won't affect your Chase 5/24 status) and the Spark Miles Card will. There is no reason to avoid trying to sign up for as many of these cards as you can. </li>

<li>'''It can be hard to get approved for Capital One cards'''. So think twice before cancelling a card that you really want to keep, in order to earn reapply (or apply for a different Capital One Card) just to earn a new signup bonus.</li>
</ul>

=== Notable Benefits ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Access to special Capital One events''' (personal cards). These are available to all cardholders. [//www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/access/ Current list of events].</li>

<li>'''$100 TSA fee credit''' (Venture and Spark Miles only). Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).</li>

<li>'''Fixed-rate roadside assistance''' (business cards). Assistance isn't free, but rates are pre-negotiated to $70, including up to 5 miles of towing.</li>

{{Benefit Elite}}
</ul>

=== Bonus Categories ===

'''None of these cards have bonus categories'''. You can earn 3-4x points on dining and entertainment with the [[Capital one savor cards|Capital One Savor Cards]].

'''It only makes sense to spend with the cards that offer at least 2%''' (Venture, Spark Miles, Spark Cash).

{{/Main|card}}

{{/Page|card}}

Template:Value

2021-10-28T23:03:08Z

Editor:

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| laquinta = .8
| marriott = .7
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Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T23:02:06Z

Editor: /* Comparing the credit card reward programs */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Many people should use ThankYou points whenever they can find an attractive hotel redemption through Choice. Otherwise, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then for frequent flyer miles.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big four, Capital One miles are the next most valuable, followed by Thank You rewards, and with Ultimate Rewards at the bottom of the pack. I If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou or Capital One points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt, Choice, and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards from bonuses and promotions that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership Rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Better
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|Choice
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1.5
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T23:01:44Z

Editor: /* Comparing the credit card reward programs */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Many people should use ThankYou points whenever they can find an attractive hotel redemption through Choice. Otherwise, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then for frequent flyer miles.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big four, Capital One miles are the next most valuable, followed by Thank You rewards, and with Ultimate Rewards at the bottom of the pack. I If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou or Capital One points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt, Choice, and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards from bonuses and promotions that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership Rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Better
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|Choice
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1.5
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

The reason that Citibank has a lower overall point value than the expected value of redeeming for Choice hotel rewards is that many people won't want to book Choice award stays often enough to use up all their ThankYou points.

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:59:18Z

Editor: /* Comparing the credit card reward programs */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Many people should use ThankYou points whenever they can find an attractive hotel redemption through Choice. Otherwise, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then for frequent flyer miles.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big four, Capital One miles are the next most valuable, followed by Thank You rewards, and with Ultimate Rewards at the bottom of the pack. I If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou or Capital One points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt, Choice, and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards from bonuses and promotions that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership Rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Better
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|Choice
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
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{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:56:22Z

Editor: /* Earn lots of points with signup bonuses */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Many people should use ThankYou points whenever they can find an attractive hotel redemption through Choice. Otherwise, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then for frequent flyer miles.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big four, Capital One miles are the next most valuable, followed by Thank You rewards, and with Ultimate Rewards at the bottom of the pack. I If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou or Capital One points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt, Choice, and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards from bonuses and promotions that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, ThankYou points, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership Rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Good
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|JetBlue (lower rate)
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|No
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
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|The “base value” we use for our calculations
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|{{Value|Marriott}}
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Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

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|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
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|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
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|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
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|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
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|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
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|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
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|Gas||2||3||3
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|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
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|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

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Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:52:46Z

Editor: /* Earn lots of points with signup bonuses */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Many people should use ThankYou points whenever they can find an attractive hotel redemption through Choice. Otherwise, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then for frequent flyer miles.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big three, the same number of ThankYou points are probably more valuable than Capital One miles, which are somewhat more valuable than Ultimate Rewards points. If your particularly situation favors or unfavors Capital One's 1:1 airlines, they will be more valuable (but not more than the same number of Membership Rewards points). If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards and ThankYou points from bonuses with Membership that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership or ThankYou Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership or ThankYou rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Good
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|JetBlue (lower rate)
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|No
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
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{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:50:45Z

Editor: /* Capital One points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. Then in 2021 they greatly increased the value of the program by allowing transfers on a 1:1 basis {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One probably has the second best program for redeeming frequent flyer rewards''', after Membership Rewards. They have a better selection of airline partners than either ThankYou or Ultimate Reward points (unless you highly value the ability to transfer to United Airlines).</li>

<li>'''Another potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''They offer a great rewards rate on everyday purchases'''. You can earn 2x points on everything you buy and can earn even more on restaurant purchases. Ultimate Rewards doesn't offer a general-purpose 2x card and American Express only offers one as a small business card.</li>

<li>'''However for most people, Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable reward programs'''. Ultimate Rewards is still better on the strength of Hyatt, benefit-rich credit cards, bonus category reward opportunities, and signup bonuses (on the business side). Membership Rewards is still better in the overall ability to generate points and use them for frequent flyer tickets. Citibank is probably marginally better for earning points on spending and with its hotel partner, but it is close. </li>

Furthermore, it is very difficult to get approved for the core Capital One Ventur eor Spark cards.
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Since ThankYou Rewards doesn't have good hotel partners, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then whenever you have a good redemption opportunity with one of their 1:1 programs, like Cathay Pacific, Avianca, and Etihad.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big three, the same number of ThankYou points are probably more valuable than Capital One miles, which are somewhat more valuable than Ultimate Rewards points. If your particularly situation favors or unfavors Capital One's 1:1 airlines, they will be more valuable (but not more than the same number of Membership Rewards points). If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards and ThankYou points from bonuses with Membership that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership or ThankYou Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership or ThankYou rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Good
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|JetBlue (lower rate)
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|No
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:38:27Z

Editor: /* ThankYou Rewards */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''While ThankYou points can be used at good values for hotel stays (unlike the Membership Rewards program), the Choice hotel program has far fewer really nice hotels than the Hyatt program''' (which is available through Ultimate Rewards). They do have plenty of solid hotels in good locations and some fantastic independent luxury hotels through the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One points DON'T always transfer on a 1:1 basis'''. With many of their programs, you only receive 750 miles for every 1,000 points, and with a couple programs, you only receive 500 miles. But because you earn 2 points per dollar, you are still receiving 2 or 1.5 miles per dollar spent on most airlines, which is the same or better as the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Amex Everyday Preferred card.</li>

<li>'''One potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable points programs'''. Capital One has a lower transfer rate for many airlines, makes it difficult to get new cards, and doesn't offer many bonus category options. If you want to primarily avoid the hassles of frequent flyer tickets, Capital One will give you more value per dollar than Membership Rewards or ThankYou Rewards, but usually not as much as Ultimate Rewards.</li>
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Since ThankYou Rewards doesn't have good hotel partners, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then whenever you have a good redemption opportunity with one of their 1:1 programs, like Cathay Pacific, Avianca, and Etihad.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big three, the same number of ThankYou points are probably more valuable than Capital One miles, which are somewhat more valuable than Ultimate Rewards points. If your particularly situation favors or unfavors Capital One's 1:1 airlines, they will be more valuable (but not more than the same number of Membership Rewards points). If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards and ThankYou points from bonuses with Membership that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership or ThankYou Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership or ThankYou rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Good
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|JetBlue (lower rate)
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|No
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Introduction to transferable points

2021-10-28T22:33:33Z

Editor: /* Ultimate Rewards */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|transferable points}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|Signups}}

{{Image|TransferPrograms21.png}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#What are “transferable credit card points”?|What are “transferable credit card points”?]]
*[[#Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles|Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles]]
*[[#Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points|Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points]]
*[[#Introduction to the different transferable point programs|Introduction to the different transferable point programs]]
*[[#Which program is best?|Which program is best?]]
*[[#Comparing the credit card reward programs|Comparing the credit card reward programs]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== What are “transferable credit card points”? ===

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”. The other major transferable points program is Capital One's miles program.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. For example, you can convert your Chase Ultimate Rewards points into United miles to book an award flight to Europe, into Southwest points to pay for a quick flight to Las Vegas, or into Hyatt points to book a free hotel room in New York City. The points from these credit cards are like "miles" that you can magically use with any of a bunch of different frequent flyer programs.

In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel. For example, you can use your Ultimate Rewards points at 1.5 cents each to book a night at a traditional inn in Tokyo, an inexpensive flight on EasyJet, or a flight on American Airlines where there are no available frequent flyer seats.

<blockquote>
Transferable reward points, earned directly from the credit card companies, are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles. For most people, they are the best way to earn rewards from their credit card spending.
</blockquote>

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Brex, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

Each program has a distinct set of partner programs, different options for redeeming your points, and a separate set of available credit cards.

=== Transferable credit card points are better than regular frequent flyer miles ===

Earning points with Amex’s Membership Rewards, Chase’s Ultimate Rewards, Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards, and other transferable reward programs is almost always better than earning miles directly with a frequent flyer program.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can take advantage of award space on almost any airline'''. You can use frequent flyer miles for award tickets on any of the program's partner airlines. For example, you can use United miles on over two dozen different airlines that partner with United. However, if the available award space to your destination are with American Airlines or one of American’s Oneworld partners, you are out of luck.</li>

But with transferable points, you can transfer your points to at least one frequent flyer program that belongs to each of the three major alliances (and some extra programs as well). You can then redeem those frequent flyer points on each of those program’s partner airlines. In the end, each type of transferable reward point can be used to book frequent flyer tickets on over 100 different airlines. For example, if you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can transfer them to United to book one of United’s flights, to British Airways to book a flight on American, or to Air France to book a flight on Delta.

{{ImageX|AirTahitiNui.jpg}}

With transferable reward points, you are much more likely to be able to book the flights that work best for your schedule or take advantage of the only airline that has available award space to your destination.

<li>'''You can take advantage of whichever award redemption requires the fewest miles'''. Different frequent flyer programs require different amounts of miles for the same trip and have different rules and fees. For example, with most airline programs, a round trip to Hawaii is 45,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in business. But with Turkish Airline’s frequent flyer program, you can fly there (on United Airlines) for only 15,000 miles in coach and 25,000 miles in business. Rather than spending 45,000 United miles, you can spend 15,000 Turkish airline miles, for exactly the same flight!</li>

Transferable point programs let you transfer to whichever of their frequent flyer partners requires the fewest miles, rather than being stuck with the award chart of a single program.

{{Image|AwardAceResults.png}}

<li>'''Or maybe you can get better value by using your points for a hotel room instead'''. It is much easier to find availability for free hotel nights than for free airplane tickets. For example, even over Christmas break, you could transfer 20,000 Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to book the Hyatt Maui or 12,000 points to book the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach and easily get more than 2 cents per point in value—but you are extremely unlikely to be able to take advantage of frequent flyer tickets to Hawaii (at least at anything close to the normal mileage costs). To be fair, among the different transferable points programs, the only hotel transfer that usually makes sense is transferring Ultimate Rewards points to the Hyatt program. </li>

{{ImageX|HyattMaui.jpg}}

<li>'''You can easily “top-off” your account balances'''. Over time, you are likely to build up points in several different reward programs from your paid hotel stays and flights or perhaps from credit card signup bonuses. However, you might not have enough points to make the award redemption you want. With transferable credit card points, you can often combine the points from your credit card with the reward points that are already in your account. Point transfers can also be used to keep an airline or hotel account active, so that you don’t lose your points.</li>

<li>'''You can get better value if you need to “cash-out” your points'''. If you decide you can’t find good enough redemptions, you’ll generally get more value out of cashing-out your credit card points than you could by cashing-out frequent flyer miles. For example, you’ll only get about .5 cents for your Delta miles (by buying Amazon gift cards), but you can get 1.5 cents for your Ultimate Rewards points (by buying travel on the Chase website).</li>

{{Image|MRPaywithPoints.jpg}}

<li>'''The main drawback to transferable reward points is that you can’t always take advantage of “Anytime” awards on your most-frequently-used airline'''. When you want to fly on a specific airline with your transferable reward points, you will often have to transfer to one of their partners, because the airline itself isn’t a direct partner of your credit card program. You will then need to redeem a “partner award”, which only has access to regularly priced award availability. </li>

If you were collecting points directly with the airline, you would have the additional option to use a lot of extra points to book an "anytime award", even when there isn’t any regular (“saver”) award availability. For example, you can use Ultimate Rewards points to book flights on American Airlines via British Airways or Cathay Pacific’s frequent flyer program, but only if there is still availability at the regular rates. But you can only use American Airline’s own points to book more expensive anytime awards.</li>
</ul>

=== Transferable reward points versus fixed-value reward points ===

'''Don’t confuse transferable reward points, like Amex’s Membership Rewards, with travel redemption points that you get from credit cards like the Bank of America Travel Rewards card'''.

The points you get from Bank of America, U.S. Bank, and many other credit cards can indeed be used to book flights on any airline. But you'll always get a fixed amount of value per point.

{{Card|BOATravel}}

'''Essentially, these credit card companies are just giving you cash back but forcing or encouraging you to use the cash to pay for travel'''. For example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card is going to give you 1.5 - 2.625 points per dollar and let you use those points to purchase travel at 1 cent each. It is essentially the same as earning 1.5 - 2.625% cash back.

Transferable reward points CAN be used in the same way, but they can also be transferred into actual airline and hotel reward points and then redeemed for frequent flyer tickets and award nights. While there isn’t always award availability, you have the potential for getting much more value from your transferable points.

As an example, if a ticket to Hawaii costs $600, you will need 60,000 Bank of America reward points to pay for the ticket, which would require spending $23-40,000 on the BOA Travel Rewards Card. Or you could book it with 25,000 Singapore Airline miles, by transferring in 25,000 Ultimate Rewards points, which you require spending less than $17,000 on the Chase Freedom Unlimited Card. Or even better, there is a small possibility you could book it with 15,000 Turkish Airlines miles, by transferring in 15,000 Citi Thank You points, which would require spending just $7,500 with the Citi DoubleCash Card.

If you are booking business class tickets, the disparity is even greater. A $4,000 business class ticket would require 400,000 Bank of America points, or $152-267,000 in credit card spending. Booking it as a frequent flyer ticket might require 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points or under $55,000 in spending. Or even less, if you are able to take advantage of bonus rewards on travel or restaurant spending.

When you have a good opportunity to use frequent flyer miles, your transferable reward points are much more valuable than most cash-like credit card points. When there is no award availability or award prices are high compared to the cash price, you can use either of these types of credit card points to purchase tickets.

'''Only true “transferable” reward points let you get extra value from your points by finding good frequent flyer (and hotel) redemption opportunities'''.

=== Introduction to the different transferable point programs ===

The best transferable points reward program depends on whether you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets or whether you want to make sure there are easier ways to use your points.

==== Ultimate Rewards ====

{{Logo|UR Logo|320px}}
{{Pay Yourself Back}}

We think Chase’s Ultimate Rewards is the best of the transferable credit card programs, especially for people who are just starting out. {{Link|Ultimate Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The Ultimate Rewards Program has a small, but good, group of airline partners'''. Their partners include United Airlines (for Star Alliance awards without fuel surcharges), British Airways (for low-award-cost short-distance Oneworld flights), Southwest, and JetBlue.</li>

<li>'''But what really differentiates the Ultimate Rewards program is that you can redeem your points for good values on something other than hard-to-take-advantage-of frequent flyer tickets'''. With Ultimate Rewards points, you can always get good value for your points (with very little effort) by booking award nights at Hyatt hotels or purchasing any other travel through the Chase website. In contrast, the only normally good options with Membership Rewards is booking frequent flyer tickets. And while ThankYou rewards lets you get good value by transferring points to the Choice hotel program, most people don't find that nearly as useful as the Hyatt program.</li>

{{ImageX|HyattHotel.jpg}}

The reason we unequivocally recommend Ultimate Rewards program is that you don’t need to mess around with trying to find a good opportunity to book frequent flyer tickets, when you don’t want to. But, in contrast to earning straight cash back, you retain the upside of using your points when you do find a good frequent flyer opportunity.

<li>'''However, if you already gotten a few new credit cards in the past couple of years, you may not be able to take advantage of the program'''. You will be blocked from getting any of the Ultimate Rewards cards by the Chase 5/24 rule. Your only option for taking advantage of the Ultimate Rewards program would be to postpone getting other cards until you are back under the 5/24 limit.</li>
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards ====

{{Logo|MR Logo|320px}}

Amex’s Membership Rewards is the best program for anyone who is comfortable with using their credit card points for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Membership Rewards}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Unless you find a good frequent flyer award ticket opportunity, you can only expect to get 1–1.25 cents in value for your points'''. Even though you can transfer to hotel partners, the exchange rates aren't good enough to make this worthwhile.</li>

<li>'''If you DO plan to redeem for flights, Membership Rewards is better than Ultimate Rewards'''. Membership Rewards has many more transfer partners, making it more likely you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” that lets you book an award for less than the normal number of points. Unlike Ultimate Rewards, it doesn’t partner with United. On the other hand, Membership Rewards partners directly with Delta. If you live in Delta territory, this is a plus, as you can use your points for non-saver-level awards.</li>

<li>'''You can get more from your points by taking advantage of Membership Rewards' promotions that give you a bonus when you transfer to selected airline partners'''. For example, Membership Rewards might give you 25% to 50% extra miles when you transfer your points to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, or some other program. You might get as much as 50,000 miles from only 25,000 points. {{Link|transfer bonuses}}. </li>

{{Image|MRTransferBonus.jpg|420}}

Chase has only ever had one transfer bonus, while Membership Rewards offers several every year.

<li>'''Membership rewards is the easiest program to build up points from signup bonuses and they offer very good earning rates in many categories'''. Amex cards offer the best possible reward rates on groceries and gas. If you are willing to put up with some quirks, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar on everyday spending (just like you can with Chase). And if you are willing and able to get a business card, you can earn 2 points per dollar on everyday spending. There are also many more options for earning lucrative signup bonuses than there are with Chase and no 5/24 rule to worry about.</li>

{{Image|AmexCards.jpg|420}}
</ul>

==== Membership Rewards with business cards ====

If you have any sort of a small business, even one that hasn’t made any money yet, you are eligible to sign up for small business credit cards. If so, the Membership Rewards program becomes considerably more valuable. {{Link|Business Cards}}.

{{Card|PlatinumBiz|guide}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You can get the Amex Blue Business Plus card to earn 2x points on all purchases'''. This is better than the 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points that you can earn with one of the Chase Unlimited cards. {{Link|General Purpose}}.</li>

<li>'''If you get the Platinum Business card, you gain the option to "cash out" your Membership Rewards points at 1.54 cents each'''. Whenever you purchase tickets from Amex Travel for your favorite airline or for any business or first-class seats, you can use your points at 1 cent each and get a 35% refund on the points you used. For example, if you want to purchase a ticket for $320, you would need to use 32,000 points. But then you would get 11,200 of those points back. When you do the math, this works out to 1.54 cents in value per point. </li>

<li>'''This alters the dynamics of the Membership Rewards program and makes it more universally appealing'''. With this approach, you can always guarantee a floor of 1.54 cents in value per point, even without a good frequent flyer redemption. Like with Ultimate Rewards, you have a reliable way to get solid value from your points and still preserve the upside of getting even more value from a great award ticket opportunity. Plus, you get access to Amex's larger set of airline partners, frequent mileage transfer bonuses, and easier point earning opportunities.</li>

<li>'''This flexibility comes with extra costs associated with the Business Platinum card'''. The annual fee for this card is $595. It does come many useful perks and benefits (shared with the regular Platinum card), a $200 credit that can be used for incidental expenses on a single airline of your choice, and $200 a year in credits for purchases from Dell. While it can be hard to fully use these credits, they can partially offset the annual fee. {{Link|premium cards}}</li>

</ul>

==== ThankYou Rewards ====

{{Logo|TY Logo|320px}}

Citibank’s ThankYou Rewards isn’t as good as the Ultimate Rewards or Membership Rewards program. ThankYou points are still very valuable and worth collecting, just not usually as valuable as Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards points. It falters in several different ways. {{Link|Thankyou}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''They have a smaller and less valuable set of airline partners, although they still have a least one reasonable choice in each of the major alliances'''. On the other hand, they are the only of the big three programs that partners with the hard-to-use but often valuable Turkish Airlines program (as does the Capital One Venture program).</li>

{{Image|TYPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''Like the Membership Rewards program, frequent flyer tickets are the only option for redeeming your points at more than 1 cent each'''. You are unlikely to be able to get good value redeeming points with their hotel partners.</li>

<li>'''It can be hard to earn lots of points through signup bonuses'''. You can only earn a single significant signup bonus every two years. With both Amex and Chase, you can earn bonuses from a bunch of different cards. But, unlike Chase and Amex, you won't be blocked from future signup bonuses by the "5/24" or "once in a lifetime" rule. Even so, it is hard to get that excited about a program where you can only earn around 50,000 points every two years from signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou points are tied to the specific credit card that earned them'''. If you cancel that card, you only have 30 days to use them or transfer them to a partner program. Alternatively, you can convert your card to the no-annual-fee Reward+ card, but then you will no longer be able to transfer them to airline programs.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, ThankYou credit cards earn valuable reward rates on spending'''. You can earn 2 points per dollar on all spending with the Double Cash card versus only 1.5 points per dollar with the Freedom Unlimited card (you can also earn 2x with Amex, but only with a business card). The Citi Premier offers competitive reward rates on an unusually wide set of categories. The Custom Cash Card allows you to earn 5x points in your choice of categories (although capped to $500 of spending per month. If you have it, the Citi Prestige offers the highest reward rate on restaurant purchases. </li>
</ul>

==== Capital One points ====
{{Logo|Venture Logo|320px}}

In 2018, Capital One expanded its points program to allow for point transfers to over a dozen airline partners. {{Link|venture points}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Like the Ultimate Rewards program, the Capital One program doesn't effectively lock you into using your points for frequent flyer miles'''. With Capital One, you can still receive 1 cent per point, or 2 cents per dollar, when you use your points to purchase any sort of travel. You don't need to buy on Capital One's travel portal, you can use your points as a credit against any travel purchase made with the card. Of course, like the other transferable points programs, you have the opportunity to get higher value by converting your points to miles or hotel points.</li>

<li>'''Capital One points DON'T always transfer on a 1:1 basis'''. With many of their programs, you only receive 750 miles for every 1,000 points, and with a couple programs, you only receive 500 miles. But because you earn 2 points per dollar, you are still receiving 2 or 1.5 miles per dollar spent on most airlines, which is the same or better as the Chase Freedom Unlimited or Amex Everyday Preferred card.</li>

<li>'''One potentially great option for Capital One Points is to use them for short-term vacation rentals through Wyndham'''. Wyndham allows you to rent many Vacasa and other vacation rentals at 15,000 points per bedroom per night (including all of the high fees and taxes) and Capital One points can be converted to Wyndham points on a 1:1 basis.</li>

<li>'''Capital One's program isn't quite as attractive as the other transferable points programs'''. Capital One has a lower transfer rate for many airlines, makes it difficult to get new cards, and doesn't offer many bonus category options. If you want to primarily avoid the hassles of frequent flyer tickets, Capital One will give you more value per dollar than Membership Rewards or ThankYou Rewards, but usually not as much as Ultimate Rewards.</li>
</ul>

==== Bilt ====

The newest transferable points program is from Bilt.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is only one Bilt credit card and it is only really good for restaurant and rent spending''' (if your landlord doesn't accept credit cards or adds a credit card fee). Most people will want to use it alongside at least one other programs, as it isn't a great card for everyday spending and you can't build up a lot of points with credit card signup bonuses.</li>

<li>'''Like Ultimate Rewards, it is easy to get great value turning your points into Hyatt points for free hotel nights'''. It is very easy to take advantage of Hyatt to use up any points you earn and get at least {{Value|Hyatt}} cents per point (on many hotel reservations). As a result, we don't hesitate to recommend Bilt to anyone who don't have a way to earn rewards on their rent payments, don't already have a good card for restaurant spending, or want to maximize the number of American Airlines miles they earn.</li>

<li>'''Bilt also have a solid set of frequent flyer program partners''', including American Airlines and Turkish Airlines (good value on saver-level United flights).</li>
</ul>

==== Marriott ====

{{Logo|Marriott Logo|320px}}

Marriott has the largest number of airline partners, but it is the hardest program to earn points with.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott gives you 25,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer'''. With the other programs you almost always get 1 mile per point. Even if you can earn twice as many Marriott points on your spending, you'll be getting less miles per dollar. </li>

<li>'''Marriott has, by far, the largest and best collection of transfer partners'''. You can book on the widest range of airlines, better take advantage of non-saver award availability, and always take advantage of the best available redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''The other major downside of their program is that it can take days, or sometimes even weeks, for points to transfer'''. Award availability might disappear before your points have had a chance to arrive. Even worse, you could wind up in a situation where your points are stranded in a specific airline program.</li>
</ul>

=== Which program is best? ===

The answer depends on which of two approaches you want to take to earning points.

==== Earn lots of points with signup bonuses ====

The easiest way for most people to earn lots of points for free travel is to collect credit card signup bonuses.

'''If you decide to do this, you will want to collect points from ALL of the transferable points programs'''. In general, Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou Rewards, and Venture Miles are more valuable than regular frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or cashback (and you'll want to collect those as well).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Using the best points for the job'''. As you build balances in each of the programs, you can leverage whatever type of points works best for different types of award travel.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''Membership Rewards'''. Since Membership Rewards doesn't have good hotel options, has the most airline partners, offers the best transfer bonuses, and are usually the easiest to earn in large numbers, they are likely to be your main option for frequent flyer tickets, particularly for useful airlines, like ANA and Delta, that aren't available through the other major programs.</li>

<li>'''Ultimate Rewards'''. Most people will want to keep a bunch of Ultimate Rewards around to use for free nights at Hyatt hotels. This is perhaps the easiest high-value redemtion options across all the programs and the best way to earn extra hotel points on top of the ones you collect from hotel-branded cards. Depending on where you live, you may also want to save a bunch of your Ultimate Rewards points to use on United Airlines. If you wind up being able to collect lots and lots of points (with multiple Chase Business applications), you might start also using some your Ultimate Rewards points with frequent flyer programs that also partner with the other transferable points programs.</li>

<li>'''ThankYou Rewards'''. Since ThankYou Rewards doesn't have good hotel partners, you'll wind up using your points for frequent flyer tickets. If you have any opportunity to fly United domestically, to Hawaii, or to Europe, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your ThankYou points to use on Turkish Airlines. If not, you'll typically want to use your ThankYou points whenever one of their airline programs offers a good redepmtion, so you can conserve your more flexible Membership Reward points for future trips.</li>

<li>'''Capital One Miles'''. If you like to rent vacation houses in the United States, particularly for shorter lengths of time, you'll want to reserve a bunch of your Capital One Miles to transfer to Wyndham. If you have lots of Capital One Miles or aren't really interested in this option, you should use then whenever you have a good redemption opportunity with one of their 1:1 programs, like Cathay Pacific, Avianca, and Etihad.</li>

<li>'''Bilt Points'''. The Bilt program is much like the Chase program. You're likely to want to primarily use your points for free nights at Hyatt hotels. Assuming that Citibank's short-term transfer opportunity to American Airlines is indeed short-term, you may also want to use your Bilt points to supplement the American Airlines miles you earn from their co-branded cards. Or if you don't have ThankYou points to take advantages of Turkish Airlines sweetspots.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Which card to use for your spending'''. While you are collecting lots of signup bonuses, much of your spending will be focused on meeting each card's minimum spending requirement. Nevertheless, you will sometimes be between cards or have an opportunity to earn lots of bonus miles.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''If you highly value premium-cabin travel and you are comfortable using your points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize points based on their usefulness for booking premium-cabin award tickets'''. For most people, Membership Rewards are clearly the most valuable. Among the other big three, the same number of ThankYou points are probably more valuable than Capital One miles, which are somewhat more valuable than Ultimate Rewards points. If your particularly situation favors or unfavors Capital One's 1:1 airlines, they will be more valuable (but not more than the same number of Membership Rewards points). If you favor United, both Ultimate Rewards (for non-saver redemptions) and ThankYou points (for 1:1 Turkish Airlines redemptions) become more valuable. </li>

<li>'''If you have difficulty using (or getting value from) frequent flyer tickets, you'll want to prioritize earning points that can be effectively used in other ways'''. You'll want to focus any extra spending on earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points, or cash back. The choice between these options will depend on how often you get a good opportunity to redeem for Hyatt and Wyndham awards. You'll have plenty of Membership Rewards and ThankYou points from bonuses with Membership that you can struggle to use for frequent flyer tickets, and don't need to earn any more from your spending. </li>

<li>'''Otherwise, you'll should still probably prioritize earning Ultimate Rewards points, Capital One miles, Bilt points and cash back'''. It is slow going to earn points through spending. Most people find it more rewarding to get more frequent rewards through hotel and other travel redemptions, rather than adding incremental points to their Membership or ThankYou Rewards balance. But if you can get a better earning rate through Membership or ThankYou rewards, you probably want to take advantage of it.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

==== Sticking with one program ====

If you want to keep things simple and stick to a single program:

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For most people, we recommend Ultimate Rewards'''. The ease and value you can get from redeeming for free nights at Hyatt hotels, the ability to cash-out at more than 1 cent per point (if necessary), the extra benefits of the free travel insurance, and the option of getting a card with a Priority Pass membership make this the best option for most people who want to stick with a single program. Along with their easy redemption options, they have enough frequent flyer partners that you'll retain the option of redeeming your points for award tickets on almost 100 airlines.</li>

If you feel like you can get enough value out of Wyndham vacation rental options and you can get approved for their cards, you could consider getting a Venture and one of the Savor cards and focusing on Capital One miles.

<li>'''If you feel comfortable redeeming all your points for frequent flyer tickets, it is a tougher call'''. Unless you are signing up for lots of signup bonuses or highly value Delta miles, you are probably better off with Citi's ThankYou Rewards. For less than $100 in fees per year, you can earn 3x points on the main bonus categories and 2x points everywhere else; and you can use your cards everywhere. With Amex, you'll need a business card to earn 2x points on everyday purchases and need to cobble together a potentially expensive set of cards to earn good rewards on airfare, other travel, groceries, and gas. And you'll still need a card for merchants who don't take Amex. But on the redemption and bonus earning side, Membership Rewards is the better bet.</li>
</ul>

=== Comparing the credit card reward programs ===

Here's how the main programs stack up against each other:

{{Table|Basic|7.5in}}
!
!style=width: .75in;"|Chase Ultimate Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Amex Membership Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Citi ThankYou Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Marriott
!style=width: .75in;"|Capital One Rewards
!style=width: .75in;"|Bilt
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Acquiring Points
|-
|Reward rates for credit card spending
|Great
|Great
|Great
|Poor
|Good
|Good
|-
|Ease at building up points with signup bonuses
|Good
|Great
|Okay
|Poor
|Poor
|Poor
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Airline Partners
|-
|Overall Quality
|Good
|Better
|Good
|The Best
|Good
|Good
|-
|Number of airline partners
|8
|18
|12
|35
|16
|7
|-
|Time it takes to transfer points
|Instant
|Instant for most
|Usually 1-2 days
|Usually 2-14 days
|Instant or 1-2 days
|Instant for most
|-
|US Partners
|United

Southwest

JetBlue
|Delta

Hawaiian

JetBlue
|American (until Nov 13)

JetBlue
|Alaska

American

Delta

Hawaiian

United
|JetBlue (lower rate)
|American

Hawaiian
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}“Cash” Value per point
|-
|Base
|1.00
|<1.00
|1.00
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|With the right card
|1.50
|1.25-1.54
|1.11
|0.33
|1.00
|<1.00
|-
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|6}}Other
|-
|Good option for hotel redemptions
|Hyatt
|No
|No
|Marriott
|Wyndham, Accor
|Hyatt
|-
|Cheapest card to keep points alive (and transferable)
|$95<br/>(Sapphire Preferred)
|$0<br/>(Amex EveryDay)
|$95<br/>(Citi Premier)
|$0<br/>(No card needed)
|$0<br/>(Venture One)
|$0<br/>(Bilt Mastercard)
{{/Table}}

Here's the base values we assign to each type of point:

{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
!
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
|-
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
|1 - 1.5 or more
|3 - 4 or more
|-
|If you are patient and use coach tickets
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
|.5 - .8 or more
|1.5 - 2 or more
|-
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
|1.5 - 1.75
|1
|1
|.7
|1
|-
|Value from using points to pay for travel
|1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
|1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
|1
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|1
|-
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
|{{Value|UR}}
|{{Value|MR}}
|{{Value|TY}}
|{{Value|Marriott}}
|{{Value|Venture}}
{{/Table}}

Because there are so many credit cards, it is easier to build up large quantities of Membership Rewards points by taking advantage of signup bonuses. For everyday earning, Membership Rewards is a probably a little better. But Ultimate Rewards has a few extra options for earning 5x rewards. The following table compares the highest earning rates for the three major transferable point currencies

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!Category
!style="width: .75in"|UR
!style="width: .75in"|MR
!style="width: .75in"|TY
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(personal card)||1.5||1.5||'''2'''
|-
|Everyday spending<br/>(business card)||1.5||'''2'''||1
|-
|Restaurants||3||4||'''5'''
|-
|Airfare||5||'''5'''||5
|-
|Other Travel||'''3-5'''||3||3
|-
|Groceries||-||'''4.5'''||3
|-
|Gas||2||3||3
|-
|Drugstore||'''3'''||-||-
|-
|Office Supply Stores||'''5'''||-||-
|-
|Telecommunication Services||'''5'''||4||
|-
|Rotating Categories||'''5'''||-||-
{{/Table}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|Best offers}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Citi thankyou rewards

2021-10-28T22:31:28Z

Editor: /* Hotel transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|thankyou}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Image|ThankYou.jpg|full}}

Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. [//www.thankyou.com/cms/thankyou ThankYou Rewards homepage].

<blockquote>
Along with Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards is one of the three big bank-run rewards programs where you can convert your credit card points into miles with your choice of a number of different frequent flyer programs. You can also get good value using your points for hotels in the Choice hotel program.
</blockquote>

ThankYou Rewards is probably the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs. It has arguably the weakest set of participating frequent flyer programs, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and annoying rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.

On the other hand, if you are planning on transferring your points to frequent flyer programs, Citibank's credit cards have the most lucrative "earning rates" of any program.

And even if you don't think ThankYou Rewards is quite as good as the other two programs, you can still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses and using your points for free airplane tickets.

Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1 or more cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website or on a 2 for 1 basis to book hotel nights through Choice. So a 60,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $600-660 in cash and often considerably more.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Hotel transfer partners|Hotel transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#ThankYou Reward credit cards|ThankYou Reward credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Bonus category opportunities|Bonus category opportunities]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Advantages of Citibank banking relationships|Advantages of Citibank banking relationships]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Point transfer are almost instant to about half of their partners and can take a couple of days to most of the others'''. Transfers to Aeromexico, Air France / KLM Flying Blue, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic are almost instant. Transfers to EVA, Malaysia, Qantas, Qatar, and Turkish take a couple of days. Transfers to Thai can take up to a week.

'''Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period'''. See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or visit Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page] for a list of current promotions.

{{Table|center|6in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Singapore''' (KrisFlyer)
|'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)
|'''American''' (until Nov 13)
|'''Jet Blue'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''<br/> 
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|''' '''
|'''Qantas'''
|'''Virgin Atlantic'''
|-
|'''EVA Air'''<br/> 
|''' '''
|'''Malaysia'''
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Thai'''
|''' '''
|''' '''
|'''Qatar'''<br/> 
{{/Table}}

Turkish Airlines can be a pain to deal with, but has some incredible award rates for domestic, Hawaii, and Mexico travel. And they don't partner with the other bank programs.

Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with Ultimate Rewards and/or Membership Rewards. Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines and doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam.

JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can receive around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point when you purchase tickets, without having to worry about award availability.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any of Singapore Airline’s other partners. With all the programs and partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

2 Choice points are worth about {{Value|Choice|2}} cents. That's decent value for your ThankYou points, and you can easily get more value per point on many Choice hotel redemptions. When you get an opportunity to make a high-value Choice redmeption, most people will be better off transferring their ThankYou points, rather than purchasing Choice points for .8 cents each using the Cash & Points trick. Every time you can find a good redemption, you are essentially getting 1.6 cents in value from using your ThankYou points rather than purchasing Choice points.

Don't forget that you can also use Choice points to book many of the fancy hotels in the Preferred Resorts and Hotel program. {{Link|choice preferred}}.

1.5 Hilton points are only worth about {{Value|Hilton|1.5}} cents. That is even less than what you can get by "cashing out" your points.

{{Table|center|6in}}
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Choice''' (1000:2000)
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Hilton''' (1000:1500)
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
{{/Table}}

=== Cashing out your points ===

{{Box|Extra Value from the Rewards+ Card}}
If you link a Citi Rewards+ card to your account, you'll get a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points you redeem each year. This provides an 11% boost to every redemption option. For example, you'd get 1.11 frequent flyer miles for each point or 1.11 cents per point in statement credits (instead of 1 mile or 1 cent).
{{/Box}}

'''You can cash out your ThankYou points for at least 1 cent each'''. You'll typically receive more value if you can use your points for frequent flyer tickets, but if you find that you can never find good opportunities, you can always just "cash out" your points.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have an opportunity to fly Jet Blue, you can always get decent value from your points'''. They operate a fixed-value frequent flyer program where the number of miles you need is based roughly on the price of the ticket. You get around 1.2 - 1.5 cents per mile on pretty much every flight, without having to worry about award availability.</li>

<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card, you can convert your points to directly to cash'''. You'll receive 1 cent per point. This is more convenient than buying gift cards or travel. You've got two options. You can redeem increments as small as $10 directly to your credit card statement ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetailStmtCredit.htm?productId=7000SCR link]) or you can redeem in $50 increments and receive as a check in a week or two ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetail.htm?productId=7000CR&src=TYUSENG link]).</li>

{{Image|CitiStatementCredit.png}}

<li>'''You can buy gift cards (at up to 1.2 cents each)'''. You'll typically receive around 1 cent per point, so you are usually off just directly cashing out. They often have sales where you can purchase certain brand's cards for even less, but there is no way to see a list. You'll need to click through different brands to check their pricing. A wide variety of popular brands is available, but you can't buy Amazon cards. [//www.thankyou.com//gcLanding.htm Gift card page].</li>

If you can't find cards you are interested in, you can convert your ThankYou points to Shop Your Way Points which can then be used to purchase a different set of useful cards.

<li>'''You can purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center'''. But this isn't as good of an option as just cashing out your points. There are advantages to buying your travel on other websites. For example, if you are booking a hotel, you'll almost certainly be able to find a cheaper rate on the hotel's own website or one of a number of other hotel booking options. Furthermore, Citibank reservations are considered 3<sup>rd</sup> party reservations, so you won't be entitled to participate in the hotel's own loyalty program. In addition, you won't receive valuable credit card points on these travel purchases. </li>
</ul>

=== ThankYou Reward credit cards ===

Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|60,000
|3x restaurants

3x airfare, hotels, and online travel agencies

3x groceries

3x gas

|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|CitiRewards|short}}
|15,000
|Rounds up rewards to nearest 10
|$0
|-
|{{Card|DoubleCash|short}}
|0
|2x on all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|CitiCash|short}}
|20,000
|5x on top category ($500 per statement)
|$0
|-
|{{Card|ATT|short}}
|10,000
|2x online retail and travel purchases

2x AT&T
|$0
{{/Table}}

The points you earn from the Double Cash, Custom Cash, Citi Reward+, and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Premier Card (or discontinued Citi Prestige Card), you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card and then onto one of Citibank's airline partners.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can earn at least one ThankYou point signup bonus every 24 months'''. You can only earn the signup bonus on a Premier, Preferred, or Rewards+ cards, f you haven't opened or closed any of these cards in the past 24 months. For example, getting or closing a Rewards+ Card blocks you from earning a bonus on the Premier Card for next 24 months. However, while closing a card resets the clock, converting a card should not. You can convert to almost any Citibank card, but you'll usually want to convert to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card to keep access to any ThankYou points that are still associated with the card.</li>

Even though they can earn ThankYou points, the AT&T Access, Custom Cash, and Double Cash cards don't count as part of the same "family" in terms of getting signup bonuses. Opening and closing them has no affect on your eligibility for the other ThankYou cards. You should be able to collect bonuses on these other cards (if any) every 24 months.

<li>'''Be careful about cancelling your cards'''. If you cancel a ThankYou card, you will only have 60 days to use any associated points, even if you still have another ThankYou card still open. In addition, you will reset the clock for earning a new bonus. If you no longer want the card, convert it to a Rewards+ card. If you have an extra Rewards+ card and you've already spent all the points you've earned with the account, cancel it right after applying for a new ThankYou card. That way, you won't need to wait more than the same 24 months before your next bonus.</li>

<li>'''If you are collecting signup bonuses, you should try to collect the Premier bonus every two years'''. Even if you want to hold onto the Premier Card, you can convert it to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card and then apply for a new one.</li>

<li>'''Avoid earning the signup bonus on the Rewards+ card'''. It will block you from earning a more lucrative bonus from the Premier Card. Either wait to get one until it is time to get rid of one of your other ThankYou cards or apply for it a couple of weeks after you apply for the Premier Card (and make sure you don't earn the signup bonus on it before you earn the bonus on the other card).</li>
</ul>

=== Bonus category opportunities ===

'''Earning ThankYou points on your spending is primarily interesting for people who are comfortable using their points for frequent flyer tickets'''. While you can cash out your points for 1 cent each, they are much more valuable when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier Card (or Citi Prestige Card), you can convert points from the Double Cash card to airline miles'''. This makes the Double Cash card the most rewarding general-purpose card other than the Amex Blue Business Plus card.</li>

<li>'''The Citi Premier card is the most well-rounded bonus category card available'''. For $95, you earn 3x transferable points on all of the major bonus categories: travel, restaurants, groceries, and gas. However, bonus points on travel are are only available for airfare, online travel agencies, and hotels. While you can earn more valuable rewards in specific categories with some other cards, the Premier and Double Cash combination is the most straightforward way to optimize the number of frequent flyer miles you earn from your spending, especially if you aren't willing and able to get business cards.</li>

<li>'''If you still have it, the discontinued Citi Prestige card boosts your travel and restaurant rewards even higher'''. It earns an extra 2x points on restaurants, airfare, and online travel agencies (and an extra point on cruises). However, if you have the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve card, you may want to use those for your airfare spending, in order to take advantage of their travel insurance benefits.</li>

<li>'''The Custom Cash Card provide another boost to your rewards by allowing you to earn extra rewards in one category per month'''. If you are able to max out the $500 cap each month, you'll earn 30,000 bonus points per year (or 18,000 more than you would earn by using your Double Cash card instead). As with points you earn from the Premier (and Prestige) Card, your redemption can be boosted by having a Rewards+ card. </li>

<li>'''The AT&T Access card's bonus rewards on online shopping is no longer particularly interesting'''. You can earn the same 2x points with the Double Cash card, which also earns the 2x rewards on all other spending.</li>

</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer your ThankYou points to anyone’s account, but any unused points will expire 90 days later'''. The number of points you can transfer or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.</li>

<li>'''You can only transfer points to a frequent flyer account that matches the name on your ThankYou account'''. However, you can always transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.</li>

<li>'''Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you start out having separate accounts for each credit card''' (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card or bank account that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.</li>

<li>'''If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Reward+ card'''. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. </li>
</ul>

=== Advantages of Citibank banking relationships ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Citigold customers get an additional $145 discount on the discontinued Citi Prestige Card's annual fee'''. This drops the effective annual fee to $100 per year. This requires $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank, but this includes assets in a brokerage account. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can pay a lower fee on your Prestige Card.</li>

It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee.

<li>'''You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity'''. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month. You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
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{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
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Citi thankyou rewards

2021-10-28T22:31:11Z

Editor: /* Hotel transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|thankyou}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Image|ThankYou.jpg|full}}

Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. [//www.thankyou.com/cms/thankyou ThankYou Rewards homepage].

<blockquote>
Along with Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards is one of the three big bank-run rewards programs where you can convert your credit card points into miles with your choice of a number of different frequent flyer programs. You can also get good value using your points for hotels in the Choice hotel program.
</blockquote>

ThankYou Rewards is probably the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs. It has arguably the weakest set of participating frequent flyer programs, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and annoying rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.

On the other hand, if you are planning on transferring your points to frequent flyer programs, Citibank's credit cards have the most lucrative "earning rates" of any program.

And even if you don't think ThankYou Rewards is quite as good as the other two programs, you can still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses and using your points for free airplane tickets.

Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1 or more cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website or on a 2 for 1 basis to book hotel nights through Choice. So a 60,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $600-660 in cash and often considerably more.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Hotel transfer partners|Hotel transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#ThankYou Reward credit cards|ThankYou Reward credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Bonus category opportunities|Bonus category opportunities]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Advantages of Citibank banking relationships|Advantages of Citibank banking relationships]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Point transfer are almost instant to about half of their partners and can take a couple of days to most of the others'''. Transfers to Aeromexico, Air France / KLM Flying Blue, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic are almost instant. Transfers to EVA, Malaysia, Qantas, Qatar, and Turkish take a couple of days. Transfers to Thai can take up to a week.

'''Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period'''. See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or visit Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page] for a list of current promotions.

{{Table|center|6in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Singapore''' (KrisFlyer)
|'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)
|'''American''' (until Nov 13)
|'''Jet Blue'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''<br/> 
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|''' '''
|'''Qantas'''
|'''Virgin Atlantic'''
|-
|'''EVA Air'''<br/> 
|''' '''
|'''Malaysia'''
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Thai'''
|''' '''
|''' '''
|'''Qatar'''<br/> 
{{/Table}}

Turkish Airlines can be a pain to deal with, but has some incredible award rates for domestic, Hawaii, and Mexico travel. And they don't partner with the other bank programs.

Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with Ultimate Rewards and/or Membership Rewards. Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines and doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam.

JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can receive around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point when you purchase tickets, without having to worry about award availability.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any of Singapore Airline’s other partners. With all the programs and partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

2 Choice points are worth about {{Value|Choice|2}} cents. That's decent value for your ThankYou points, and you can easily get more value per point on many Choice hotel redemptions. When you get an opportunity to make a high-value Choice redmeption, most people will be better off transferring their ThankYou points, rather than purchasing Choice points for .8 cents each using the Cash & Points trick. Every time you can find a good redemption, you are essentially getting 1.6 cents in value from using your ThankYou points rather than purchasing Choice points.

Don't forget that you can also use Choice points to book many of the fancy hotels in the Preferred Resorts and Hotel program. {{Link|choice preferred}}.

1.5 Hilton points is only worth about {{Value|Hilton|1.5}} cents. That is even less than what you can get by "cashing out" your points.

{{Table|center|6in}}
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Choice''' (1000:2000)
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Hilton''' (1000:1500)
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
{{/Table}}

=== Cashing out your points ===

{{Box|Extra Value from the Rewards+ Card}}
If you link a Citi Rewards+ card to your account, you'll get a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points you redeem each year. This provides an 11% boost to every redemption option. For example, you'd get 1.11 frequent flyer miles for each point or 1.11 cents per point in statement credits (instead of 1 mile or 1 cent).
{{/Box}}

'''You can cash out your ThankYou points for at least 1 cent each'''. You'll typically receive more value if you can use your points for frequent flyer tickets, but if you find that you can never find good opportunities, you can always just "cash out" your points.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have an opportunity to fly Jet Blue, you can always get decent value from your points'''. They operate a fixed-value frequent flyer program where the number of miles you need is based roughly on the price of the ticket. You get around 1.2 - 1.5 cents per mile on pretty much every flight, without having to worry about award availability.</li>

<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card, you can convert your points to directly to cash'''. You'll receive 1 cent per point. This is more convenient than buying gift cards or travel. You've got two options. You can redeem increments as small as $10 directly to your credit card statement ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetailStmtCredit.htm?productId=7000SCR link]) or you can redeem in $50 increments and receive as a check in a week or two ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetail.htm?productId=7000CR&src=TYUSENG link]).</li>

{{Image|CitiStatementCredit.png}}

<li>'''You can buy gift cards (at up to 1.2 cents each)'''. You'll typically receive around 1 cent per point, so you are usually off just directly cashing out. They often have sales where you can purchase certain brand's cards for even less, but there is no way to see a list. You'll need to click through different brands to check their pricing. A wide variety of popular brands is available, but you can't buy Amazon cards. [//www.thankyou.com//gcLanding.htm Gift card page].</li>

If you can't find cards you are interested in, you can convert your ThankYou points to Shop Your Way Points which can then be used to purchase a different set of useful cards.

<li>'''You can purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center'''. But this isn't as good of an option as just cashing out your points. There are advantages to buying your travel on other websites. For example, if you are booking a hotel, you'll almost certainly be able to find a cheaper rate on the hotel's own website or one of a number of other hotel booking options. Furthermore, Citibank reservations are considered 3<sup>rd</sup> party reservations, so you won't be entitled to participate in the hotel's own loyalty program. In addition, you won't receive valuable credit card points on these travel purchases. </li>
</ul>

=== ThankYou Reward credit cards ===

Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|60,000
|3x restaurants

3x airfare, hotels, and online travel agencies

3x groceries

3x gas

|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|CitiRewards|short}}
|15,000
|Rounds up rewards to nearest 10
|$0
|-
|{{Card|DoubleCash|short}}
|0
|2x on all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|CitiCash|short}}
|20,000
|5x on top category ($500 per statement)
|$0
|-
|{{Card|ATT|short}}
|10,000
|2x online retail and travel purchases

2x AT&T
|$0
{{/Table}}

The points you earn from the Double Cash, Custom Cash, Citi Reward+, and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Premier Card (or discontinued Citi Prestige Card), you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card and then onto one of Citibank's airline partners.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can earn at least one ThankYou point signup bonus every 24 months'''. You can only earn the signup bonus on a Premier, Preferred, or Rewards+ cards, f you haven't opened or closed any of these cards in the past 24 months. For example, getting or closing a Rewards+ Card blocks you from earning a bonus on the Premier Card for next 24 months. However, while closing a card resets the clock, converting a card should not. You can convert to almost any Citibank card, but you'll usually want to convert to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card to keep access to any ThankYou points that are still associated with the card.</li>

Even though they can earn ThankYou points, the AT&T Access, Custom Cash, and Double Cash cards don't count as part of the same "family" in terms of getting signup bonuses. Opening and closing them has no affect on your eligibility for the other ThankYou cards. You should be able to collect bonuses on these other cards (if any) every 24 months.

<li>'''Be careful about cancelling your cards'''. If you cancel a ThankYou card, you will only have 60 days to use any associated points, even if you still have another ThankYou card still open. In addition, you will reset the clock for earning a new bonus. If you no longer want the card, convert it to a Rewards+ card. If you have an extra Rewards+ card and you've already spent all the points you've earned with the account, cancel it right after applying for a new ThankYou card. That way, you won't need to wait more than the same 24 months before your next bonus.</li>

<li>'''If you are collecting signup bonuses, you should try to collect the Premier bonus every two years'''. Even if you want to hold onto the Premier Card, you can convert it to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card and then apply for a new one.</li>

<li>'''Avoid earning the signup bonus on the Rewards+ card'''. It will block you from earning a more lucrative bonus from the Premier Card. Either wait to get one until it is time to get rid of one of your other ThankYou cards or apply for it a couple of weeks after you apply for the Premier Card (and make sure you don't earn the signup bonus on it before you earn the bonus on the other card).</li>
</ul>

=== Bonus category opportunities ===

'''Earning ThankYou points on your spending is primarily interesting for people who are comfortable using their points for frequent flyer tickets'''. While you can cash out your points for 1 cent each, they are much more valuable when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier Card (or Citi Prestige Card), you can convert points from the Double Cash card to airline miles'''. This makes the Double Cash card the most rewarding general-purpose card other than the Amex Blue Business Plus card.</li>

<li>'''The Citi Premier card is the most well-rounded bonus category card available'''. For $95, you earn 3x transferable points on all of the major bonus categories: travel, restaurants, groceries, and gas. However, bonus points on travel are are only available for airfare, online travel agencies, and hotels. While you can earn more valuable rewards in specific categories with some other cards, the Premier and Double Cash combination is the most straightforward way to optimize the number of frequent flyer miles you earn from your spending, especially if you aren't willing and able to get business cards.</li>

<li>'''If you still have it, the discontinued Citi Prestige card boosts your travel and restaurant rewards even higher'''. It earns an extra 2x points on restaurants, airfare, and online travel agencies (and an extra point on cruises). However, if you have the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve card, you may want to use those for your airfare spending, in order to take advantage of their travel insurance benefits.</li>

<li>'''The Custom Cash Card provide another boost to your rewards by allowing you to earn extra rewards in one category per month'''. If you are able to max out the $500 cap each month, you'll earn 30,000 bonus points per year (or 18,000 more than you would earn by using your Double Cash card instead). As with points you earn from the Premier (and Prestige) Card, your redemption can be boosted by having a Rewards+ card. </li>

<li>'''The AT&T Access card's bonus rewards on online shopping is no longer particularly interesting'''. You can earn the same 2x points with the Double Cash card, which also earns the 2x rewards on all other spending.</li>

</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer your ThankYou points to anyone’s account, but any unused points will expire 90 days later'''. The number of points you can transfer or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.</li>

<li>'''You can only transfer points to a frequent flyer account that matches the name on your ThankYou account'''. However, you can always transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.</li>

<li>'''Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you start out having separate accounts for each credit card''' (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card or bank account that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.</li>

<li>'''If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Reward+ card'''. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. </li>
</ul>

=== Advantages of Citibank banking relationships ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Citigold customers get an additional $145 discount on the discontinued Citi Prestige Card's annual fee'''. This drops the effective annual fee to $100 per year. This requires $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank, but this includes assets in a brokerage account. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can pay a lower fee on your Prestige Card.</li>

It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee.

<li>'''You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity'''. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month. You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|best offers}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Citi thankyou rewards

2021-10-28T22:30:37Z

Editor: /* Hotel transfer partners */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|thankyou}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Image|ThankYou.jpg|full}}

Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. [//www.thankyou.com/cms/thankyou ThankYou Rewards homepage].

<blockquote>
Along with Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards is one of the three big bank-run rewards programs where you can convert your credit card points into miles with your choice of a number of different frequent flyer programs. You can also get good value using your points for hotels in the Choice hotel program.
</blockquote>

ThankYou Rewards is probably the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs. It has arguably the weakest set of participating frequent flyer programs, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and annoying rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.

On the other hand, if you are planning on transferring your points to frequent flyer programs, Citibank's credit cards have the most lucrative "earning rates" of any program.

And even if you don't think ThankYou Rewards is quite as good as the other two programs, you can still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses and using your points for free airplane tickets.

Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1 or more cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website or on a 2 for 1 basis to book hotel nights through Choice. So a 60,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $600-660 in cash and often considerably more.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Hotel transfer partners|Hotel transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#ThankYou Reward credit cards|ThankYou Reward credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Bonus category opportunities|Bonus category opportunities]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Advantages of Citibank banking relationships|Advantages of Citibank banking relationships]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Point transfer are almost instant to about half of their partners and can take a couple of days to most of the others'''. Transfers to Aeromexico, Air France / KLM Flying Blue, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic are almost instant. Transfers to EVA, Malaysia, Qantas, Qatar, and Turkish take a couple of days. Transfers to Thai can take up to a week.

'''Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period'''. See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or visit Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page] for a list of current promotions.

{{Table|center|6in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Singapore''' (KrisFlyer)
|'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)
|'''American''' (until Nov 13)
|'''Jet Blue'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''<br/> 
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|''' '''
|'''Qantas'''
|'''Virgin Atlantic'''
|-
|'''EVA Air'''<br/> 
|''' '''
|'''Malaysia'''
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Thai'''
|''' '''
|''' '''
|'''Qatar'''<br/> 
{{/Table}}

Turkish Airlines can be a pain to deal with, but has some incredible award rates for domestic, Hawaii, and Mexico travel. And they don't partner with the other bank programs.

Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with Ultimate Rewards and/or Membership Rewards. Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines and doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam.

JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can receive around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point when you purchase tickets, without having to worry about award availability.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any of Singapore Airline’s other partners. With all the programs and partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

2 Choice points are worth about {{Value|Choice|2}} cents. That's decent value for your ThankYou points, and you can easily get more value per point on many Choice hotel redemptions. When you get an opportunity to make a high-value Choice redmeption, most people will be better off transferring their ThankYou points, rather than purchasing Choice points for .8 cents each using the Cash & Points trick. Every time you can find a good redemption, you are essentially getting 1.6 cents in value from using your ThankYou points rather than purchasing Choice points.

Don't forget that you can also use Choice points to book many of the fancy hotels in the Preferred Resorts and Hotel program. {{Link|preferred}}.

1.5 Hilton points is only worth about {{Value|Hilton|1.5}} cents. That is even less than what you can get by "cashing out" your points.

{{Table|center|6in}}
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Choice''' (1000:2000)
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Hilton''' (1000:1500)
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
{{/Table}}

=== Cashing out your points ===

{{Box|Extra Value from the Rewards+ Card}}
If you link a Citi Rewards+ card to your account, you'll get a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points you redeem each year. This provides an 11% boost to every redemption option. For example, you'd get 1.11 frequent flyer miles for each point or 1.11 cents per point in statement credits (instead of 1 mile or 1 cent).
{{/Box}}

'''You can cash out your ThankYou points for at least 1 cent each'''. You'll typically receive more value if you can use your points for frequent flyer tickets, but if you find that you can never find good opportunities, you can always just "cash out" your points.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have an opportunity to fly Jet Blue, you can always get decent value from your points'''. They operate a fixed-value frequent flyer program where the number of miles you need is based roughly on the price of the ticket. You get around 1.2 - 1.5 cents per mile on pretty much every flight, without having to worry about award availability.</li>

<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card, you can convert your points to directly to cash'''. You'll receive 1 cent per point. This is more convenient than buying gift cards or travel. You've got two options. You can redeem increments as small as $10 directly to your credit card statement ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetailStmtCredit.htm?productId=7000SCR link]) or you can redeem in $50 increments and receive as a check in a week or two ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetail.htm?productId=7000CR&src=TYUSENG link]).</li>

{{Image|CitiStatementCredit.png}}

<li>'''You can buy gift cards (at up to 1.2 cents each)'''. You'll typically receive around 1 cent per point, so you are usually off just directly cashing out. They often have sales where you can purchase certain brand's cards for even less, but there is no way to see a list. You'll need to click through different brands to check their pricing. A wide variety of popular brands is available, but you can't buy Amazon cards. [//www.thankyou.com//gcLanding.htm Gift card page].</li>

If you can't find cards you are interested in, you can convert your ThankYou points to Shop Your Way Points which can then be used to purchase a different set of useful cards.

<li>'''You can purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center'''. But this isn't as good of an option as just cashing out your points. There are advantages to buying your travel on other websites. For example, if you are booking a hotel, you'll almost certainly be able to find a cheaper rate on the hotel's own website or one of a number of other hotel booking options. Furthermore, Citibank reservations are considered 3<sup>rd</sup> party reservations, so you won't be entitled to participate in the hotel's own loyalty program. In addition, you won't receive valuable credit card points on these travel purchases. </li>
</ul>

=== ThankYou Reward credit cards ===

Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|60,000
|3x restaurants

3x airfare, hotels, and online travel agencies

3x groceries

3x gas

|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|CitiRewards|short}}
|15,000
|Rounds up rewards to nearest 10
|$0
|-
|{{Card|DoubleCash|short}}
|0
|2x on all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|CitiCash|short}}
|20,000
|5x on top category ($500 per statement)
|$0
|-
|{{Card|ATT|short}}
|10,000
|2x online retail and travel purchases

2x AT&T
|$0
{{/Table}}

The points you earn from the Double Cash, Custom Cash, Citi Reward+, and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Premier Card (or discontinued Citi Prestige Card), you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card and then onto one of Citibank's airline partners.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can earn at least one ThankYou point signup bonus every 24 months'''. You can only earn the signup bonus on a Premier, Preferred, or Rewards+ cards, f you haven't opened or closed any of these cards in the past 24 months. For example, getting or closing a Rewards+ Card blocks you from earning a bonus on the Premier Card for next 24 months. However, while closing a card resets the clock, converting a card should not. You can convert to almost any Citibank card, but you'll usually want to convert to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card to keep access to any ThankYou points that are still associated with the card.</li>

Even though they can earn ThankYou points, the AT&T Access, Custom Cash, and Double Cash cards don't count as part of the same "family" in terms of getting signup bonuses. Opening and closing them has no affect on your eligibility for the other ThankYou cards. You should be able to collect bonuses on these other cards (if any) every 24 months.

<li>'''Be careful about cancelling your cards'''. If you cancel a ThankYou card, you will only have 60 days to use any associated points, even if you still have another ThankYou card still open. In addition, you will reset the clock for earning a new bonus. If you no longer want the card, convert it to a Rewards+ card. If you have an extra Rewards+ card and you've already spent all the points you've earned with the account, cancel it right after applying for a new ThankYou card. That way, you won't need to wait more than the same 24 months before your next bonus.</li>

<li>'''If you are collecting signup bonuses, you should try to collect the Premier bonus every two years'''. Even if you want to hold onto the Premier Card, you can convert it to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card and then apply for a new one.</li>

<li>'''Avoid earning the signup bonus on the Rewards+ card'''. It will block you from earning a more lucrative bonus from the Premier Card. Either wait to get one until it is time to get rid of one of your other ThankYou cards or apply for it a couple of weeks after you apply for the Premier Card (and make sure you don't earn the signup bonus on it before you earn the bonus on the other card).</li>
</ul>

=== Bonus category opportunities ===

'''Earning ThankYou points on your spending is primarily interesting for people who are comfortable using their points for frequent flyer tickets'''. While you can cash out your points for 1 cent each, they are much more valuable when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier Card (or Citi Prestige Card), you can convert points from the Double Cash card to airline miles'''. This makes the Double Cash card the most rewarding general-purpose card other than the Amex Blue Business Plus card.</li>

<li>'''The Citi Premier card is the most well-rounded bonus category card available'''. For $95, you earn 3x transferable points on all of the major bonus categories: travel, restaurants, groceries, and gas. However, bonus points on travel are are only available for airfare, online travel agencies, and hotels. While you can earn more valuable rewards in specific categories with some other cards, the Premier and Double Cash combination is the most straightforward way to optimize the number of frequent flyer miles you earn from your spending, especially if you aren't willing and able to get business cards.</li>

<li>'''If you still have it, the discontinued Citi Prestige card boosts your travel and restaurant rewards even higher'''. It earns an extra 2x points on restaurants, airfare, and online travel agencies (and an extra point on cruises). However, if you have the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve card, you may want to use those for your airfare spending, in order to take advantage of their travel insurance benefits.</li>

<li>'''The Custom Cash Card provide another boost to your rewards by allowing you to earn extra rewards in one category per month'''. If you are able to max out the $500 cap each month, you'll earn 30,000 bonus points per year (or 18,000 more than you would earn by using your Double Cash card instead). As with points you earn from the Premier (and Prestige) Card, your redemption can be boosted by having a Rewards+ card. </li>

<li>'''The AT&T Access card's bonus rewards on online shopping is no longer particularly interesting'''. You can earn the same 2x points with the Double Cash card, which also earns the 2x rewards on all other spending.</li>

</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer your ThankYou points to anyone’s account, but any unused points will expire 90 days later'''. The number of points you can transfer or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.</li>

<li>'''You can only transfer points to a frequent flyer account that matches the name on your ThankYou account'''. However, you can always transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.</li>

<li>'''Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you start out having separate accounts for each credit card''' (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card or bank account that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.</li>

<li>'''If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Reward+ card'''. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. </li>
</ul>

=== Advantages of Citibank banking relationships ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Citigold customers get an additional $145 discount on the discontinued Citi Prestige Card's annual fee'''. This drops the effective annual fee to $100 per year. This requires $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank, but this includes assets in a brokerage account. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can pay a lower fee on your Prestige Card.</li>

It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee.

<li>'''You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity'''. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month. You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|best offers}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Citi thankyou rewards

2021-10-28T22:28:42Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|thankyou}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|transferable points}}

{{Image|ThankYou.jpg|full}}

Citibank’s reward program is called ThankYou Rewards. [//www.thankyou.com/cms/thankyou ThankYou Rewards homepage].

<blockquote>
Along with Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards is one of the three big bank-run rewards programs where you can convert your credit card points into miles with your choice of a number of different frequent flyer programs. You can also get good value using your points for hotels in the Choice hotel program.
</blockquote>

ThankYou Rewards is probably the least valuable of the big three “transferable” points programs. It has arguably the weakest set of participating frequent flyer programs, the fewest cards for earning signup bonuses, and annoying rules for holding onto your points when you want to cancel your card.

On the other hand, if you are planning on transferring your points to frequent flyer programs, Citibank's credit cards have the most lucrative "earning rates" of any program.

And even if you don't think ThankYou Rewards is quite as good as the other two programs, you can still get great value by collecting their signup bonuses and using your points for free airplane tickets.

Even if you don’t want to mess with finding awards space, you can still use your points, at 1 or more cents each, to purchase travel through Citibank’s website or on a 2 for 1 basis to book hotel nights through Choice. So a 60,000 point signup bonus is still worth at least $600-660 in cash and often considerably more.

{{TOC}}
*[[#Airline transfer partners|Airline transfer partners]]
*[[#Hotel transfer partners|Hotel transfer partners]]
*[[#Cashing out your points|Cashing out your points]]
*[[#ThankYou Reward credit cards|ThankYou Reward credit cards]]
*[[#Collecting multiple signup bonuses|Collecting multiple signup bonuses]]
*[[#Bonus category opportunities|Bonus category opportunities]]
*[[#Point transfers and expiration|Point transfers and expiration]]
*[[#Advantages of Citibank banking relationships|Advantages of Citibank banking relationships]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Airline transfer partners ===

'''Point transfer are almost instant to about half of their partners and can take a couple of days to most of the others'''. Transfers to Aeromexico, Air France / KLM Flying Blue, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic are almost instant. Transfers to EVA, Malaysia, Qantas, Qatar, and Turkish take a couple of days. Transfers to Thai can take up to a week.

'''Citibank occasionally run promotions where you’ll get a better-than-normal rate for transferring your points to a specific partner program during the promotional period'''. See {{Link|Transfer Bonuses}} for more information or visit Frequent Miler’s [//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ Current Transfer Bonuses page] for a list of current promotions.

{{Table|center|6in}}
!style="width: 25%;"|Star Alliance<br/>(United)
!style="width: 25%;"|SkyTeam<br/>(Delta)
!style="width: 25%;"|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style="width: 25%;"|Other
|-
|'''Singapore''' (KrisFlyer)
|'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)
|'''American''' (until Nov 13)
|'''Jet Blue'''
|-
|'''Turkish Airlines'''<br/> 
|'''Aeromexico'''
|'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)
|'''Emirates'''
|-
|'''Avianca'''
|''' '''
|'''Qantas'''
|'''Virgin Atlantic'''
|-
|'''EVA Air'''<br/> 
|''' '''
|'''Malaysia'''
|'''Etihad'''
|-
|'''Thai'''
|''' '''
|''' '''
|'''Qatar'''<br/> 
{{/Table}}

Turkish Airlines can be a pain to deal with, but has some incredible award rates for domestic, Hawaii, and Mexico travel. And they don't partner with the other bank programs.

Singapore, Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Avianca are good frequent flyer programs, but they also are partners with Ultimate Rewards and/or Membership Rewards. Unlike Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards, ThankYou Rewards doesn’t partner with any of the big US airlines and doesn’t have a partner that helps avoid fuel surcharges on Star Alliance or SkyTeam.

JetBlue operates a fixed-value points program, so you can receive around 1.3 - 1.5 cents per point when you purchase tickets, without having to worry about award availability.

Remember that you can use miles from any of these programs to book awards with any of that program’s partner airlines. So you can transfer your ThankYou points to Singapore Airlines and then use the Singapore miles to fly United, any of the two dozen or so other airlines that are part of the Star Alliance, or any of Singapore Airline’s other partners. With all the programs and partnerships, you can redeem your ThankYou points for flights on almost 100 airlines.

=== Hotel transfer partners ===

2.0 Choice points is worth about {{Value|Choice|2}} cents. That's pretty good value for your points, and you are likely to get more on many hotel redemptions. When you get an opportunity to make a high-value Choice redmeption, most people will be better off transferring their ThankYou points, rather than purchasing Choice points for .8 cents each using the Cash & Points trick. Every time you can find a good redemption, you are getting 1.6 cents in value from using your ThankYou points rather than purchasing Choice points.

1.5 Hilton points is only worth about {{Value|Hilton|1.5}} cents. That is even less than what you can get by "cashing out" your points.

{{Table|center|6in}}
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Choice''' (1000:2000)
|style="width: 25%;"|'''Hilton''' (1000:1500)
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
|style="width: 25%;"|''' '''
{{/Table}}

=== Cashing out your points ===

{{Box|Extra Value from the Rewards+ Card}}
If you link a Citi Rewards+ card to your account, you'll get a 10% rebate on the first 100,000 points you redeem each year. This provides an 11% boost to every redemption option. For example, you'd get 1.11 frequent flyer miles for each point or 1.11 cents per point in statement credits (instead of 1 mile or 1 cent).
{{/Box}}

'''You can cash out your ThankYou points for at least 1 cent each'''. You'll typically receive more value if you can use your points for frequent flyer tickets, but if you find that you can never find good opportunities, you can always just "cash out" your points.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have an opportunity to fly Jet Blue, you can always get decent value from your points'''. They operate a fixed-value frequent flyer program where the number of miles you need is based roughly on the price of the ticket. You get around 1.2 - 1.5 cents per mile on pretty much every flight, without having to worry about award availability.</li>

<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card, you can convert your points to directly to cash'''. You'll receive 1 cent per point. This is more convenient than buying gift cards or travel. You've got two options. You can redeem increments as small as $10 directly to your credit card statement ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetailStmtCredit.htm?productId=7000SCR link]) or you can redeem in $50 increments and receive as a check in a week or two ([//www.thankyou.com/tyProductDetail.htm?productId=7000CR&src=TYUSENG link]).</li>

{{Image|CitiStatementCredit.png}}

<li>'''You can buy gift cards (at up to 1.2 cents each)'''. You'll typically receive around 1 cent per point, so you are usually off just directly cashing out. They often have sales where you can purchase certain brand's cards for even less, but there is no way to see a list. You'll need to click through different brands to check their pricing. A wide variety of popular brands is available, but you can't buy Amazon cards. [//www.thankyou.com//gcLanding.htm Gift card page].</li>

If you can't find cards you are interested in, you can convert your ThankYou points to Shop Your Way Points which can then be used to purchase a different set of useful cards.

<li>'''You can purchase travel through the Citi Travel Center'''. But this isn't as good of an option as just cashing out your points. There are advantages to buying your travel on other websites. For example, if you are booking a hotel, you'll almost certainly be able to find a cheaper rate on the hotel's own website or one of a number of other hotel booking options. Furthermore, Citibank reservations are considered 3<sup>rd</sup> party reservations, so you won't be entitled to participate in the hotel's own loyalty program. In addition, you won't receive valuable credit card points on these travel purchases. </li>
</ul>

=== ThankYou Reward credit cards ===

Promotional signup offers are sometimes available that are higher than the typical signup bonuses shown below.

{{Table|basic|6in}}
!Card
!style="width: 1in;"|Typical Signup Bonus
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Bonus Categories
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{Card|CitiPremier|short}}
|60,000
|3x restaurants

3x airfare, hotels, and online travel agencies

3x groceries

3x gas

|$95, waived first year
|-
|{{Card|CitiRewards|short}}
|15,000
|Rounds up rewards to nearest 10
|$0
|-
|{{Card|DoubleCash|short}}
|0
|2x on all purchases
|$0
|-
|{{Card|CitiCash|short}}
|20,000
|5x on top category ($500 per statement)
|$0
|-
|{{Card|ATT|short}}
|10,000
|2x online retail and travel purchases

2x AT&T
|$0
{{/Table}}

The points you earn from the Double Cash, Custom Cash, Citi Reward+, and the AT&T cards can’t normally be transferred to frequent flyer programs. However, if you have the Citi Premier Card (or discontinued Citi Prestige Card), you can temporarily transfer your points to the account associated with that card and then onto one of Citibank's airline partners.

=== Collecting multiple signup bonuses ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can earn at least one ThankYou point signup bonus every 24 months'''. You can only earn the signup bonus on a Premier, Preferred, or Rewards+ cards, f you haven't opened or closed any of these cards in the past 24 months. For example, getting or closing a Rewards+ Card blocks you from earning a bonus on the Premier Card for next 24 months. However, while closing a card resets the clock, converting a card should not. You can convert to almost any Citibank card, but you'll usually want to convert to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card to keep access to any ThankYou points that are still associated with the card.</li>

Even though they can earn ThankYou points, the AT&T Access, Custom Cash, and Double Cash cards don't count as part of the same "family" in terms of getting signup bonuses. Opening and closing them has no affect on your eligibility for the other ThankYou cards. You should be able to collect bonuses on these other cards (if any) every 24 months.

<li>'''Be careful about cancelling your cards'''. If you cancel a ThankYou card, you will only have 60 days to use any associated points, even if you still have another ThankYou card still open. In addition, you will reset the clock for earning a new bonus. If you no longer want the card, convert it to a Rewards+ card. If you have an extra Rewards+ card and you've already spent all the points you've earned with the account, cancel it right after applying for a new ThankYou card. That way, you won't need to wait more than the same 24 months before your next bonus.</li>

<li>'''If you are collecting signup bonuses, you should try to collect the Premier bonus every two years'''. Even if you want to hold onto the Premier Card, you can convert it to a Reward+ or Custom Cash Card and then apply for a new one.</li>

<li>'''Avoid earning the signup bonus on the Rewards+ card'''. It will block you from earning a more lucrative bonus from the Premier Card. Either wait to get one until it is time to get rid of one of your other ThankYou cards or apply for it a couple of weeks after you apply for the Premier Card (and make sure you don't earn the signup bonus on it before you earn the bonus on the other card).</li>
</ul>

=== Bonus category opportunities ===

'''Earning ThankYou points on your spending is primarily interesting for people who are comfortable using their points for frequent flyer tickets'''. While you can cash out your points for 1 cent each, they are much more valuable when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If you have the Citi Premier Card (or Citi Prestige Card), you can convert points from the Double Cash card to airline miles'''. This makes the Double Cash card the most rewarding general-purpose card other than the Amex Blue Business Plus card.</li>

<li>'''The Citi Premier card is the most well-rounded bonus category card available'''. For $95, you earn 3x transferable points on all of the major bonus categories: travel, restaurants, groceries, and gas. However, bonus points on travel are are only available for airfare, online travel agencies, and hotels. While you can earn more valuable rewards in specific categories with some other cards, the Premier and Double Cash combination is the most straightforward way to optimize the number of frequent flyer miles you earn from your spending, especially if you aren't willing and able to get business cards.</li>

<li>'''If you still have it, the discontinued Citi Prestige card boosts your travel and restaurant rewards even higher'''. It earns an extra 2x points on restaurants, airfare, and online travel agencies (and an extra point on cruises). However, if you have the Amex Platinum or Sapphire Reserve card, you may want to use those for your airfare spending, in order to take advantage of their travel insurance benefits.</li>

<li>'''The Custom Cash Card provide another boost to your rewards by allowing you to earn extra rewards in one category per month'''. If you are able to max out the $500 cap each month, you'll earn 30,000 bonus points per year (or 18,000 more than you would earn by using your Double Cash card instead). As with points you earn from the Premier (and Prestige) Card, your redemption can be boosted by having a Rewards+ card. </li>

<li>'''The AT&T Access card's bonus rewards on online shopping is no longer particularly interesting'''. You can earn the same 2x points with the Double Cash card, which also earns the 2x rewards on all other spending.</li>

</ul>

=== Point transfers and expiration ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can transfer your ThankYou points to anyone’s account, but any unused points will expire 90 days later'''. The number of points you can transfer or receive each year is capped at 100,000 points.</li>

<li>'''You can only transfer points to a frequent flyer account that matches the name on your ThankYou account'''. However, you can always transfer points to someone else’s ThankYou account and they can transfer them to their own frequent flyer account.</li>

<li>'''Rather than having a centralized ThankYou account, you start out having separate accounts for each credit card''' (or bank account). You can combine your accounts. But, if you do, the points are still associated with the credit card or bank account that earned them. If you close an account, you'll lose any unused points that were earned with that card, 60 days later.</li>

<li>'''If you don’t want to lose your points when you cancel your card, you either need to use them, transfer them to the frequent flyer program where you expect to get the most benefit later, or convert your card to the no-annual-fee Citi Reward+ card'''. If you convert your card, and you don’t have another Citi Premier (or Prestige) Card (in your household), you’ll lose your ability to transfer to partner loyalty programs. </li>
</ul>

=== Advantages of Citibank banking relationships ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Citigold customers get an additional $145 discount on the discontinued Citi Prestige Card's annual fee'''. This drops the effective annual fee to $100 per year. This requires $200,000 in combined assets with Citibank, but this includes assets in a brokerage account. If you have a substantial amount of existing retirement or investment accounts that you wouldn’t mind moving over to Citi, you can pay a lower fee on your Prestige Card.</li>

It has been reported online that if you were a Citigold customer and you are not any longer, you may still get the lower annual fee.

<li>'''You can also earn ThankYou points directly from your banking activity'''. With the Citigold account, you can earn up to 1,600 points per month, depending on how many different Citibank banking and lending programs you use. With a regular Citibank account, you’ll earn less from each program, with a maximum of 1,000 points per month. You can also periodically earn large numbers of points as a banking account signup bonus. Be aware that unlike the points you earn with credit cards, these points will expire 3 years after the end of the year when you earned them and can’t be transferred to other people. In addition, they can’t be directly transferred to partner loyalty programs. If you want to use them for award tickets, you’ll need to temporarily transfer them to your Citi Prestige / Premier account first. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
{{Next|optimize rewards}}
{{Next|best offers}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Book preferred hotels with choice points

2021-10-28T22:23:32Z

Editor: /* "Cost" of booking Preferred hotels */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|choice preferred}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=A little known way to book luxury hotels, at discounted rates, using Choice hotel points (and you don't need to already have Choice points).}}
{{Page|article|Award Nights 101|Choice}}

{{Image|ChoicePreferred.jpg|full}}

The Choice hotel program isn't only about Comfort and Quality Inns.

<blockquote>
A little known feature of the Choice Privileges program is that you can redeem your points not just at Comfort and Quality Inns, but also at luxury independent hotels that participate in the Preferred Hotel and Resorts program.
</blockquote>

If you are interested in staying at one of these hotels, you can acquire the necessary Choice points using the Cash & Points trick at {{Value|choicecash}} cents each and often book the hotel for less than the normal asking price. You won’t get a cheap hotel night this way, but you can often get a great hotel night at a cheaper than normal price. {{Link|cash & points trick}}.

For example, the [//www.caminoreal.com/en/quintareal/quinta-real-zacatecas Quinta Real Zacatecas], built in a restored 19th century bullring, has room rates often over $600 per night in the winter, but can be booked at a point cost of around {{Value|choicecash|25000}}. Or the [//www.montagehotels.com/lagunabeach Montage Laguna Beach], which has room rates of $945 in the summer, can be booked at a point cost of “just” {{Value|choicecash|55000}}.

{{Main|article}}
=== "Cost" of booking Preferred hotels ===

There are four tiers of Preferred hotels that participate in the Choice program. Prices aren’t cheap, but they are often cheaper than booking these hotels at the cash rates. Before booking with Choice points, make sure to check to see what other discount rates are available and what kind of extra perks these hotels may be offering as part of luxury travel programs. {{Link|Luxury Hotels}}

{{Table|Basic|2in}}
!Tier
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Points Needed
!style='width: 0.75in;'|“Cost” per Night
!style='width: 0.75in;'|TY Points
|-
|1||25,000||{{Value|choicecash|25000}}||12,500
|-
|2||35,000||{{Value|choicecash|35000}}||17,500
|-
|3||45,000||{{Value|choicecash|45000}}||22,500
|-
|4||55,000||{{Value|choicecash|55000}}||27,500
{{/Table}}

=== Participating hotels ===

'''Not every hotel in the Preferred Hotel & Resorts program can be booked through Choice, although the majority can'''. A full list of the participating hotels is available on the Preferred Hotel and Resorts website. You can search by region or hotel tiers. '''[//preferredhotels.com/offer/participating-hotels-choice-privileges-rewards Participating Hotel List]'''.

A few of the hotels that show up in the directory are participating in name only. If you look at their availability calendar, they never have any nights available. I suspect that hotels switch in and out of the program, sometimes depending on season, so the hotels stay listed, but don’t always have rooms available. {{Preferred Slideshow}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{Next|choice}}
{{Next|cash & points trick}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Choice privileges

2021-10-28T22:21:28Z

Editor: /* Acquiring Points */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|choice}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}

<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges Official Site]'''

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/account/enroll?createType=joinToday Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

'''888-770-6800'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|ComfortBolivar.png|full}}
{{Byline|text|Comfort Hotel Bolivar, Rome}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Choice Brands|Choice Brands]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Points Plus Cash Awards|Points Plus Cash Awards]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions|Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions]]
*[[#All-inclusive Resorts|All-inclusive Resorts]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status|Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status]]
*[[#The Choice Credit Card|Credit Card]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>You can acquire Choice points, on-demand, for .8 cents per point, using the same “Cash & Points Trick” that works with IHG. This makes it easy to use the Choice program when the need arises, without needing to build-up points in the program ahead-of-time. Purchasing and using points using this method often provides a discount compared to the regular room rates. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>You can also transfer ThankYou points to Choice at good values. You'll get two Choice points (which you might otherwise need to buy at .8 cents each) for each ThankYou point.</li>

<li>Ironically, for a program best known for having thousands of the cheapest hotels, Choice is one of the best options for booking luxury hotels and resorts. You can use Choice points to book very expensive independent luxury hotels, that are part of the Preferred Hotel and Resort program. and high-end all-inclusives through its partnership with AMResorts. The cost for buying and redeeming points for these hotels isn’t cheap, but it is often significantly less expensive than booking them at normal rates.</li>

<li>When you book a hotel with Choice points, you can often choose any available room (even suites) for the same price.</li>

<li>Choice doesn’t give you much in the way of member or credit card benefits. You can get a little bit of value by holding onto the no-annual-fee Choice Credit Card. But we wouldn’t prioritize it over many other options.</li>

<li>Especially in Scandinavia, but in many other countries as well, Choice has some great hotels, available in expensive locations, for relatively small numbers of points. Even in the United States, the point cost of many of their hotels can make it the best way to get an inexpensive award night when you need one.</li>
</ul>

=== Choice Brands ===

Choice has an enormous number of hotels. However, in the United States, they are mostly concentrated in lower-end brand. Many travelers, who tend to spend more money on vacation, rarely stay at their hotels, and tend to ignore this program. But they do have many attractive hotel options around the world, particularly in Scandinavia.

<center>
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsAscend.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsCambria.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsComfort.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSleep.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarion.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarionPointe.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsQuality.png|100|100}} {{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsMainStay.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsWoodspring.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSuburban.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsEconolodge.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsRodeway.png|100|100}}
</center>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is no published award chart for Choice hotels—the number of points needed for an award is different for different hotels, different times of the year, and even different days of the week'''. The points range for hotels in most of the world is 6,000 to 35,000 points, with some hotels in Australasia costing up to 75,000 points per night.
</li>

<li>'''Choice offers discounted award rates, called “FlexRewards”, at over 1,500 of their hotels'''. Depending on the hotel, you’ll pay fewer points either on weekday nights (Sun-Thu) or on weekend nights (Fri-Sat).</li>

<li>'''While there are no official black-out dates, each hotel controls their reward capacity, and you can’t always find availability when you want to book an award'''.</li>

<li>'''One of the oddities of the Choice program is that you can’t book awards nights until 100 days before arrival'''. Even that is a recent change from as little as 30 days, and if you aren't signed-in, you may still see "not available" for dates more than a month out. </li>
</ul>

=== Points Plus Cash Awards===

'''Whenever award reservations are available (for at least 8,000 points per night), you can book a Points Plus Cash award instead'''.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You’ll need to use 6,000 points, plus a cash amount that is equal to $8.00 for every 1,000-points you save'''. For example, a hotel, which would normally cost 20,000 points, would cost 6,000 points plus $112.</li>

<li>'''Because Points Plus Cash reservations allow you to purchase points at less than they are usually worth, they are always a better option than regular award reservations'''. There is a 250,000 per year limit to points purchased this way.</li>
</ul>

=== Acquiring Points ===

==== Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on Choice hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Cash & Points Trick}}
Like the IHG program, you can purchase points whenever you need them, using the Cash and Points trick. To do this, you make a cash and points reservation for any hotel, and then cancel the reservation. Rather than refunding the points and cash that you paid, Choice keeps your cash and refunds the number of points you would normally need for the hotel. For example, at a hotel that would normally cost 20,000 points, you’d get 20,000 points back, rather than the 6,000 points and $112 you spent. In essence, you are buying points for .8 cents each. {{Link|Cash & Points trick}}.

{{Label|Normal point purchases}}
You can also purchase up to 180,000 points per year, for 1 cent each, through their normal point purchase program. You may need to purchase 6,000 points at this price to be able to start taking advantage of the cheaper points available through the Cash &points Trick. If Choice is running a purchase promotion, buying points outright can be cheaper than the Cash & Points trick. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can get good value by transferring your '''{{Link|thankyou|Citi ThankYou points}}'''. You'll get 2 Choice points for each transfered point. You can also transfer from '''{{Link|diners club|Diners Club Reward points}}''' (1250:2400) or '''{{Link|amtrak|Amtrak Guest Rewards}}''' (1000:3000)

{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn 10 points for every dollar spent at Choice hotels'''. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, or 50% on stays.

'''If you use your Choice credit card, you’ll earn an additional 5 points per dollar'''. 5x Choice points are worth around 3.75 cents per dollar. This is a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of Choice points is by signing up for Choice’s credit card'''. The normal bonus on the Choice card is 32,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement). You’ll can also get 8,000 bonus points each year that you use the card for $10,000 or more in spending, but it isn’t worthwhile to put this much spending on the card. The Choice card is issued by Barclays and you should be able to periodically cancel and reapply to earn the signup bonus multiple times. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

You can also earn points from purchases from the Choice online mall, and a few other earning partners. See [//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/earn-points all earning options].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 18 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can easily keep your points alive by making any charge with the Choice credit card, buying anything from the Choice portal, buying 1,000 points for $11, or crediting a car rental. Our {{Link|Point Expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions ===

One of the hidden secrets of the Choice Privileges program is that you can use your Choice points to book many of the independent luxury hotels that are part of the Preferred Hotels and Resorts program. These include about 500 hotels around the world, including many very special hotels like the [//www.surfandsandresort.com/ Surf and Sand] in Laguna Beach, [//travaasa.com/hana/ Travaasa Hana] in Maui, and the [//www.thesagamore.com/ Sagamore] in New York.
{{Preferred Slideshow}}

Rates range from 25,000 to 55,000 points per night. At the .8 cents per point that you can purchase points through the Cash & Points Trick, this works out to between $200 and $440 per night. While this isn’t a cheap bed for the night, many of these hotel rooms cost upwards of $600 per night if you paid the normal rates. The points cost with Choice can sometimes represent a significant discount.

The other problem is that some, but not all, of the very most expensive Preferred Hotels, don’t seem to participate in the program. You’ll see them on the Choice website, but when you click on the availability calendar, you’ll notice that there isn’t a single night available.

You can see a [//preferredhotels.com/private-offers/choiceprivileges2017part directory of participating hotels] and their availability information online, but you need to call 888-770-6800 to book. Unlike booking Choice hotels, you don’t need to wait till 30 (or 50) days before, and rates don’t change based on the time of the year and the day of the week.

=== All-inclusive Resorts ===

Choice allows you to earn and redeem points at dozens of all-inclusive resorts through a partnership with AMResorts. This collection of all-inclusives includes several well-respected brands.

{{Image|AMResortBrands.png}}

Many of these resorts are available to book now at award rates ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 points per night. Rates seem to vary by date and are set at values around 1 cent per point. Other resorts won't be available to book until January 2023.

Since Choice points can be bought for .8 cents each with the {{Link|Cash & Points trick|Cash & Points Trick}}, you should always be able to generate the Choice points you need to book these at the award rate. In most cases, that will save you money over the regular cash rate.

For more details see the '''[//www.choicehotels.com/ascend/amresorts Choice All-inclusive website]'''.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.

{| class="table"
|<big>'''Member'''</big> (entry level)
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Cambria welcome amenity'''. Buy one, get one beverage at the bar or 250 bonus points.
*'''Midweek "Extra" Amenity'''. If you stay includes a weekday night (Sunday-Thursday), you’ll get your choice of additional amenity, such as a $5 coffee card, $2.50 Amazon credit, or 400 Choice points. Not available at WoodSpring Suites.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Complimentary room upgrade'''. Based on availability.
*'''Early check-in and late check out''', upon availability.
*'''Welcome gift at US and Canadian Hotels'''. Usually your choice of a snack and beverage or 100-250 bonus points.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (20 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|-
|<big>'''Diamond'''</big> (40 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|}

=== Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
{{Status Choice}}

<li>'''Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year'''. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.</li>
</ul>

=== The Choice Credit Card ===
<br/>
<div style="width: 3in; margin: auto;">
{{Card|choice|guide}}
</div>
<br/>
'''The Choice Privileges card has one of the lower valued signup bonuses among the various hotel credit cards'''. However, it is still the only way to quickly earn a significant number of Choice points. The typical signup offer is 32-50,000 points. The card is issued by Barclays, so you should be able to periodically cancel and re-apply.

'''Because the card has no annual fee and some slightly useful ongoing benefits, if you ever decide to apply, you should hold onto the card''' (unless you are temporarily cancelling it to try to earn an additional signup bonus). It isn’t much, but at least you’ll get a small point earning bonus and an extended booking window.

'''You can earn 8,000 bonus points by spending $10,000 per year on the card'''. Given the low value for using this card for spending, we can’t recommend doing this to earn points that are only worth around $60.

'''The Choice card earns higher rewards for spending at Choice than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as a card that earns good bonus rewards on travel purchases'''. 5x Choice points are worth about 3.75 cents per dollar. The card is not worthwhile to use for other spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|choice preferred}}
{{Next|cash & points trick}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Choice privileges

2021-10-28T22:19:56Z

Editor: /* Quick Guide */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|choice}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}

<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges Official Site]'''

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/account/enroll?createType=joinToday Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

'''888-770-6800'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|ComfortBolivar.png|full}}
{{Byline|text|Comfort Hotel Bolivar, Rome}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Choice Brands|Choice Brands]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Points Plus Cash Awards|Points Plus Cash Awards]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions|Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions]]
*[[#All-inclusive Resorts|All-inclusive Resorts]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status|Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status]]
*[[#The Choice Credit Card|Credit Card]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>You can acquire Choice points, on-demand, for .8 cents per point, using the same “Cash & Points Trick” that works with IHG. This makes it easy to use the Choice program when the need arises, without needing to build-up points in the program ahead-of-time. Purchasing and using points using this method often provides a discount compared to the regular room rates. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>You can also transfer ThankYou points to Choice at good values. You'll get two Choice points (which you might otherwise need to buy at .8 cents each) for each ThankYou point.</li>

<li>Ironically, for a program best known for having thousands of the cheapest hotels, Choice is one of the best options for booking luxury hotels and resorts. You can use Choice points to book very expensive independent luxury hotels, that are part of the Preferred Hotel and Resort program. and high-end all-inclusives through its partnership with AMResorts. The cost for buying and redeeming points for these hotels isn’t cheap, but it is often significantly less expensive than booking them at normal rates.</li>

<li>When you book a hotel with Choice points, you can often choose any available room (even suites) for the same price.</li>

<li>Choice doesn’t give you much in the way of member or credit card benefits. You can get a little bit of value by holding onto the no-annual-fee Choice Credit Card. But we wouldn’t prioritize it over many other options.</li>

<li>Especially in Scandinavia, but in many other countries as well, Choice has some great hotels, available in expensive locations, for relatively small numbers of points. Even in the United States, the point cost of many of their hotels can make it the best way to get an inexpensive award night when you need one.</li>
</ul>

=== Choice Brands ===

Choice has an enormous number of hotels. However, in the United States, they are mostly concentrated in lower-end brand. Many travelers, who tend to spend more money on vacation, rarely stay at their hotels, and tend to ignore this program. But they do have many attractive hotel options around the world, particularly in Scandinavia.

<center>
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsAscend.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsCambria.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsComfort.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSleep.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarion.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarionPointe.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsQuality.png|100|100}} {{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsMainStay.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsWoodspring.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSuburban.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsEconolodge.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsRodeway.png|100|100}}
</center>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is no published award chart for Choice hotels—the number of points needed for an award is different for different hotels, different times of the year, and even different days of the week'''. The points range for hotels in most of the world is 6,000 to 35,000 points, with some hotels in Australasia costing up to 75,000 points per night.
</li>

<li>'''Choice offers discounted award rates, called “FlexRewards”, at over 1,500 of their hotels'''. Depending on the hotel, you’ll pay fewer points either on weekday nights (Sun-Thu) or on weekend nights (Fri-Sat).</li>

<li>'''While there are no official black-out dates, each hotel controls their reward capacity, and you can’t always find availability when you want to book an award'''.</li>

<li>'''One of the oddities of the Choice program is that you can’t book awards nights until 100 days before arrival'''. Even that is a recent change from as little as 30 days, and if you aren't signed-in, you may still see "not available" for dates more than a month out. </li>
</ul>

=== Points Plus Cash Awards===

'''Whenever award reservations are available (for at least 8,000 points per night), you can book a Points Plus Cash award instead'''.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You’ll need to use 6,000 points, plus a cash amount that is equal to $8.00 for every 1,000-points you save'''. For example, a hotel, which would normally cost 20,000 points, would cost 6,000 points plus $112.</li>

<li>'''Because Points Plus Cash reservations allow you to purchase points at less than they are usually worth, they are always a better option than regular award reservations'''. There is a 250,000 per year limit to points purchased this way.</li>
</ul>

=== Acquiring Points ===

==== Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on Choice hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Cash & Points Trick}}
Like the IHG program, you can purchase points whenever you need them, using the Cash and Points trick. To do this, you make a cash and points reservation for any hotel, and then cancel the reservation. Rather than refunding the points and cash that you paid, Choice keeps your cash and refunds the number of points you would normally need for the hotel. For example, at a hotel that would normally cost 20,000 points, you’d get 20,000 points back, rather than the 6,000 points and $112 you spent. In essence, you are buying points for .8 cents each. {{Link|Cash & Points trick}}.

{{Label|Normal point purchases}}
You can also purchase up to 180,000 points per year, for 1 cent each, through their normal point purchase program. You may need to purchase 6,000 points at this price to be able to start taking advantage of the cheaper points available through the Cash &points Trick. If Choice is running a purchase promotion, buying points outright can be cheaper than the Cash & Points trick. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer from '''{{Link|diners club|Diners Club Reward points}}''' (1250:2400) or '''{{Link|amtrak|Amtrak Guest Rewards}}''' (1000:3000)

{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn 10 points for every dollar spent at Choice hotels'''. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, or 50% on stays.

'''If you use your Choice credit card, you’ll earn an additional 5 points per dollar'''. 5x Choice points are worth around 3.75 cents per dollar. This is a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of Choice points is by signing up for Choice’s credit card'''. The normal bonus on the Choice card is 32,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement). You’ll can also get 8,000 bonus points each year that you use the card for $10,000 or more in spending, but it isn’t worthwhile to put this much spending on the card. The Choice card is issued by Barclays and you should be able to periodically cancel and reapply to earn the signup bonus multiple times. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

You can also earn points from purchases from the Choice online mall, and a few other earning partners. See [//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/earn-points all earning options].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 18 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can easily keep your points alive by making any charge with the Choice credit card, buying anything from the Choice portal, buying 1,000 points for $11, or crediting a car rental. Our {{Link|Point Expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions ===

One of the hidden secrets of the Choice Privileges program is that you can use your Choice points to book many of the independent luxury hotels that are part of the Preferred Hotels and Resorts program. These include about 500 hotels around the world, including many very special hotels like the [//www.surfandsandresort.com/ Surf and Sand] in Laguna Beach, [//travaasa.com/hana/ Travaasa Hana] in Maui, and the [//www.thesagamore.com/ Sagamore] in New York.
{{Preferred Slideshow}}

Rates range from 25,000 to 55,000 points per night. At the .8 cents per point that you can purchase points through the Cash & Points Trick, this works out to between $200 and $440 per night. While this isn’t a cheap bed for the night, many of these hotel rooms cost upwards of $600 per night if you paid the normal rates. The points cost with Choice can sometimes represent a significant discount.

The other problem is that some, but not all, of the very most expensive Preferred Hotels, don’t seem to participate in the program. You’ll see them on the Choice website, but when you click on the availability calendar, you’ll notice that there isn’t a single night available.

You can see a [//preferredhotels.com/private-offers/choiceprivileges2017part directory of participating hotels] and their availability information online, but you need to call 888-770-6800 to book. Unlike booking Choice hotels, you don’t need to wait till 30 (or 50) days before, and rates don’t change based on the time of the year and the day of the week.

=== All-inclusive Resorts ===

Choice allows you to earn and redeem points at dozens of all-inclusive resorts through a partnership with AMResorts. This collection of all-inclusives includes several well-respected brands.

{{Image|AMResortBrands.png}}

Many of these resorts are available to book now at award rates ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 points per night. Rates seem to vary by date and are set at values around 1 cent per point. Other resorts won't be available to book until January 2023.

Since Choice points can be bought for .8 cents each with the {{Link|Cash & Points trick|Cash & Points Trick}}, you should always be able to generate the Choice points you need to book these at the award rate. In most cases, that will save you money over the regular cash rate.

For more details see the '''[//www.choicehotels.com/ascend/amresorts Choice All-inclusive website]'''.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.

{| class="table"
|<big>'''Member'''</big> (entry level)
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Cambria welcome amenity'''. Buy one, get one beverage at the bar or 250 bonus points.
*'''Midweek "Extra" Amenity'''. If you stay includes a weekday night (Sunday-Thursday), you’ll get your choice of additional amenity, such as a $5 coffee card, $2.50 Amazon credit, or 400 Choice points. Not available at WoodSpring Suites.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Complimentary room upgrade'''. Based on availability.
*'''Early check-in and late check out''', upon availability.
*'''Welcome gift at US and Canadian Hotels'''. Usually your choice of a snack and beverage or 100-250 bonus points.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (20 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|-
|<big>'''Diamond'''</big> (40 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|}

=== Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
{{Status Choice}}

<li>'''Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year'''. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.</li>
</ul>

=== The Choice Credit Card ===
<br/>
<div style="width: 3in; margin: auto;">
{{Card|choice|guide}}
</div>
<br/>
'''The Choice Privileges card has one of the lower valued signup bonuses among the various hotel credit cards'''. However, it is still the only way to quickly earn a significant number of Choice points. The typical signup offer is 32-50,000 points. The card is issued by Barclays, so you should be able to periodically cancel and re-apply.

'''Because the card has no annual fee and some slightly useful ongoing benefits, if you ever decide to apply, you should hold onto the card''' (unless you are temporarily cancelling it to try to earn an additional signup bonus). It isn’t much, but at least you’ll get a small point earning bonus and an extended booking window.

'''You can earn 8,000 bonus points by spending $10,000 per year on the card'''. Given the low value for using this card for spending, we can’t recommend doing this to earn points that are only worth around $60.

'''The Choice card earns higher rewards for spending at Choice than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as a card that earns good bonus rewards on travel purchases'''. 5x Choice points are worth about 3.75 cents per dollar. The card is not worthwhile to use for other spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|choice preferred}}
{{Next|cash & points trick}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Choice privileges

2021-10-28T22:18:33Z

Editor: /* Quick Guide */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|choice}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}

<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges Official Site]'''

'''[//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/account/enroll?createType=joinToday Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

'''888-770-6800'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|ComfortBolivar.png|full}}
{{Byline|text|Comfort Hotel Bolivar, Rome}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Choice Brands|Choice Brands]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Points Plus Cash Awards|Points Plus Cash Awards]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions|Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions]]
*[[#All-inclusive Resorts|All-inclusive Resorts]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status|Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status]]
*[[#The Choice Credit Card|Credit Card]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>You can acquire Choice points, on-demand, for .8 cents per point, using the same “Cash & Points Trick” that works with IHG. This makes it easy to use the Choice program when the need arises, without needing to build-up points in the program ahead-of-time. Purchasing and using points using this method often provides a discount compared to the regular room rates. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>You can also transfer ThankYou points to Choice at good values. You'll get two Choice points (which you might otherwise need to buy at .8 cents each) for each ThankYou point.</li>

<li>Ironically, for a program best known for having thousands of the cheapest hotels, Choice is one of the best options for booking luxury hotels and resorts. You can use Choice points to book very expensive independent luxury hotels, that are part of the Preferred Hotel and Resort program. and high-end all-inclusives through its partnership with AMResorts. The cost for buying and redeeming points for these hotels isn’t cheap, but it is often significantly less expensive than booking them at normal rates.</li>

<li>Choice doesn’t give you much in the way of member or credit card benefits. You can get a little bit of value by holding onto the no-annual-fee Choice Credit Card. But we wouldn’t prioritize it over many other options.</li>

<li>Especially in Scandinavia, but in many other countries as well, Choice has some great hotels, available in expensive locations, for relatively small numbers of points. Even in the United States, the point cost of many of their hotels can make it the best way to get an inexpensive award night when you need one.</li>
</ul>

=== Choice Brands ===

Choice has an enormous number of hotels. However, in the United States, they are mostly concentrated in lower-end brand. Many travelers, who tend to spend more money on vacation, rarely stay at their hotels, and tend to ignore this program. But they do have many attractive hotel options around the world, particularly in Scandinavia.

<center>
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsAscend.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsCambria.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsComfort.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSleep.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarion.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsClarionPointe.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsQuality.png|100|100}} {{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsMainStay.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsWoodspring.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsSuburban.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsEconolodge.png|100|100}}
{{ImageGrid|ChoiceBrandsRodeway.png|100|100}}
</center>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''There is no published award chart for Choice hotels—the number of points needed for an award is different for different hotels, different times of the year, and even different days of the week'''. The points range for hotels in most of the world is 6,000 to 35,000 points, with some hotels in Australasia costing up to 75,000 points per night.
</li>

<li>'''Choice offers discounted award rates, called “FlexRewards”, at over 1,500 of their hotels'''. Depending on the hotel, you’ll pay fewer points either on weekday nights (Sun-Thu) or on weekend nights (Fri-Sat).</li>

<li>'''While there are no official black-out dates, each hotel controls their reward capacity, and you can’t always find availability when you want to book an award'''.</li>

<li>'''One of the oddities of the Choice program is that you can’t book awards nights until 100 days before arrival'''. Even that is a recent change from as little as 30 days, and if you aren't signed-in, you may still see "not available" for dates more than a month out. </li>
</ul>

=== Points Plus Cash Awards===

'''Whenever award reservations are available (for at least 8,000 points per night), you can book a Points Plus Cash award instead'''.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You’ll need to use 6,000 points, plus a cash amount that is equal to $8.00 for every 1,000-points you save'''. For example, a hotel, which would normally cost 20,000 points, would cost 6,000 points plus $112.</li>

<li>'''Because Points Plus Cash reservations allow you to purchase points at less than they are usually worth, they are always a better option than regular award reservations'''. There is a 250,000 per year limit to points purchased this way.</li>
</ul>

=== Acquiring Points ===

==== Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on Choice hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Cash & Points Trick}}
Like the IHG program, you can purchase points whenever you need them, using the Cash and Points trick. To do this, you make a cash and points reservation for any hotel, and then cancel the reservation. Rather than refunding the points and cash that you paid, Choice keeps your cash and refunds the number of points you would normally need for the hotel. For example, at a hotel that would normally cost 20,000 points, you’d get 20,000 points back, rather than the 6,000 points and $112 you spent. In essence, you are buying points for .8 cents each. {{Link|Cash & Points trick}}.

{{Label|Normal point purchases}}
You can also purchase up to 180,000 points per year, for 1 cent each, through their normal point purchase program. You may need to purchase 6,000 points at this price to be able to start taking advantage of the cheaper points available through the Cash &points Trick. If Choice is running a purchase promotion, buying points outright can be cheaper than the Cash & Points trick. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer from '''{{Link|diners club|Diners Club Reward points}}''' (1250:2400) or '''{{Link|amtrak|Amtrak Guest Rewards}}''' (1000:3000)

{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn 10 points for every dollar spent at Choice hotels'''. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, or 50% on stays.

'''If you use your Choice credit card, you’ll earn an additional 5 points per dollar'''. 5x Choice points are worth around 3.75 cents per dollar. This is a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of Choice points is by signing up for Choice’s credit card'''. The normal bonus on the Choice card is 32,000 points ($1,000 initial spending requirement). You’ll can also get 8,000 bonus points each year that you use the card for $10,000 or more in spending, but it isn’t worthwhile to put this much spending on the card. The Choice card is issued by Barclays and you should be able to periodically cancel and reapply to earn the signup bonus multiple times. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

You can also earn points from purchases from the Choice online mall, and a few other earning partners. See [//www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/earn-points all earning options].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 18 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can easily keep your points alive by making any charge with the Choice credit card, buying anything from the Choice portal, buying 1,000 points for $11, or crediting a car rental. Our {{Link|Point Expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== Preferred Hotels and Resorts Redemptions ===

One of the hidden secrets of the Choice Privileges program is that you can use your Choice points to book many of the independent luxury hotels that are part of the Preferred Hotels and Resorts program. These include about 500 hotels around the world, including many very special hotels like the [//www.surfandsandresort.com/ Surf and Sand] in Laguna Beach, [//travaasa.com/hana/ Travaasa Hana] in Maui, and the [//www.thesagamore.com/ Sagamore] in New York.
{{Preferred Slideshow}}

Rates range from 25,000 to 55,000 points per night. At the .8 cents per point that you can purchase points through the Cash & Points Trick, this works out to between $200 and $440 per night. While this isn’t a cheap bed for the night, many of these hotel rooms cost upwards of $600 per night if you paid the normal rates. The points cost with Choice can sometimes represent a significant discount.

The other problem is that some, but not all, of the very most expensive Preferred Hotels, don’t seem to participate in the program. You’ll see them on the Choice website, but when you click on the availability calendar, you’ll notice that there isn’t a single night available.

You can see a [//preferredhotels.com/private-offers/choiceprivileges2017part directory of participating hotels] and their availability information online, but you need to call 888-770-6800 to book. Unlike booking Choice hotels, you don’t need to wait till 30 (or 50) days before, and rates don’t change based on the time of the year and the day of the week.

=== All-inclusive Resorts ===

Choice allows you to earn and redeem points at dozens of all-inclusive resorts through a partnership with AMResorts. This collection of all-inclusives includes several well-respected brands.

{{Image|AMResortBrands.png}}

Many of these resorts are available to book now at award rates ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 points per night. Rates seem to vary by date and are set at values around 1 cent per point. Other resorts won't be available to book until January 2023.

Since Choice points can be bought for .8 cents each with the {{Link|Cash & Points trick|Cash & Points Trick}}, you should always be able to generate the Choice points you need to book these at the award rate. In most cases, that will save you money over the regular cash rate.

For more details see the '''[//www.choicehotels.com/ascend/amresorts Choice All-inclusive website]'''.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.

{| class="table"
|<big>'''Member'''</big> (entry level)
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Cambria welcome amenity'''. Buy one, get one beverage at the bar or 250 bonus points.
*'''Midweek "Extra" Amenity'''. If you stay includes a weekday night (Sunday-Thursday), you’ll get your choice of additional amenity, such as a $5 coffee card, $2.50 Amazon credit, or 400 Choice points. Not available at WoodSpring Suites.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:
<ul class="simplelist">
*'''Complimentary room upgrade'''. Based on availability.
*'''Early check-in and late check out''', upon availability.
*'''Welcome gift at US and Canadian Hotels'''. Usually your choice of a snack and beverage or 100-250 bonus points.
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (20 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|-
|<big>'''Diamond'''</big> (40 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays.
<br/>
|}

=== Shortcuts to Choice Elite Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
{{Status Choice}}

<li>'''Any extra nights for Gold members and above will rollover to the following year'''. For example, if you stay 15 nights in a year, you'll qualify for Gold status, and the extra 5 nights will rollover to make it easier to earn status the following year.</li>
</ul>

=== The Choice Credit Card ===
<br/>
<div style="width: 3in; margin: auto;">
{{Card|choice|guide}}
</div>
<br/>
'''The Choice Privileges card has one of the lower valued signup bonuses among the various hotel credit cards'''. However, it is still the only way to quickly earn a significant number of Choice points. The typical signup offer is 32-50,000 points. The card is issued by Barclays, so you should be able to periodically cancel and re-apply.

'''Because the card has no annual fee and some slightly useful ongoing benefits, if you ever decide to apply, you should hold onto the card''' (unless you are temporarily cancelling it to try to earn an additional signup bonus). It isn’t much, but at least you’ll get a small point earning bonus and an extended booking window.

'''You can earn 8,000 bonus points by spending $10,000 per year on the card'''. Given the low value for using this card for spending, we can’t recommend doing this to earn points that are only worth around $60.

'''The Choice card earns higher rewards for spending at Choice than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as a card that earns good bonus rewards on travel purchases'''. 5x Choice points are worth about 3.75 cents per dollar. The card is not worthwhile to use for other spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|choice preferred}}
{{Next|cash & points trick}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Award nights 101

2021-10-28T20:42:24Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|award nights 101}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Everything you need to know to get free hotel nights using credit card points and free night certificates.}}
{{Page|article|Use Points|Hotel Strategies}}

{{Image|HotelRoom2.jpg|full}}

<br/>
<blockquote>
Most hotel points are easy to use. Unlike frequent flyer programs, availability is not an issue. If there is a standard room available, you can almost always book it with your points. And since (with most programs) the number of points you need doesn't change as much based on demand, you can sometimes save a lot of money by using your points when hotel rates are more expensive than normal.
</blockquote>

{{TOC}}
*[[#Hotel reward programs: the very basics|Hotel award night basics]]
*[[#Getting points to use for award nights|Getting hotel points]]
*[[#Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination|Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination]]
*[[#Tips for getting good value from your award points|Tips for getting good value from your award points]]
*[[#Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points|Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Hotel reward programs: the very basics ===

If you are truly a newbie to the world of hotel loyalty programs, there are a few things that you need to know. If you already understand the basics of hotel reward programs, feel free to skip to the next section.

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''You might not immediately recognize the names of a couple of the largest hotel programs'''. The largest hotel company in the world is called the “Intercontinental Hotel Group” or “IHG”. They are the parent company of Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Kimpton, and a few other hotel brands; but are named after their high-end Intercontinental brand. The Marriott program encompasses dozens of different hotel brands that you might not associate with Marriott. Most hotel brands with multiple locations belong to one of a small number of major hotel programs. </li>

{{Image|HotelBrands.png|360}}

<li>'''You can earn and redeem points with any of the program's brands'''. For example, you can use Marriott points to stay at Westins or Delta Resorts and not just at Marriott hotels.</li>

<li>'''Some hotel points are much more valuable than others'''. Different hotel loyalty programs require very different amounts of points for a free hotel night. For example, for a roughly equivalent hotel, Hyatt might require 12,000, Marriott might require 30,000, and Hilton might require 50,000 points. The expected value of different hotel points ranges from a low of about .4 cents per point, to a high of 1.75 cents per point. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

This is quite different from the world of frequent flyer miles, where most airlines require roughly the same number of miles for the same type of award tickets.

<li>'''Until the last few years, the number of points required was based on the "category" of the hotel'''. For example, Marriott currently has eight categories of hotels with standard rates ranging from 7,500 to 85,000 points per night. There is often a slightly lower cost during off-peak dates and potentially a slightly higher cost during peak travel dates.</li>

Hotel programs generally kept the point cost for each category constant, but periodically move dthe hotels from one category to another. A hotel that was in category 5 one year, might be in category 6 the next. As you might expect, many more hotels move up to more expensive categories than move down into less expensive categories, so a typical hotel award night has gradually required more points over time.

{{Image|MarriottRewardChart.png}}

<li>'''The recent trend is to vary the award prices for each hotel within a wider range'''. With Hilton, the most expensive nights for standard rooms at each hotel are capped based on a "hidden award chart". With IHG, award prices vary in a wider range. Starting in March 2022, Marriott will be moving towards very dynamic pricing, but will keep things in a range based on their current award chart for most hotels for the duration of 2022.</li>

Of the major hotel loyalty programs, only Hyatt is currently sticking to a traditional award chart, albeit one with peak and off-peak pricing. But several of the next most important programs are sticking with award charts.

<li>'''Unlike frequent flyer programs, it is usually easy to redeem your hotel points'''. If there are standard rooms available, you will almost always be able to book an award night.</li>

You can even use your points during peak travel periods and special events (like New Year's Eve or a college football game weekend), when regular room rates are much higher than normal. During these times, award prices with some programs (like Hyatt) won't be much or any higher than normal. Award prices with other programs (like Hilton) will still be reasonable. But award prices with yet other programs (like Marriott in a few years), may be prohibitively expensive.

If the only thing left at the hotel are deluxe rooms, junior suites, etc., you may not be able to book an award night or you may need to use a larger number of points.

The occasional hotel will "cheat". They will treat most of their regular hotel rooms as special "view" rooms that aren't available for award stays and only have a tiny number of official "standard" rooms. This can make it nearly impossible to use your points, or to use them at reasonable prices, but this is the exception not the rule.

<li>'''Award nights are refundable'''. However, just like refundable cash rates, you'll still need to change or cancel your reservation before a hotel-specific deadline. In extreme cases, this could be a month or more before your stay.</li>

<li>'''You'll typically receive your membership benefits when you book an award room'''. For example, if you are entitled to free breakfast at Hilton hotels, you'll receive this benefit, even when you are using points to book your room. Award nights even entitle you to credits towards higher-level elite status.</li>
</ul>

=== <span id="Credit Card Points">Getting points to use for award nights</span> ===

Unless you travel a lot for work, you probably aren’t going to earn very many points through actual hotel stays. Sophisticated travel hackers can sometimes take advantage of loyalty program promotions to earn larger than normal amounts of points on their paid stays. But for most people, it takes a long time to earn enough points to be able to redeem a free night the normal way.

So how do you earn enough points to able to get multiple free hotel nights every year?

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''The easiest way to earn free nights is to sign up for credit cards'''. Each time you sign up for a card, you’ll generally receive enough points for one to three nights at a high-end hotel or up to dozen (or more) nights at one of their less expensive locations.</li>

{{ImageX|CreditCards1.jpg}}

<li>'''Unless you have a problem with handling credit, signing up for credit cards just to collect signup bonuses is a sensible thing to do'''. It won’t kill your credit rating—in fact, it is more likely to improve it. {{Link|Credit Cards 101}}.</li>

<li>'''You can sign up for multiple of these cards over the next few years and earn dozens of free hotel nights'''. In this table, you can see how many free nights you can expect to get from the typical signup bonus of each card. {{Link|signup intro}}</li>

{{Hotel Signup Table}}

Higher than normal offers are often available, providing even more value.

<li>'''Even if you aren't planning on collecting signup bonuses, there is a good chance you'll earn a couple in the course of adding a couple of hotel credit cards to your core credit card collection'''. If you decide to get one or more hotel credit cards to get an annual free night certificate, to qualify for the Hilton breakfast benefit, or for some other reason, you'll hopefully make the small additional effort to earn the bonus.</li>

<li>'''Free Hyatt hotel nights are a great use of your Chase Ultimate Rewards points'''. One of the reasons that we so often recommend the Ultimate Rewards program is that it is so easy to redeem your points at good values for Hyatt hotel rooms. Each Ultimate Rewards point converts into one Hyatt point and Hyatt requires fewer points than most other hotel programs to book similar quality hotels.</li>

It isn't hard to get more than 1.75 cents in value when you use your Ultimate Rewards points to book Hyatt hotel rooms, which is more than you can get when you use "cash then out" and often more than you can get when you transfer them to frequent flyer programs to use for award tickets.

{{Logo|Ultimate Rewards}}

<li>'''Free Choice hotel nights are a very good use of your Citi ThankYou points'''. ThankYou points can be turned into Choice points on a 2 for 1 basis. This isn't quite as great as being able to use Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt hotels because the Choice program doesn't include nearly as many super nice hotels, but they have some, and they have plenty of solid hotels in convenient locations and an opportunity to book some unique hotels that belong to the Preferred Hotels & Resorts program.</li>

<li>'''Free Wyndham hotel nights and even more so, free Vacasa vacation rentals, are good use of your Capital One points'''. While many Wyndham hotel award opportunities will provide less than 1 cent per point, certain vacation rental values can often be as high or higher than 2 cents per point. The sweet spot are shorter-term 1 bedroom rentals which cost 15,000 points per night and include all of the fees.

<li>'''Other than using Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt redemptions, ThankYou points for Choice redemptions, and Capital One points for Wyndham and Vacasa redemptions, it rarely makes sense to transfer flexible credit card points to hotel programs'''. For example, you can also convert your Ultimate Rewards points into Marriott points, but Marriott points are typically only worth about {{Value|Marriott}} cents each, which is lower value than the other uses of your points. Likewise, Membership Rewards can be converted into Marriott, Hilton, and Choice points, which are all worth under 1 cent each. You are better off saving your points for frequent flyer tickets or even using them to purchase travel at 1 cent each. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>

<li>'''You can always book award nights at hotels in the IHG and Choice programs by using the “Cash & Points trick” to purchase points at low prices'''. Every hotel program allows you to buy additional points. However, the price is normally too expensive to be worthwhile. But with both IHG Rewards Club and Choice Privileges, you can take advantage of the “Cash & Points trick” to buy last-minute points at lower-than-normal rates.</li>

While buying points to use for an award isn’t really a free night, it essentially allows you to purchase rooms at what is often a significant discount. You can book an award night at any hotel in the IHG and Choice programs, whenever rates are high, even if you don’t have any points in your account.

For example, using the Cash & Points trick you can purchase IHG points for {{Value|ihgcash}} cents each (and sometimes less). If you are interested in staying at a Holiday Inn that costs 15,000 points per night, the required points would cost around {{Value|ihgcash|15000}}. This might be significantly cheaper than the normal price for the room. {{Link|cash & points trick}}.

<li>'''It can sometimes make sense to stock up on hotel points when they are running good promotions'''. While the normal purchase prices are too expensive, hotel companies sometimes have sales where you receive bonus points for every purchase. In some cases, this bonus rates can be as high as 100%, meaning that you’ll get double the normal number of points. When they are running a particularly good sale, it can make sense to buy points and have them on-hand for future redemptions. {{Link|Hotel Point Purchase Promotions}}.</li>

This is often a viable option for Hilton points. During the year, Hilton typically has occasional promotions where you can buy points for about .5 cents each, which is just a little more than they are normally worth. Especially if you don't have a pile of Hilton points from collecting signup bonuses, it is worthwhile to stockpile some points when they are on sale and then use them whenever hotel rates are higher than normal.
</ul>

=== Seeing which award hotels are located at your destination===

The first step is usually to determine which hotels are available where you are travelling and how many points they cost per night.

<blockquote>
Unfortunately, there are no longer any really good tools for finding all the "points hotels" at your destination. There are several different options, but each has their flaws.
</blockquote>

{{Box|Programs to Check}}
Remember that you can look for hotels that belong to any of the hotel programs where you have a point balance. In addition, you can always book '''IHG''' and '''Choice''' hotels by taking advantage of the opportunity to purchase reasonably priced last-minute points through the Points & Cash trick. And if you have Ultimate Rewards, ThankYou, and/or Capital One points, it also makes sense to look at your '''Hyatt''', '''Choice''', and/or '''Wyndham''' options.
{{/Box}}

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''For now, the only truly reliable approach is to individually search each hotel program's website'''. [//www.marriott.com/search/default.mi Marriott], [//hiltonhonors3.hilton.com/en/index.html Hilton], [//www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/reservation IHG], [//www.hyatt.com/ Hyatt], [//www.choicehotels.com/ Choice], [//www.wyndhamhotels.com/wyndham-rewards Wyndham], [//www.accorhotels.com/gb/usa/index.shtml Accor], [//www.bestwestern.com/en_US.html Best Western]. When searching on Hyatt, their Small Luxury Hotel partners are always located at the bottom of the result list. If you don't scroll down past all the Hyatt-branded hotels, you'll miss them. {{Link|Hotel Program List}}.</li>

<li>'''[//awardmapper.com Award Mapper]'''. Award Mapper does a great job of showing most of the possible points hotels on a dynamic map. You can even continuously move the map to see all the hotels in any area. Unfortunately, its database of hotels is out-of-date, so you won't see all your options. And for hotel programs that have variable point costs (such as Hilton and Marriott), it will only show you the range of possible points costs.</li>

{{Image|AwardMapperResults.png}}

<li>'''[//wandr.me/hotel-tools/hotel-hustle/ Hotel Hustle]'''. Hotel Hustle searches across all the major hotel programs, rather than requiring you to search them one at a time. Unfortunately, it can be annoying slow and frequently doesn't display the point cost for hotels from some of the programs. So, you can use it to see which hotels exist, but you can't quickly see how many points they will wind up costing.</li>

{{Image|HotelHustle.jpg}}

<li>'''[//preferredhotels.com/destinations?search=top-nav Preferred Hotels & Resorts]'''. You can use Choice hotel points to book rooms at many of the hotels in the Preferred Hotel & Resorts program. If you are looking for a luxury hotel, make sure to check the Preferred Hotel directory. These hotels won’t show up in the other tools. {{Link|choice preferred}}.</li></ul>

{{Image|PreferredLeelaPalace.jpg}}

=== Tips for getting good value from your award points ===

You’ve been building up loyalty points through some combination of credit card signup bonuses, hotel promotions, shopping portals, and hotel stays. Now, it’s time to travel. How do you best use your points to get free hotel rooms?

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Point-based stays, from most programs, are most valuable during periods of top demand, such as during festivals and events, ski season, or school breaks'''. While some programs require more points during “high season”, award rates in most don’t fluctuate nearly as much as regular room rates or don’t fluctuate at all. As a result, the most valuable time to use your points are when hotel rates are high than normal—during ski season, school breaks, conventions, special events, holidays, and peak travel season.</li>

{{ImageX|Skiing.jpg}}

<li>'''Points and Cash awards almost never a good value'''. Each hotel program allows to use fewer points to book an award night by paying an extra cash fee. Not long ago, using these "Points and Cash" awards was a way to get extra value from your points. In 2017-2018, all the big hotel programs adjusted their programs and these awards are now almost never a good deal. They sometimes make sense for Wyndham hotels with very high or very low prices. {{Link|Cash and Points}}.</li>

<span id="5th Night Free"></span>

<li>'''Marriott and Hilton give you your 5<sup>th</sup> night free on award stays'''. Four nights worth of points will get you a five-night stay. For Hilton, you need to have at least Silver elite status to take advantage of this benefit.</li>

{{Image|5thNightFree.jpg}}

<li>'''IHG credit cardholders get their 4<sup>th</sup> night free on award reservations'''. This is an even better deal than Marriott and Hilton but requires that you have the IHG Premier or Traveler credit cards (cardholders of the now discontinued IHG card are not eligible). The IHG Premier card costs $89 per year, but comes with a free hotel certificate, automatic Platinum elite status, and several other useful benefits.</li>

<span id="Upgraded Room"></span>
<li>'''Consider staying on the outskirts of cities or by the airport'''. The required number of points for a typical hotel are usually much lower outside the city center. If you are sightseeing by car anyway, it may not make a big difference for your trip and you’ll usually save even more money by avoiding the need to pay for expensive overnight parking. For example in San Antonio, the Westin Riverwalk and Courtyard Riverwalk cost 35,000 points per night, but the SpringHill Suites San Antonio Northwest at the Rim only costs 17,500 points, the TownePlace Suites San Antonio Airport only costs 12,5000 points, and both hotels still get a 4.5 rating on TripAdvisor.</li>

<li>'''You’ll get the most value from your points at a hotel chain’s cheapest and most expensive hotels'''. The required points for staying at Category 1 or Category 2 hotels can be ridiculously low. While the cash rates for these lower category hotels also tend to be low, the relative point cost is even lower. Bloggers are happy to point out that 95,000 Hilton points will get you a single night at one of Hilton’s most expensive hotels or nineteen nights at one of their Category 1 hotels. Of course, most of the time, you won’t have an opportunity to stay at a Category 1 or Category 2 hotel unless you are visiting a very inexpensive (usually international) destination. {{Link|Low Category Hotels}}.</li>

We like to calculate an “award room rate” that represents the cost of using your points to book a hotel room (versus using them for a different hotel or trip). The following table shows the award room rates for Category 1 and Category 2 hotels in the largest hotel programs. Even in less expensive locations, these are usually great rates (especially because they include taxes).

{{Table|Basic|4in}}
!rowspan="2"|Program
!rowspan="2" style='width: 0.5in;'|CPP
!colspan="2"|Award "room rate" for a
|-
!style='width: 1in;'|Cat 1 Room
!style='width: 1in;'|Cat 2 Room
|-
|Hilton||{{Value|Hilton}}||${{#expr: 50 * {{Value|Hilton}}}}||${{#expr: 100* {{Value|Hilton}}}}
|-
|Hyatt||{{Value|Hyatt}}||$61 - 114||$114 - 166
|-
|IHG||{{Value|IHG}}||${{#expr: 100 * {{Value|IHG}}}}||${{#expr: 150 * {{Value|IHG}}}}
|-
|Marriott||{{Value|Marriott}}||{{Value|Marriott|5000}} - {{Value|Marriott|10000}}||{{Value|Marriott|10000}} - {{Value|Marriott|15000}}
{{/Table}}

At the opposite end of the spectrum, room rates at the most expensive hotels in each program can be extremely high, sometimes over $1,000 per night, giving you a very good return on your award points. There is usually a fixed upper limit to the number of points required for a free hotel night, but there is no upper limit to the cash price. Of course, the real value you receive is based on what you would have actually paid to stay at the hotel, not the necessarily the hotel’s listed price.

<li>'''Hyatt allows you to book fancy suites using points''' for only twice the number of points of a base room. These aren't the standard rooms that are available for an approximately 60% premium, but often ridiculously fancy "premium" suites. When the right room is available, this can be a great use of your points.</li>

{{Image|HyattLostPinesSuite.png}}

<li>'''Hilton and Hyatt don't charge resort fees on award reservations'''. This makes points relatively more valuable at any hotel with high resort or destination fees. Note you'll still be charged resort fees if you make a cash and points reservation.</li>

<li>'''You can even use your points at an all-inclusive resort'''. Along with your room, you'll be entitled to free meals, drinks, and other activities. All the major hotel programs (and some of the smaller ones) include all-inclusive resorts and allow you to book them with points. In general, your award reservation only covers the first two people per room. You’ll need to spend more points or pay a cash surcharge to add extra guests. {{Link|All Inclusives}}.</li>

<li>'''Don't let your points expire'''. With most hotel programs, if there is no activity in your account for 12 to 36 months, you can lose your points. Fortunately, you usually don't need to spend a night in a hotel to keep your points alive. Any activity that earns or spends points is usually enough. There are typically a bunch of ways to easily earn or spend a few points with a partner. {{Link|point expiration}}.</li>

</ul>

=== Determining if booking an award night is a good use of your points ===

{{ImageX|CoinScale.jpg}}

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Assuming you have a limited supply of points, you need to be smart about when to book an award night and when to just pay the regular "cash" rate for your room'''. Most people are only going to be able to generate a fixed quantity of points from credit card signups and a relatively low number of points from ongoing credit card spend and paid stays. You don’t want to use all your points on lower value redemptions, and then not have enough to use them later, when you could get more value from your points. At the same time, you don’t want to hold onto your points forever, passing up free hotel rooms, while you forever seek out the highest possible redemption rates.</li>

<li>'''We recommend converting the required number of points into an “award room rate” that you can compare to the regular rate'''. Your points have real value. The best way to think about whether it makes sense to book an award night is to convert the required number of points into a dollar value and then decide whether the room is worth “spending” that much money, or whether you are better off taking advantage of another option.</li>

For example, if the points cost of a Sheraton hotel is 35,000 Marriott points per night and you value Marriott point at {{Value|marriott}} cents per point, the “cost” of using award points is around {{Value|marriott|35000}} per night. If the {{Value|marriott|35000}} “award room rate” is lower the regular room rate, you are better off making an award booking, rather than a normal booking. But, if the room still isn’t worth {{Value|marriott|35000}} per night (compared to the other options at your destination), you are better off saving your points and booking another hotel instead.

<li>'''The point value that you should use should be based on your own individual circumstances, but we provide a set of values that work well for many people'''. In some cases, you might have an award opportunity that is so good that it makes sense to purchase new points, if you don’t already have enough to make an award reservation.</li>

{{HotelPointValues}}

See our more in-depth analysis of {{Link|evaluate award nights}}.

<li>'''Remember that award nights are refundable and, at Hilton and Hyatt, cover any resort fee'''. Over the past couple of years, the initial rate you see when searching for hotels is usually a non-refundable rate.</li>

<li>'''It can be prudent to save some points for times when room rates are exceptionally high'''. As discussed above, the number of points that is required for a free night doesn't change (or doesn't change very much) depending on supply and demand, but regular room rates do. So, having points is extremely useful during holidays and special events, when regular room rates are exorbitantly expensive. Unless you expect to have a constant flow of new hotel points, it is worthwhile keeping a stash of points around to use when you really need them.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
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{{Next|hotels 101}}
{{Next|free night certificates}}
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Marriott bonvoy rewards

2021-10-28T20:06:36Z

Editor: /* Quick Guide */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|combined}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}
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'''[//www.marriott.com/rewards/rewards-program.mi Official Site]'''

'''[//www.joinmarriottrewards.com/freenight16/ Join]'''

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<small>24-hr Automated Line</small> '''800-450-4442'''

<small>Customer Service</small> '''801-468-4000'''

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{{Image|MarriottSanAntonia2.jpg|full}}
{{Byline|Text|Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Marriott Brands|Marriott Brands]]
*[[#Free Night Certificates|Free Night Certificates]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Cash + Points Awards|Cash + Points Awards]]
*[[#Transferring Points to Airlines|Transferring Points to Airlines]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Airline Partnerships|Airline Partnerships]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Status|Shortcuts to Status]]
*[[#Marriott Credit Cards|Marriott Credit Cards]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>Points are currently worth about .7 cents each. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>Starting in March 2022, Marriott is transitioning away from its award chart to truly dynamic pricing. The number of points required for any hotel will be different each night and the price for any given night will go up and down. Once that happens, it will be hard to get outsized value from Marriott awards and we expect the value of points to drop to .6 cents each or even less (along with much less opportunity for values above .8 cents each).

<li>Like most other hotel programs, you can earn enough points for several free nights by signing up for one of the program's credit cards. With three main cards available from Chase and Amex, you can earn even more points by signing up for multiple cards. But you can't simply signup for all the cards in a short span of time—you need to follow a set of complicated rules that Amex, Chase, and Marriott have instituted to try to minimize the number of bonuses they give to any member</li>

<li>Every year, each credit card also provides a certificate good for a free night at one of the program's hotels. The certificates from each of the "standard" credit cards are good for hotel nights that would cost 35,000 points or less. The certificates from the "premium" cards are good for hotels nights that would cost up to 50,000 points. If you have multiple cards, you can receive multiple certificates each year. </li>

<li>It can be a good deal to transfer your Marriott points to partner airlines in order to book frequent flyer tickets. With almost every partner, the rates are 1 frequent flyer mile for every 3 points. If you transfer a 60,000 point block, you'll get a 15,000 point bonus (for a total of 25,000 miles). At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, you are "buying" miles for {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents each. </li>

<li>Marriott has a promotion available for new members. where you can earn a free night certificate (good at lower category hotels), if you make two stays within the first four months after becoming a member. Wait to join the program until you are likely to make two stays and make sure to use the link above to register (you may need to open it in private / incognito mode).</li>

<li>Platinum elite status gives you lounge access and breakfast at most of the program's hotels, and the possibility of an upgrade to a suite. There are some tricks to earning status without staying the full 50 nights. </li>

<li>Titanium members get automatic United Silver elite status. </li>

<li>Cash + Points awards are almost never a good option. </li>

<li>Using points for upgrades can often be a good deal, with only 5,000 points needed to jump up each room category.</li>

<li>If you are making an award stay of at least 7 nights, you can take advantage of Marriott’s Hotel and Airfare awards, which let you use your Marriott points to “purchase” airline miles at cheaper rates. If you are making a peak-period stay, you can use a package to acquire miles for only 62.5% of the normal rate.</li>
</ul>

=== Marriott Brands ===

Because Marriott has so many brands and locations, with both middle-of-the-road and higher-end hotels, many people wind up staying at their hotels while they travel.

==== Luxury ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRitz.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsStRegis.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsJWMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsLuxury.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsW.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsEdition.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAutograph.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDesign.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Premium ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSheraton.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMVC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDelta2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMeridien.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsWestin.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRenaissance.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsGaylord2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriottExecutive.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsResidence.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTribute.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Select ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsCourtyard.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFourPoints.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSpringhill.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsProtea.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFairfield.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAloft.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMoxy.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTowneplace.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsElement2.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

You can use their [//www.marriott.com/hotel-search.mi Hotel Directory] to search for hotels by location, or their [//points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change hotel category database] to search by country and award category.

=== Free Night Certificates ===

'''Every year, each of the Marriott credit cards provides a certificate that you can use for a free hotel night'''. By getting multiple cards, it is possible to get multiple certificates. For more information about Marriott Free Night Certificates see {{Link|Marriott Certificate|our detailed guide}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each certificate is limited to less-expensive hotels, based on a "points cap"'''. Unlike the Hilton certificates, you can't use them to stay at the program's most expensive hotels. It is the actual point cost that counts, not the hotel's underlying category. For example, a 35,000 point certificate can be used for a Category 5 hotel during a standard date, but would be limited to a Category 4 hotel on a peak date.</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

<li>'''Starting sometime in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could book a hotel that costs 40,000 points using a 35,000 point certificate and 5,000 extra points. Once this is operational, it will make it far easier to use your certs, because you'll be able to get good value over a much wider range of hotels.</li>

<li>'''You won't receive a certificate during the first year you have the card'''. You'll only receive them after you renew each year. Certificates aren't credited until a month or two after your anniversary date, so you can't cancel the card right after your anniversary, get a refund of the annual fee, and still receive the certificate.</li>

<li>'''There are some limitations to how quickly you can sign up for multiple cards and still receive the signup bonuses'''. You are also restricted from getting the signup bonus for some cards, if you already have other cards. So if you want to maximize the number of certificates you can receive each year and you want to qualify for signup bonuses for each card you get, you'll need to spread your applications out, and apply for cards in a specific order. See more details at our guide to [[Marriott credit cards]].</li>
</ul>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If there are “standard” rooms available, you can USUALLY book them with your points'''. Each hotel can designate up to 10 days each year where they limit the award availability for their "standard rooms". Some hotels avoid fully participating in the program by treating most of their rooms as some sort of non-standard category, rather than as "standard" rooms, which effectively blocks award availability for most or all their rooms. </li>

<li>'''Starting in March 2022, Marriott is moving away from using an award chart'''. The number of points required for each hotel will dynamically change, just like cash prices. There won't be a fixed conversion between the cash price and the required number of points but point costs will be different for different nights and the price for any given night might go up and down. When this change happens, we expect many award nights to be priced at about .6 cents per point, but no one knows what pricing will look like.</li>

During 2022, MOST hotels in the program will stay within a range of award pricing ranging between their current off-peak and peak rates. For example, a hotel that is currently in Category 6, would dynamically change their pricing between 40-60,000 points. After that, there are no caps or guidelines on pricing. And a small percentage of higher-demand hotels will completely abandon their current ranges in March.

<li>'''As a result, it will be difficult to get outsized value from Marriott redemptions'''. If cash prices are high because of school holidays, ski season, a special event, or just a busy time of year, award priced will be high as well.</li>

<li>'''Until March 2022, award prices are still based on their award chart'''. Peak and off peak nights are the same for any given market, but the categorization constantly adjusts based on market demand and cash pricing and varies wildly across different months and even days. </li>

{{Table|Basic|5in}}
!rowspan=2|Cat
!colspan=3|Normal
!colspan=3|Saver
|-
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
|-
|1||7,500||5,000||10,000||6,000||4,000||8,500
|-
|2||12,500||10,000||15,000||11,000||8,000||13,000
|-
|3||17,500||15,000||20,000||16,000||12,000||18,000
|-
|4||25,000||20,000||30,000||22,500||17,500||27,500
|-
|5||35,000||30,000||40,000||32,500||27,500||37,500
|-
|6||50,000||40,000||60,000||45,000||35,000||55,000
|-
|7||60,000||50,000||70,000||55,000||45,000||65,000
|-
|8||85,000||70,000||100,000||80,000||65,000||90,000
{{/Table}}

<li>'''"PointSaver" rates are available for some hotels that save 10-20% off the regular award rates'''. Marriott publishes new [//www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi PointSaver options] every week. You don't necessarily need to go to a special webpage, Pointsaver rates will show up automatically when you search for award reservations.</li>

<li>'''If you want to book a nicer room, you may be able to upgrade an award booking for only 5,000 points ($35) per step'''. It may take multiple steps to get to the room category you want. Availability is up to each hotel. Particularly at more expensive hotels, you can often spend a little bit extra for a significantly nicer room. It is also often possible to upgrade your room by paying the cash difference between the rate for the upgraded room and the rate for the standard room.</li>

<li>'''Unlike most other programs, Marriott allows you to book an award night even if you don’t have enough points at the time of booking'''. You can lock in any availability ahead of time. You then have until 60 days after the reservation or 14 days before the stay to actually earn the points to pay for the free night award. Note that this isn't available at all hotels.</li>

<li>'''Your 5<sup>th</sup> night is free when booking with reward points'''. This does not apply to Cash + Points redemptions. </li>
</ul>

=== Cash + Points Awards ===

'''Cash + Points awards are almost never a good deal'''. In almost every case, when you take advantage of a Cash + Points award, you are essentially paying more than our typical value for a Marriott point ({{Value|Marriott}} cents per point). The amount of money that you need to pay as the "cash" portion of the award is too expensive for the number of points that you save on the normal award cost. In addition, there is no 5<sup>th</sup> night free benefit for Cash + Points awards. {{Link|cash and points}}.

{{Table|Basic|8in}}
! rowspan = 2 | Cat
! colspan = 3 | Standard
! colspan = 3 | Off-peak
! colspan = 3 | Peak
|-
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
|-
|1
|7,500||3,500 + $55||1.38
|5,000||2,500 + $50||2.00
|10,000||4,500 + $60||1.09
|-
|2
|12,500||6,000 + $65||1.00
|10,000||5,000 + $60||1.20
|15,000||6,500 + $70||.82
|-
|3
|17,500||8,500 + $80||.89
|15,000||7,500 + $70||.93
|20,000||9,000 + $90||.82
|-
|4
|25,000||12,000 + $105||.81
|20,000||10,000 + $90||.90
|30,000||13,500 + $120||.73
|-
|5
|35,000||17,000 + $140||.78
|30,000||16,000 + $120||.86
|40,000||19,000 + $165||.79
|-
|6
|50,000||25,000 + $190||.76
|40,000||22,000 + $165||.92
|60,000||27,500 + $225||.69
|-
|7
|60,000||30,000 + $250||.83
|50,000||27,500 + $225||1.00
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|-
|8
|85,000||42,500 + $440||1.04
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|100,000||50,000 + $635||1.27
{{/Table}}

=== Transferring Points to Airlines ===

Converting your points into frequent flyer miles remains one of the best uses of your Marriott points. {{Link|Marriott Airline}}.

<blockquote>
Unlike other hotel programs, you'll receive competitive conversion rates. In addition, the program has many more airlines partners than even the big bank-based programs (such as Membership Rewards). The big drawback is the amount of time it takes for your points to transfer to many of the supported frequent flyer programs.
</blockquote>

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''With almost every airline, you'll get 1 mile for every 3 points'''. The only exception are JetBlue and a couple of airlines that have unique frequent flyer currencies.</li>

<li>'''But you'll get 25,000 miles, instead of 20,000 miles, for every block of 60,000 points you transfer'''. The precise terms are that they will transfer an extra 15,000 points, whenever you transfer 60,000. At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, it costs {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents per airline mile, when you transfer blocks of 60,000 points.</li>

<li>'''They have far more frequent flyer partners than any other transferable point program'''. The Marriott program is the only reasonable option for converting to many valuable partners such as Japanese Airlines (JAL) or Korean Air.</li>

{{Table|Left|6in}}
!style='width: 25%;'|Star Alliance<br/>{United}
!style='width: 25%;'|SkyTeam<br/>{Delta)
!style='width: 25%;'|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style='width: 25%;'|Other
|-
|'''United''' (10% bonus)

'''Air Canada''' (Aeroplan)

'''Singapore Airlines''' (Kris Flyer)

'''ANA''' (Japan)

'''Asiana'''

'''Avianca''' (Columbia)

'''Lufthansa''' (Miles and More)

'''Aegean'''

'''Air China'''

'''Air New Zealand''' (200:1)

'''COPA'''

'''South African'''

'''TAP Air Portugal'''

'''Thai Airways'''

'''Turkish Airlines'''

|'''Delta'''

'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)

'''Korean Air'''

'''Aeroflot'''

'''Aeromexico'''

'''Alitalia'''

'''China Eastern'''

'''China Southern'''

'''Saudia'''

|'''American'''

'''British Airways'''

'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)

'''Japan Airlines''' (JAL)

'''Iberia'''

'''LATAM''' (South American)

'''Qantas'''

'''Qatar Airways'''

|'''Alaska'''

'''Southwest'''

'''JetBlue''' (6:1)

'''Hawaiian'''

'''Frontier'''

'''Emirates'''

'''Etihad'''

'''Virgin Atlantic'''

''Virgin Australia''

'''Hainan Airlines''' (China)

'''Jet Airways''' (India)
{{/Table}}
</ul>

{{Box|Hotel + Air Packages}}

'''If you are planning on converting your Marriott points to airline miles, you can use a Marriott Hotel + Air Package to get a 7-night hotel certificate at a discounted rate'''. {{Link|Marriott packages}}.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If you are transferring a block of 240,000 points to acquire 100,000 miles, you can spend an additional 90,000 points to get a 7-night Category 4 certificate. That is the normal cost of only 3 peak-period nights.</li>

<li>If you are transferring 120,000 points to acquire 50,000 miles, it will cost an extra 135,000 points for the 7-night certificate. That's still 75% of the normal cost.</li>

<li>Because the discounts are fixed, the 90,000 (or 45,000) point savings represents a smaller discount if you wind up staying at a higher category hotel, or if you use the certificate at a non-peak time.</li>
</ul>

'''If you are already planning on making a 7-night peak-period Marriott stay, you can use the opportunity to purchase 50,000 or 100,000 miles at only 62.5% of their normal cost'''. Savings will be less if you were only staying for 6 nights or are staying during non-peak periods.
{{/Box}}

=== Acquiring Points ===

====Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on the program's hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Purchasing points}}
You can purchase (or receive as a gift) a total of 1000,000 points per year. Points cost $12.50 per 1,000 and it can take up to two days for the transaction to be completed. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring between accounts}}
You can transfer up to 100,000 points per year to any other member. The minimum transfer is 1,000 points and there is a $10 transfer fee (waived for Gold elites and above).

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer {{Link|ultimate rewards|Ultimate Reward}} points (1000:1000), Membership Rewards (1000:1000) or {{Link|diners club|Diners Club}} points (1250:1500) to Marriott. We would normally recommend just paying cash or purchasing points, rather than using your valuable credit card points at these low-value transfer rates.

{{Label|Transferring from frequent flyer programs}}
For the sake of completeness, you can transfer points from a small set of frequent flyer programs, but the exchange rates are too low to make this something to consider.
{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn a base rate of 10 points per dollar spent at program hotels'''. At Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites, the base rate is 5 points per dollar; and at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay properties, the base rate is 2.5 points per dollar. You won’t earn points for stays booked through online travel agents or third-party channels. You need to book directly with Marriott.

You can earn points on up to 3 rooms, assuming you pay for all three. However, you'll only earn elite credit for a single room.

Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Premier members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% on the base rates.

You can choose to earn airline miles instead of points. But, this isn’t typically a great option, because you usually only earn 2 airline miles, rather than 10 Marriott points.

'''If you use one of the program's credit cards, you’ll earn an additional 6 points per dollar'''. This works out as a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''You can earn extra rewards if you are an Emirates elite'''. Emirates elites (Silver and above) earn 1 mile for every dollar spent at Marriott.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for one or more of the program's credit cards'''. Typical signup bonuses range from 50,000 - 125,000 points per card and you can earn bonuses from multiple cards (subject to some fairly complicated rules. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

'''Simply by linking your accounts, you'll earn Marriott points on some Uber purchases'''. You get 2 points for Uber eats orders of at least $25, 6 points for Uber Eats orders delivered to Marriott hotels, and 3 points per dollar for Uber XL, Comfort, and Black rides. You link your accounts in the Rewards section of the Uber app.

'''Marriott has a bunch of other point earning partners''' such as Cruise with Points and Rewards Network Dining.
[//www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/earn/reward-partners.mi Marriott earning partners].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 24 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can lose your points if you go 24 months without earning or redeeming points. Transferring points to or from other members, or earning points through social media programs doesn't count, but transferring to miles or buying points does. Our {{Link|point expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Award nights count towards earning elite status. Like most other programs, you won’t earn credit for nights booked through 3<sup>rd</sup> parties like Expedia. You'll earn points for up to three rooms, but you can only earn one elite credit per night.

{|class="table"
|<big>'''Rewards Member'''</big> (entry level)

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Discounted “member” rates'''.</li>

<li>'''Free Wi-Fi'''. If a "participating property" charges for Wi-Fi as part of a resort fee, they are supposed to give you some other "replacement" benefit. </li>
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Silver'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and the following benefit:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (25 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''2pm priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>

<li>'''Extra points or welcome amenity per stay'''. The option varies per brand. It is usually either 500 or 250 points. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced room upgrade''' (upon availability). This usually translates to a higher floor or better view. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced Internet access'''. Except at Edition hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, and Vistana.</li>

<li>'''Earn points on Emirates and China Eastern flights'''. You'll earn an extra 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates and every 4 China Eastern miles you earn.</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (50 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Breakfast for two'''. Platinum members will receive some level of breakfast benefits at most of the program's hotels. But due to overlapping rules and existing franchise agreements, the benefits you are entitled to, at any given hotel, can be very confusing. For more details, see the box below.</li>

If the hotel is providing you access to a lounge, you are typically only entitled to breakfast in the lounge, not the restaurant. But the hotel will sometimes allow you to have a restaurant breakfast instead. Breakfast is in lieu of points or other welcome amenity.

<li>'''Lounge Access'''. You get access to lounges at any Sheraton, Westin, or La Meridien that has one and at all non-resort locations of JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, Delta hotels, and Courtyard hotels outside of North America. You might also get access at any additional hotels that have lounges, especially at the legacy Starwood brands.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded room, including select Suites'''. You are supposed to be upgraded to the "best available room" available at check-in, including suites. However, not every hotel always follows this policy. So expect some upgrade, but it won't always be to a suite, even if one is still available. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. Suite upgrades are not available at Ritz hotels.</li>

<li>'''Guaranteed 4pm late checkout'''. Subject to availability at resort and convention hotels and the Design Hotels brand. Not available at Vistana and Marriott Vacation Club.</li>

<li>'''5 Suite Night Awards or another Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 50 actual elite night credits, you'll be entitled to your choice of several different "Choice Benefits". Most people will pick the 5 Suite Night awards, but you might choose another option, such as 40% off a branded mattress. </li>

Each Suite Night Award allows you to potentially confirm a suite room for a single night ahead of time. Certificates aren't processed until 5 days before arrival and they are not required to give you your upgrade, so there is no guarantee that you'll be able to use the certificate and you shouldn't expect to be able to at high-demand hotels. In theory, you are supposed to stay behind people who are paying for a suite ahead-of-time, but jump in front of anyone who would be freely upgraded upon arrival.

<li>'''Guaranteed bed type'''. You’ll get your choice of the options available in your room category. At hotels in US and Canada and many hotels outside North America, you are also guaranteed your smoking / nonsmoking preferences.</li>

<li>'''Elite-like benefits with China Eastern'''. Priority check-in, boarding, and luggage handling, access to China Eastern business-class lounges, and a baggage allowance</li>

{{Box|Making Sense of the Marriott Breakfast Benefit}}
The Marriott breakfast benefit is very confusing.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>''Breakfast and lounge access'': At '''Sheraton''', '''Westin''', and '''Le Meridien''' hotels, you're entitled to continental breakfast in the restaurant (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay) AND lounge access (if the hotel has a lounge).</li>

<li>''Breakfast and possibly lounge access'': At most other brands that had been part of the Starwood program ('''St. Regis''', the '''Luxury Collection''', '''W''', '''Tribute Portfolio''', '''Four Points''', and '''Aloft'''), your are entitled to breakfast (or your choice of 500-1000 points per stay). Most of these hotels don't have lounges, but if they do, you will probably be given lounge access as well.</li>

<li>''Breakfast only'': At "'''Resort'''" hotels for several Marriott brands ('''JW Marriott''', '''Marriott''', '''Delta''', '''Autograph Collection''', and '''Renaissance''') you are entitled to free breakfast (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay), but you are not entitled to lounge access (if any). The same is true at Protea hotels, but the point alternative is 500, not 1,000 points.</li>

<li>''Breakfast in the lounge (and sometimes if the lounge is not available)'': At '''non-resort hotels for these same brands''', you are entitled to lounge access (and breakfast in the lounge). You'll also get your choice of 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit per guest per stay (max 2). If the hotel doesn't have a lounge or the lounge is closed, you are supposed to receive a breakfast alternative. For North America and for European hotels without a lounge, that is supposed to be breakfast in the restaurant for 2 (continental only in the US). For other hotels, the specific breakfast benefit is unspecified. In any case, if the lounge is available, that is the only breakfast you are entitled to. </li>

<li>''Food and beverage credits'': At '''Courtyard''', '''AC''', and '''Moxy''' hotels, you receive a $10 food and beverage credit per person (max 2) per day or 500 points per stay. At Courtyards with lounges outside of the US, Canada, and Europe, you are actually entitled to lounge access with breakfast in the lounge if it is open, and breakfast in the restaurant if it is closed. Courtyards without lounges in those same regions have the regular Courtyard food and beverage credit.</li>

<li>At '''Gaylord''' hotels, you receive a measly $10 food and beverage credit per stay or 1,000 points..</li>

<li>''Free breakfast for all guests'': '''SpringHill Suites''', '''Fairfield Inn & Suites''', '''Residence Inn''', '''TownePlace Suites''', and '''Element''' hotels provide breakfast to all guests. Platinum members can choose either 500 points or some other F&B amenity.</li>

<li>''No breakfast or lounge access'': No breakfast or lounge benefit is provided at '''Ritz Carlton''', '''Edition''', '''Design Hotels''', '''Marriott Vacation Club''' or '''Marriott Executive Apartments'''. You just get 1,000 points per stay.</li>

</ul>
{{/Box}}
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Titanium'''</big> (75 nights)<br/>75% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''48-hour guaranteed room availability'''. Except during unusual circumstances.</li>

<li>'''Another Marriott Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 75 actual nights, you'll get another Choice Benefit. This time your choices include a 40,000 point free night certificate. Depending on your circumstances this might be a better option than another 5 Suite Night Awards.</li>

<li>'''United Silver Status'''.</li>

<li>'''Hertz Five Star Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>

</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Ambassador'''</big> (100 nights and $20,000 in spending)<br/>Adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist ">
<li>'''Ambassador service'''. A personal "ambassador" will help you navigate the hotel program and can often bend the rules as necessary.</li>

<li>'''Your24'''. Each hotel night allows you to stay for any 24-hour period. For example, if you check-in at 9pm, you don't need to check-out until 9pm; and if you want to check-in at 8am you can, as long as you check-out by 8am the next day.</li>

<li>'''Hertz President's Circle Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>
</ul>
|}

=== Airline Partnerships ===

'''Titanium members get automatic United Silver status'''. This gives you and companion free access to Economy Plus seats at check-in, the possibility of a premium cabin upgrade, free checked bags for your entire party, access to priority lines at the airport, and a bonus when you earn miles from flying. {{Link|frequent flyer benefits}}.

{{Image|RewardsPlus.jpg}}

All you need to do is to register with the '''[//fly-united.marriott.com/en_US/ Rewards Plus]''' program.

'''Marriott also has a partnership with Emirates'''. Marriott elites (Gold and above) earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates This is on top of the normal frequent flyer miles. And they earn an Emirates mile for every dollar they spend on Marriott rooms on top of their normal Marriott points.

Emirate elites don't get actual Marriott status, but they do get benefits like 4pm checkout and free enhanced Wi-Fi. [//www.emirates.com/english/skywards/about/partners/hotels/your-world-rewards.aspx Your World Rewards].

=== Shortcuts to Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

{{Status Marriott}}

</ul>

=== Marriott Credit Cards ===

You'll receive 15 elite night credits if you have any of the personal cards and an additional 15 elite night credits if you have any of the business cards. Unfortunately, you can't earn even more credits by having multiple personal or multiple business cards.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|marriott}}
'''Bonvoy Boundlesss'''. The personal version of the card is issued by Chase. Every year when you renew, you receive a free night certificate, good for a hotel night that would cost up to 35,000 points. Typical signup offers are 75-100,000 points. Provides nearly worthless Silver status. 6x points on Marriott purchases. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|spgbiz}}
'''Bonvoy Business'''. The business version of the card is issued by Amex. It has nearly identical features as the personal version, except that it has a $125 annual fee. The business card does offer 4x Marriott rewards on a variety of bonus categories, but since 4x Marriot rewards is only valued at {{Value|Marriott|4}}%, that doesn't make that much of a difference.

{{CardItem|spgluxury}}
'''Bonvoy Brilliant'''. Amex also issues Marriott's premium card. Typical signup bonuses are 75-100,000 points. It costs $450 per year, but come with an annual $300 Marriott credit that works on room rates. As a result, the out-of-pocket expense is typically only $150. For this extra annual fee, you'll get a 50,000 point certificate (rather than a 35,000 point certificate), automatic Gold status (instead of Silver), a Priority Pass membership (no access to Amex-run lounges or Priority Pass restaurants), a TSA credit, a possibility of getting up to $100 discounts on 2+ night stays at Ritz and St. Regis hotels, and a non-compelling bonus reward rate on airfare and restaurant spending. You'll also have the opportunity to earn Platinum status through $75,000 of annual credit card spending.

{{CardItem|marriottBold}}
'''Bonvoy Bold''' card makes a good downgrade option from the Boundless card. It has a lower sign up bonus than the other cards and doesn't provide an annual free night certificate, but it also doesn't have an annual fee. Since you are limited to the number of Chase cards you can get, you are better off starting with the regular Boundless version. But if you no longer want to pay the annual fee to access the free night certificate, you can download to the Bold card. You'll retain access to the 15 elite night credit benefit and the option to change back to the regular version of the card.

{{CardItem|ritz}}
'''Ritz Carlton Card'''. The Ritz Carlton Credit Card is no longer available for new signups, but you can still get it by converting a Chase Boundless or Bold card. It has an interesting set of benefits that might justify its $450 annual fee. It has mostly identical benefits as the Bonvoy Brilliant card, including the $300 Marriott credit, an annual 50,000-point free night certificate, and a Priority Pass membership. But the Ritz card provides Priority Pass memberships to an unlimited number of (free) authorized cardholders, three annual upgrades to the club level on paid Ritz stays (of up to 7 days each), primary rental car insurance and better travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

'''For most people, the annual free night certificate are more valuable than each card's annual fees'''.

'''These card earn higher rewards for spending at Marriott than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as one of the cards that earns the best reward rates on travel spending'''. 6 Marriott points is worth about {{Value|Marriott|6}} cents per dollar. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''None of these cards are worthwhile to use for other purchases'''.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|free night certificates}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Marriott bonvoy rewards

2021-10-28T20:03:40Z

Editor: /* Award Chart */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|combined}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}
<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.marriott.com/rewards/rewards-program.mi Official Site]'''

'''[//www.joinmarriottrewards.com/freenight16/ Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

<small>24-hr Automated Line</small> '''800-450-4442'''

<small>Customer Service</small> '''801-468-4000'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|MarriottSanAntonia2.jpg|full}}
{{Byline|Text|Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Marriott Brands|Marriott Brands]]
*[[#Free Night Certificates|Free Night Certificates]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Cash + Points Awards|Cash + Points Awards]]
*[[#Transferring Points to Airlines|Transferring Points to Airlines]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Airline Partnerships|Airline Partnerships]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Status|Shortcuts to Status]]
*[[#Marriott Credit Cards|Marriott Credit Cards]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>Points are worth about .7 cents each. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>Like most other hotel programs, you can earn enough points for several free nights by signing up for one of the program's credit cards. With three main cards available from Chase and Amex, you can earn even more points by signing up for multiple cards. But you can't simply signup for all the cards in a short span of time—you need to follow a set of complicated rules that Amex, Chase, and Marriott have instituted to try to minimize the number of bonuses they give to any member</li>

<li>Every year, each credit card also provides a certificate good for a free night at one of the program's hotels. The certificates from each of the "standard" credit cards are good for hotel nights that would cost 35,000 points or less. The certificates from the "premium" cards are good for hotels nights that would cost up to 50,000 points. If you have multiple cards, you can receive multiple certificates each year. </li>

<li>It can be a good deal to transfer your Marriott points to partner airlines in order to book frequent flyer tickets. With almost every partner, the rates are 1 frequent flyer mile for every 3 points. If you transfer a 60,000 point block, you'll get a 15,000 point bonus (for a total of 25,000 miles). At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, you are "buying" miles for {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents each. </li>

<li>Marriott has a promotion available for new members. where you can earn a free night certificate (good at lower category hotels), if you make two stays within the first four months after becoming a member. Wait to join the program until you are likely to make two stays and make sure to use the link above to register (you may need to open it in private / incognito mode).</li>

<li>Platinum elite status gives you lounge access and breakfast at most of the program's hotels, and the possibility of an upgrade to a suite. There are some tricks to earning status without staying the full 50 nights. </li>

<li>Titanium members get automatic United Silver elite status. </li>

<li>Cash + Points awards are almost never a good option. </li>

<li>Using points for upgrades can often be a good deal, with only 5,000 points needed to jump up each room category.</li>

<li>If you are making an award stay of at least 7 nights, you can take advantage of Marriott’s Hotel and Airfare awards, which let you use your Marriott points to “purchase” airline miles at cheaper rates. If you are making a peak-period stay, you can use a package to acquire miles for only 62.5% of the normal rate.</li>
</ul>

=== Marriott Brands ===

Because Marriott has so many brands and locations, with both middle-of-the-road and higher-end hotels, many people wind up staying at their hotels while they travel.

==== Luxury ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRitz.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsStRegis.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsJWMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsLuxury.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsW.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsEdition.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAutograph.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDesign.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Premium ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSheraton.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMVC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDelta2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMeridien.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsWestin.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRenaissance.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsGaylord2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriottExecutive.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsResidence.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTribute.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Select ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsCourtyard.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFourPoints.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSpringhill.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsProtea.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFairfield.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAloft.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMoxy.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTowneplace.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsElement2.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

You can use their [//www.marriott.com/hotel-search.mi Hotel Directory] to search for hotels by location, or their [//points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change hotel category database] to search by country and award category.

=== Free Night Certificates ===

'''Every year, each of the Marriott credit cards provides a certificate that you can use for a free hotel night'''. By getting multiple cards, it is possible to get multiple certificates. For more information about Marriott Free Night Certificates see {{Link|Marriott Certificate|our detailed guide}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each certificate is limited to less-expensive hotels, based on a "points cap"'''. Unlike the Hilton certificates, you can't use them to stay at the program's most expensive hotels. It is the actual point cost that counts, not the hotel's underlying category. For example, a 35,000 point certificate can be used for a Category 5 hotel during a standard date, but would be limited to a Category 4 hotel on a peak date.</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

<li>'''Starting sometime in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could book a hotel that costs 40,000 points using a 35,000 point certificate and 5,000 extra points. Once this is operational, it will make it far easier to use your certs, because you'll be able to get good value over a much wider range of hotels.</li>

<li>'''You won't receive a certificate during the first year you have the card'''. You'll only receive them after you renew each year. Certificates aren't credited until a month or two after your anniversary date, so you can't cancel the card right after your anniversary, get a refund of the annual fee, and still receive the certificate.</li>

<li>'''There are some limitations to how quickly you can sign up for multiple cards and still receive the signup bonuses'''. You are also restricted from getting the signup bonus for some cards, if you already have other cards. So if you want to maximize the number of certificates you can receive each year and you want to qualify for signup bonuses for each card you get, you'll need to spread your applications out, and apply for cards in a specific order. See more details at our guide to [[Marriott credit cards]].</li>
</ul>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If there are “standard” rooms available, you can USUALLY book them with your points'''. Each hotel can designate up to 10 days each year where they limit the award availability for their "standard rooms". Some hotels avoid fully participating in the program by treating most of their rooms as some sort of non-standard category, rather than as "standard" rooms, which effectively blocks award availability for most or all their rooms. </li>

<li>'''Starting in March 2022, Marriott is moving away from using an award chart'''. The number of points required for each hotel will dynamically change, just like cash prices. There won't be a fixed conversion between the cash price and the required number of points but point costs will be different for different nights and the price for any given night might go up and down. When this change happens, we expect many award nights to be priced at about .6 cents per point, but no one knows what pricing will look like.</li>

During 2022, MOST hotels in the program will stay within a range of award pricing ranging between their current off-peak and peak rates. For example, a hotel that is currently in Category 6, would dynamically change their pricing between 40-60,000 points. After that, there are no caps or guidelines on pricing. And a small percentage of higher-demand hotels will completely abandon their current ranges in March.

<li>'''As a result, it will be difficult to get outsized value from Marriott redemptions'''. If cash prices are high because of school holidays, ski season, a special event, or just a busy time of year, award priced will be high as well.</li>

<li>'''Until March 2022, award prices are still based on their award chart'''. Peak and off peak nights are the same for any given market, but the categorization constantly adjusts based on market demand and cash pricing and varies wildly across different months and even days. </li>

{{Table|Basic|5in}}
!rowspan=2|Cat
!colspan=3|Normal
!colspan=3|Saver
|-
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
|-
|1||7,500||5,000||10,000||6,000||4,000||8,500
|-
|2||12,500||10,000||15,000||11,000||8,000||13,000
|-
|3||17,500||15,000||20,000||16,000||12,000||18,000
|-
|4||25,000||20,000||30,000||22,500||17,500||27,500
|-
|5||35,000||30,000||40,000||32,500||27,500||37,500
|-
|6||50,000||40,000||60,000||45,000||35,000||55,000
|-
|7||60,000||50,000||70,000||55,000||45,000||65,000
|-
|8||85,000||70,000||100,000||80,000||65,000||90,000
{{/Table}}

<li>'''"PointSaver" rates are available for some hotels that save 10-20% off the regular award rates'''. Marriott publishes new [//www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi PointSaver options] every week. You don't necessarily need to go to a special webpage, Pointsaver rates will show up automatically when you search for award reservations.</li>

<li>'''If you want to book a nicer room, you may be able to upgrade an award booking for only 5,000 points ($35) per step'''. It may take multiple steps to get to the room category you want. Availability is up to each hotel. Particularly at more expensive hotels, you can often spend a little bit extra for a significantly nicer room. It is also often possible to upgrade your room by paying the cash difference between the rate for the upgraded room and the rate for the standard room.</li>

<li>'''Unlike most other programs, Marriott allows you to book an award night even if you don’t have enough points at the time of booking'''. You can lock in any availability ahead of time. You then have until 60 days after the reservation or 14 days before the stay to actually earn the points to pay for the free night award. Note that this isn't available at all hotels.</li>

<li>'''Your 5<sup>th</sup> night is free when booking with reward points'''. This does not apply to Cash + Points redemptions. </li>
</ul>

=== Cash + Points Awards ===

'''Cash + Points awards are almost never a good deal'''. In almost every case, when you take advantage of a Cash + Points award, you are essentially paying more than our typical value for a Marriott point ({{Value|Marriott}} cents per point). The amount of money that you need to pay as the "cash" portion of the award is too expensive for the number of points that you save on the normal award cost. In addition, there is no 5<sup>th</sup> night free benefit for Cash + Points awards. {{Link|cash and points}}.

{{Table|Basic|8in}}
! rowspan = 2 | Cat
! colspan = 3 | Standard
! colspan = 3 | Off-peak
! colspan = 3 | Peak
|-
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
|-
|1
|7,500||3,500 + $55||1.38
|5,000||2,500 + $50||2.00
|10,000||4,500 + $60||1.09
|-
|2
|12,500||6,000 + $65||1.00
|10,000||5,000 + $60||1.20
|15,000||6,500 + $70||.82
|-
|3
|17,500||8,500 + $80||.89
|15,000||7,500 + $70||.93
|20,000||9,000 + $90||.82
|-
|4
|25,000||12,000 + $105||.81
|20,000||10,000 + $90||.90
|30,000||13,500 + $120||.73
|-
|5
|35,000||17,000 + $140||.78
|30,000||16,000 + $120||.86
|40,000||19,000 + $165||.79
|-
|6
|50,000||25,000 + $190||.76
|40,000||22,000 + $165||.92
|60,000||27,500 + $225||.69
|-
|7
|60,000||30,000 + $250||.83
|50,000||27,500 + $225||1.00
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|-
|8
|85,000||42,500 + $440||1.04
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|100,000||50,000 + $635||1.27
{{/Table}}

=== Transferring Points to Airlines ===

Converting your points into frequent flyer miles remains one of the best uses of your Marriott points. {{Link|Marriott Airline}}.

<blockquote>
Unlike other hotel programs, you'll receive competitive conversion rates. In addition, the program has many more airlines partners than even the big bank-based programs (such as Membership Rewards). The big drawback is the amount of time it takes for your points to transfer to many of the supported frequent flyer programs.
</blockquote>

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''With almost every airline, you'll get 1 mile for every 3 points'''. The only exception are JetBlue and a couple of airlines that have unique frequent flyer currencies.</li>

<li>'''But you'll get 25,000 miles, instead of 20,000 miles, for every block of 60,000 points you transfer'''. The precise terms are that they will transfer an extra 15,000 points, whenever you transfer 60,000. At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, it costs {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents per airline mile, when you transfer blocks of 60,000 points.</li>

<li>'''They have far more frequent flyer partners than any other transferable point program'''. The Marriott program is the only reasonable option for converting to many valuable partners such as Japanese Airlines (JAL) or Korean Air.</li>

{{Table|Left|6in}}
!style='width: 25%;'|Star Alliance<br/>{United}
!style='width: 25%;'|SkyTeam<br/>{Delta)
!style='width: 25%;'|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style='width: 25%;'|Other
|-
|'''United''' (10% bonus)

'''Air Canada''' (Aeroplan)

'''Singapore Airlines''' (Kris Flyer)

'''ANA''' (Japan)

'''Asiana'''

'''Avianca''' (Columbia)

'''Lufthansa''' (Miles and More)

'''Aegean'''

'''Air China'''

'''Air New Zealand''' (200:1)

'''COPA'''

'''South African'''

'''TAP Air Portugal'''

'''Thai Airways'''

'''Turkish Airlines'''

|'''Delta'''

'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)

'''Korean Air'''

'''Aeroflot'''

'''Aeromexico'''

'''Alitalia'''

'''China Eastern'''

'''China Southern'''

'''Saudia'''

|'''American'''

'''British Airways'''

'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)

'''Japan Airlines''' (JAL)

'''Iberia'''

'''LATAM''' (South American)

'''Qantas'''

'''Qatar Airways'''

|'''Alaska'''

'''Southwest'''

'''JetBlue''' (6:1)

'''Hawaiian'''

'''Frontier'''

'''Emirates'''

'''Etihad'''

'''Virgin Atlantic'''

''Virgin Australia''

'''Hainan Airlines''' (China)

'''Jet Airways''' (India)
{{/Table}}
</ul>

{{Box|Hotel + Air Packages}}

'''If you are planning on converting your Marriott points to airline miles, you can use a Marriott Hotel + Air Package to get a 7-night hotel certificate at a discounted rate'''. {{Link|Marriott packages}}.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If you are transferring a block of 240,000 points to acquire 100,000 miles, you can spend an additional 90,000 points to get a 7-night Category 4 certificate. That is the normal cost of only 3 peak-period nights.</li>

<li>If you are transferring 120,000 points to acquire 50,000 miles, it will cost an extra 135,000 points for the 7-night certificate. That's still 75% of the normal cost.</li>

<li>Because the discounts are fixed, the 90,000 (or 45,000) point savings represents a smaller discount if you wind up staying at a higher category hotel, or if you use the certificate at a non-peak time.</li>
</ul>

'''If you are already planning on making a 7-night peak-period Marriott stay, you can use the opportunity to purchase 50,000 or 100,000 miles at only 62.5% of their normal cost'''. Savings will be less if you were only staying for 6 nights or are staying during non-peak periods.
{{/Box}}

=== Acquiring Points ===

====Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on the program's hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Purchasing points}}
You can purchase (or receive as a gift) a total of 1000,000 points per year. Points cost $12.50 per 1,000 and it can take up to two days for the transaction to be completed. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring between accounts}}
You can transfer up to 100,000 points per year to any other member. The minimum transfer is 1,000 points and there is a $10 transfer fee (waived for Gold elites and above).

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer {{Link|ultimate rewards|Ultimate Reward}} points (1000:1000), Membership Rewards (1000:1000) or {{Link|diners club|Diners Club}} points (1250:1500) to Marriott. We would normally recommend just paying cash or purchasing points, rather than using your valuable credit card points at these low-value transfer rates.

{{Label|Transferring from frequent flyer programs}}
For the sake of completeness, you can transfer points from a small set of frequent flyer programs, but the exchange rates are too low to make this something to consider.
{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn a base rate of 10 points per dollar spent at program hotels'''. At Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites, the base rate is 5 points per dollar; and at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay properties, the base rate is 2.5 points per dollar. You won’t earn points for stays booked through online travel agents or third-party channels. You need to book directly with Marriott.

You can earn points on up to 3 rooms, assuming you pay for all three. However, you'll only earn elite credit for a single room.

Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Premier members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% on the base rates.

You can choose to earn airline miles instead of points. But, this isn’t typically a great option, because you usually only earn 2 airline miles, rather than 10 Marriott points.

'''If you use one of the program's credit cards, you’ll earn an additional 6 points per dollar'''. This works out as a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''You can earn extra rewards if you are an Emirates elite'''. Emirates elites (Silver and above) earn 1 mile for every dollar spent at Marriott.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for one or more of the program's credit cards'''. Typical signup bonuses range from 50,000 - 125,000 points per card and you can earn bonuses from multiple cards (subject to some fairly complicated rules. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

'''Simply by linking your accounts, you'll earn Marriott points on some Uber purchases'''. You get 2 points for Uber eats orders of at least $25, 6 points for Uber Eats orders delivered to Marriott hotels, and 3 points per dollar for Uber XL, Comfort, and Black rides. You link your accounts in the Rewards section of the Uber app.

'''Marriott has a bunch of other point earning partners''' such as Cruise with Points and Rewards Network Dining.
[//www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/earn/reward-partners.mi Marriott earning partners].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 24 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can lose your points if you go 24 months without earning or redeeming points. Transferring points to or from other members, or earning points through social media programs doesn't count, but transferring to miles or buying points does. Our {{Link|point expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Award nights count towards earning elite status. Like most other programs, you won’t earn credit for nights booked through 3<sup>rd</sup> parties like Expedia. You'll earn points for up to three rooms, but you can only earn one elite credit per night.

{|class="table"
|<big>'''Rewards Member'''</big> (entry level)

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Discounted “member” rates'''.</li>

<li>'''Free Wi-Fi'''. If a "participating property" charges for Wi-Fi as part of a resort fee, they are supposed to give you some other "replacement" benefit. </li>
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Silver'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and the following benefit:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (25 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''2pm priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>

<li>'''Extra points or welcome amenity per stay'''. The option varies per brand. It is usually either 500 or 250 points. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced room upgrade''' (upon availability). This usually translates to a higher floor or better view. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced Internet access'''. Except at Edition hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, and Vistana.</li>

<li>'''Earn points on Emirates and China Eastern flights'''. You'll earn an extra 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates and every 4 China Eastern miles you earn.</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (50 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Breakfast for two'''. Platinum members will receive some level of breakfast benefits at most of the program's hotels. But due to overlapping rules and existing franchise agreements, the benefits you are entitled to, at any given hotel, can be very confusing. For more details, see the box below.</li>

If the hotel is providing you access to a lounge, you are typically only entitled to breakfast in the lounge, not the restaurant. But the hotel will sometimes allow you to have a restaurant breakfast instead. Breakfast is in lieu of points or other welcome amenity.

<li>'''Lounge Access'''. You get access to lounges at any Sheraton, Westin, or La Meridien that has one and at all non-resort locations of JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, Delta hotels, and Courtyard hotels outside of North America. You might also get access at any additional hotels that have lounges, especially at the legacy Starwood brands.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded room, including select Suites'''. You are supposed to be upgraded to the "best available room" available at check-in, including suites. However, not every hotel always follows this policy. So expect some upgrade, but it won't always be to a suite, even if one is still available. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. Suite upgrades are not available at Ritz hotels.</li>

<li>'''Guaranteed 4pm late checkout'''. Subject to availability at resort and convention hotels and the Design Hotels brand. Not available at Vistana and Marriott Vacation Club.</li>

<li>'''5 Suite Night Awards or another Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 50 actual elite night credits, you'll be entitled to your choice of several different "Choice Benefits". Most people will pick the 5 Suite Night awards, but you might choose another option, such as 40% off a branded mattress. </li>

Each Suite Night Award allows you to potentially confirm a suite room for a single night ahead of time. Certificates aren't processed until 5 days before arrival and they are not required to give you your upgrade, so there is no guarantee that you'll be able to use the certificate and you shouldn't expect to be able to at high-demand hotels. In theory, you are supposed to stay behind people who are paying for a suite ahead-of-time, but jump in front of anyone who would be freely upgraded upon arrival.

<li>'''Guaranteed bed type'''. You’ll get your choice of the options available in your room category. At hotels in US and Canada and many hotels outside North America, you are also guaranteed your smoking / nonsmoking preferences.</li>

<li>'''Elite-like benefits with China Eastern'''. Priority check-in, boarding, and luggage handling, access to China Eastern business-class lounges, and a baggage allowance</li>

{{Box|Making Sense of the Marriott Breakfast Benefit}}
The Marriott breakfast benefit is very confusing.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>''Breakfast and lounge access'': At '''Sheraton''', '''Westin''', and '''Le Meridien''' hotels, you're entitled to continental breakfast in the restaurant (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay) AND lounge access (if the hotel has a lounge).</li>

<li>''Breakfast and possibly lounge access'': At most other brands that had been part of the Starwood program ('''St. Regis''', the '''Luxury Collection''', '''W''', '''Tribute Portfolio''', '''Four Points''', and '''Aloft'''), your are entitled to breakfast (or your choice of 500-1000 points per stay). Most of these hotels don't have lounges, but if they do, you will probably be given lounge access as well.</li>

<li>''Breakfast only'': At "'''Resort'''" hotels for several Marriott brands ('''JW Marriott''', '''Marriott''', '''Delta''', '''Autograph Collection''', and '''Renaissance''') you are entitled to free breakfast (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay), but you are not entitled to lounge access (if any). The same is true at Protea hotels, but the point alternative is 500, not 1,000 points.</li>

<li>''Breakfast in the lounge (and sometimes if the lounge is not available)'': At '''non-resort hotels for these same brands''', you are entitled to lounge access (and breakfast in the lounge). You'll also get your choice of 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit per guest per stay (max 2). If the hotel doesn't have a lounge or the lounge is closed, you are supposed to receive a breakfast alternative. For North America and for European hotels without a lounge, that is supposed to be breakfast in the restaurant for 2 (continental only in the US). For other hotels, the specific breakfast benefit is unspecified. In any case, if the lounge is available, that is the only breakfast you are entitled to. </li>

<li>''Food and beverage credits'': At '''Courtyard''', '''AC''', and '''Moxy''' hotels, you receive a $10 food and beverage credit per person (max 2) per day or 500 points per stay. At Courtyards with lounges outside of the US, Canada, and Europe, you are actually entitled to lounge access with breakfast in the lounge if it is open, and breakfast in the restaurant if it is closed. Courtyards without lounges in those same regions have the regular Courtyard food and beverage credit.</li>

<li>At '''Gaylord''' hotels, you receive a measly $10 food and beverage credit per stay or 1,000 points..</li>

<li>''Free breakfast for all guests'': '''SpringHill Suites''', '''Fairfield Inn & Suites''', '''Residence Inn''', '''TownePlace Suites''', and '''Element''' hotels provide breakfast to all guests. Platinum members can choose either 500 points or some other F&B amenity.</li>

<li>''No breakfast or lounge access'': No breakfast or lounge benefit is provided at '''Ritz Carlton''', '''Edition''', '''Design Hotels''', '''Marriott Vacation Club''' or '''Marriott Executive Apartments'''. You just get 1,000 points per stay.</li>

</ul>
{{/Box}}
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Titanium'''</big> (75 nights)<br/>75% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''48-hour guaranteed room availability'''. Except during unusual circumstances.</li>

<li>'''Another Marriott Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 75 actual nights, you'll get another Choice Benefit. This time your choices include a 40,000 point free night certificate. Depending on your circumstances this might be a better option than another 5 Suite Night Awards.</li>

<li>'''United Silver Status'''.</li>

<li>'''Hertz Five Star Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>

</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Ambassador'''</big> (100 nights and $20,000 in spending)<br/>Adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist ">
<li>'''Ambassador service'''. A personal "ambassador" will help you navigate the hotel program and can often bend the rules as necessary.</li>

<li>'''Your24'''. Each hotel night allows you to stay for any 24-hour period. For example, if you check-in at 9pm, you don't need to check-out until 9pm; and if you want to check-in at 8am you can, as long as you check-out by 8am the next day.</li>

<li>'''Hertz President's Circle Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>
</ul>
|}

=== Airline Partnerships ===

'''Titanium members get automatic United Silver status'''. This gives you and companion free access to Economy Plus seats at check-in, the possibility of a premium cabin upgrade, free checked bags for your entire party, access to priority lines at the airport, and a bonus when you earn miles from flying. {{Link|frequent flyer benefits}}.

{{Image|RewardsPlus.jpg}}

All you need to do is to register with the '''[//fly-united.marriott.com/en_US/ Rewards Plus]''' program.

'''Marriott also has a partnership with Emirates'''. Marriott elites (Gold and above) earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates This is on top of the normal frequent flyer miles. And they earn an Emirates mile for every dollar they spend on Marriott rooms on top of their normal Marriott points.

Emirate elites don't get actual Marriott status, but they do get benefits like 4pm checkout and free enhanced Wi-Fi. [//www.emirates.com/english/skywards/about/partners/hotels/your-world-rewards.aspx Your World Rewards].

=== Shortcuts to Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

{{Status Marriott}}

</ul>

=== Marriott Credit Cards ===

You'll receive 15 elite night credits if you have any of the personal cards and an additional 15 elite night credits if you have any of the business cards. Unfortunately, you can't earn even more credits by having multiple personal or multiple business cards.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|marriott}}
'''Bonvoy Boundlesss'''. The personal version of the card is issued by Chase. Every year when you renew, you receive a free night certificate, good for a hotel night that would cost up to 35,000 points. Typical signup offers are 75-100,000 points. Provides nearly worthless Silver status. 6x points on Marriott purchases. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|spgbiz}}
'''Bonvoy Business'''. The business version of the card is issued by Amex. It has nearly identical features as the personal version, except that it has a $125 annual fee. The business card does offer 4x Marriott rewards on a variety of bonus categories, but since 4x Marriot rewards is only valued at {{Value|Marriott|4}}%, that doesn't make that much of a difference.

{{CardItem|spgluxury}}
'''Bonvoy Brilliant'''. Amex also issues Marriott's premium card. Typical signup bonuses are 75-100,000 points. It costs $450 per year, but come with an annual $300 Marriott credit that works on room rates. As a result, the out-of-pocket expense is typically only $150. For this extra annual fee, you'll get a 50,000 point certificate (rather than a 35,000 point certificate), automatic Gold status (instead of Silver), a Priority Pass membership (no access to Amex-run lounges or Priority Pass restaurants), a TSA credit, a possibility of getting up to $100 discounts on 2+ night stays at Ritz and St. Regis hotels, and a non-compelling bonus reward rate on airfare and restaurant spending. You'll also have the opportunity to earn Platinum status through $75,000 of annual credit card spending.

{{CardItem|marriottBold}}
'''Bonvoy Bold''' card makes a good downgrade option from the Boundless card. It has a lower sign up bonus than the other cards and doesn't provide an annual free night certificate, but it also doesn't have an annual fee. Since you are limited to the number of Chase cards you can get, you are better off starting with the regular Boundless version. But if you no longer want to pay the annual fee to access the free night certificate, you can download to the Bold card. You'll retain access to the 15 elite night credit benefit and the option to change back to the regular version of the card.

{{CardItem|ritz}}
'''Ritz Carlton Card'''. The Ritz Carlton Credit Card is no longer available for new signups, but you can still get it by converting a Chase Boundless or Bold card. It has an interesting set of benefits that might justify its $450 annual fee. It has mostly identical benefits as the Bonvoy Brilliant card, including the $300 Marriott credit, an annual 50,000-point free night certificate, and a Priority Pass membership. But the Ritz card provides Priority Pass memberships to an unlimited number of (free) authorized cardholders, three annual upgrades to the club level on paid Ritz stays (of up to 7 days each), primary rental car insurance and better travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

'''For most people, the annual free night certificate are more valuable than each card's annual fees'''.

'''These card earn higher rewards for spending at Marriott than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as one of the cards that earns the best reward rates on travel spending'''. 6 Marriott points is worth about {{Value|Marriott|6}} cents per dollar. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''None of these cards are worthwhile to use for other purchases'''.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|free night certificates}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Marriott credit cards

2021-10-28T03:20:34Z

Editor: /* Free Night Certificates */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: Marriott Credit Cards}}
{{Page|card|amex cards|hotel cards}}

<div class="top" style="width: 3in; margin:auto;">
{{Card|Marriott|3in}}
</div>

<div style="width: 3in; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
{{CardInfobox
|Bank=Chase
|Webpage=//creditcards.chase.com/marriott/cardmember
|ApplyLink=
|BusinessVersion=Both
|Fee=95-125
|Waived=
|FTF=0
|Credit=
|CurrentOffer=
Fantastic promotional offers for all versions of the card.

''Boundless'': 125,000 points plus a free night certificate (good for up to a 50,000 point stay) with $5,000 initial spend.

''Business''. 125,000 points plus 2x free night certificates (each good for up to a 50,000 point stay) with $5,000 initial spend. Best ever offer.

''Brilliant''. 150,000 points plus a free night certificate (good for up to a 85,000 point stay) with $5,000 initial spend. Best ever offer.
|CurrentOfferCustom=
|CurrentSpend=
|CurrentSpendCustom=
|OfferLink=
|NormalOffer=
|NormalSpend=
|NormalCustom=75,000 points ($3,000 initial spend) for personal, business, or premium card.
|NormalValue =
|NormalPer =
|PointType=
|SignupBonusChart=//www.uscreditcardguide.com/chase-marriott-premier-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart
|BonusCategories=6x Marriott / SPG Purchases (≈{{Value|Marriott|6}}%)

2x Everywhere Else (≈{{Value|Marriott|2}}%)

4x Restaurants, Gas, Telecommunications, and Shipping with the business versions (≈{{Value|Marriott|4}}%)

|CreditScore=
|Logo =
|Program = Combined
}}

{{Main|card}}
<div class="middle">
{{Card|Marriott|4in}}
</div>

'''The Marriott cards offer valuable signup bonuses and each one provides a free night certificate every year. They can also greatly reduce the number of nights you need to stay each year to qualify for Marriott's valuable Platinum elite status.'''

{{Box|COVID-19 Enhancements}}
Because it is hard to use credit card travel benefits during the pandemic, Chase and Amex have made some temporary changes to their cards.

<ul class="simplelist">
*Any Amex personal card that predates the start of 2021 will receive a dining credit each month. The Bonvoy Brilliant receives $20 and the Bonvoy Amex (old SPG card) receives $10 of free restaurant, delivery, or takeout food every month in 2021. You'll need to activate these as Amex Offers on each card.

*Any Amex Bonvoy Business Card that predates the start of 2021 will receive a $15 wireless credit each month. As with the restaurant credits, you'll need to activate these as Amex Offers on each card.

* Both personal and business Amex Marriott cards that predate 2021 should have Amex offers that provide 7,500 bonus points for every $7,500 you spend between activating the offer and the end of the year. Even with this 1x points per dollar boost, it might not be worth switching your spending to these cards.
</ul>
{{/Box}}

{{TOC|All}}
*[[#Marriott / SPG Credit Card Options|Marriott / SPG Card Options]]
*[[#Collecting the Signup Bonus|Signup Bonus]]
*[[#Free Night Certificates|Free Night Certificates]]
*[[#Earning Elite Status Nights|Earning Elite Status Nights]]
*[[#Other Notable Benefits|Other Notable Benefits]]
*[[#Additional Benefits with the Bonvoy Brilliant Card|Additional Benefits with the Bonvoy Brilliant Card]]
*[[#Bonus Categories|Bonus Categories]]
*[[#Getting Rid of the Card|Getting Rid of the Card]]
{{/TOC}}

=== Marriott / SPG Credit Card Options ===

Four Marriott cards are currently available.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|marriott|noguide}}
'''Marriott Bonvoy Boundless'''. The regular version of the Marriott card is issued by Chase and subject to its 5/24 rule. $95 annual fee.
[//creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/marriott-premier-plus Chase Webpage].
[//creditcards.chase.com/a1/marriottpremierplus Alternative Webpage]. [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/chase-marriott-premier-plus-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Signup Bonus Chart].

{{CardItem|spgbiz|noguide}}
'''Marriott Bonvoy Business'''. The business version is issued by Amex and is subject to its cap of 5 total credit cards at any one time. It has nearly identical features to the personal version, except for not super execiting 4x bonus rewards on US restaurants, US gas stations, wireless telephone service and shipping. $125 annual fee. [//www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/business/business-credit-cards/amex-marriott-bonvoy-business-credit-card Amex Webpage]. [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/amex-spg-business-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Signup Bonus Chart].

{{CardItem|spgluxury|noguide}}
'''Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant'''. The premium Marriott card is issued by Amex and is a rebranding of the old "SPG Luxury Card". While this card has a $450 annual fee, it comes with a $300 credit you can use for any spending at Marriott, easily lowering your out-of-pocket expense to $150. Its annual free night certificate is capped at 50,000 points (rather than 35,000) and it comes with a Priority Pass membership as well as other benefits.
[//www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card/marriott-bonvoy-brilliant Amex Webpage]. [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/amex-spg-luxury-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Signup Bonus Chart].

{{CardItem|MarriottBold|noguide}}
'''Marriott Bonvoy Bold'''. Chase also offers a no-annual-fee card with a lower signup bonus and no annual free night certificate. Since you are limited to the number of Chase cards you can get, it makes more sense to start with the regular "Boundless" version. But if you have the Boundless card and you no longer want to pay the annual fee to access the annual free night certificate, you might convert it to this version, rather than cancelling it. You'll retain access to the Marriott 15 elite night credit benefit and can convert it back if you need to. [//creditcards.chase.com/travel-credit-cards/marriott-bold?CELL=6TKW Chase Webpage]. [//www.uscreditcardguide.com/chase-marriott-bonvoy-bold-credit-card/#Historical_Offers_Chart Signup Bonus Chart].
{{/List|card}}

Marriott is also continuing to support the '''Marriott Premier Card''', '''Marriott Bonvoy Amex Card''' (the old SPG personal card), the '''Ritz Carlton Card''', and several other older Marriott cards, but none of these cards are available for new signups.

'''Which card to get is complicated'''.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>If you want to maximize the number of "free" elite night credits you get every year, you'll need a business card and a personal cards. If you are starting from scratch, you can get the Amex Brilliant card at roughly the same time as getting the business card, but you'd have to wait two years to get the Marriott card. On the other hand, holding onto both Amex cards will severely limit the number of other Amex cards you can get.</li>

<li>Chase's 5/24 rule and Amex's 5 card limit may determine which version to get. If you are blocked by Chase, you'll need to get one of the Amex cards. If you can get the Chase card, you'll have room for other cards from Amex. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>

<li>All other things being equal, we recommend the Brilliant card to anyone who is comfortable they will spend $300 per year with Marriott. It is worth paying a little more for the 50,000 point certificate.</li>
</ul>

=== Marriott Points ===

{{Hotel Points Intro|Marriott}}

'''You can also transfer them to dozens of different frequent flyer programs to use for award tickets'''. You'll receive 25,000 frequent flyer miles for every 60,000 points you transfer. At a value of .7 cents per point, you are "buying" frequent flyer miles for about 1.7 cents per mile.

<center>{{Tile|Marriott}}</center>

=== Collecting the Signup Bonus ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is worth signing up for these cards just to collect their signup bonuses'''. A typical signup bonus for the base cards is 75,000 points, with higher offers sometimes available. 75,000 Marriott points is valued at over $500 and 100,000 Marriott points is valued at $700.</li>

<li>'''You can only earn the signup bonus for the Amex cards once per lifetime'''. If you've had the same card before, Amex will still give you the card, but they won't let you earn the signup bonus. Targeted promotional offers occasionally bypass this limitation, allowing you to earn the bonus for am Amex card you've already had.</li>

<li>'''The Chase Marriott cards are affected by the 5/24 rule'''. You won't be approved if you've gotten 5 or more cards (from all banks combined) in the past 24 months.{{Link|Chase 5/24}}.</li>

<li>'''Chase, Marriott, and Amex are working together to limit the total number of signup bonuses you can earn'''.</li>

<ul>
<li>You can only have one of the current Chase cards (Marriott Boundless or Marriott Bold) at any one time. If you are going to signup for one of the Chase cards, the regular Boundless version is more valuable.</li>

<li>You can't receive a bonus on either of the Chase personal cards if you've received a bonus on either of the Amex cards (business or premium) in the last 24 months, and you can't receive a bonus on either of the Amex cards if you've received a bonus on either of the Chase cards in the last 24 months.</li>

Note that means that you can still get the signup bonuses on both the Amex cards during the same time period.

<li>If you still have the Bonvoy Amex Card (the old SPG personal card), you aren't eligible for the current Chase cards. If you still have the Marriott Business Card (from Chase), you aren't eligible for the signup bonus on the new Bonvoy Business Card from Amex. If you still have the Ritz Carlton card, you aren't eligible for the bonus on Amex's Bonvoy Brilliant (premium) card.</li>

</ul>
</ul>

=== Free Night Certificates ===

Every Marriott credit card gives you free night certificate every year, when you renew the card. {{Link|Marriott Certificate}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Marriott certificates can only be used for rooms that don’t exceed a specified points cap'''. For example, the certificate from the “regular” (Boundless) Marriott Card can only be used for rooms that would require up to 35,000 points fir an award night.</li>

<li>'''Starting in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 extra points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could book a hotel that costs 40,000 points with a 35,000 point certificate and 5,000 extra points. Once this is working, it will be easier to use your certificates because you can get good value over a wider range of hotels.</li>

<li>'''Until then, itis hard to use 35,000 point Marriott Certificates at nicer hotels'''. On the surface, it might look like 35,000 point certificates should be good enough to book solid hotels in most cities and at least some hotels in expensive cities like New York. However, you are most likely to want to use your certificate when hotel rates are high, and Marriott requires more points during each hotel’s peak days. During peak days, these certificates will only work at Marriott’s category 1-4 hotels, which tends to restrict you to Marriott’s lower tier brands and/or locations on the outskirts of cities.</li>

Nevertheless, you should still be able to get more value than the effective cost of the certificates. Just don’t expect to find many opportunities to use your certificates for hotel rooms that cost $200 or more.

<li>'''50,000 point certificates can be used at nicer hotels'''—Category 6 hotels on “standard” days, Category 5 hotels on “peak” days, and Category 7 hotels (out of 8) on “off-peak” days.</li>

<li>'''If you are interested in additional certificates, you can sign up for multiple cards'''. However, if you also want to receive a signup bonus for each new card, you'll need to follow some restrictions that are detailed above. And all the Marriott cards are subject to either Chase's 5/24 limits or Amex's 5 total Amex credit cards limit. {{Link|Amex Limits}}</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective "Cost"
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
{{/Table|Basic}}
<li>'''You'll receive the certificate a month or two after each year's anniversary date'''. You don't receive one the first year you have the card (you get the signup bonus instead).</li>
</ul>

=== Earning Elite Status Nights ===

'''If you have one of the Marriott personal credit cards, you'll receive 15 elite night credits every year. You can also get 15 elite night credits if you have one of the business cards'''. With both a personal and a business card, you'll receive a total of 30 elite night credits each year. But you won't earn extra credits from having multiple personal cards or multiple business cards.

These credit card elite nights significantly reduce the number of nights you need to reach Marriott's Platinum status. Platinum status entitles you to Marriott's free breakfast, free lounge access, and potential suite upgrade benefits. With both a personal and a business card, you'd only need to stay 20 nights (instead of 50) to achieve status. This includes both paid and award nights.

If you want the 30 credits and you don't already have one of the discontinued Marriott business cards, you'll need to get the Amex Bonvoy Business Card—it is the only business card available. This means the only personal card you can get, without waiting for two years, is the premium Amex Brilliant Card. If you aren't blocked by the signup rules or are wiling to wait, you might want to get the Chase Boundless Card instead (if you can) to avoid committing 2 of your maximum 5 Amex credit card slots to Marriott cards.

If you already have the Marriott Premier card (not available for new signups) you can also earn 1 elite night credit for every $3,000 you spend on the card. But this was not something we ever recommended, unless you are very close to a higher level status. The opportunity of every $3,000 worth of each elite night credit is about $30.

=== Other Notable Benefits ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Marriott Silver elite status'''. Entitles you to a measly 10% bonus points on stay, and priority late checkout (upon availability).</li>

If you spend at least $35,000 per year, you'll get Gold status. However this only provides 2pm priority late checkout (upon availability), a 25% bonus on points earned per stay (plus a per-brand point bonus), and an enhanced room upgrade (upon availability).

Since Gold status doesn't provide breakfast, lounge access, or much possibility of a significant room upgrade, we wouldn't get any of these cards for their hotel status benefit. And we wouldn't recommend spending $35,000 to upgrade to Gold status.

<li>'''An additional free night certificate with $60,000 spend''' (Business cards only). We would never recommend spending this much on the card. Certificate is capped at 35,000 points.</li>

<li>'''Premium in-room Wi-Fi access''' At participating properties.</li>

</ul>

The chase card also include:

<ul class="bulletlist">
{{Benefit Doordash}}
</ul>

The Amex cards provide the following additional benefits.

<ul class="bulletlist">
{{Benefit Amex}}
</ul>

=== Additional Benefits with the Bonvoy Brilliant Card ===

If you decide to spend $450 per year for the premium Marriott credit card, you'll get a collection of valuable additional benefits.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Annual $300 Marriott credit.'''. The first $300 you spend every year at Marriott hotels are offset on your credit card bill. As long as you are spending at least $300 with the program over the course of the year, your out-of-pocket expense of the Brilliant card is only 150. The question then becomes whether the other unique benefits are worth the extra $55 per year (compared to the other cards). This credit is based on your cardholder year, so you can't use two credits during the first year you have the card.</li>

<li>'''Annual 50,000 point hotel certificate''', rather than a 35,000 point certificate.</li>

<li>'''Gold Elite Status, rather than Silver'''. Unlike the other cards, you'll get Gold status without any spending requirement. Gold status isn't worth that much, but it is better than nothing and it certainly isn't worth putting enough spending on the other cards to earn it.</li>

<li>'''$100 credit on Ritz and St. Regis stays of 2 nights'''. This credit can be used for additional expenses incurred at the hotel, but not for your hotel bill itself. Furthermore, to get the credit, you'll need to book with a special rate code, which could easily result in a higher room rate. We wouldn't count on getting any value out of this benefit, but it is worth checking if you are planning a 2 night stay at one of these hotels.</li>

<li>'''Platinum Elite Status, if you spend $75,000 per year'''. Platinum status comes with free breakfast, lounge access, and the possibility of an upgrade to a suite. Assuming you have some way of generating this much spend, don't have a chance to earn status with 20 nights, still spend a bunch of nights at the program's hotels, and highly value these benefits, it might be worthwhile. You'd probably be giving up about $750 - $1,000 in lost rewards (or payment service fees) to qualify, but well-timed status can last for over two years.</li>

{{Benefit Lounge|two}}
{{Benefit TSA|4}}

<li>'''3x points with airlines and US Restaurants'''. This reward rate is too low to add any value.</li>

</ul>

Even assuming you don't need the Priority Pass membership or TSA Credit, we think that the minor benefits of Gold status combined with the more valuable free night certificate are probably worth the extra annual fee. For example, we would value 15,000 points at {{Value|Marriott|15000}}. But it isn't by much and there is some chance that you won't get full value from the $300 hotel credit. All things considered, it is a bit of a toss-up whether you'd choose to keep this card, versus (or in addition to) one of the other cards.

If you DO value the Priority Pass membership and spend a few nights a year at Marriott or SPG, the Brilliant card is clearly worthwhile.

=== Bonus Categories ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

{{Bonus Hotel|high|Marriott and SPG|6x points|{{Value|Marriott|6}}|These cards}}

<li>'''The business cards earn 4x points in a variety of categories but you can earn more valuable rewards from other cards'''. You'll earn 4x points (valued at {{Value|Marriott|4}} cents per dollar) at US Restaurants, US Gas stations and for wireless telephone and shipping purchases. This is probably better than what you can earn from your general purpose reward card, but you can earn more valuable rewards with other cards.</li>{{Link|Restaurant Spending}}.<br/>{{Link|Gas Spending}}.<br/>{{Link|Uncommon Categories}}.

{{Bonus Everyday|plural}}

</ul>

=== Getting Rid of the Card ===

{{Cancel Keep Points|Marriott points|points|Marriott}}. Your free night certificates are also safe and available in your Marriott account.

==== Marriott Boundless ====

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''We recommend downgrading your Boundless Card rather than cancelling it'''. Chase's 5/24 rule can make it difficult to get a new Chase card when you want to. Downgrading your card preserves the option of upgrading back in the future. You'll also retain some benefits, such as the 15 elite night credits each year and the minor Marriott Silver status benefits.</li>

You can product change between the Bonvoy Boundless ($95), Bonvoy Bold ($0), and the Ritz Carlton ($450) cards.

<li>'''You can wait to cancel your card until after the annual fee shows up on your statement'''. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Chase will refund the fee. After 30 days, you can receive a pro-rated refund by downgrading to the no-annual-fee Bold version.</li>

<li>'''By waiting and downgrading, you can receive an extra Marriott Free Night Certificate'''. You usually won't receive your free night certificate until after the cancellation deadline has passed. But you can wait to receive the certificate, downgrade to the Bold version, and get most of your annual fee back.</li>

<li>{{Cancel Retention Chase}}</li>
</ul>

==== Amex Brilliant and Business ====

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Before you cancel or downgrade the premium Brilliant version, try to maximize its benefits'''. The Marriott Hotel credit resets when you pay your annual fee. You may be able to use it to pay for a stay before the deadline for getting a full annual fee refund. For example, you can use it to book a prepaid resort reservation for later in the year.</li>

You won't receive the free night certificate until after the deadline to cancel the card has passed. If you have an available Amex credit card slot, it is can be worth holding onto the card until you receive the certificate and then downgrading your card to get most of the annual fee back. This also gives you more time to use the new Marriott Hotel credit.

<li>'''You can wait to cancel these cards until after the annual fee shows up on your statement'''. As long as you cancel within 30 days of the statement closing date, Amex will refund the fee. After 30 days, you can receive a pro-rated refund on the Brilliant Card by downgrading to the Amex Bonvoy Card (which is no longer available for new signups). There is no downgrade option for the Bonvoy Business card.</li>

</ul>

{{/Main|card}}

{{/Page|card}}

Marriott bonvoy rewards

2021-10-28T03:18:14Z

Editor: /* Free Night Certificates */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|combined}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}
<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.marriott.com/rewards/rewards-program.mi Official Site]'''

'''[//www.joinmarriottrewards.com/freenight16/ Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

<small>24-hr Automated Line</small> '''800-450-4442'''

<small>Customer Service</small> '''801-468-4000'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|MarriottSanAntonia2.jpg|full}}
{{Byline|Text|Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Marriott Brands|Marriott Brands]]
*[[#Free Night Certificates|Free Night Certificates]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Cash + Points Awards|Cash + Points Awards]]
*[[#Transferring Points to Airlines|Transferring Points to Airlines]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Airline Partnerships|Airline Partnerships]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Status|Shortcuts to Status]]
*[[#Marriott Credit Cards|Marriott Credit Cards]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>Points are worth about .7 cents each. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>Like most other hotel programs, you can earn enough points for several free nights by signing up for one of the program's credit cards. With three main cards available from Chase and Amex, you can earn even more points by signing up for multiple cards. But you can't simply signup for all the cards in a short span of time—you need to follow a set of complicated rules that Amex, Chase, and Marriott have instituted to try to minimize the number of bonuses they give to any member</li>

<li>Every year, each credit card also provides a certificate good for a free night at one of the program's hotels. The certificates from each of the "standard" credit cards are good for hotel nights that would cost 35,000 points or less. The certificates from the "premium" cards are good for hotels nights that would cost up to 50,000 points. If you have multiple cards, you can receive multiple certificates each year. </li>

<li>It can be a good deal to transfer your Marriott points to partner airlines in order to book frequent flyer tickets. With almost every partner, the rates are 1 frequent flyer mile for every 3 points. If you transfer a 60,000 point block, you'll get a 15,000 point bonus (for a total of 25,000 miles). At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, you are "buying" miles for {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents each. </li>

<li>Marriott has a promotion available for new members. where you can earn a free night certificate (good at lower category hotels), if you make two stays within the first four months after becoming a member. Wait to join the program until you are likely to make two stays and make sure to use the link above to register (you may need to open it in private / incognito mode).</li>

<li>Platinum elite status gives you lounge access and breakfast at most of the program's hotels, and the possibility of an upgrade to a suite. There are some tricks to earning status without staying the full 50 nights. </li>

<li>Titanium members get automatic United Silver elite status. </li>

<li>Cash + Points awards are almost never a good option. </li>

<li>Using points for upgrades can often be a good deal, with only 5,000 points needed to jump up each room category.</li>

<li>If you are making an award stay of at least 7 nights, you can take advantage of Marriott’s Hotel and Airfare awards, which let you use your Marriott points to “purchase” airline miles at cheaper rates. If you are making a peak-period stay, you can use a package to acquire miles for only 62.5% of the normal rate.</li>
</ul>

=== Marriott Brands ===

Because Marriott has so many brands and locations, with both middle-of-the-road and higher-end hotels, many people wind up staying at their hotels while they travel.

==== Luxury ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRitz.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsStRegis.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsJWMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsLuxury.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsW.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsEdition.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAutograph.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDesign.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Premium ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSheraton.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMVC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDelta2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMeridien.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsWestin.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRenaissance.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsGaylord2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriottExecutive.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsResidence.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTribute.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Select ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsCourtyard.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFourPoints.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSpringhill.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsProtea.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFairfield.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAloft.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMoxy.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTowneplace.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsElement2.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

You can use their [//www.marriott.com/hotel-search.mi Hotel Directory] to search for hotels by location, or their [//points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change hotel category database] to search by country and award category.

=== Free Night Certificates ===

'''Every year, each of the Marriott credit cards provides a certificate that you can use for a free hotel night'''. By getting multiple cards, it is possible to get multiple certificates. For more information about Marriott Free Night Certificates see {{Link|Marriott Certificate|our detailed guide}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each certificate is limited to less-expensive hotels, based on a "points cap"'''. Unlike the Hilton certificates, you can't use them to stay at the program's most expensive hotels. It is the actual point cost that counts, not the hotel's underlying category. For example, a 35,000 point certificate can be used for a Category 5 hotel during a standard date, but would be limited to a Category 4 hotel on a peak date.</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

<li>'''Starting sometime in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could book a hotel that costs 40,000 points using a 35,000 point certificate and 5,000 extra points. Once this is operational, it will make it far easier to use your certs, because you'll be able to get good value over a much wider range of hotels.</li>

<li>'''You won't receive a certificate during the first year you have the card'''. You'll only receive them after you renew each year. Certificates aren't credited until a month or two after your anniversary date, so you can't cancel the card right after your anniversary, get a refund of the annual fee, and still receive the certificate.</li>

<li>'''There are some limitations to how quickly you can sign up for multiple cards and still receive the signup bonuses'''. You are also restricted from getting the signup bonus for some cards, if you already have other cards. So if you want to maximize the number of certificates you can receive each year and you want to qualify for signup bonuses for each card you get, you'll need to spread your applications out, and apply for cards in a specific order. See more details at our guide to [[Marriott credit cards]].</li>
</ul>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If there are “standard” rooms available, you can USUALLY book them with your points'''. Each hotel can designate up to 10 days each year where they limit the award availability for their "standard rooms". Some hotels avoid fully participating in the program by treating most of their rooms as some sort of non-standard category, rather than as "standard" rooms, which effectively blocks award availability for most or all their rooms. </li>

<li>'''Points are based on their award chart'''. Peak and off peak nights are the same for any given market, but the categorization constantly adjusts based on market demand and cash pricing and varies wildly across different months and even days. </li>

{{Table|Basic|5in}}
!rowspan=2|Cat
!colspan=3|Normal
!colspan=3|Saver
|-
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
|-
|1||7,500||5,000||10,000||6,000||4,000||8,500
|-
|2||12,500||10,000||15,000||11,000||8,000||13,000
|-
|3||17,500||15,000||20,000||16,000||12,000||18,000
|-
|4||25,000||20,000||30,000||22,500||17,500||27,500
|-
|5||35,000||30,000||40,000||32,500||27,500||37,500
|-
|6||50,000||40,000||60,000||45,000||35,000||55,000
|-
|7||60,000||50,000||70,000||55,000||45,000||65,000
|-
|8||85,000||70,000||100,000||80,000||65,000||90,000
{{/Table}}

<li>'''"PointSaver" rates are available for some hotels that save 10-20% off the regular award rates'''. Marriott publishes new [//www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi PointSaver options] every week. You don't necessarily need to go to a special webpage, Pointsaver rates will show up automatically when you search for award reservations.</li>

<li>'''If you want to book a nicer room, you may be able to upgrade an award booking for only 5,000 points ($35) per step'''. It may take multiple steps to get to the room category you want. Availability is up to each hotel. Particularly at more expensive hotels, you can often spend a little bit extra for a significantly nicer room. It is also often possible to upgrade your room by paying the cash difference between the rate for the upgraded room and the rate for the standard room.</li>

<li>'''Unlike most other programs, Marriott allows you to book an award night even if you don’t have enough points at the time of booking'''. You can lock in any availability ahead of time. You then have until 60 days after the reservation or 14 days before the stay to actually earn the points to pay for the free night award. Note that this isn't available at all hotels.</li>

<li>'''Your 5<sup>th</sup> night is free when booking with reward points'''. This does not apply to Cash + Points redemptions. </li>
</ul>

=== Cash + Points Awards ===

'''Cash + Points awards are almost never a good deal'''. In almost every case, when you take advantage of a Cash + Points award, you are essentially paying more than our typical value for a Marriott point ({{Value|Marriott}} cents per point). The amount of money that you need to pay as the "cash" portion of the award is too expensive for the number of points that you save on the normal award cost. In addition, there is no 5<sup>th</sup> night free benefit for Cash + Points awards. {{Link|cash and points}}.

{{Table|Basic|8in}}
! rowspan = 2 | Cat
! colspan = 3 | Standard
! colspan = 3 | Off-peak
! colspan = 3 | Peak
|-
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
|-
|1
|7,500||3,500 + $55||1.38
|5,000||2,500 + $50||2.00
|10,000||4,500 + $60||1.09
|-
|2
|12,500||6,000 + $65||1.00
|10,000||5,000 + $60||1.20
|15,000||6,500 + $70||.82
|-
|3
|17,500||8,500 + $80||.89
|15,000||7,500 + $70||.93
|20,000||9,000 + $90||.82
|-
|4
|25,000||12,000 + $105||.81
|20,000||10,000 + $90||.90
|30,000||13,500 + $120||.73
|-
|5
|35,000||17,000 + $140||.78
|30,000||16,000 + $120||.86
|40,000||19,000 + $165||.79
|-
|6
|50,000||25,000 + $190||.76
|40,000||22,000 + $165||.92
|60,000||27,500 + $225||.69
|-
|7
|60,000||30,000 + $250||.83
|50,000||27,500 + $225||1.00
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|-
|8
|85,000||42,500 + $440||1.04
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|100,000||50,000 + $635||1.27
{{/Table}}

=== Transferring Points to Airlines ===

Converting your points into frequent flyer miles remains one of the best uses of your Marriott points. {{Link|Marriott Airline}}.

<blockquote>
Unlike other hotel programs, you'll receive competitive conversion rates. In addition, the program has many more airlines partners than even the big bank-based programs (such as Membership Rewards). The big drawback is the amount of time it takes for your points to transfer to many of the supported frequent flyer programs.
</blockquote>

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''With almost every airline, you'll get 1 mile for every 3 points'''. The only exception are JetBlue and a couple of airlines that have unique frequent flyer currencies.</li>

<li>'''But you'll get 25,000 miles, instead of 20,000 miles, for every block of 60,000 points you transfer'''. The precise terms are that they will transfer an extra 15,000 points, whenever you transfer 60,000. At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, it costs {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents per airline mile, when you transfer blocks of 60,000 points.</li>

<li>'''They have far more frequent flyer partners than any other transferable point program'''. The Marriott program is the only reasonable option for converting to many valuable partners such as Japanese Airlines (JAL) or Korean Air.</li>

{{Table|Left|6in}}
!style='width: 25%;'|Star Alliance<br/>{United}
!style='width: 25%;'|SkyTeam<br/>{Delta)
!style='width: 25%;'|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style='width: 25%;'|Other
|-
|'''United''' (10% bonus)

'''Air Canada''' (Aeroplan)

'''Singapore Airlines''' (Kris Flyer)

'''ANA''' (Japan)

'''Asiana'''

'''Avianca''' (Columbia)

'''Lufthansa''' (Miles and More)

'''Aegean'''

'''Air China'''

'''Air New Zealand''' (200:1)

'''COPA'''

'''South African'''

'''TAP Air Portugal'''

'''Thai Airways'''

'''Turkish Airlines'''

|'''Delta'''

'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)

'''Korean Air'''

'''Aeroflot'''

'''Aeromexico'''

'''Alitalia'''

'''China Eastern'''

'''China Southern'''

'''Saudia'''

|'''American'''

'''British Airways'''

'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)

'''Japan Airlines''' (JAL)

'''Iberia'''

'''LATAM''' (South American)

'''Qantas'''

'''Qatar Airways'''

|'''Alaska'''

'''Southwest'''

'''JetBlue''' (6:1)

'''Hawaiian'''

'''Frontier'''

'''Emirates'''

'''Etihad'''

'''Virgin Atlantic'''

''Virgin Australia''

'''Hainan Airlines''' (China)

'''Jet Airways''' (India)
{{/Table}}
</ul>

{{Box|Hotel + Air Packages}}

'''If you are planning on converting your Marriott points to airline miles, you can use a Marriott Hotel + Air Package to get a 7-night hotel certificate at a discounted rate'''. {{Link|Marriott packages}}.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If you are transferring a block of 240,000 points to acquire 100,000 miles, you can spend an additional 90,000 points to get a 7-night Category 4 certificate. That is the normal cost of only 3 peak-period nights.</li>

<li>If you are transferring 120,000 points to acquire 50,000 miles, it will cost an extra 135,000 points for the 7-night certificate. That's still 75% of the normal cost.</li>

<li>Because the discounts are fixed, the 90,000 (or 45,000) point savings represents a smaller discount if you wind up staying at a higher category hotel, or if you use the certificate at a non-peak time.</li>
</ul>

'''If you are already planning on making a 7-night peak-period Marriott stay, you can use the opportunity to purchase 50,000 or 100,000 miles at only 62.5% of their normal cost'''. Savings will be less if you were only staying for 6 nights or are staying during non-peak periods.
{{/Box}}

=== Acquiring Points ===

====Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on the program's hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Purchasing points}}
You can purchase (or receive as a gift) a total of 1000,000 points per year. Points cost $12.50 per 1,000 and it can take up to two days for the transaction to be completed. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring between accounts}}
You can transfer up to 100,000 points per year to any other member. The minimum transfer is 1,000 points and there is a $10 transfer fee (waived for Gold elites and above).

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer {{Link|ultimate rewards|Ultimate Reward}} points (1000:1000), Membership Rewards (1000:1000) or {{Link|diners club|Diners Club}} points (1250:1500) to Marriott. We would normally recommend just paying cash or purchasing points, rather than using your valuable credit card points at these low-value transfer rates.

{{Label|Transferring from frequent flyer programs}}
For the sake of completeness, you can transfer points from a small set of frequent flyer programs, but the exchange rates are too low to make this something to consider.
{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn a base rate of 10 points per dollar spent at program hotels'''. At Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites, the base rate is 5 points per dollar; and at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay properties, the base rate is 2.5 points per dollar. You won’t earn points for stays booked through online travel agents or third-party channels. You need to book directly with Marriott.

You can earn points on up to 3 rooms, assuming you pay for all three. However, you'll only earn elite credit for a single room.

Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Premier members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% on the base rates.

You can choose to earn airline miles instead of points. But, this isn’t typically a great option, because you usually only earn 2 airline miles, rather than 10 Marriott points.

'''If you use one of the program's credit cards, you’ll earn an additional 6 points per dollar'''. This works out as a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''You can earn extra rewards if you are an Emirates elite'''. Emirates elites (Silver and above) earn 1 mile for every dollar spent at Marriott.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for one or more of the program's credit cards'''. Typical signup bonuses range from 50,000 - 125,000 points per card and you can earn bonuses from multiple cards (subject to some fairly complicated rules. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

'''Simply by linking your accounts, you'll earn Marriott points on some Uber purchases'''. You get 2 points for Uber eats orders of at least $25, 6 points for Uber Eats orders delivered to Marriott hotels, and 3 points per dollar for Uber XL, Comfort, and Black rides. You link your accounts in the Rewards section of the Uber app.

'''Marriott has a bunch of other point earning partners''' such as Cruise with Points and Rewards Network Dining.
[//www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/earn/reward-partners.mi Marriott earning partners].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 24 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can lose your points if you go 24 months without earning or redeeming points. Transferring points to or from other members, or earning points through social media programs doesn't count, but transferring to miles or buying points does. Our {{Link|point expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Award nights count towards earning elite status. Like most other programs, you won’t earn credit for nights booked through 3<sup>rd</sup> parties like Expedia. You'll earn points for up to three rooms, but you can only earn one elite credit per night.

{|class="table"
|<big>'''Rewards Member'''</big> (entry level)

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Discounted “member” rates'''.</li>

<li>'''Free Wi-Fi'''. If a "participating property" charges for Wi-Fi as part of a resort fee, they are supposed to give you some other "replacement" benefit. </li>
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Silver'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and the following benefit:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (25 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''2pm priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>

<li>'''Extra points or welcome amenity per stay'''. The option varies per brand. It is usually either 500 or 250 points. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced room upgrade''' (upon availability). This usually translates to a higher floor or better view. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced Internet access'''. Except at Edition hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, and Vistana.</li>

<li>'''Earn points on Emirates and China Eastern flights'''. You'll earn an extra 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates and every 4 China Eastern miles you earn.</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (50 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Breakfast for two'''. Platinum members will receive some level of breakfast benefits at most of the program's hotels. But due to overlapping rules and existing franchise agreements, the benefits you are entitled to, at any given hotel, can be very confusing. For more details, see the box below.</li>

If the hotel is providing you access to a lounge, you are typically only entitled to breakfast in the lounge, not the restaurant. But the hotel will sometimes allow you to have a restaurant breakfast instead. Breakfast is in lieu of points or other welcome amenity.

<li>'''Lounge Access'''. You get access to lounges at any Sheraton, Westin, or La Meridien that has one and at all non-resort locations of JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, Delta hotels, and Courtyard hotels outside of North America. You might also get access at any additional hotels that have lounges, especially at the legacy Starwood brands.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded room, including select Suites'''. You are supposed to be upgraded to the "best available room" available at check-in, including suites. However, not every hotel always follows this policy. So expect some upgrade, but it won't always be to a suite, even if one is still available. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. Suite upgrades are not available at Ritz hotels.</li>

<li>'''Guaranteed 4pm late checkout'''. Subject to availability at resort and convention hotels and the Design Hotels brand. Not available at Vistana and Marriott Vacation Club.</li>

<li>'''5 Suite Night Awards or another Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 50 actual elite night credits, you'll be entitled to your choice of several different "Choice Benefits". Most people will pick the 5 Suite Night awards, but you might choose another option, such as 40% off a branded mattress. </li>

Each Suite Night Award allows you to potentially confirm a suite room for a single night ahead of time. Certificates aren't processed until 5 days before arrival and they are not required to give you your upgrade, so there is no guarantee that you'll be able to use the certificate and you shouldn't expect to be able to at high-demand hotels. In theory, you are supposed to stay behind people who are paying for a suite ahead-of-time, but jump in front of anyone who would be freely upgraded upon arrival.

<li>'''Guaranteed bed type'''. You’ll get your choice of the options available in your room category. At hotels in US and Canada and many hotels outside North America, you are also guaranteed your smoking / nonsmoking preferences.</li>

<li>'''Elite-like benefits with China Eastern'''. Priority check-in, boarding, and luggage handling, access to China Eastern business-class lounges, and a baggage allowance</li>

{{Box|Making Sense of the Marriott Breakfast Benefit}}
The Marriott breakfast benefit is very confusing.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>''Breakfast and lounge access'': At '''Sheraton''', '''Westin''', and '''Le Meridien''' hotels, you're entitled to continental breakfast in the restaurant (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay) AND lounge access (if the hotel has a lounge).</li>

<li>''Breakfast and possibly lounge access'': At most other brands that had been part of the Starwood program ('''St. Regis''', the '''Luxury Collection''', '''W''', '''Tribute Portfolio''', '''Four Points''', and '''Aloft'''), your are entitled to breakfast (or your choice of 500-1000 points per stay). Most of these hotels don't have lounges, but if they do, you will probably be given lounge access as well.</li>

<li>''Breakfast only'': At "'''Resort'''" hotels for several Marriott brands ('''JW Marriott''', '''Marriott''', '''Delta''', '''Autograph Collection''', and '''Renaissance''') you are entitled to free breakfast (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay), but you are not entitled to lounge access (if any). The same is true at Protea hotels, but the point alternative is 500, not 1,000 points.</li>

<li>''Breakfast in the lounge (and sometimes if the lounge is not available)'': At '''non-resort hotels for these same brands''', you are entitled to lounge access (and breakfast in the lounge). You'll also get your choice of 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit per guest per stay (max 2). If the hotel doesn't have a lounge or the lounge is closed, you are supposed to receive a breakfast alternative. For North America and for European hotels without a lounge, that is supposed to be breakfast in the restaurant for 2 (continental only in the US). For other hotels, the specific breakfast benefit is unspecified. In any case, if the lounge is available, that is the only breakfast you are entitled to. </li>

<li>''Food and beverage credits'': At '''Courtyard''', '''AC''', and '''Moxy''' hotels, you receive a $10 food and beverage credit per person (max 2) per day or 500 points per stay. At Courtyards with lounges outside of the US, Canada, and Europe, you are actually entitled to lounge access with breakfast in the lounge if it is open, and breakfast in the restaurant if it is closed. Courtyards without lounges in those same regions have the regular Courtyard food and beverage credit.</li>

<li>At '''Gaylord''' hotels, you receive a measly $10 food and beverage credit per stay or 1,000 points..</li>

<li>''Free breakfast for all guests'': '''SpringHill Suites''', '''Fairfield Inn & Suites''', '''Residence Inn''', '''TownePlace Suites''', and '''Element''' hotels provide breakfast to all guests. Platinum members can choose either 500 points or some other F&B amenity.</li>

<li>''No breakfast or lounge access'': No breakfast or lounge benefit is provided at '''Ritz Carlton''', '''Edition''', '''Design Hotels''', '''Marriott Vacation Club''' or '''Marriott Executive Apartments'''. You just get 1,000 points per stay.</li>

</ul>
{{/Box}}
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Titanium'''</big> (75 nights)<br/>75% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''48-hour guaranteed room availability'''. Except during unusual circumstances.</li>

<li>'''Another Marriott Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 75 actual nights, you'll get another Choice Benefit. This time your choices include a 40,000 point free night certificate. Depending on your circumstances this might be a better option than another 5 Suite Night Awards.</li>

<li>'''United Silver Status'''.</li>

<li>'''Hertz Five Star Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>

</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Ambassador'''</big> (100 nights and $20,000 in spending)<br/>Adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist ">
<li>'''Ambassador service'''. A personal "ambassador" will help you navigate the hotel program and can often bend the rules as necessary.</li>

<li>'''Your24'''. Each hotel night allows you to stay for any 24-hour period. For example, if you check-in at 9pm, you don't need to check-out until 9pm; and if you want to check-in at 8am you can, as long as you check-out by 8am the next day.</li>

<li>'''Hertz President's Circle Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>
</ul>
|}

=== Airline Partnerships ===

'''Titanium members get automatic United Silver status'''. This gives you and companion free access to Economy Plus seats at check-in, the possibility of a premium cabin upgrade, free checked bags for your entire party, access to priority lines at the airport, and a bonus when you earn miles from flying. {{Link|frequent flyer benefits}}.

{{Image|RewardsPlus.jpg}}

All you need to do is to register with the '''[//fly-united.marriott.com/en_US/ Rewards Plus]''' program.

'''Marriott also has a partnership with Emirates'''. Marriott elites (Gold and above) earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates This is on top of the normal frequent flyer miles. And they earn an Emirates mile for every dollar they spend on Marriott rooms on top of their normal Marriott points.

Emirate elites don't get actual Marriott status, but they do get benefits like 4pm checkout and free enhanced Wi-Fi. [//www.emirates.com/english/skywards/about/partners/hotels/your-world-rewards.aspx Your World Rewards].

=== Shortcuts to Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

{{Status Marriott}}

</ul>

=== Marriott Credit Cards ===

You'll receive 15 elite night credits if you have any of the personal cards and an additional 15 elite night credits if you have any of the business cards. Unfortunately, you can't earn even more credits by having multiple personal or multiple business cards.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|marriott}}
'''Bonvoy Boundlesss'''. The personal version of the card is issued by Chase. Every year when you renew, you receive a free night certificate, good for a hotel night that would cost up to 35,000 points. Typical signup offers are 75-100,000 points. Provides nearly worthless Silver status. 6x points on Marriott purchases. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|spgbiz}}
'''Bonvoy Business'''. The business version of the card is issued by Amex. It has nearly identical features as the personal version, except that it has a $125 annual fee. The business card does offer 4x Marriott rewards on a variety of bonus categories, but since 4x Marriot rewards is only valued at {{Value|Marriott|4}}%, that doesn't make that much of a difference.

{{CardItem|spgluxury}}
'''Bonvoy Brilliant'''. Amex also issues Marriott's premium card. Typical signup bonuses are 75-100,000 points. It costs $450 per year, but come with an annual $300 Marriott credit that works on room rates. As a result, the out-of-pocket expense is typically only $150. For this extra annual fee, you'll get a 50,000 point certificate (rather than a 35,000 point certificate), automatic Gold status (instead of Silver), a Priority Pass membership (no access to Amex-run lounges or Priority Pass restaurants), a TSA credit, a possibility of getting up to $100 discounts on 2+ night stays at Ritz and St. Regis hotels, and a non-compelling bonus reward rate on airfare and restaurant spending. You'll also have the opportunity to earn Platinum status through $75,000 of annual credit card spending.

{{CardItem|marriottBold}}
'''Bonvoy Bold''' card makes a good downgrade option from the Boundless card. It has a lower sign up bonus than the other cards and doesn't provide an annual free night certificate, but it also doesn't have an annual fee. Since you are limited to the number of Chase cards you can get, you are better off starting with the regular Boundless version. But if you no longer want to pay the annual fee to access the free night certificate, you can download to the Bold card. You'll retain access to the 15 elite night credit benefit and the option to change back to the regular version of the card.

{{CardItem|ritz}}
'''Ritz Carlton Card'''. The Ritz Carlton Credit Card is no longer available for new signups, but you can still get it by converting a Chase Boundless or Bold card. It has an interesting set of benefits that might justify its $450 annual fee. It has mostly identical benefits as the Bonvoy Brilliant card, including the $300 Marriott credit, an annual 50,000-point free night certificate, and a Priority Pass membership. But the Ritz card provides Priority Pass memberships to an unlimited number of (free) authorized cardholders, three annual upgrades to the club level on paid Ritz stays (of up to 7 days each), primary rental car insurance and better travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

'''For most people, the annual free night certificate are more valuable than each card's annual fees'''.

'''These card earn higher rewards for spending at Marriott than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as one of the cards that earns the best reward rates on travel spending'''. 6 Marriott points is worth about {{Value|Marriott|6}} cents per dollar. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''None of these cards are worthwhile to use for other purchases'''.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|free night certificates}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Marriott bonvoy rewards

2021-10-28T03:17:22Z

Editor: /* Free Night Certificates */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|combined}} (2021)}}
{{Page|program|Hotel Strategies|Hotel Program List}}
<div class="row" >
<div class="col-xs-3" >

'''[//www.marriott.com/rewards/rewards-program.mi Official Site]'''

'''[//www.joinmarriottrewards.com/freenight16/ Join]'''

</div>
<div class="col-xs-9" style="text-align: right;">

<small>24-hr Automated Line</small> '''800-450-4442'''

<small>Customer Service</small> '''801-468-4000'''

</div>
</div>

{{Image|MarriottSanAntonia2.jpg|full}}
{{Byline|Text|Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Quick Guide|Quick Guide]]
*[[#Marriott Brands|Marriott Brands]]
*[[#Free Night Certificates|Free Night Certificates]]
*[[#Award Chart|Award Chart]]
*[[#Cash + Points Awards|Cash + Points Awards]]
*[[#Transferring Points to Airlines|Transferring Points to Airlines]]
*[[#Acquiring Points|Acquiring Points]]
*[[#Keeping your Points from Expiring|Points Expiration]]
*[[#Member Benefits|Member Benefits]]
*[[#Airline Partnerships|Airline Partnerships]]
*[[#Shortcuts to Status|Shortcuts to Status]]
*[[#Marriott Credit Cards|Marriott Credit Cards]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|program}}
=== Quick Guide ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>Points are worth about .7 cents each. {{Link|Hotel Point Values}}</li>

<li>Like most other hotel programs, you can earn enough points for several free nights by signing up for one of the program's credit cards. With three main cards available from Chase and Amex, you can earn even more points by signing up for multiple cards. But you can't simply signup for all the cards in a short span of time—you need to follow a set of complicated rules that Amex, Chase, and Marriott have instituted to try to minimize the number of bonuses they give to any member</li>

<li>Every year, each credit card also provides a certificate good for a free night at one of the program's hotels. The certificates from each of the "standard" credit cards are good for hotel nights that would cost 35,000 points or less. The certificates from the "premium" cards are good for hotels nights that would cost up to 50,000 points. If you have multiple cards, you can receive multiple certificates each year. </li>

<li>It can be a good deal to transfer your Marriott points to partner airlines in order to book frequent flyer tickets. With almost every partner, the rates are 1 frequent flyer mile for every 3 points. If you transfer a 60,000 point block, you'll get a 15,000 point bonus (for a total of 25,000 miles). At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, you are "buying" miles for {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents each. </li>

<li>Marriott has a promotion available for new members. where you can earn a free night certificate (good at lower category hotels), if you make two stays within the first four months after becoming a member. Wait to join the program until you are likely to make two stays and make sure to use the link above to register (you may need to open it in private / incognito mode).</li>

<li>Platinum elite status gives you lounge access and breakfast at most of the program's hotels, and the possibility of an upgrade to a suite. There are some tricks to earning status without staying the full 50 nights. </li>

<li>Titanium members get automatic United Silver elite status. </li>

<li>Cash + Points awards are almost never a good option. </li>

<li>Using points for upgrades can often be a good deal, with only 5,000 points needed to jump up each room category.</li>

<li>If you are making an award stay of at least 7 nights, you can take advantage of Marriott’s Hotel and Airfare awards, which let you use your Marriott points to “purchase” airline miles at cheaper rates. If you are making a peak-period stay, you can use a package to acquire miles for only 62.5% of the normal rate.</li>
</ul>

=== Marriott Brands ===

Because Marriott has so many brands and locations, with both middle-of-the-road and higher-end hotels, many people wind up staying at their hotels while they travel.

==== Luxury ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRitz.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsStRegis.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsJWMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsLuxury.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsW.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsEdition.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAutograph.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDesign.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Premium ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriott.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSheraton.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMVC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsDelta2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMeridien.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsWestin.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsRenaissance.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsGaylord2.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMarriottExecutive.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsResidence.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTribute.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

==== Select ====

<center>
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsCourtyard.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFourPoints.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsSpringhill.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsProtea.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsFairfield.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAC.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsAloft.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsMoxy.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsTowneplace.jpg|160|160}}
{{ImageGrid|MarriottBrandsElement2.jpg|160|160}}
</center>

You can use their [//www.marriott.com/hotel-search.mi Hotel Directory] to search for hotels by location, or their [//points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change hotel category database] to search by country and award category.

=== Free Night Certificates ===

'''Every year, each of the Marriott credit cards provides a certificate that you can use for a free hotel night'''. By getting multiple cards, it is possible to get multiple certificates. For more information about Marriott Free Night Certificates see {{Link|Marriott Certificate|our detailed guide}}.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each certificate is limited to less-expensive hotels, based on a "points cap"'''. Unlike the Hilton certificates, you can't use them to stay at the program's most expensive hotels. It is the actual point cost that counts, not the hotel's underlying category. For example, a 35,000 point certificate can be used for a Category 5 hotel during a standard date, but would be limited to a Category 4 hotel on a peak date.</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Annual Fee
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

<li>'''Starting sometime in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could book a hotel that costs 40,000 points using a 35,000 point certificate and 5,000 extra points. Once this is operational, it will make it far easier to use your certs, because you'll be able to get good value over a much wider range of hotels.</li>

<li>'''You won't receive a certificate during the first year you have the card'''. You'll only receive them after you renew each year. Certificates aren't credited until a month or two after your anniversary date, so you can't cancel the card right after your anniversary, get a refund of the annual fee, and still receive the certificate.</li>

<li>'''There are some limitations to how quickly you can sign up for multiple cards and still receive the signup bonuses'''. You are also restricted from getting the signup bonus for some cards, if you already have other cards. So if you want to maximize the number of certificates you can receive each year and you want to qualify for signup bonuses for each card you get, you'll need to spread your applications out, and apply for cards in a specific order. See more details at our guide to [[Marriott / SPG Credit Cards]].</li>
</ul>

=== Award Chart ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''If there are “standard” rooms available, you can USUALLY book them with your points'''. Each hotel can designate up to 10 days each year where they limit the award availability for their "standard rooms". Some hotels avoid fully participating in the program by treating most of their rooms as some sort of non-standard category, rather than as "standard" rooms, which effectively blocks award availability for most or all their rooms. </li>

<li>'''Points are based on their award chart'''. Peak and off peak nights are the same for any given market, but the categorization constantly adjusts based on market demand and cash pricing and varies wildly across different months and even days. </li>

{{Table|Basic|5in}}
!rowspan=2|Cat
!colspan=3|Normal
!colspan=3|Saver
|-
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Standard
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Off-Peak
!style='width: 0.75in;'|Peak
|-
|1||7,500||5,000||10,000||6,000||4,000||8,500
|-
|2||12,500||10,000||15,000||11,000||8,000||13,000
|-
|3||17,500||15,000||20,000||16,000||12,000||18,000
|-
|4||25,000||20,000||30,000||22,500||17,500||27,500
|-
|5||35,000||30,000||40,000||32,500||27,500||37,500
|-
|6||50,000||40,000||60,000||45,000||35,000||55,000
|-
|7||60,000||50,000||70,000||55,000||45,000||65,000
|-
|8||85,000||70,000||100,000||80,000||65,000||90,000
{{/Table}}

<li>'''"PointSaver" rates are available for some hotels that save 10-20% off the regular award rates'''. Marriott publishes new [//www.marriott.com/rewards/marriottRewardsPointSavers.mi PointSaver options] every week. You don't necessarily need to go to a special webpage, Pointsaver rates will show up automatically when you search for award reservations.</li>

<li>'''If you want to book a nicer room, you may be able to upgrade an award booking for only 5,000 points ($35) per step'''. It may take multiple steps to get to the room category you want. Availability is up to each hotel. Particularly at more expensive hotels, you can often spend a little bit extra for a significantly nicer room. It is also often possible to upgrade your room by paying the cash difference between the rate for the upgraded room and the rate for the standard room.</li>

<li>'''Unlike most other programs, Marriott allows you to book an award night even if you don’t have enough points at the time of booking'''. You can lock in any availability ahead of time. You then have until 60 days after the reservation or 14 days before the stay to actually earn the points to pay for the free night award. Note that this isn't available at all hotels.</li>

<li>'''Your 5<sup>th</sup> night is free when booking with reward points'''. This does not apply to Cash + Points redemptions. </li>
</ul>

=== Cash + Points Awards ===

'''Cash + Points awards are almost never a good deal'''. In almost every case, when you take advantage of a Cash + Points award, you are essentially paying more than our typical value for a Marriott point ({{Value|Marriott}} cents per point). The amount of money that you need to pay as the "cash" portion of the award is too expensive for the number of points that you save on the normal award cost. In addition, there is no 5<sup>th</sup> night free benefit for Cash + Points awards. {{Link|cash and points}}.

{{Table|Basic|8in}}
! rowspan = 2 | Cat
! colspan = 3 | Standard
! colspan = 3 | Off-peak
! colspan = 3 | Peak
|-
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
!style="width: .5in"|Normal
!style="width: 1.5in"|Cash + Points
!style="width: .5in"|Cost per point
|-
|1
|7,500||3,500 + $55||1.38
|5,000||2,500 + $50||2.00
|10,000||4,500 + $60||1.09
|-
|2
|12,500||6,000 + $65||1.00
|10,000||5,000 + $60||1.20
|15,000||6,500 + $70||.82
|-
|3
|17,500||8,500 + $80||.89
|15,000||7,500 + $70||.93
|20,000||9,000 + $90||.82
|-
|4
|25,000||12,000 + $105||.81
|20,000||10,000 + $90||.90
|30,000||13,500 + $120||.73
|-
|5
|35,000||17,000 + $140||.78
|30,000||16,000 + $120||.86
|40,000||19,000 + $165||.79
|-
|6
|50,000||25,000 + $190||.76
|40,000||22,000 + $165||.92
|60,000||27,500 + $225||.69
|-
|7
|60,000||30,000 + $250||.83
|50,000||27,500 + $225||1.00
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|-
|8
|85,000||42,500 + $440||1.04
|70,000||35,000 + $325||.93
|100,000||50,000 + $635||1.27
{{/Table}}

=== Transferring Points to Airlines ===

Converting your points into frequent flyer miles remains one of the best uses of your Marriott points. {{Link|Marriott Airline}}.

<blockquote>
Unlike other hotel programs, you'll receive competitive conversion rates. In addition, the program has many more airlines partners than even the big bank-based programs (such as Membership Rewards). The big drawback is the amount of time it takes for your points to transfer to many of the supported frequent flyer programs.
</blockquote>

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''With almost every airline, you'll get 1 mile for every 3 points'''. The only exception are JetBlue and a couple of airlines that have unique frequent flyer currencies.</li>

<li>'''But you'll get 25,000 miles, instead of 20,000 miles, for every block of 60,000 points you transfer'''. The precise terms are that they will transfer an extra 15,000 points, whenever you transfer 60,000. At a value of {{Value|Marriott}} cents per point, it costs {{Value|Marriott|2.4}} cents per airline mile, when you transfer blocks of 60,000 points.</li>

<li>'''They have far more frequent flyer partners than any other transferable point program'''. The Marriott program is the only reasonable option for converting to many valuable partners such as Japanese Airlines (JAL) or Korean Air.</li>

{{Table|Left|6in}}
!style='width: 25%;'|Star Alliance<br/>{United}
!style='width: 25%;'|SkyTeam<br/>{Delta)
!style='width: 25%;'|Oneworld<br/>(American)
!style='width: 25%;'|Other
|-
|'''United''' (10% bonus)

'''Air Canada''' (Aeroplan)

'''Singapore Airlines''' (Kris Flyer)

'''ANA''' (Japan)

'''Asiana'''

'''Avianca''' (Columbia)

'''Lufthansa''' (Miles and More)

'''Aegean'''

'''Air China'''

'''Air New Zealand''' (200:1)

'''COPA'''

'''South African'''

'''TAP Air Portugal'''

'''Thai Airways'''

'''Turkish Airlines'''

|'''Delta'''

'''Air France / KLM''' (Flying Blue)

'''Korean Air'''

'''Aeroflot'''

'''Aeromexico'''

'''Alitalia'''

'''China Eastern'''

'''China Southern'''

'''Saudia'''

|'''American'''

'''British Airways'''

'''Cathay Pacific''' (Asia Miles)

'''Japan Airlines''' (JAL)

'''Iberia'''

'''LATAM''' (South American)

'''Qantas'''

'''Qatar Airways'''

|'''Alaska'''

'''Southwest'''

'''JetBlue''' (6:1)

'''Hawaiian'''

'''Frontier'''

'''Emirates'''

'''Etihad'''

'''Virgin Atlantic'''

''Virgin Australia''

'''Hainan Airlines''' (China)

'''Jet Airways''' (India)
{{/Table}}
</ul>

{{Box|Hotel + Air Packages}}

'''If you are planning on converting your Marriott points to airline miles, you can use a Marriott Hotel + Air Package to get a 7-night hotel certificate at a discounted rate'''. {{Link|Marriott packages}}.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If you are transferring a block of 240,000 points to acquire 100,000 miles, you can spend an additional 90,000 points to get a 7-night Category 4 certificate. That is the normal cost of only 3 peak-period nights.</li>

<li>If you are transferring 120,000 points to acquire 50,000 miles, it will cost an extra 135,000 points for the 7-night certificate. That's still 75% of the normal cost.</li>

<li>Because the discounts are fixed, the 90,000 (or 45,000) point savings represents a smaller discount if you wind up staying at a higher category hotel, or if you use the certificate at a non-peak time.</li>
</ul>

'''If you are already planning on making a 7-night peak-period Marriott stay, you can use the opportunity to purchase 50,000 or 100,000 miles at only 62.5% of their normal cost'''. Savings will be less if you were only staying for 6 nights or are staying during non-peak periods.
{{/Box}}

=== Acquiring Points ===

====Acquiring last minute points ====

If you do see a great redemption deal on the program's hotels, there are several ways that you can acquire additional points.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Purchasing points}}
You can purchase (or receive as a gift) a total of 1000,000 points per year. Points cost $12.50 per 1,000 and it can take up to two days for the transaction to be completed. {{Link|Buying Hotel Points}}.

{{Label|Transferring between accounts}}
You can transfer up to 100,000 points per year to any other member. The minimum transfer is 1,000 points and there is a $10 transfer fee (waived for Gold elites and above).

{{Label|Transferring credit card points}}
You can transfer {{Link|ultimate rewards|Ultimate Reward}} points (1000:1000), Membership Rewards (1000:1000) or {{Link|diners club|Diners Club}} points (1250:1500) to Marriott. We would normally recommend just paying cash or purchasing points, rather than using your valuable credit card points at these low-value transfer rates.

{{Label|Transferring from frequent flyer programs}}
For the sake of completeness, you can transfer points from a small set of frequent flyer programs, but the exchange rates are too low to make this something to consider.
{{/List|label}}

==== Earning points from your stays ====

'''Members earn a base rate of 10 points per dollar spent at program hotels'''. At Element, Residence Inn, and TownePlace Suites, the base rate is 5 points per dollar; and at Marriott Executive Apartments and ExecuStay properties, the base rate is 2.5 points per dollar. You won’t earn points for stays booked through online travel agents or third-party channels. You need to book directly with Marriott.

You can earn points on up to 3 rooms, assuming you pay for all three. However, you'll only earn elite credit for a single room.

Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Platinum Premier members earn bonuses of 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% on the base rates.

You can choose to earn airline miles instead of points. But, this isn’t typically a great option, because you usually only earn 2 airline miles, rather than 10 Marriott points.

'''If you use one of the program's credit cards, you’ll earn an additional 6 points per dollar'''. This works out as a better return than you’ll get from a general-purpose reward card, but not as good as you can get from a card that earns a good bonus reward rate on travel spending. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''You can earn extra rewards if you are an Emirates elite'''. Emirates elites (Silver and above) earn 1 mile for every dollar spent at Marriott.

==== Other ways to earn points ====

'''The best way to quickly earn a bunch of points is by signing up for one or more of the program's credit cards'''. Typical signup bonuses range from 50,000 - 125,000 points per card and you can earn bonuses from multiple cards (subject to some fairly complicated rules. {{Link|Signup Intro}}.

'''Simply by linking your accounts, you'll earn Marriott points on some Uber purchases'''. You get 2 points for Uber eats orders of at least $25, 6 points for Uber Eats orders delivered to Marriott hotels, and 3 points per dollar for Uber XL, Comfort, and Black rides. You link your accounts in the Rewards section of the Uber app.

'''Marriott has a bunch of other point earning partners''' such as Cruise with Points and Rewards Network Dining.
[//www.marriott.com/marriott-rewards/earn/reward-partners.mi Marriott earning partners].

=== Keeping your Points from Expiring ===

'''If you go 24 months without any account activity, you can lose your points'''. You can lose your points if you go 24 months without earning or redeeming points. Transferring points to or from other members, or earning points through social media programs doesn't count, but transferring to miles or buying points does. Our {{Link|point expiration}} article provides more details about strategies for keeping track of upcoming expiration dates and keeping your points alive.

=== <span id="Benefits">Member Benefits</span> ===

Award nights count towards earning elite status. Like most other programs, you won’t earn credit for nights booked through 3<sup>rd</sup> parties like Expedia. You'll earn points for up to three rooms, but you can only earn one elite credit per night.

{|class="table"
|<big>'''Rewards Member'''</big> (entry level)

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Discounted “member” rates'''.</li>

<li>'''Free Wi-Fi'''. If a "participating property" charges for Wi-Fi as part of a resort fee, they are supposed to give you some other "replacement" benefit. </li>
</ul>
|-
|<big>'''Silver'''</big> (10 nights)<br/>10% bonus points on stays and the following benefit:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Gold'''</big> (25 nights)<br/>25% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''2pm priority late checkout''' (upon availability).</li>

<li>'''Extra points or welcome amenity per stay'''. The option varies per brand. It is usually either 500 or 250 points. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced room upgrade''' (upon availability). This usually translates to a higher floor or better view. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. </li>

<li>'''Enhanced Internet access'''. Except at Edition hotels, Marriott Vacation Club, and Vistana.</li>

<li>'''Earn points on Emirates and China Eastern flights'''. You'll earn an extra 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates and every 4 China Eastern miles you earn.</li>
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Platinum'''</big> (50 nights)<br/>50% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''Breakfast for two'''. Platinum members will receive some level of breakfast benefits at most of the program's hotels. But due to overlapping rules and existing franchise agreements, the benefits you are entitled to, at any given hotel, can be very confusing. For more details, see the box below.</li>

If the hotel is providing you access to a lounge, you are typically only entitled to breakfast in the lounge, not the restaurant. But the hotel will sometimes allow you to have a restaurant breakfast instead. Breakfast is in lieu of points or other welcome amenity.

<li>'''Lounge Access'''. You get access to lounges at any Sheraton, Westin, or La Meridien that has one and at all non-resort locations of JW Marriott, Autograph Collection, Renaissance, Marriott, Delta hotels, and Courtyard hotels outside of North America. You might also get access at any additional hotels that have lounges, especially at the legacy Starwood brands.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded room, including select Suites'''. You are supposed to be upgraded to the "best available room" available at check-in, including suites. However, not every hotel always follows this policy. So expect some upgrade, but it won't always be to a suite, even if one is still available. Room upgrades not available at Aloft, Element, Marriott Vacation Club, and some Vistana properties. Suite upgrades are not available at Ritz hotels.</li>

<li>'''Guaranteed 4pm late checkout'''. Subject to availability at resort and convention hotels and the Design Hotels brand. Not available at Vistana and Marriott Vacation Club.</li>

<li>'''5 Suite Night Awards or another Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 50 actual elite night credits, you'll be entitled to your choice of several different "Choice Benefits". Most people will pick the 5 Suite Night awards, but you might choose another option, such as 40% off a branded mattress. </li>

Each Suite Night Award allows you to potentially confirm a suite room for a single night ahead of time. Certificates aren't processed until 5 days before arrival and they are not required to give you your upgrade, so there is no guarantee that you'll be able to use the certificate and you shouldn't expect to be able to at high-demand hotels. In theory, you are supposed to stay behind people who are paying for a suite ahead-of-time, but jump in front of anyone who would be freely upgraded upon arrival.

<li>'''Guaranteed bed type'''. You’ll get your choice of the options available in your room category. At hotels in US and Canada and many hotels outside North America, you are also guaranteed your smoking / nonsmoking preferences.</li>

<li>'''Elite-like benefits with China Eastern'''. Priority check-in, boarding, and luggage handling, access to China Eastern business-class lounges, and a baggage allowance</li>

{{Box|Making Sense of the Marriott Breakfast Benefit}}
The Marriott breakfast benefit is very confusing.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>''Breakfast and lounge access'': At '''Sheraton''', '''Westin''', and '''Le Meridien''' hotels, you're entitled to continental breakfast in the restaurant (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay) AND lounge access (if the hotel has a lounge).</li>

<li>''Breakfast and possibly lounge access'': At most other brands that had been part of the Starwood program ('''St. Regis''', the '''Luxury Collection''', '''W''', '''Tribute Portfolio''', '''Four Points''', and '''Aloft'''), your are entitled to breakfast (or your choice of 500-1000 points per stay). Most of these hotels don't have lounges, but if they do, you will probably be given lounge access as well.</li>

<li>''Breakfast only'': At "'''Resort'''" hotels for several Marriott brands ('''JW Marriott''', '''Marriott''', '''Delta''', '''Autograph Collection''', and '''Renaissance''') you are entitled to free breakfast (or your choice of 1,000 points per stay), but you are not entitled to lounge access (if any). The same is true at Protea hotels, but the point alternative is 500, not 1,000 points.</li>

<li>''Breakfast in the lounge (and sometimes if the lounge is not available)'': At '''non-resort hotels for these same brands''', you are entitled to lounge access (and breakfast in the lounge). You'll also get your choice of 1,000 points or a $10 food and beverage credit per guest per stay (max 2). If the hotel doesn't have a lounge or the lounge is closed, you are supposed to receive a breakfast alternative. For North America and for European hotels without a lounge, that is supposed to be breakfast in the restaurant for 2 (continental only in the US). For other hotels, the specific breakfast benefit is unspecified. In any case, if the lounge is available, that is the only breakfast you are entitled to. </li>

<li>''Food and beverage credits'': At '''Courtyard''', '''AC''', and '''Moxy''' hotels, you receive a $10 food and beverage credit per person (max 2) per day or 500 points per stay. At Courtyards with lounges outside of the US, Canada, and Europe, you are actually entitled to lounge access with breakfast in the lounge if it is open, and breakfast in the restaurant if it is closed. Courtyards without lounges in those same regions have the regular Courtyard food and beverage credit.</li>

<li>At '''Gaylord''' hotels, you receive a measly $10 food and beverage credit per stay or 1,000 points..</li>

<li>''Free breakfast for all guests'': '''SpringHill Suites''', '''Fairfield Inn & Suites''', '''Residence Inn''', '''TownePlace Suites''', and '''Element''' hotels provide breakfast to all guests. Platinum members can choose either 500 points or some other F&B amenity.</li>

<li>''No breakfast or lounge access'': No breakfast or lounge benefit is provided at '''Ritz Carlton''', '''Edition''', '''Design Hotels''', '''Marriott Vacation Club''' or '''Marriott Executive Apartments'''. You just get 1,000 points per stay.</li>

</ul>
{{/Box}}
</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Titanium'''</big> (75 nights)<br/>75% bonus points on stays and adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>'''48-hour guaranteed room availability'''. Except during unusual circumstances.</li>

<li>'''Another Marriott Choice Benefit'''. When you hit 75 actual nights, you'll get another Choice Benefit. This time your choices include a 40,000 point free night certificate. Depending on your circumstances this might be a better option than another 5 Suite Night Awards.</li>

<li>'''United Silver Status'''.</li>

<li>'''Hertz Five Star Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>

</ul>

|-
|<big>'''Ambassador'''</big> (100 nights and $20,000 in spending)<br/>Adds the following benefits:

<ul class="simplelist ">
<li>'''Ambassador service'''. A personal "ambassador" will help you navigate the hotel program and can often bend the rules as necessary.</li>

<li>'''Your24'''. Each hotel night allows you to stay for any 24-hour period. For example, if you check-in at 9pm, you don't need to check-out until 9pm; and if you want to check-in at 8am you can, as long as you check-out by 8am the next day.</li>

<li>'''Hertz President's Circle Status'''. You'll need to register [//mrhertzstatus.com/MemberStat online].</li>
</ul>
|}

=== Airline Partnerships ===

'''Titanium members get automatic United Silver status'''. This gives you and companion free access to Economy Plus seats at check-in, the possibility of a premium cabin upgrade, free checked bags for your entire party, access to priority lines at the airport, and a bonus when you earn miles from flying. {{Link|frequent flyer benefits}}.

{{Image|RewardsPlus.jpg}}

All you need to do is to register with the '''[//fly-united.marriott.com/en_US/ Rewards Plus]''' program.

'''Marriott also has a partnership with Emirates'''. Marriott elites (Gold and above) earn 3 points for every dollar spent on Emirates This is on top of the normal frequent flyer miles. And they earn an Emirates mile for every dollar they spend on Marriott rooms on top of their normal Marriott points.

Emirate elites don't get actual Marriott status, but they do get benefits like 4pm checkout and free enhanced Wi-Fi. [//www.emirates.com/english/skywards/about/partners/hotels/your-world-rewards.aspx Your World Rewards].

=== Shortcuts to Status ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

{{Status Marriott}}

</ul>

=== Marriott Credit Cards ===

You'll receive 15 elite night credits if you have any of the personal cards and an additional 15 elite night credits if you have any of the business cards. Unfortunately, you can't earn even more credits by having multiple personal or multiple business cards.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|marriott}}
'''Bonvoy Boundlesss'''. The personal version of the card is issued by Chase. Every year when you renew, you receive a free night certificate, good for a hotel night that would cost up to 35,000 points. Typical signup offers are 75-100,000 points. Provides nearly worthless Silver status. 6x points on Marriott purchases. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|spgbiz}}
'''Bonvoy Business'''. The business version of the card is issued by Amex. It has nearly identical features as the personal version, except that it has a $125 annual fee. The business card does offer 4x Marriott rewards on a variety of bonus categories, but since 4x Marriot rewards is only valued at {{Value|Marriott|4}}%, that doesn't make that much of a difference.

{{CardItem|spgluxury}}
'''Bonvoy Brilliant'''. Amex also issues Marriott's premium card. Typical signup bonuses are 75-100,000 points. It costs $450 per year, but come with an annual $300 Marriott credit that works on room rates. As a result, the out-of-pocket expense is typically only $150. For this extra annual fee, you'll get a 50,000 point certificate (rather than a 35,000 point certificate), automatic Gold status (instead of Silver), a Priority Pass membership (no access to Amex-run lounges or Priority Pass restaurants), a TSA credit, a possibility of getting up to $100 discounts on 2+ night stays at Ritz and St. Regis hotels, and a non-compelling bonus reward rate on airfare and restaurant spending. You'll also have the opportunity to earn Platinum status through $75,000 of annual credit card spending.

{{CardItem|marriottBold}}
'''Bonvoy Bold''' card makes a good downgrade option from the Boundless card. It has a lower sign up bonus than the other cards and doesn't provide an annual free night certificate, but it also doesn't have an annual fee. Since you are limited to the number of Chase cards you can get, you are better off starting with the regular Boundless version. But if you no longer want to pay the annual fee to access the free night certificate, you can download to the Bold card. You'll retain access to the 15 elite night credit benefit and the option to change back to the regular version of the card.

{{CardItem|ritz}}
'''Ritz Carlton Card'''. The Ritz Carlton Credit Card is no longer available for new signups, but you can still get it by converting a Chase Boundless or Bold card. It has an interesting set of benefits that might justify its $450 annual fee. It has mostly identical benefits as the Bonvoy Brilliant card, including the $300 Marriott credit, an annual 50,000-point free night certificate, and a Priority Pass membership. But the Ritz card provides Priority Pass memberships to an unlimited number of (free) authorized cardholders, three annual upgrades to the club level on paid Ritz stays (of up to 7 days each), primary rental car insurance and better travel insurance benefits.

{{/List|card}}

'''For most people, the annual free night certificate are more valuable than each card's annual fees'''.

'''These card earn higher rewards for spending at Marriott than a general-purpose reward card, but not as much as one of the cards that earns the best reward rates on travel spending'''. 6 Marriott points is worth about {{Value|Marriott|6}} cents per dollar. {{Link|Travel Spending}}.

'''None of these cards are worthwhile to use for other purchases'''.

{{/Main|program}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|free night certificates}}
{{Next|award nights 101}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|program}}

Marriott certificates

2021-10-28T03:15:24Z

Editor: /* Marriott Free Night Certificates */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|Marriott Certificate}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|free night certificates|Marriott}}

<blockquote>
Each of the Marriott credit cards provide a free night certificate every year. There is no spending requirement, but each certificate can only be used for rooms up to maximum points cap.
</blockquote>

<div style="width: 3in; margin: auto;">
{{Card|marriott|guide}}
</div>

{{Box|Extended Expiration Dates}}
Because of the impacts of the Covid pandemic, Marriott has extended the expiration dates of their hotel certificates. Any certificates that would have expired in 2020 or 2021 will be good until June 30th, 2022.
{{/Box}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Marriott Free Night Certificates ===

You'll receive your certificate a few weeks after you renew your card. Certificates from different cards have different point caps.

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective "Cost"
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

You can earn a 2<sup>nd</sup> certificate by spending $60,000 with the Marriott business card. This "benefit" is available for both the current and the older cards. However, the amount of reward points you would miss out on, by using the Marriott Business card instead of a better rewards card, makes spending this a bad deal.

'''Starting sometime in early 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificate with up to 15,000 extra points to book a more expensive hotel'''. For example, you could use a 35,000 point certificate plus 5,000 extra points to book a hotel that costs 40,000 points. Once this happens certificates will be much easier to use, because you can get value across a wide range of hotels.

'''Until then, 35,000 point Marriott certificates substantially limit your ability to use your certificates at nicer hotels'''. During peak dates, these certificates will only work at Marriott’s category 1-4 hotels, which tends to restrict you to Marriott’s lower tier brands, on the outskirts of cities. During regular and off-peak dates, you could use them for Category 5 hotels, which is enough for Marriott and Sheraton branded hotels in moderately expensive cities, but the cash rates during these dates will be relatively low.

Nevertheless, you should still be able to get more value than the effective cost of the certificates. Just don’t expect to find many opportunities to use your certificates for hotel rooms that cost much more than $200 or so.

'''50,000 point certificates can be used at nicer hotels'''—Category 6 hotels during “standard” season, Category 5 hotels during “peak” season, and Category 7 hotels (out of 8) in “off-peak” season. Just don’t expect to use them at luxury hotels and fancy resorts.

=== Obtaining multiple certificates each year ===

'''If you have multiple Marriott credit cards, you can get multiple certificates each year'''. There are three currently available cards. However, many people won’t want to use up one of their “Chase 5/24” slots on the regular (Boundless) version of the card. But, if you do, you’ll need to wait 24 months before being able to collect signup bonuses for the two other (Amex-issued) cards.

If you want to receive the signup bonuses on any new Marriott cards, you'll need to follow some other rules.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>You can't only collect the Amex card (premium and business) signup bonuses once per lifetime.</li>

<li>You can't collect the signup bonus for the Chase personal card if you already have the Bonvoy Amex Card (the old SPG personal card). You can't collect the signup bonus on the Amex Business card if you already have the Marriott Business card. And you can't collect the signup bonus on the Bonvoy Brilliant (premium) card if you already have the Ritz Carlton card. It may be worth cancelling an older Marriott business or Ritz Carlton card to make yourself eligible to earn the signup bonus on one of the currently available cards.</li>

<li>You can't earn the signup bonus from both Amex and Chase in the same 24 month period. If you want the Marriott personal card, you'll need to wait to be eligible for the bonuses on the business and premium cards and vise versa.</li>

</ul>

=== Great places to use your certificates ===

{{Image|MarriottCat5Photo.jpg|full}}

Here’s some links to get your imagination going.

<ul class="simplelist">

<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/where-to-use-marriott-35k-certificates-families/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 35,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/best-family-uses-marriott-50000-point-certificates/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 50,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-uses-chase-marriott-free-night-certificate-category-1-5/ Best Uses of Your Chase Marriott Free Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//travelisfree.com/best-use-of-marriott-35000-point-cat-5-free-night-certificate/ Best Use of Marriott 35,000 Point (cat 5) Free Night Certificate]</li>

<li>[//www.comparecards.com/blog/best-marriott-bonvoy-hotels-for-free-night/ The Best Marriott Bonvoy Hotels For Your Free Night Certificate]</li>

</ul>

No one has written articles yet that cover the available hotel options once peak pricing goes into affect.

=== Expiration rules ===

The stay must be completed within 12 months from the date of issue. Don’t let it expire.

If it looks like it is going to expire, you can try calling customer service to extend the certificate, explaining that you’ve been having trouble finding a stay in the right “category” of hotels. There are many reports of people able to get their certificates re-issued, but we wouldn’t count on it.

=== Other details ===

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If there is a standard room available, it should be bookable with your certificate.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|hilton certificate}}
{{Next|Marriott}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Marriott certificates

2021-10-28T03:13:35Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|Marriott Certificate}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|free night certificates|Marriott}}

<blockquote>
Each of the Marriott credit cards provide a free night certificate every year. There is no spending requirement, but each certificate can only be used for rooms up to maximum points cap.
</blockquote>

<div style="width: 3in; margin: auto;">
{{Card|marriott|guide}}
</div>

{{Box|Extended Expiration Dates}}
Because of the impacts of the Covid pandemic, Marriott has extended the expiration dates of their hotel certificates. Any certificates that would have expired in 2020 or 2021 will be good until June 30th, 2022.
{{/Box}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Marriott Free Night Certificates ===

You'll receive your certificate a few weeks after you renew your card. Certificates from different cards have different point caps.

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective "Cost"
|-
|{{c|4}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$150
|-
|{{c|4}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||{{Value|Marriott|50000}}||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||{{Value|Marriott|25000}}||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||{{Value|Marriott|35000}}||$99
{{/Table}}

You can earn a 2<sup>nd</sup> certificate by spending $60,000 with the Marriott business card. This "benefit" is available for both the current and the older cards. However, the amount of reward points you would miss out on, by using the Marriott Business card instead of a better rewards card, makes spending this a bad deal.

'''35,000 point Marriott certificates substantially limit your ability to use your certificates at nicer hotels'''. During peak dates, these certificates will only work at Marriott’s category 1-4 hotels, which tends to restrict you to Marriott’s lower tier brands, on the outskirts of cities. During regular and off-peak dates, you could use them for Category 5 hotels, which is enough for Marriott and Sheraton branded hotels in moderately expensive cities, but the cash rates during these dates will be relatively low.

Nevertheless, you should still be able to get more value than the effective cost of the certificates. Just don’t expect to find many opportunities to use your certificates for hotel rooms that cost much more than $200 or so.

'''50,000 point certificates can be used at nicer hotels'''—Category 6 hotels during “standard” season, Category 5 hotels during “peak” season, and Category 7 hotels (out of 8) in “off-peak” season. Just don’t expect to use them at luxury hotels and fancy resorts.

=== Obtaining multiple certificates each year ===

'''If you have multiple Marriott credit cards, you can get multiple certificates each year'''. There are three currently available cards. However, many people won’t want to use up one of their “Chase 5/24” slots on the regular (Boundless) version of the card. But, if you do, you’ll need to wait 24 months before being able to collect signup bonuses for the two other (Amex-issued) cards.

If you want to receive the signup bonuses on any new Marriott cards, you'll need to follow some other rules.

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>You can't only collect the Amex card (premium and business) signup bonuses once per lifetime.</li>

<li>You can't collect the signup bonus for the Chase personal card if you already have the Bonvoy Amex Card (the old SPG personal card). You can't collect the signup bonus on the Amex Business card if you already have the Marriott Business card. And you can't collect the signup bonus on the Bonvoy Brilliant (premium) card if you already have the Ritz Carlton card. It may be worth cancelling an older Marriott business or Ritz Carlton card to make yourself eligible to earn the signup bonus on one of the currently available cards.</li>

<li>You can't earn the signup bonus from both Amex and Chase in the same 24 month period. If you want the Marriott personal card, you'll need to wait to be eligible for the bonuses on the business and premium cards and vise versa.</li>

</ul>

=== Great places to use your certificates ===

{{Image|MarriottCat5Photo.jpg|full}}

Here’s some links to get your imagination going.

<ul class="simplelist">

<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/where-to-use-marriott-35k-certificates-families/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 35,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/best-family-uses-marriott-50000-point-certificates/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 50,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-uses-chase-marriott-free-night-certificate-category-1-5/ Best Uses of Your Chase Marriott Free Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//travelisfree.com/best-use-of-marriott-35000-point-cat-5-free-night-certificate/ Best Use of Marriott 35,000 Point (cat 5) Free Night Certificate]</li>

<li>[//www.comparecards.com/blog/best-marriott-bonvoy-hotels-for-free-night/ The Best Marriott Bonvoy Hotels For Your Free Night Certificate]</li>

</ul>

No one has written articles yet that cover the available hotel options once peak pricing goes into affect.

=== Expiration rules ===

The stay must be completed within 12 months from the date of issue. Don’t let it expire.

If it looks like it is going to expire, you can try calling customer service to extend the certificate, explaining that you’ve been having trouble finding a stay in the right “category” of hotels. There are many reports of people able to get their certificates re-issued, but we wouldn’t count on it.

=== Other details ===

<ul class="simplelist">
<li>If there is a standard room available, it should be bookable with your certificate.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|elite hotel status}}
{{Next|hilton certificate}}
{{Next|Marriott}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Free night certificates

2021-10-28T03:13:00Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|free night certificates}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=Every hotel credit card that gives you a free night certificate, each year you have the card.}}
{{Page|article|Benefits|Use Points}}

{{Image|HyattFreeNight2.jpg|full}}

Collecting hotel points is not the only way to get free hotel nights.

<blockquote>
Several hotel credit cards give you or let you earn a certificate, every year, which you can use for a free night at one of their hotels. Picking up a few hotel credit cards that provide free night certificates is a great way to get more for your travel dollar.
</blockquote>

With some cards, you get an annual certificate just for having the card (and paying its annual fee). With other cards, you need to use the card for a minimum amount of spending in order to qualify for each year's certificate.

The main drawback to Free Night Certificates is that they are only valid for one year. If you don’t use them, you lose them. Before getting one of these cards, you need to make sure sure you'll have a good opportunity to use a certificate every year.

{{Credit Cards}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Hilton free night certificates|Hilton free night certificates]]
*[[#"Capped" hotel certificates from Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG|"Capped" hotel certificates from Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG]]
*[[#Other options|Other options]]
*[[#Free night certificate tips|Tips]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Box|Extended Expiration Dates}}
Hyatt, IHG, and Radisson have all extended the expiration dates of their certificates until the end of 2021 and Marriott has extended the expiration dates of their certificates (and suite night awards) to June 30th, 2022. Hilton certificates issued in 2021 are extended until the end of 2022, but any certificates issued earlier are only extended to the end of 2021. In addition, Hilton is allowing all these certificates to be used any day of the week, rather than just on weekends.
{{/Box}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Hilton free night certificates ===

{{Image|HiltonPhoto.jpg}}

'''If you like luxury hotels, make sure to earn one or more of the Hilton certificates every year. Unlike the certificates from the other major hotel programs, you can use them at even their most expensive resorts and luxury hotels. We make sure to earn multiple certificates every year.'''

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can use Hilton Certificates at (almost) any of their hotels, but only on weekend nights'''. For example, you could use your certificate for an bungalow at the Conrad Maldives that would cost over $1,000 per night or at any of the luxury Waldorf Astoria hotel in locations all around the world. Weekend means Friday, Saturday, or Sunday nights. </li>

Despite only being able to be used on weekends, these certificates are generally much more valuable than the certificates from most other cards, because those other certificates are typically limited to the program's less expensive hotels. {{Link|Hilton Certificate}}.

<li>'''A lot of bloggers have written good articles that recommend some great choices for using your certificate'''. Here are some links to get your imagination going:</li>

<ul>
<li>[//thepointsguy.com/2015/03/8-hilton-properties-that-make-for-awesome-award-redemptions/ 8 Hilton Properties that Make for Awesome Award Redemptions]</li>

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-uses-hilton-free-night-certificates/ Best Uses of Hilton Free Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//welltraveledmile.com/best-use-hilton-free-weekend-night-certificate/ Best Uses of Hilton Free Weekend Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//pointsmilesandmartinis.boardingarea.com/2018/01/best-hiltons-to-use-weekend-free-night/ Best Hiltons to Use Weekend Free Night]</li>
</ul>

<li>'''The Hilton certificates combine nicely with the free Hilton breakfast benefit'''. A single credit card, and a single annual fee, gets you Hilton Gold or Diamond status plus the ability to get a free night certificate. {{Link|Free Breakfast}}.</li>

<li>'''The premium Hilton Aspire card gives you a free certificate when you first get the card and an additional certificate every year you renew'''. There is no minimum spending requirement. When calculating the effective cost, we count the $250 Hilton Resort credit at full value, the $250 airline incidental credit at 25% value, and assign no monetary value to the card’s other benefits, such as the free breakfast benefit. This brings the effective cost of the certificate down to $135. Depending on how you much value you can get from the credits and how much you value the Hilton Diamond status, your cost for the card could range from the full $450 annual fee down to better-than-free.</li>

<li>'''With the Hilton Surpass and Hilton Business credit cards, earning the certificate requires $15,000 of spending each year'''. You’ll qualify for the certificate as soon as you reach $15,000 in spending each calendar year and receive it shortly thereafter. </li>

If you have already decided you want to make the Hilton card part of your core credit card collection (for the breakfast benefit that comes with its automatic Gold status), it is usually worthwhile to also try to spend enough to earn the certificate, as the only extra "cost" is about $100-200 in rewards you could have earned by using a better rewards card instead. For example, if you spend $15,000 with a 2% cashback card, you’d earn $300. If you spend $15,000 with the Hilton Surpass card instead (to earn the certificate), you'd earn 45,000 Hilton points, only worth about $200. {{Link|free breakfast}}.

However, if you aren't already planning on getting the card, you need to also factor in the $95 annual fee.

<li>'''You can get multiple certificates by signing up for multiple Hilton credit cards'''. Each person could earn up to 3 certificates per year by signing up for the Hilton Aspire, Hilton Surpass, and Hilton Business cards, and spending a total of $30,000 per year. Amex will let you get multiple copies of the same card, so you could actually earn even more certificates if you wanted. </li>

Keep in mind that Amex limits each customer to a total of 5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so there is probably a limit to the number of “slots” you want to use for Hilton cards, especially if you are also trying to collect other Amex signup bonuses. After the first year, it is possible to convert a card back and forth between the Surpass and Aspire versions so that you can earn two certificates with one slot, but there is a chance that Amex may eventually frown upon this behavior. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.

{{Table|Basic|3.75in}}
!style="width: 1.5in;"|Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Points Cap
!style="width: .75in;"|Required Spend
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Cost
|-
|{{Card|HiltonAscend|short}}||Unlimited||$15,000||$250
|-
|{{Card|HiltonBiz|short}}||Unlimited||$15,000||$250
|-
|2nd Certificate||Unlimited||$60,000||$450
|-
|{{Card|HiltonAspire|short}}||Unlimited||0||$135
|-
|2nd Certificate||Unlimited||$60,000||$600
{{/Table}}

<li>'''With both the Business and Aspire cards, you can earn a 2<sup>nd</sup> certificate by spending a total of $60,000 per year—but we wouldn't recommend it'''. Even if you can generate this amount of spending, you'll wind up paying too much for the certificate, especially since it will expire in only one year. You'll miss out on about $450 in rewards by spending enough to earn a second certificate on the Business version of the card and about $600 in rewards by spending enough to earn a second certificate on the Aspire version of the card. The cheaper way to get multiple certificates is simply by getting an additional card (at an incremental cost of perhaps $250).</li>
</ul>

=== "Capped" hotel certificates from Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG ===

The free night certificates from the Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG cards can only be used at each program’s less expensive hotels. On the other hand, unlike the Hilton Surpass and Business Cards, there is no minimum spending requirement each year. You get a certificate just by holding onto the card.

While you should easily be able to get more value from the certificate than each card's annual fee, it is hard (but not impossible) to get more than $200 value per certificate.

==== Marriott certificates ====

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can only use Marriott certificates for hotel nights that don't exceed a specified point cap'''. For example, the certificate from the regular Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card can only be used for rooms that would require up to 35,000 points to book and the certificate from the premium Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card can only be used for rooms that would require 50,000 points to book. {{Link|Marriott Certificate}}.</li>

<li>'''However, starting sometime early in 2022, you'll be able to augment your certificates with up to 15,000 points to book more expensive hotels'''. For example, you could use 5,000 points and a 35,000 point certificate to book a hotel that requires 40,000 points per night.</li>

<li>'''Until then, 35,000-point Marriott certificates substantially limit your ability to use your certificates at nicer hotels'''. During peak dates, these certificates will only work at Marriott’s category 1-4 hotels, which tends to restrict you to Marriott’s lower tier brands on the outskirts of cities. During regular and off-peak dates, you could use them for Category 5 hotels, which is enough for Marriott and Sheraton branded hotels in moderately expensive cities, but the cash rates during these dates will still usually be relatively low.</li>

<li>'''50,000-point certificates can be used at nicer hotels'''—Category 6 hotels during “standard” season, Category 5 hotels during “peak” season, and Category 7 hotels (out of 8) in “off-peak” season. Just don’t expect to use them at luxury hotels and fancy resorts. </li>

<li>'''Here’s some links to get your imagination going'''.</li>

<ul>
<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/where-to-use-marriott-35k-certificates-families/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 35,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/best-family-uses-marriott-50000-point-certificates/ 10 Best Uses of Marriott 50,000-Point Certificates for Family Vacations]</li>

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-uses-chase-marriott-free-night-certificate-category-1-5/ Best Uses of Your Chase Marriott Free Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//travelisfree.com/best-use-of-marriott-35000-point-cat-5-free-night-certificate/ Best Use of Marriott 35,000 Point (cat 5) Free Night Certificate]</li>

<li>[//www.comparecards.com/blog/best-marriott-bonvoy-hotels-for-free-night/ The Best Marriott Bonvoy Hotels For Your Free Night Certificate]</li>
</ul>

<li>'''If you are interested in additional certificates, you can sign up for multiple cards'''. However, if you also want to receive a signup bonus for each new card, you'll need to follow some restrictions that are detailed in our [[Marriott credit cards|Marriott credit card guide]]. And you'll be potentially limited by the Chase 5/24 rule and/or the Amex 4-5 credit card rule.</li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Max Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective "Cost"
|-
|{{c|3}}Currently available cards
|-
|{{Card|Marriott|short}}||35,000||$95
|-
|{{Card|SPGBiz|short}}||35,000||$125
|-
|{{Card|SPGLuxury|short}}||50,000||$150
|-
|{{c|3}}No longer available for new signups
|-
|{{Card|SPGCard|short}}||35,000||$95
|-
|{{Card|Ritz|short}}||50,000||$300
|-
|{{Card|MarriottPremier|short}}||25,000||$85
|-
|{{Card|MarriottBiz|short}}||35,000||$99
{{/Table}}

You can earn a 2<sup>nd</sup> certificate by spending $60,000 with the Marriott business card. This "benefit" is available for both the current and the older cards. However, the amount of reward points you would miss out on, by using the Marriott Business card instead of a better rewards card, makes this a bad deal.
</ul>

==== Hyatt certificates ====

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Every year you have a non-business version of the [[Hyatt credit card|Hyatt Credit Card]], you’ll receive a certificate you can use for a free night at Category 1-4 hotels''' (out of 8). This corresponds to hotels that cost up to 15,000 Hyatt points per night per night on a regular date and 18,000 points per night on a peak date. {{Link|Hyatt Certificate}}.</li>

<li>'''A lot of bloggers have written good articles that recommend some great choices for using your certificate'''. Here are some links to get your imagination going. You can also view the '''[//www.hyatt.com/en-US/explore-hotels?categories=4&regionGroup=0-All list of Hyatt’s category 4 hotels]'''.</li>

<ul>
<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/best-use-hyatt-free-night/ The 11 Hotels Where You'll Get the Most Out of Your Hyatt Reward Night Certificate]</li>

<li>[//upgradedpoints.com/best-ways-to-use-hyatt-category-free-night-certificate/ Best Category 1-4 Hotels to Book by Region]</li>

<li>[//frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/best-hyatt-category-4-us/ Best places to use Hyatt Category 1-4 free nights in the US]

<li>[//awardwallet.com/blog/best-category-1-4-hotels-redeem-hyatt-card-anniversary-free-night-certificates/ Best Category 1-4 Hotels to Redeem World of Hyatt Card Anniversary Free Night Certificates]</li>

<li>[//travelisfree.com/most-valuable-hyatt-hotel-redemptions/ Most Valuable Hyatt Hotel Redemptions (A Data-Driven Look)]</li>

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-uses-chase-hyatt-free-night-certificate-category-1-4/ Best Uses of Your Chase Hyatt Free Night Certificate (Category 1-4)]</li>

<li>[//www.comparecards.com/blog/10-of-the-best-hyatt-category-4-hotels-for-your-free-anniversary-night/ Top 10 Hyatt Category 4 Hotels for Your Free Anniversary Night Certificate]</li>
</ul>

<li>'''With the regular card, you'll qualify for a second certificate as soon as you spend $15,000 during a calendar year—this is the only card that lets you reasonably earn two certificates per year'''. The opportunity cost of earning the extra certificate is around $100-150. So, if you are holding onto the card and you are sure you will be able to use both certificates, it is usually worthwhile to try to use the card for $15,000 worth of spending.</li>

For existing cardholders, the spending requirement is based on your cardholder year until your 2021 anniversary date. You'll then have an opportunity to earn an additional certificate by spending $15,000 between your anniversary date and the end of 2021. In 2022 and beyond, spending for the certificate is based on the calendar year.

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Reg. Points
!style="width: .75in;"|Required Spend
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Cost
|-
|{{Card|Hyatt|short}}
|15,000
|0
|$95
|-
|2nd certificate
|15,000
|$15,000
|$115
{{/Table}}

<li>'''Even if you don’t have the credit card, you’ll earn an Hyatt free night certificate when you reach 30 elite night credits each year and when you stay at your 5<sup>th</sup> (and your 10<sup>th</sup>) Hyatt brands'''. In addition, you’ll earn an “uncapped” certificate if you hit 60 nights during a year. The elite night credits you earn from your Hyatt credit card count towards these milestones.</li>

There is no time limit for earning the certificates you get by staying in a variety of Hyatt brands. For example, if you stay in a Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Place, and Hyatt House over a period of a few years, and you complete a stay at a Hyatt Regency, you’ll immediately qualify for the extra certificate.
</ul>

==== IHG certificates ====

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You can only use IHG Certificates for rooms that would cost up to 40,000 points per night'''. IHG is the loyalty program for several hotel chains, including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, and Holiday Inn hotels. The 40,000 point limit is based on the actual dynamic pricing for the hotel, not its underlying category. That is usually good enough for a very nice hotel room in many parts of the country or the world, and even a property or two in an expensive city like New York, but not for one of IHG's more prestigious hotels. {{Link|IHG Certificate}}.</li>

<li>'''Here are a few articles with ideas for using your certificate''':</li>

<ul>
<li>[//thepointsguy.com/guide/the-best-hotels-for-redeeming-the-new-ihg-premier-cards-free-night/ The Best Hotels for Redeeming the New IHG Premier Card’s Free Night]</li>

<li>[//www.frugaltravelguy.com/2018/05/20-awesome-hotels-you-can-still-book-with-the-ihg-cards-annual-free-night.html 20 Awesome Hotels You Can Still Book With the IHG Card's Annual Free Night]

<li>[//www.doctorofcredit.com/best-use-of-chase-ihg-free-night-certificate-post-devaluation/ Best Use Of Chase IHG Free Night Certificate Post Devaluation]</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Unless you still have the older IHG card, you can’t earn more than a single certificate each year'''. Although people who travel together could each get a card. You’ll receive your certificate some time after you renew your cards. </li>

{{Table|Basic|4.75in}}
!style="width: 2.5in;"|Card
!style="width: .75in;"|Points Cap
!style="width: .75in;"|Point "Value"
!style="width: .75in;"|Effective Cost
|-
|{{Card|ihgpremier|short}}||40,000||{{Value|ihg|40000}}||$89
|-
|{{Card|ihg|short}}||40,000||{{Value|ihg|40000}}||$49
{{/Table}}

<li>'''You can sometimes use your IHG certificates even if there are no rooms available to book with points'''. If you want to use your certificate (at an eligible hotel), always try to make a “free night certificate” booking, even if the hotel isn’t showing regular points availability.</li>
</ul>

==== Which of these capped certificates is best? ====

Every one of these certificates (except perhaps the older Marriott Category 1-5 certificates) provide good value. But you don’t want to have too many certificates and there are limitations to how many of these credit cards you can have. So which ones are best?

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Once Marriott certificates can be augmented with points, they should be easier to use than the other "capped" certificates''', because they can be effectively used on hotels costing 30-50,000 points per night. Even when Marriott switches to a fully dynamic pricing system, we expect point costs to be based on a value of .6 cents per point, allowing you to use a 35,000-point Marriott certificate to save around $200 on any stay that would normally cost $200-300.</li>

<li>'''Until then, the 50,000-point certificates from the Marriott Brilliant card is a good option for most people'''. It provides access to significantly nicer hotels than the other certificates, and once you factor in the card’s $300 annual credit, only costs a little more than the other cards.</li>

<li>'''The value you can get from other certificates is pretty similar'''. A 40,000 point IHG hotel, Category 4 Hyatt, and 35,000 point Marriott point are likely to have comparable rates, and you should occasionally find opportunities to use the certificates for rooms maxing out around $200-250 per night. On rare occasions, you should be able to use them for a more expensive room or a more memorable location.</li>

<li>'''And so are the costs'''. There is no spending requirement for any of these certificates. With the exception of the discontinued IHG Select Card, each of these cards has a very similar annual fee of around $100.</li>

<li>'''With the possible exception of the Hyatt certificate, it is usually easy to "unload" your certificate at a hotel that would cost $100-150 per night'''. All these hotel chains (except Hyatt) have thousands of hotels where you can use your certificate. If it doesn't look like you'll have the ability to use your certificate at one of the more valuable hotels, you can usually just use it at a less expensive location. For example, at an airport hotel at the beginning or ending of a trip or for a quick weekend trip to a destination near where you live. You might not get a room night that is worth hundreds of dollars per night, but you should easily get more value than it cost to acquire the certificate.</li>

<li>'''The Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott Boundless cards are affected by the Chase 5/24 rule, so you may not be able to get any or all of them'''. If you've gotten at least 5 credit cards in the past 24 months, you can't get approved for any of these cards. If you've gotten fewer than 5 cards, you may want to use your available "slots" on more valuable cards. You are likely to have fewer slots than cards you want to get and will need to choose which of these cards is more valuable to you. {{Link|Chase 5/24}}.</li>

<ul>
<li>If you are planning on using the Marriott Card or Hyatt Card to boost your elite night credits, you will want to prioritize those cards, but remember you can get the Marriott elite night credits from the Bonvoy Brilliant Card as well.</li>

<li>If you feel like you will be able to use the Hyatt certs, prioritize the Hyatt Card. You are likely to be able to use it at a slightly nicer hotel and you’ll have the option of earning a second certificate each year.</li>

<li>If you are concerned about using the Hyatt certs, you may prefer the IHG Card. The annual fee is slightly less expensive and you still have the possibility of earning Marriott certificates with Amex’s business and brilliant versions.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''The Amex options aren't subject to the Chase 5/24 rule, but you only have a limited number of Amex "slots"'''. Amex limits you to a total of 5 credit cards (across both personal and business cards), so the Hilton, Marriott Business and Marriott Brilliant cards are all competing with each other, with other Amex cards, and with the speed at which you'll be able to collect Amex signup bonuses. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
</ul>

=== Other options ===

Most people will be interested in one or more of the options from Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, or Hilton. But, there are also some additional options.

{{List|card}}

{{CardItem|TotalRewards}}
'''Total Reward Visa card'''. Total Rewards is the loyalty program of the Caesar’s and Harrah’s family of casinos. Their credit card comes with automatic Platinum status the first year. That status renews every year that you spend $5,000 on the card. Total Rewards Platinum status comes with the ability to book a complimentary 3-night stay at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas every year. For each night, you'll only need to pay the $50+tax resort fee and $5 per person gratuity.

The card has no annual fee, but you’ll miss out on about $75 in rewards, by spending $5,000 on the card, instead of taking advantage of your general purpose reward card.

{{CardItem|Wyndham}}
'''Wyndham Rewards card'''. You can also get the free stay at Bahamas Atlantis via one of the Wyndham cards. The Earner+ comes with Wyndham Platinum status, which will be automatically matched to Caesars Total Rewards Platinum status and entitles you to the Atlantis benefit. There is no minimum spending requirement, but the card has a $75 annual fee. The Business card comes with Wyndham Diamond status, which will be automatically matched to Total Rewards Diamond and entitles you to a somewhat nicer version of the Atlantis benefit. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|radisson}}
'''Radisson Rewards cards'''. These certificates only work at their US locations. Unfortunately, most of the Radisson Hotel Group's nicest hotels are in Europe. Unless you regularly travel to one of the few US locations that have super nice Radisson hotels, it is hard to get good value from these certificates. However, if you can make good use of these certificates, you can earn up to 3 per year per card (by spending a total of $30,000). {{Link|Radisson Certificate}}

There are three different Radisson Rewards cards, so you could possibly earn up to 9 nights per year. You'll get one certificate for every $10,000 you spend. Depending on the card you use, you’ll earn 1x to 5x points on your spending, worth from .4 – 2%. So for each $10,000 you spend, you’ll be giving up $50–200 in rewards, which you could have earned from your general-purpose reward card.

With annual-fees ranging from $0 - $75, the best value is the Premier Rewards card, with a $75 fee and $50 worth of lost rewards per certificate.

Even better, you'll receive 40,000 points each year you renew, good enough for yet another free night.
{{/List|card}}

In addition, the '''Intercontinental Ambassador''' program provides a second free night on a weekend stay once per year, as part of its $200 annual fee. [//www.ihg.com/intercontinental/content/us/en/ambassador Ambassador website].

=== Free night certificate tips ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''In most cases, you won't receive a certificate when you first get the card'''. One exception is the Hilton Aspire card which provides your first certificate as part of the card's signup bonus. With other cards, you’ll receive your first certificate sometime after you pay the fee to renew the card or when you first meet any spending requirement. Note that you typically only receive anniversary certificates 1-2 months after your annual fee, so that you can’t receive the certificate, quickly cancel the card, and avoid paying the annual fee. However, in some cases, you can downgrade the card after you receive your certificate and get a partial refund.</li>

Unfortunately, this means you can't wait until you have a specific trip planned to decide to get a credit card that provides annual free night certificates. You'll need to signup proactively.

<li>'''You can partially control the timing of certificates that have spending requirements'''. You'll qualify for the certificate as soon as you meet the required amount of spending and receive the certificate shortly thereafter. If you know you'll need the certificate, you can try to complete the spending earlier. To be on the safe side, try to finish at least a month or two early. If you don't have any immediate need for the certificate, try to hold off completing the spending requirement as long as you can (without missing the deadline). This will push the expiration date as far out as possible.</li>

<li>'''It is helpful to get multiple certificates from the same program'''. If you only receive a single certificate each year, it can sometimes be hard to use conveniently. If you choose an expensive hotel to use your certificate and you need to stay more than one night, you’ll either need to switch hotels or pay out-of-pocket for the additional nights. This is especially true for Hilton certificates which are likely to be used for very expensive hotels. If you travel with someone else, you can each get a card and/or you can get multiple cards per person.</li>

<li>'''Spending enough money to qualify for a certificate is a better deal during the initial year'''. You will have already spent a bunch of money in order to qualify for the signup bonus. For example, if you spent $2,000 to earn the signup bonus on the Hilton Surpass card, you will only need to spend an additional $13,000 to earn the signup bonus. Because the Hilton card's spending requirements are calendar year based, it is best to sign up for the card earlier in the year, to give you more time to spend the full $15,000.</li>

<li>'''If you would struggle to meet the spending requirement, it may be worthwhile to leverage an option that allows you to shift more of your spending to your credit cards'''. For example, you could use Plastiq to shift your rent or mortgage payments to your credit card. You'll typically pay a fee of around 2-3% to increase your spending in this way, but you'll receive extra points along with your certificate. For example, if you used Plastiq to spent the full $15,000 to earn the Hilton certificate, you'd pay $425, but you'd earn 45,000 Hilton points, worth {{Value|Hilton|35000}}, plus a certificate good at any hotel. {{Link|payment services}}.</li>

<li>'''Your stay needs to take place within 12 months of receiving your certificate'''. This is the biggest drawback of free night certificates. If you have a certificate that is about to expire, you can try calling, telling them you are having a problem, and seeing if they can extend the certificate date. You might get lucky—just don't count on it.</li>

<li>'''Don't get too many certificates'''. You want to make sure that you have natural opportunities to use your certificates every year. If you get too many certificates and you need to let one expire, you're wasting money. Scale slowly, so you can gauge how many certificates you can comfortably use each year.</li>

<li>'''ALWAYS use your certificate, rather than points, for hotels in the certificate's highest category'''. For example, if you are staying at an IHG hotel that costs 40,000 points or a Marriott hotel that costs 35,000 points, you should always use your certificate (if you have one). It may be worth holding onto a Hyatt certificate if you know you'll have a chance to use it for an 18,000 point peak night, but you might typically use it whenever you have the opportunity to save the regular 15,000 points. Certificates are less flexible and expire more quickly than points and you can never get more value than using one at the maximum point limit.</li>

However, if rooms are not very expensive, you may want to pay cash, and save both your certificate and your points for a later stay.

<li>'''In any event, don’t hold onto your certificates for too long'''. Unless you already have a trip planned, where you know you will get better value from your hotel certificates, considering using them whenever you have an opportunity, even if it is not at the highest possible category hotel. Many people decide to hold onto them, hoping to get more value later in the year, and then wind up not getting a chance to use them before the expire. A bird in the hand...</li>

<li>'''If you have a spouse/partner, you can each get cards and earn twice as many certificates'''. It is usually better to spread your applications across the year to spread out the expiration dates. You can use certificates from different people to book multiple nights in a row and then have the front-desk link the reservations, so that you don’t have to switch rooms.</li>

<li>'''You’ll keep any certificates in your account, even if you cancel your credit card'''. Just like any points you earn, they are associated with your loyalty account, not with your card.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
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{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}
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Best frequent flyer programs

2021-10-28T03:00:52Z

Editor: /* Your favorite airline */

{{DISPLAYTITLE: {{Title|best programs}} (2021)}}
{{Page|article|Airfare Strategies|consolidate miles}}

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For every flight, you can usually choose to earn miles with one of several different frequent flyer programs. If you are flying with an airline that belongs to one of the big three alliances, you can choose any of the airlines in the alliance (and usually some additional partner programs as well). Even when you fly with an airline that doesn't belong to an alliance, you can usually choose to earn your miles with your choice of several different partners.

<blockquote>
Most people should choose to consolidate their miles in a single frequent flyer program for each alliance. In some cases, it is better to choose a foreign airline’s program rather than the US airline that belongs to the alliance (American, Delta, United).
</blockquote>

{{TOC}}
*[[#Your favorite airline|Your favorite airline]]
*[[#Programs that make it easier to earn mid-level status|Programs that make it easier to earn mid-level status]]
*[[#Best programs for earning and awards|Best programs for earning and awards]]

{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Your favorite airline ===

'''If you fly enough to have a good chance of qualifying for elite status within an alliance, you should usually choose to earn miles with the airline you fly the most.'''

This is especially true for people who can qualify for higher-level status such as United Premier Platinum, Delta Platinum, American Platinum Pro, or Alaska 75K. Many of the benefits of elite status, such as the possibility of a premium cabin upgrade and fee waivers, are only available to the airline's own elite flyers.

'''There are a couple of potential exceptions''':

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''If you are likely to be able earn mid-level status on American / Alaska or United, you need to choose between moderate upgrade benefits OR free airport lounge access on domestic flights'''. If you earn status with a foreign airline, you’ll get free lounge access whenever you fly on American / Alaska or United within the United States, which is a benefit that is NOT available to mid-level elites in the US airline’s own programs. On the other hand, if you choose American / Alaska or United, you’ll have a small chance of getting a premium cabin upgrade. Furthermore, United elites get access to preferred economy seats and will frequently get access to enhanced-legroom seating (when flying United), while elites with other Star Alliance programs won't (with Oneworld, all elites get access to American's and Alaska's preferred and enhanced economy seats). </li>

With United, we much rather have routine access to better economy class seats than lounge access, especially because we are already have at least some lounge access through Priority Pass and the Amex Platinum Card. Even with American / Alaska, we'd still rather have the occasional first class upgrade. But everyone’s choice is going to be different.

With SkyTeam, the lounge access benefit is limited to international flights, so you might as well just choose Delta.

<li>'''If you don't fly enough for a US airline's mid-level status, you might be able to qualify with a foreign airline's frequent flyer program'''. Each airline has different status qualification rules and some programs are easier than others. If is often better to get mid-level status with another airline in the alliances than low-level status directly with the airline you fly the most, especially if you value the airport lounge access benefit. The easiest programs to qualify for mid-level status are listed below.</li>
</ul>

{{Box|Easier Access to Elite status with Credit Cards}}

If you spend a lot of money with credit cards, it can be easier to earn elite status on American, Delta, and United.

It is possible to reduce the elite status requirements, by using the airline’s co-branded credit cards.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''American Airlines'''. Starting in 2022, dollars spent on AA credit cards count as loyalty points towards earning elite status. In addition, you can earn bonus loyalty points with $25,000 or $50,000 of spending with the Aviator Silver Card or $40,000 of spending on the AA Executive Card.

If you spend $50,000 on the Aviator Silver Card or $25,000 on the Aviator Business Card (issued by Barclays), you can reduce the spending requirement (EQD) by $3,000. For example, you’d only need to spend $3,000 to reach mid-level status, instead of $6,000. In addition, the Aviator Silver card will give you 5,000 EQMs after spending $25,000, and another 5,000 EQMs with another $25,000 in spending (and a companion certificate when you spend $30,000). The Aviator Business's annual fee is $95 and the Silver’s is $195. </li>

The $450 annual fee AAdvantage Executive Card earns 10,000 EQMs with $40,000 in spending during the year.

<li>'''Delta'''. If you spend at least $25,000 (combined) on your Gold, Platinum, or Reserve Delta credit cards, Delta will waive the spending requirement (MQD) for all status levels, except Delta Diamond. The $195 annual fee Delta Platinum Card and the $550 annual fee Delta Reserve Card often offer extra MQMs as part of their signup bonus. In addition, you can earn MQMs through spending. The Platinum Card earns 10,000 MQMs with every $25,000 you spend (up to 20,000 MQMs per year). The Reserve Card gives you 15,000 MQMs for every $30,000 (up to 60,000 MQMs). During 2021, each of these mileage boosts will give you 25% extra MQMs. </li>

You can combine MQM bonuses from both the personal and business versions of both cards. So, it is possible to earn massive quantities of MQMs by spending massive amounts of money on your Delta credit cards. You can also transfer MQMs from the Delta Reserve Card to another member. For example, both adults in a household can contribute their qualifying miles towards one person's higher-level status.

<li>'''United'''. The United cards earn 500 qualifying dollars (PQPs) for every $12,000 in card spend (up to a total of 1,000 PQPs).</li>
</ul>

There is a large opportunity cost of putting this amount of spending on these cards, instead of your credit cards that have better reward rates, so make sure that you actually need the reduction in status requirements and highly value the difference in status.
{{/Box}}

=== Programs that make it easier to earn mid-level status ===

Mid-level status with any Star Alliance, SkyTeam, or Oneworld frequent flyer program gives you lounge access, at least some access to preferred economy-class seats, free bags, and priority check-in, security, and boarding. In one respect, earning mid-level status with a foreign airline’s frequent flyer program is even better than earning it with American or United. You’ll get lounge access even on domestic flights. {{Link|Frequent Flyer benefits}}.

'''While most frequent flyer programs require 50,000 miles per year to qualify for mid-level status, some programs have easier qualification requirements'''. If you aren’t going to fly enough to earn mid-level status on your first choice of frequent flyer programs, you might still be able to qualify with one of these easier programs.
{{Easy midlevel status}}

{{Box|Pooling your Status Qualifying miles with Egyptair}}

One program deserves special mention.

<blockquote>
If you frequently travel as a family, the easiest path towards Star Alliance elite status is with Egyptair’s frequent flyer program.
</blockquote>

This is the only frequent flyer program where you can earn qualifying miles on flights taken by multiple family members. For example, if a family of four each earned 9,000 miles for a round trip to Europe, all 36,000 miles can be credited to the same frequent flyer account and contribute to one account's Star Alliance status. (The [//awardwallet.com/blog/best-airline-star-alliance-gold-egyptair-plus/ AwardWallet Blog] brought this to our attention.)

It takes 30,000 miles to reach low-level status (Silver), but there is no time limit. Once you qualify, you only need a total of 15,000 miles every two years to keep your Silver status alive. Once you reach Silver, if you accrue 30,000 miles over a two-year period, you’ll get mid-level status (Gold). Then you only need 30,000 miles every two years to keep your Gold status.

'''Flying a combined total of 30,000 miles as a family, every two years, is an achievable goal for many people, even if they don’t fly very often'''. Of course, since lounge access is limited to only one guest, it would be better to try to qualify separately for every two people—7,500 miles per person per year.

'''The only problem with this strategy is that you’ll wind up with a bunch of miles with Egyptair instead of with another Star Alliance program'''. Their [//www.egyptairplus.com/MS_Member_WebSite/SeatAwardChart_01_feb.pdf award chart] is somewhat more expensive than most and you can’t combine miles with your credit card points (even Marriott).

However, even if you assume that Egyptair miles are worth .25 cents per point less, because you need more of them to earn an award, you’ll only be giving up $75 in value, every two years, to earn Star Alliance Gold.
{{/Box}}

=== Best programs for earning and awards ===

'''If you don't fly enough with an alliance to earn elite status, you should choose to earn your miles with whichever program has the best earning and award options.'''

Each frequent flyer program has different mileage earning rates, its own award chart and rules, a separate set of non-alliance partners, and different credit card earning options. You can use miles from any airline in the alliance for award tickets on any of the alliance's airlines. For example, you can choose to earn British Airways miles even if you only ever plan to fly on American.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You might want to earn your miles with a program you can transfer your credit card points to'''. Assuming you are collecting transferable points, it is much easier to be able to use your points if you can combine them with points you earn from your credit spending.</li>

<li>'''On the other hand, if you are collecting signup bonuses, you'll also be able to build up large point balances with all the US airlines''', especially Delta. The only foreign airlines with a great signup bonus are the Avios airlines (British, Iberia, and Aer Lingus) and sometimes Virgin Atlantic, but smaller signup bonuses are available for a number of other programs. {{Link|Airline Cards}}.</li>

<li>'''If you typically fly on inexpensive long-distance flights within an alliance, you will likely earn more miles by choosing a foreign program'''. American, Delta, and United base the number of miles you'll receive on the price of a ticket. Alaska and most foreign airline's frequent flyer programs base it on the number of miles you fly multiplied by a percentage which is determined by the price of your ticket.</li>

For example, if you pay $350 to fly coast-to-coast, you’ll receive 1,750 miles from a US airline. Because the ticket was bought with a more discounted fare, a different program might give you 25% to 75% of the 5,000 miles flown, or 1,250 - 3,750 miles.
If you pay $700 to fly from the East Coast to Paris, you’d earn 3,500 miles from the US airline and probably around 3,750 miles from a foreign airline.

But if you fly short distances or on more expensive tickets, you’ll usually earn more miles with the US airline. A discounted $250 fare between Boston and Chicago will earn 1,250 miles from the US airline and probably around 850 miles with a foreign airline. A $4,000 business class ticket to Europe will earn 20,000 miles with a US airline. With a foreign airline, you’ll receive 100% to 200% of the mileage flown, around 8,000 to 16,000 miles.
</ul>

==== Star Alliance (United) ====

{{List|image}}
{{ImgLabel|LogoUnited.png}}
'''United'''. United never passes through fuel surcharges, making it a great choice for travel to Europe, Asia, and Africa. However, it requires a much higher-than-normal number of miles to fly in business or first class (on those airlines). So it is a good program for economy award tickets, but less useful for premium seats. United participates in the Ultimate Rewards program, so you can easily combine your points and miles to book an award ticket.

{{ImgLabel|LogoAirCanada.jpg}}
'''Air Canada''' (Aeroplan) is the probably the best alternative choice for Star Alliance. Ignoring United's elite status benefits, they are a better program. Like United, they don't pass through fuel surcharges and have a potentially valuable stopover benefit, but they have generally lower award costs. Mileage accrues based on distance, rather than cost, so you'll do better with longer cheaper flights and worse with shorter more-expensive flights (within the same class of service). They offer family pooling, will soon have a US credit card, and have some other innovative program features. You can transfer points from Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards (soon), and Capital One to top off your account.

{{ImgLabel|LogoSingapore.png}}
'''Singapore'''. Singapore airlines has a well-priced award chart, with many flights requiring fewer miles than United, especially in business and first-class. They are partners with every credit card program, making it easy to combine your miles and credit card points. If you aren't focusing on the Ultimate Rewards program, it can be a better choice than United.

The biggest downside is that they will pass through fuel surcharges when you book award tickets. If you expect to redeem your miles for tickets to Europe, Asia, or Africa on an airline other than United, you’ll pay a lot of money in fees by using Singapore. Another downside is you have just three years to use your miles.
{{/List|image}}

==== SkyTeam (Delta) ====

{{List|image}}
{{ImgLabel|LogoDelta.png}}
'''Delta'''. Delta doesn’t pass through fuel surcharges for most SkyTeam flights. This can be a big advantage when travelling to Europe, Africa, and Asia. If you plan to redeem on Delta itself, Delta often has extra space available at slightly higher-than-normal prices. This award space would not be available via other frequent flyer programs. One drawback of Delta is that you can’t use your miles to book first-class award tickets on any of their partners. If this is important to you, you will need to choose another frequent flyer program to concentrate on.

It should be comparatively easy to get extra Delta miles from credit cards, either by converting Membership Rewards points or by collecting Delta signup bonuses.

{{ImgLabel|LogoKorean.png}}
'''Korean'''. Korean has some amazing award values, especially for business class travel to Europe and any travel to Hawaii and Mexico. They do limit you to round trip awards, but you can get a free stopover. On the earning side, they offer good award multiples for economy flights, but less than the normal number of miles for business and first-class flights. So, if you frequently buy premium cabin tickets, you are probably better off with another program.

The big downside is that they aren't partners with any of the big three credit card programs and don't have a way to earn lots of miles via signup bonuses.

Korean is partners with Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines (among others). This expands your opportunity for using Korean miles and also opens the possibility of crediting your Alaska miles to the same program you use for Delta / SkyTeam.
{{/List|image}}

==== Oneworld (American) ====

{{List|image}}
{{ImgLabel|LogoBA.jpg}}
'''British Airways'''. Many people should choose to earn miles for their Oneworld flights with British Airways. They have a distance-based award chart that offers excellent value for short flights, such as flights from the West Coast to Hawaii and flights from the East Coast to the Caribbean. They are members of both the Membership Rewards and Ultimate Rewards program, so you can easily combine your points with miles. You have the flexibility of transferring your points to Iberia when the Iberia award chart offers better value. And they allow family members to pool together their points.

The big downsides are they are very expensive for longer-haul premium-cabin award tickets and they also are the only airline that will add fuel surcharges on American Airlines flights to Europe.

{{ImgLabel|LogoAA.jpg}}
'''American Airlines'''. American Airlines has a well-priced award chart for many different regions, especially if you can take advantage of off-peak awards. They are also the only Oneworld airline that doesn’t pass through fuel surcharges (except for British Airways and Iberia flights), making them a great choice for flights to Asia and Africa and some flights to Europe. American Airlines also offers some useful non-alliance partnerships to get from the US to the South Pacific.

A big downside is that they don't participate with any of three big credit card points programs. However, there are two different families of American Airline credit cards that you can use to augment your account balance.
{{/List|image}}

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Consolidate frequent flyer miles

2021-10-28T02:44:03Z

Editor: /* Consolidating your miles in a small set of accounts */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|consolidate miles}}}}
{{seo|description=Focus on a few frequent flyer accounts and choose to earn miles with those programs when you are flying on their airline partners. }}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|award ticket strategies}}

{{ImageX|FrequentFlyerCards.jpg|full}}

When you buy airline tickets, you should always take advantage of the opportunity to earn miles from your flights.

<blockquote>
Because you can typically earn miles for any flight with your choice of many different frequent flyer programs, you can concentrate your miles in just a few frequent flyer accounts (instead of spreading them out across many different programs). This can help you more quickly build up meaningful balances.
</blockquote>

{{TOC}}
*[[#Why earn miles from every flight?|Why earn miles from every flight?]]
*[[#Maintain a small set of core frequent flyer accounts|Maintain a small set of core frequent flyer accounts]]
*[[#When you should earn miles with a different account|When you should earn miles with a different account]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Why earn miles from every flight? ===

Many people don’t bother earning miles when they fly (at least on airlines they don't fly very often). They probably figure that they’ll never earn enough miles to pay for a free flight, so why bother. Not earning miles is like leaving free money on the street. Collecting miles is likely to provide at least some value.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You don't always need to fly very often to be able to use your miles for frequent flyer tickets'''.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''You can combine miles from many different airlines into a single account'''. As discussed in more detail below, for any given flight, you can choose to earn miles with one of many different frequent flyer programs. That allows you to gradually collect the miles from different flights on different airlines into the same account. You just need to take an extra minute to find the place on the airline’s website where you can choose which frequent flyer program you want to use.</li>

<li>'''You might be able to combine miles you earn from flying with miles you get from your credit card points, so you don't need to fly as much to build up the miles you need for a free ticket'''. Some credit cards earn points that can be transferred to a set of many different frequent flyer programs. For example, any Ultimate Rewards points you earn can be combined with your United miles to have enough to book a free ticket. Looked at another way, any points you earn with a frequent flyer program can offset the number of credit card points you'd need to use for a free ticket. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>

<li>'''You might be able to combine miles from different family member’s accounts to make it easier to get enough miles to book a free ticket'''. Some frequent flyer programs allow you to combine miles from multiple family member’s accounts. If so, it is much easier to eventually earn enough miles for a free ticket. You might even be able to earn a free ticket after only a single international trip. {{Link|family sharing}}.</li>

{{Image|BAFamilySharing.jpg}}
</ul>

<li>'''You might be surprised and wind up earning enough additional miles for a free flight sometime in the future'''. Even if you can’t credit your miles to one of your core set of frequent flyer accounts, you should still try to earn the miles. You never know what the future holds. Perhaps you’ll wind up flying on that airline again. You don’t want to miss an opportunity for a free ticket, because you didn’t bother collecting miles from an earlier flight. Once several months of passed, it is too late to go back and claim your miles.</li>

<li>'''Even if you never earn enough miles for a free flight, you can still get some value from your points'''. Realistically you may never earn enough miles in some programs for a free ticket. Fortunately, most programs allow you to redeem smaller number of points for other things—allowing you to get some value from the points you earn. For example, you can use Spirit Airlines miles to purchase magazine subscriptions.</li>

{{Image|SpiritMagazines.jpg}}

<li>'''AwardWallet makes it easy to keep track of your frequent flyer accounts'''. If you take our advice and sign up for AwardWallet, it eliminates the downsides of having additional frequent flyer accounts. It will remember your account information, so you don’t have to. {{Link|AwardWallet}}.</li>

{{Image|AwardWallet.jpg}}

<li>'''It takes only a few minutes to sign up'''. Yes, it does take a minute to sign up for a new frequent flyer account. But it doesn’t take much more than that. The value of the miles you earn are likely to make it worthwhile.</li>
</ul>

{{Box|Don't Focus Too Hard on the Miles You can Earn from Your Trips}}

Balance the cost of any flights with the value of the miles you can earn. But it doesn’t make sense to spend a huge premium, just to make sure you are earning miles with your favorite program. At the same time, miles are valuable, so it can sometimes be worth paying a somewhat higher fare to get the type of miles you want. If you are aiming for airline status, miles in the targeted program are worth more than just their likely award redemption value.

Many people focus on trying to be very loyal to a specific airline, in order to earn as many redeemable and status qualifying miles as they can. The benefits of elite status are lower than they’ve ever been, and you are usually better off just taking advantage of well-priced and/or convenient tickets instead.
{{/Box}}

=== Consolidating your miles in a small set of accounts ===

In most cases, you only need a small number of frequent flyer accounts. You can credit flights on dozens of different airlines to each of those accounts, without needing to set up separate accounts for each airline.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is almost always better to earn miles in as few programs as possible'''. The more you concentrate the miles you earn, the easier it is to accumulate enough miles for award tickets and possibly earn enough in a year to get elite airline status. In addition, you’ll have fewer accounts to manage and keep active (to avoid losing your miles).</li>

<li>'''You can credit airline miles from a flight to any airline in the alliance or to most other partner airlines'''. For example, you can credit a flight on Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Hawaiian, or many other airlines to your United Airlines account.</li>

{{Image|UnitedPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''With one account per major alliance, you are can earn miles on most major airlines'''. Most people should choose one frequent flyer program for each alliance: Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam. Then you can credit any participating flights to those accounts. You can these accounts for many non-alliance flights as well. </li>

{{Image|Alliances.png|360}}

<li>'''The most straightforward approach is focus on the US-based airlines'''. Use an United account to earn miles from all your Star Alliance flights, an American or an Alaska account to earn miles from all your Oneworld flights, and a Delta account to earn miles from all your SkyTeam flights.</li>

<li>'''Choosing between American and Alaska for your Oneworld flights is a little more complicated'''. If you primarily fly on Alaska and you expect to earn at least level mid-level status, you probably want to credit your Oneworld flights to Alaska. You'll get your best chance of first-class upgrades and have the benefits of being able to credit flights from several extra international partners. Otherwise, it is probably better to choose American Airlines, so that you have the opportunity to use credit card spending to close the gap to the next status level and to gain elite benefits on JetBlue. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines elite members get most of the same benefits when flying on the other airline as that airline's own elite members. </li>

<li>'''However, if you are willing to spend the time to do the analysis, you may be better off using a foreign airline’s frequent flyer program instead'''. Foreign programs can provide a faster path to elite status and/or better earning and redeeming opportunities. It can be a bit complicated to figure out which program is the best for your individual circumstances, but once you've made your decision, it takes very little extra effort to select your favorite program each time you take a flight. For more details see {{Link|best programs}}.</li>

<li>'''Sometimes, you are just going to have to set up a new account'''. While you can frequently choose to earn miles with one of your core frequent flyer accounts, there will be times you can’t, and you’ll need to set up a new account. Before you rush to set up an account with the airline you are flying, make sure to consider signing up for a new account with one of their partners instead. If the partner airlines has a set of other partners that you might fly in the future, you are more likely to be able to eventually earn additional miles in that account. Or a partner program may just be a better program for earning or redeeming miles.</li>
</ul>

{{Box|Keep Your Points from Expiring}}
With most frequent flyer programs, you will lose your points if your account is inactive for some period of time (ranging from 12 to 36 months). One of the advantages of focusing on a small set of accounts is that it more likely that you will generate some activity in each one. However, if you don't wind up using a frequent flyer account for some time, you can usually take steps to keep the account alive or to redeem the miles for some sort of non-flight purchase (rather than having them expire). {{Link|point expiration}}.
{{/Box}}

=== When you should earn miles with a different account ===

It usually makes sense to choose to earn miles with one of your core frequent flyer accounts. However, it may sometimes be worthwhile to set up or choose a different account instead (even if that means spreading your miles over multiple accounts).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each frequent flyer program will give you a different number of miles for the same flights'''. Every frequent flyer program maintains their own mileage earning chart that controls the “multiplier” used for different classes of service. Class of service doesn’t just mean whether you are flying in the economy, business, or first-class cabin. Each of those main types of tickets has several different “classes of service" buckets, which are indicated by a single letter, such as "R" class. Each fare bucket has different rules and pricing. For example, highly discounted coach tickets will be in one fare class, more expensive coach tickets will in a different fare class, and fully refundable coach tickets in yet another class.

If you fly on a super-discounted rate, you might earn 50% of miles flown with one program, 25% of miles flown with another, and no miles at all with yet another program. If you fly on a premium ticket, you might earn double the miles with one program and only regular miles with another. Or a program may give you “miles” based on the actual price you paid for the ticket. {{Link|Calculate Miles}}.</li>

{{Image|WheretoCreditResults.png}}

<li>'''If you will be flying a lot of miles on a trip and you can receive a significant number of extra miles with a specific program, you should consider choosing it, instead of your normal account'''. Most of the time, we prefer to concentrate the miles we earn in our core set of frequent flyer accounts. However, if we are taking a long trip, we will sometimes choose to credit the flight to an alternative program that will credit us with a lot more miles.</li>

<li>'''You might also consider crediting to an alternative program if you are trying to take advantage of a special promotion or status-earning opportunity'''. For example, you might be in a position to take a status challenge with a particular program or to take advantage of some other frequent flyer promotion. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Airfare 101}}
{{Next|Best Programs}}
{{Next|airfare step by step}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Consolidate frequent flyer miles

2021-10-28T02:38:57Z

Editor: /* Consolidating your miles in a small set of accounts */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|consolidate miles}}}}
{{seo|description=Focus on a few frequent flyer accounts and choose to earn miles with those programs when you are flying on their airline partners. }}
{{Page|article|Earn Points|award ticket strategies}}

{{ImageX|FrequentFlyerCards.jpg|full}}

When you buy airline tickets, you should always take advantage of the opportunity to earn miles from your flights.

<blockquote>
Because you can typically earn miles for any flight with your choice of many different frequent flyer programs, you can concentrate your miles in just a few frequent flyer accounts (instead of spreading them out across many different programs). This can help you more quickly build up meaningful balances.
</blockquote>

{{TOC}}
*[[#Why earn miles from every flight?|Why earn miles from every flight?]]
*[[#Maintain a small set of core frequent flyer accounts|Maintain a small set of core frequent flyer accounts]]
*[[#When you should earn miles with a different account|When you should earn miles with a different account]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Why earn miles from every flight? ===

Many people don’t bother earning miles when they fly (at least on airlines they don't fly very often). They probably figure that they’ll never earn enough miles to pay for a free flight, so why bother. Not earning miles is like leaving free money on the street. Collecting miles is likely to provide at least some value.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''You don't always need to fly very often to be able to use your miles for frequent flyer tickets'''.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''You can combine miles from many different airlines into a single account'''. As discussed in more detail below, for any given flight, you can choose to earn miles with one of many different frequent flyer programs. That allows you to gradually collect the miles from different flights on different airlines into the same account. You just need to take an extra minute to find the place on the airline’s website where you can choose which frequent flyer program you want to use.</li>

<li>'''You might be able to combine miles you earn from flying with miles you get from your credit card points, so you don't need to fly as much to build up the miles you need for a free ticket'''. Some credit cards earn points that can be transferred to a set of many different frequent flyer programs. For example, any Ultimate Rewards points you earn can be combined with your United miles to have enough to book a free ticket. Looked at another way, any points you earn with a frequent flyer program can offset the number of credit card points you'd need to use for a free ticket. {{Link|Transferable Points}}.</li>

<li>'''You might be able to combine miles from different family member’s accounts to make it easier to get enough miles to book a free ticket'''. Some frequent flyer programs allow you to combine miles from multiple family member’s accounts. If so, it is much easier to eventually earn enough miles for a free ticket. You might even be able to earn a free ticket after only a single international trip. {{Link|family sharing}}.</li>

{{Image|BAFamilySharing.jpg}}
</ul>

<li>'''You might be surprised and wind up earning enough additional miles for a free flight sometime in the future'''. Even if you can’t credit your miles to one of your core set of frequent flyer accounts, you should still try to earn the miles. You never know what the future holds. Perhaps you’ll wind up flying on that airline again. You don’t want to miss an opportunity for a free ticket, because you didn’t bother collecting miles from an earlier flight. Once several months of passed, it is too late to go back and claim your miles.</li>

<li>'''Even if you never earn enough miles for a free flight, you can still get some value from your points'''. Realistically you may never earn enough miles in some programs for a free ticket. Fortunately, most programs allow you to redeem smaller number of points for other things—allowing you to get some value from the points you earn. For example, you can use Spirit Airlines miles to purchase magazine subscriptions.</li>

{{Image|SpiritMagazines.jpg}}

<li>'''AwardWallet makes it easy to keep track of your frequent flyer accounts'''. If you take our advice and sign up for AwardWallet, it eliminates the downsides of having additional frequent flyer accounts. It will remember your account information, so you don’t have to. {{Link|AwardWallet}}.</li>

{{Image|AwardWallet.jpg}}

<li>'''It takes only a few minutes to sign up'''. Yes, it does take a minute to sign up for a new frequent flyer account. But it doesn’t take much more than that. The value of the miles you earn are likely to make it worthwhile.</li>
</ul>

{{Box|Don't Focus Too Hard on the Miles You can Earn from Your Trips}}

Balance the cost of any flights with the value of the miles you can earn. But it doesn’t make sense to spend a huge premium, just to make sure you are earning miles with your favorite program. At the same time, miles are valuable, so it can sometimes be worth paying a somewhat higher fare to get the type of miles you want. If you are aiming for airline status, miles in the targeted program are worth more than just their likely award redemption value.

Many people focus on trying to be very loyal to a specific airline, in order to earn as many redeemable and status qualifying miles as they can. The benefits of elite status are lower than they’ve ever been, and you are usually better off just taking advantage of well-priced and/or convenient tickets instead.
{{/Box}}

=== Consolidating your miles in a small set of accounts ===

In most cases, you only need a small number of frequent flyer accounts. You can credit flights on dozens of different airlines to each of those accounts, without needing to set up separate accounts for each airline.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''It is almost always better to earn miles in as few programs as possible'''. The more you concentrate the miles you earn, the easier it is to accumulate enough miles for award tickets and possibly earn enough in a year to get elite airline status. In addition, you’ll have fewer accounts to manage and keep active (to avoid losing your miles).</li>

<li>'''You can credit airline miles from a flight to any airline in the alliance or to most other partner airlines'''. For example, you can credit a flight on Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Hawaiian, or many other airlines to your United Airlines account.</li>

{{Image|UnitedPartners.jpg}}

<li>'''With one account per major alliance, you are can earn miles on most major airlines'''. Most people should choose one frequent flyer program for each alliance: Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam. Then you can credit any participating flights to those accounts. You can these accounts for many non-alliance flights as well. </li>

{{Image|Alliances.png|360}}

<li>'''The most straightforward approach is focus on the US-based airlines'''. Use an United account to earn miles from all your Star Alliance flights, an American or an Alaska account to earn miles from all your Oneworld flights, and a Delta account to earn miles from all your SkyTeam flights.</li>

<li>'''However, if you are willing to spend the time to do the analysis, you may be better off using a foreign airline’s frequent flyer program instead'''. Foreign programs can provide a faster path to elite status and/or better earning and redeeming opportunities. It can be a bit complicated to figure out which program is the best for your individual circumstances, but once you've made your decision, it takes very little extra effort to select your favorite program each time you take a flight. For more details see {{Link|best programs}}.</li>

<li>'''Sometimes, you are just going to have to set up a new account'''. While you can frequently choose to earn miles with one of your core frequent flyer accounts, there will be times you can’t, and you’ll need to set up a new account. Before you rush to set up an account with the airline you are flying, make sure to consider signing up for a new account with one of their partners instead. If the partner airlines has a set of other partners that you might fly in the future, you are more likely to be able to eventually earn additional miles in that account. Or a partner program may just be a better program for earning or redeeming miles.</li>
</ul>

{{Box|Keep Your Points from Expiring}}
With most frequent flyer programs, you will lose your points if your account is inactive for some period of time (ranging from 12 to 36 months). One of the advantages of focusing on a small set of accounts is that it more likely that you will generate some activity in each one. However, if you don't wind up using a frequent flyer account for some time, you can usually take steps to keep the account alive or to redeem the miles for some sort of non-flight purchase (rather than having them expire). {{Link|point expiration}}.
{{/Box}}

=== When you should earn miles with a different account ===

It usually makes sense to choose to earn miles with one of your core frequent flyer accounts. However, it may sometimes be worthwhile to set up or choose a different account instead (even if that means spreading your miles over multiple accounts).

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Each frequent flyer program will give you a different number of miles for the same flights'''. Every frequent flyer program maintains their own mileage earning chart that controls the “multiplier” used for different classes of service. Class of service doesn’t just mean whether you are flying in the economy, business, or first-class cabin. Each of those main types of tickets has several different “classes of service" buckets, which are indicated by a single letter, such as "R" class. Each fare bucket has different rules and pricing. For example, highly discounted coach tickets will be in one fare class, more expensive coach tickets will in a different fare class, and fully refundable coach tickets in yet another class.

If you fly on a super-discounted rate, you might earn 50% of miles flown with one program, 25% of miles flown with another, and no miles at all with yet another program. If you fly on a premium ticket, you might earn double the miles with one program and only regular miles with another. Or a program may give you “miles” based on the actual price you paid for the ticket. {{Link|Calculate Miles}}.</li>

{{Image|WheretoCreditResults.png}}

<li>'''If you will be flying a lot of miles on a trip and you can receive a significant number of extra miles with a specific program, you should consider choosing it, instead of your normal account'''. Most of the time, we prefer to concentrate the miles we earn in our core set of frequent flyer accounts. However, if we are taking a long trip, we will sometimes choose to credit the flight to an alternative program that will credit us with a lot more miles.</li>

<li>'''You might also consider crediting to an alternative program if you are trying to take advantage of a special promotion or status-earning opportunity'''. For example, you might be in a position to take a status challenge with a particular program or to take advantage of some other frequent flyer promotion. </li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Airfare 101}}
{{Next|Best Programs}}
{{Next|airfare step by step}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Credit cards with companion certificates

2021-10-28T02:36:46Z

Editor: /* The okay */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|companion certificates}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=2 for 1 airfare using Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, and other credit card companion certificates.}}
{{Page|article|Benefits|Airfare Strategies}}

{{ImageX|CoupleonPlane.jpg|full}}

One of the primary benefits of many airline-branded credit cards is an annual “companion airfare certificate” that you can redeem for a free (or substantially discounted) second ticket on a 2-person airline reservation.

There isn’t much that we like more than a free flight, so this particular perk sounds amazing on paper. And a few of the certificates are actually pretty great. For example, if you live on the west coast, Alaska Airline’s companion certificates will reliably save you hundreds of dollars per year.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many of the other companion certificates. When you look at the fine print, many of these other options turn out to be mediocre deals. Either you’ll be blocked from redeeming it on most flights or you will be forced to pay a higher than normal rate for the first traveler’s ticket. Sometimes, the cost of using the companion certificate winds up being more expensive than just buying two tickets the regular way.

<blockquote>
If you often find yourself flying on Alaska, you should get their credit card to take advantage of its companion certificate. If you often fly on Delta, their companion certificate can also deliver excellent value.
</blockquote>

And if you often fly Southwest, their "companion pass" is probably the most useful credit card benefit of them all.
{{Credit Cards}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Southwest Companion Pass|Southwest Companion Pass]]
*[[#The good|The good]]
*[[#The okay|The okay]]
*[[#The bad and the ugly|The bad and the ugly]]
*[[#Companion certificates tips|Companion certificates tips]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Southwest Companion Pass ===

The '''Southwest Airline Companion Pass''' allows you to bring along a free companion on any paid or award trip on Southwest Airlines and can be used for an unlimited number of flights. It essentially allows a couple to fly for half-price, every time they fly Southwest.

{{Image|SouthwestCompanionPass.jpg}}

Unlike the other “Companion Certificates” discussed in this guide, it isn’t the benefit of getting a credit card, but rather a benefit from reaching a high-level of “activity” with Southwest Airlines. However, the easiest way to generate this activity is by signing up for two Southwest Airlines credit cards.

If you live in a city well-served by Southwest and frequently fly domestically with another person, make sure to read our detailed guide about {{Link|companion pass}}

=== The good ===

The Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines companion certificates are usually a good deal for anyone well-served by those airlines.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|Alaska}}
'''The Alaska Airlines certificate is the only companion certificate that simply "just works"''' (as long as you live in Alaska Airlines territory). You can travel anywhere that Alaska flies, including Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America. There is no spending requirement. It works whenever there are any economy seats available, even at peak holiday times. You can buy the initial ticket using any economy rate. You can even use it for multi-city itineraries or to purchase tickets for others. Regardless of the price of the ticket, the companion costs $99, plus taxes.

You’ll get your first companion certificate once you’ve met the initial spending requirement and an additional certificate every year you renew the card.

If you live in Alaska Airlines territory (or live elsewhere and are planning a trip to Hawaii or the west coast of Mexico), this certificate provides great value. The Alaska credit card also provides free checked bags on Alaska flight for its $75 annual fee.

<center>{{Tile|Alaska Certificate}}</center>

{{CardItem|Deltaplatinum}}
'''The Delta companion certificate is a bit harder to use'''. They can only be used with tickets bought in certain ticket pricing buckets ("fare classes"). While you won’t need to pay a higher special fare for the initial ticket, once the plane starts to fill up, the eligible pricing buckets will sell out and you won’t be able to use the certificate on that flight.

When tickets prices are higher than normal and the certificate would be most attractive, companion fares often won’t be available. Nevertheless, many people will wind up booking tickets on Delta flights where there is still available space to use the certificates; and when they can be used, they save significant amounts of money.

Like the Alaska certificate, the certificate from the $250 per year Delta Platinum card is limited to coach flights. But unlike the Alaska certificate, it can only be used in the contiguous US. The certificate from the $450 per year Delta Reserve card can be used for either a coach or premium cabin ticket.

If you are well-served by Delta and fly domestically a few times a year, you should be able to get more value out of this certificate (and card) than the Delta Platinum card's $250 annual fee, but you run some risk of not having a good opportunity to use the companion certificate. You’ll receive a certificate on your account anniversary (you don’t get one the first year that you have the card).

Getting this card will take up one of your five available Amex credit card slots. If you are collecting signup bonuses, you may want to postpone getting it until you've had an opportunity to collect the signup bonuses on Amex's other cards. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.

<center>{{Tile|Delta Certificate}}</center>
{{/List|card}}

=== The okay ===

A few other companion certificates can be a good deal, assuming you frequently fly on that airline or have already planned a specific trip.

{{List|card}}

{{CardItem|Avianca}}
'''If you frequently fly between North America and Columbia or Central America, the Avianca Vuela card provides a valuable 50%-off coupon for award travel'''. You’ll receive a coupon every year you spend $12,000 on the card and an additional coupon if you spend $24,000. Each coupon gives you 50%-off the award cost of a ticket. Technically, it has nothing to do with a “companion” fare, but it still is a way to use an airline credit card to get an annual flight at cheaper-than-normal prices.

Given the normal cost of an award ticket, this benefit dramatically increases the effective number of points you are earning from the first $24,000 you spend with the card. On the other hand, the coupons can only be used for round trip travel on specific routes and expire after a year, so they are primarily useful for people who frequently fly on Avianca.

{{CardItem|Iberia}}
'''If you can fly transcontinental on Iberia, you'll get great value from the Iberia card's companion certificate'''. It is worth $1,000 off the cost of two tickets (in any class of service). In extreme cases, two people could use the certificate to fly to Europe for next to nothing. This would have easily made our list of "good" certificates, if not for two things. First, to get the certificate you'll need to spend $30,000 each year with the card and miss out on about $400 in reward value you could have gotten from another card. Second, there are are only a small number of Iberia operated flights from the US where you can use the certificate. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|AerLingus}}
'''If you can fly transcontinental on Aer Lingus, you can get good value from the Aer Lingus card's companion certificate'''. Like many other certificates, it gives you 2-for-1 economy class tickets; but unlike most other certificates, the companion doesn't even need to pay taxes and fees. The drawbacks are the same as with its sibling Iberia card. You'll need to spend $30,000 during a calendar year to qualify for the certificate and it can only be used for the small number of flights to and from the US that are operated by Aer Lingus. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|aa}}
'''The American Airlines business cards offer a $99 companion certificate with $30,000 of spending—this can be a great deal if you are already using the card for a lot of spending to reach the next status level'''. Certificates are limited to economy-class tickets in the continental United States. Both Citibank's and Barclay's version of the card offer this benefit. Since the reward rate on these cards aren’t the highest, spending this much money would cause you to miss out on about $400 in extra rewards that you could have gotten from a better card. The companion ticket still costs $99 plus taxes, so you are essentially paying over $500 for the companion ticket, not including the card’s annual fee. It is certainly possible to get more value than that, but it is probably not worth dealing with a certificate that can potentially expire. $95-99 annual fee.

However, if you are planning on doing a bunch of credit spending to close the gap to the next American Airlines elite status level, you might already be most of or all the way to earning the certificate, making it a much better value and deserving of being place in the good section.

{{CardItem|aviator}}
'''The Aviator Red and Silver cards offer a better deal than the AA business cards'''. The spending requirement for the Aviator Red and Silver cards is only $20,000 per anniversary, reducing the effective cost of the certificate to around $350 plus taxes. If you upgrade to the $195 Aviator Silver card, the same amount of spending gets you a certificate that you can use for two companions (instead of one). For people who are likely to use the certificate for three people, the Aviator Silver certificate probably deserves to be moved up to the "good" section.

{{CardItem|Hawaiian}}
'''When you first get the Hawaiian Airlines card, you’ll get a certificate that gives you 50% off a companion on a coach ticket between North America and Hawaii'''. You should be able to use it on most Hawaiian Airline flights. Then each additional year, you’ll get a certificate worth $100 off a companion fare.

Because flying to/from Hawaii is usually expensive, the initial 50% certificate is typically worth $200-500 (or even more). If you know you are going to Hawaii in the next year and can take Hawaiian Airlines (Western US and NYC), this can be a great deal.

If you fly Hawaiian with someone every year, the annual $100 off certificate will offset the $89 annual fee, but not by very much. You'll also get a discount on economy class award redemptions.

{{CardItem|Spirit}}
'''The Spirit Card provides a $100 companion discount every year you spend $5,000'''. If you fly Spirit, this is easy to redeem. But after factoring out the opportunity cost for earning the certificate, it is probably worth less than $50.

{{CardItem|DeltaReserve}}
'''The Delta Reserve card provides a similar certificate to the Delta Platinum card, except that it can be used for a first-class domestic flight''' (assuming you can find availability) and not just in coach. However, most of our readers are going to be better off paying the Platinum card’s $250 annual fee, rather than the Reserve card’s $450.

{{CardItem|Allegiant}}
'''With Allegiant’s credit card, you get a free companion airfare, whenever you buy a package that has a 4-night hotel stay or a 7-night car rental'''. If you want to take an expensive Allegiant flight, you should be able to get a package for less money than cost of both airfares—and it is even better if you can take good advantage of the hotel room or the car. This can be done multiple times per year, delivering tons of value to people with exactly the right travel patterns. $59 annual fee.

{{CardItem|virgin}}
'''With the Virgin Atlantic credit card, you’ll get a certificate every year you spend $25,000 on the card'''. Unlike any of the other certificate, you can bring along a companion on either a paid or an award reservation. However, for the certificate to be used there needs to saver-level award space left for your companion. Non-elites only get a 50% discount if they are using the certificate for Upper Class tickets. Because of their limited routing options and the high fuel surcharges for flights between the US and London, not that many people are likely to get good use from this certificate. Spending is based on each anniversary year. $90 annual fee.

{{/List|card}}

=== The bad and the ugly ===

The rest of the companion certificates programs may seem like good deals at first, but usually don’t work out that way.

Most people will have a hard time finding a good opportunity to use the following certificates. However, occasionally you can. If you fly on a particular airline a lot or purchase a bunch of full-priced international business and first-class tickets every year, one of these cards may make sense for you.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|ba}}
The '''British Airways “Travel Together” certificate''' is a bit of an odd duck in this list. It provides a companion ticket for an award redemption, rather than for a paid ticket. And it works on any class of service, not just coach fares. You get a certificate after spending $30,000 over the course of a calendar year. This represents a lost opportunity cost of about $400, compared to the rewards you could have earned by doing the same spending on a good reward card. $95 annual fee.

For coach trips, you are generally better off just buying tickets (or using non-BA miles). British Airways will tack on hundreds of dollars per ticket in surcharges, making the companion award ticket not much less expensive than it would cost to buy outright.

For business or first-class trips, the surcharges jump to around a thousand per ticket and the required mileage (for the first ticket) goes through the roof. However, earning and using the certificate will almost always be a better alternative than paying cash for a premium-cabin ticket.

{{CardItem|Lufthansa}}
The '''Lufthansa certificate''' allows for a free companion in coach. Not only does Lufthansa have high fees and surcharges on the companion ticket, but the base ticket needs to be bought as a full-priced economy ticket. A single full-priced ticket, plus the surcharge on the free ticket, will almost always cost more than just buying two regularly priced tickets. This is generally a bad deal, even for someone who can take advantage of the limited number of Lufthansa flights from North America.
{{/List|card}}

=== Companion certificates tips ===

A few general rules and tips apply to all the credit card companion certificates.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The entire itinerary must be operated by the respective airline'''. You can’t fly on a partner airline.</li>

<li>'''You only have a limited amount of time (typically one year) to use the certificate, so a certificate can easily go to waste'''. Early in the year, you may be reluctant to use the certificate for a relatively inexpensive fare. Then later in the year, you might not find another opportunity to use the certificate before it expires. An expired certificate is not just a lost opportunity, it is often a waste of the money you paid for the credit card's annual fee and sometimes a waste of the money you spent to qualify for the certificate. Be realistic about the likelihood that you will be able to take advantage of a certificate every year.</li>

<li>'''If you think you can get good value out of a certificate and there is more than one adult in your household, don’t hesitate to get multiple cards'''. For families, two certificates allow four people to fly for the price of two; for couples, two certificates mean two trips a year. </li>

<li>'''You can usually also get additional certificates via business cards'''. Most of these credit cards are available in both business and personal versions. If you are willing and able to get business credit cards, you can sign up for both and receive two certificates per year.</li>

<li>'''When you are allowed, you can usually maximize your rewards by buying your ticket with a different card, instead of the one which gave you the certificate'''. To use many of the certificates, you need to buy the tickets with the associated credit card; but with other certificates, you can use whichever card you want and you should use the card that gives you the best rewards and benefits for airline purchases.</li>

<li>'''The companion almost always pays for taxes and other fees, so they don't fly completely free'''. Other certificates also include some sort of additional fee. For example, the Alaska Certificate usually adds an extra $99.</li>

<li>'''Most of these certificates require booking directly with the airline'''. You may not be able to use them with a work-related trip that must be booked through your organization’s travel website.</li>

<li>'''When calculating whether these certificates are good value, remember you are typically not earning miles on the free flight'''. Although, this usually doesn't make that big of a difference as to whether a certificate is valuable or not.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Airfare 101}}
{{Next|checked bags}}
{{Next|companion pass}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Credit cards with companion certificates

2021-10-28T02:35:44Z

Editor: /* The okay */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|companion certificates}} (2021)}}
{{seo|description=2 for 1 airfare using Alaska Airlines, Delta Airlines, and other credit card companion certificates.}}
{{Page|article|Benefits|Airfare Strategies}}

{{ImageX|CoupleonPlane.jpg|full}}

One of the primary benefits of many airline-branded credit cards is an annual “companion airfare certificate” that you can redeem for a free (or substantially discounted) second ticket on a 2-person airline reservation.

There isn’t much that we like more than a free flight, so this particular perk sounds amazing on paper. And a few of the certificates are actually pretty great. For example, if you live on the west coast, Alaska Airline’s companion certificates will reliably save you hundreds of dollars per year.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for many of the other companion certificates. When you look at the fine print, many of these other options turn out to be mediocre deals. Either you’ll be blocked from redeeming it on most flights or you will be forced to pay a higher than normal rate for the first traveler’s ticket. Sometimes, the cost of using the companion certificate winds up being more expensive than just buying two tickets the regular way.

<blockquote>
If you often find yourself flying on Alaska, you should get their credit card to take advantage of its companion certificate. If you often fly on Delta, their companion certificate can also deliver excellent value.
</blockquote>

And if you often fly Southwest, their "companion pass" is probably the most useful credit card benefit of them all.
{{Credit Cards}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Southwest Companion Pass|Southwest Companion Pass]]
*[[#The good|The good]]
*[[#The okay|The okay]]
*[[#The bad and the ugly|The bad and the ugly]]
*[[#Companion certificates tips|Companion certificates tips]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Southwest Companion Pass ===

The '''Southwest Airline Companion Pass''' allows you to bring along a free companion on any paid or award trip on Southwest Airlines and can be used for an unlimited number of flights. It essentially allows a couple to fly for half-price, every time they fly Southwest.

{{Image|SouthwestCompanionPass.jpg}}

Unlike the other “Companion Certificates” discussed in this guide, it isn’t the benefit of getting a credit card, but rather a benefit from reaching a high-level of “activity” with Southwest Airlines. However, the easiest way to generate this activity is by signing up for two Southwest Airlines credit cards.

If you live in a city well-served by Southwest and frequently fly domestically with another person, make sure to read our detailed guide about {{Link|companion pass}}

=== The good ===

The Alaska Airlines and Delta Airlines companion certificates are usually a good deal for anyone well-served by those airlines.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|Alaska}}
'''The Alaska Airlines certificate is the only companion certificate that simply "just works"''' (as long as you live in Alaska Airlines territory). You can travel anywhere that Alaska flies, including Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America. There is no spending requirement. It works whenever there are any economy seats available, even at peak holiday times. You can buy the initial ticket using any economy rate. You can even use it for multi-city itineraries or to purchase tickets for others. Regardless of the price of the ticket, the companion costs $99, plus taxes.

You’ll get your first companion certificate once you’ve met the initial spending requirement and an additional certificate every year you renew the card.

If you live in Alaska Airlines territory (or live elsewhere and are planning a trip to Hawaii or the west coast of Mexico), this certificate provides great value. The Alaska credit card also provides free checked bags on Alaska flight for its $75 annual fee.

<center>{{Tile|Alaska Certificate}}</center>

{{CardItem|Deltaplatinum}}
'''The Delta companion certificate is a bit harder to use'''. They can only be used with tickets bought in certain ticket pricing buckets ("fare classes"). While you won’t need to pay a higher special fare for the initial ticket, once the plane starts to fill up, the eligible pricing buckets will sell out and you won’t be able to use the certificate on that flight.

When tickets prices are higher than normal and the certificate would be most attractive, companion fares often won’t be available. Nevertheless, many people will wind up booking tickets on Delta flights where there is still available space to use the certificates; and when they can be used, they save significant amounts of money.

Like the Alaska certificate, the certificate from the $250 per year Delta Platinum card is limited to coach flights. But unlike the Alaska certificate, it can only be used in the contiguous US. The certificate from the $450 per year Delta Reserve card can be used for either a coach or premium cabin ticket.

If you are well-served by Delta and fly domestically a few times a year, you should be able to get more value out of this certificate (and card) than the Delta Platinum card's $250 annual fee, but you run some risk of not having a good opportunity to use the companion certificate. You’ll receive a certificate on your account anniversary (you don’t get one the first year that you have the card).

Getting this card will take up one of your five available Amex credit card slots. If you are collecting signup bonuses, you may want to postpone getting it until you've had an opportunity to collect the signup bonuses on Amex's other cards. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.

<center>{{Tile|Delta Certificate}}</center>
{{/List|card}}

=== The okay ===

A few other companion certificates can be a good deal, assuming you frequently fly on that airline or have already planned a specific trip.

{{List|card}}

{{CardItem|Avianca}}
'''If you frequently fly between North America and Columbia or Central America, the Avianca Vuela card provides a valuable 50%-off coupon for award travel'''. You’ll receive a coupon every year you spend $12,000 on the card and an additional coupon if you spend $24,000. Each coupon gives you 50%-off the award cost of a ticket. Technically, it has nothing to do with a “companion” fare, but it still is a way to use an airline credit card to get an annual flight at cheaper-than-normal prices.

Given the normal cost of an award ticket, this benefit dramatically increases the effective number of points you are earning from the first $24,000 you spend with the card. On the other hand, the coupons can only be used for round trip travel on specific routes and expire after a year, so they are primarily useful for people who frequently fly on Avianca.

{{CardItem|Iberia}}
'''If you can fly transcontinental on Iberia, you'll get great value from the Iberia card's companion certificate'''. It is worth $1,000 off the cost of two tickets (in any class of service). In extreme cases, two people could use the certificate to fly to Europe for next to nothing. This would have easily made our list of "good" certificates, if not for two things. First, to get the certificate you'll need to spend $30,000 each year with the card and miss out on about $400 in reward value you could have gotten from another card. Second, there are are only a small number of Iberia operated flights from the US where you can use the certificate. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|AerLingus}}
'''If you can fly transcontinental on Aer Lingus, you can get good value from the Aer Lingus card's companion certificate'''. Like many other certificates, it gives you 2-for-1 economy class tickets; but unlike most other certificates, the companion doesn't even need to pay taxes and fees. The drawbacks are the same as with its sibling Iberia card. You'll need to spend $30,000 during a calendar year to qualify for the certificate and it can only be used for the small number of flights to and from the US that are operated by Aer Lingus. $95 annual fee.

{{CardItem|aa}}
'''The American Airlines business cards offer a $99 companion certificate with $30,000 of spending'''. Certificates are limited to economy-class tickets in the continental United States. Both Citibank's and Barclay's version of the card offer this benefit. Since the reward rate on these cards aren’t the highest, spending this much money would cause you to miss out on about $400 in extra rewards that you could have gotten from a better card. The companion ticket still costs $99 plus taxes, so you are essentially paying over $500 for the companion ticket, not including the card’s annual fee. It is certainly possible to get more value than that, but it is probably not worth dealing with a certificate that can potentially expire. $95-99 annual fee.

However, if you are planning on doing a bunch of credit spending to close the gap to the next American Airlines elite status level, you might already be most of or all the way to earning the certificate, making it a much better value and deserving of being place in the good section.

{{CardItem|aviator}}
'''The Aviator Red and Silver cards offer a better deal'''. The spending requirement for the Aviator Red and Silver cards is only $20,000 per anniversary, reducing the effective cost of the certificate to around $350 plus taxes. If you upgrade to the $195 Aviator Silver card, the same amount of spending gets you a certificate that you can use for two companions (instead of one). For people who are likely to use the certificate for three people, the Aviator Silver certificate probably deserves to be moved up to the "good" section.

{{CardItem|Hawaiian}}
'''When you first get the Hawaiian Airlines card, you’ll get a certificate that gives you 50% off a companion on a coach ticket between North America and Hawaii'''. You should be able to use it on most Hawaiian Airline flights. Then each additional year, you’ll get a certificate worth $100 off a companion fare.

Because flying to/from Hawaii is usually expensive, the initial 50% certificate is typically worth $200-500 (or even more). If you know you are going to Hawaii in the next year and can take Hawaiian Airlines (Western US and NYC), this can be a great deal.

If you fly Hawaiian with someone every year, the annual $100 off certificate will offset the $89 annual fee, but not by very much. You'll also get a discount on economy class award redemptions.

{{CardItem|Spirit}}
'''The Spirit Card provides a $100 companion discount every year you spend $5,000'''. If you fly Spirit, this is easy to redeem. But after factoring out the opportunity cost for earning the certificate, it is probably worth less than $50.

{{CardItem|DeltaReserve}}
'''The Delta Reserve card provides a similar certificate to the Delta Platinum card, except that it can be used for a first-class domestic flight''' (assuming you can find availability) and not just in coach. However, most of our readers are going to be better off paying the Platinum card’s $250 annual fee, rather than the Reserve card’s $450.

{{CardItem|Allegiant}}
'''With Allegiant’s credit card, you get a free companion airfare, whenever you buy a package that has a 4-night hotel stay or a 7-night car rental'''. If you want to take an expensive Allegiant flight, you should be able to get a package for less money than cost of both airfares—and it is even better if you can take good advantage of the hotel room or the car. This can be done multiple times per year, delivering tons of value to people with exactly the right travel patterns. $59 annual fee.

{{CardItem|virgin}}
'''With the Virgin Atlantic credit card, you’ll get a certificate every year you spend $25,000 on the card'''. Unlike any of the other certificate, you can bring along a companion on either a paid or an award reservation. However, for the certificate to be used there needs to saver-level award space left for your companion. Non-elites only get a 50% discount if they are using the certificate for Upper Class tickets. Because of their limited routing options and the high fuel surcharges for flights between the US and London, not that many people are likely to get good use from this certificate. Spending is based on each anniversary year. $90 annual fee.

{{/List|card}}

=== The bad and the ugly ===

The rest of the companion certificates programs may seem like good deals at first, but usually don’t work out that way.

Most people will have a hard time finding a good opportunity to use the following certificates. However, occasionally you can. If you fly on a particular airline a lot or purchase a bunch of full-priced international business and first-class tickets every year, one of these cards may make sense for you.

{{List|card}}
{{CardItem|ba}}
The '''British Airways “Travel Together” certificate''' is a bit of an odd duck in this list. It provides a companion ticket for an award redemption, rather than for a paid ticket. And it works on any class of service, not just coach fares. You get a certificate after spending $30,000 over the course of a calendar year. This represents a lost opportunity cost of about $400, compared to the rewards you could have earned by doing the same spending on a good reward card. $95 annual fee.

For coach trips, you are generally better off just buying tickets (or using non-BA miles). British Airways will tack on hundreds of dollars per ticket in surcharges, making the companion award ticket not much less expensive than it would cost to buy outright.

For business or first-class trips, the surcharges jump to around a thousand per ticket and the required mileage (for the first ticket) goes through the roof. However, earning and using the certificate will almost always be a better alternative than paying cash for a premium-cabin ticket.

{{CardItem|Lufthansa}}
The '''Lufthansa certificate''' allows for a free companion in coach. Not only does Lufthansa have high fees and surcharges on the companion ticket, but the base ticket needs to be bought as a full-priced economy ticket. A single full-priced ticket, plus the surcharge on the free ticket, will almost always cost more than just buying two regularly priced tickets. This is generally a bad deal, even for someone who can take advantage of the limited number of Lufthansa flights from North America.
{{/List|card}}

=== Companion certificates tips ===

A few general rules and tips apply to all the credit card companion certificates.

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''The entire itinerary must be operated by the respective airline'''. You can’t fly on a partner airline.</li>

<li>'''You only have a limited amount of time (typically one year) to use the certificate, so a certificate can easily go to waste'''. Early in the year, you may be reluctant to use the certificate for a relatively inexpensive fare. Then later in the year, you might not find another opportunity to use the certificate before it expires. An expired certificate is not just a lost opportunity, it is often a waste of the money you paid for the credit card's annual fee and sometimes a waste of the money you spent to qualify for the certificate. Be realistic about the likelihood that you will be able to take advantage of a certificate every year.</li>

<li>'''If you think you can get good value out of a certificate and there is more than one adult in your household, don’t hesitate to get multiple cards'''. For families, two certificates allow four people to fly for the price of two; for couples, two certificates mean two trips a year. </li>

<li>'''You can usually also get additional certificates via business cards'''. Most of these credit cards are available in both business and personal versions. If you are willing and able to get business credit cards, you can sign up for both and receive two certificates per year.</li>

<li>'''When you are allowed, you can usually maximize your rewards by buying your ticket with a different card, instead of the one which gave you the certificate'''. To use many of the certificates, you need to buy the tickets with the associated credit card; but with other certificates, you can use whichever card you want and you should use the card that gives you the best rewards and benefits for airline purchases.</li>

<li>'''The companion almost always pays for taxes and other fees, so they don't fly completely free'''. Other certificates also include some sort of additional fee. For example, the Alaska Certificate usually adds an extra $99.</li>

<li>'''Most of these certificates require booking directly with the airline'''. You may not be able to use them with a work-related trip that must be booked through your organization’s travel website.</li>

<li>'''When calculating whether these certificates are good value, remember you are typically not earning miles on the free flight'''. Although, this usually doesn't make that big of a difference as to whether a certificate is valuable or not.</li>
</ul>

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|Airfare 101}}
{{Next|checked bags}}
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{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:32:19Z

Editor: /* Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|frequent flyer benefits}}}}
{{Page|article|air elite status|best programs}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Elite status basics|Elite status basics]]
*[[#Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances|Overview of elite status benefits]]
*[[#Premium cabin upgrades|Premium cabin upgrades]]
*[[#Better economy seats|Better economy seats]]
*[[#Airport lounge access|lounge access access]]
*[[#Free checked bags|Free checked bags]]
*[[#Priority service and boarding|Priority service and boarding]]
*[[#Free or reduced charges for flight changes|Free or reduced charges for flight changes]]
*[[#Inflight Perks|Inflight Perks]]
*[[#Enhanced earning rates|Enhanced earning rates]]
*[[#Enhanced award access|Enhanced award access]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Elite status basics ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Airlines typically have three or four elite status levels'''. The specific names for the levels differ for each program, but the benefits are usually somewhat comparable. “Low-level” status is typically earned for earning 25,000 qualifying miles per year. “Mid-level” status is typically earned for earning 50,000 qualifying miles per year. And there can be multiple tiers of “High-level” status earned for earning 75,000, or more, qualifying miles per year. When an airline has a fourth tier, it is almost always requires at least 100,000 qualifying miles.</li>

{{Image|AAStatusLevels.jpg}}

<li>'''When you earn elite status with any airline in an alliance, most of your benefits apply to every airline in that alliance'''. For example, if you are a low-level elite in any Star Alliance program, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority check-in, higher reward earning rates, and other benefits on every Star Alliance flight.</li>

{{Image|SkyPriority.jpg}}

<li>'''Some elite status benefits are only available, when flying on the airline’s own flights'''. While most benefits are available when flying on the airline’s alliance partners, some of the most valuable benefits, such as potential upgrades to premium cabin seats, are only available when flying on the airline you have status with. Other times, the benefit is enhanced when you are flying on that airline. For example, while free baggage privileges extend across the entire alliance, you might get even better privileges on the airline where you have status.</li>

<li>'''Upgrades to business or first-class seats are one of the most valuable elite status benefits, but you won't get them very often, especially if you don't have high-level status'''. Airlines are selling more of their premium cabin seats (at reduced pricing). There are less seats leftover, for elite member upgrades. Competition for whichever seats remain is high, especially for flights to and from airports where the airline is popular. If you are a low-level elite, you may never get upgraded; if you are a mid-level elite, getting upgraded is rare; and if you are high-level elite, you still can’t count on an upgrade. You won’t get upgraded to a better cabin class, when you are flying on partner airlines. </li>

{{ImageX|FirstClass1.jpg}}

<li>'''American and United mid-level elites don’t get access to airport lounges when they are flying domestically, but mid-level elites of their airline partners do'''. If you have mid-level status with an airline Star Alliance and Oneworld, you’ll get lounge access whenever you fly with any airline in that alliance—with one big exception. The US airlines don’t provide lounge access on their own DOMESTIC flights. For example, if you have elite status with British Airways, you’ll have lounge access, even on economy-class American Airlines domestic flights; but if you have the same status directly with American Airlines, you won’t have access, even if you have a first-class ticket. The US Airlines want to protect the lucrative fees that they charge for lounge memberships.</li>

<li>'''Elite status usually lasts for 13 or 14 months. after the year you qualify'''. With most programs, elite qualification is based on calendar years. Your elite status starts shortly after you qualify. You will then retain your status over the entire following year, as well as the first month or two of the year after that. If you qualify early in a calendar year, you could enjoy your benefits for over two years.</li>
</ul>

=== Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances ===

This chart compares elite status benefits available from the three biggest US airlines.

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .5in;"|United
!style="width: .5in;"|Delta
!style="width: .5in;"|AA
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Access to better seats
|-
|Access to preferred seats (on any alliance airline that has preferred seating)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority reservation waitlist on any alliance airline
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Eligible for business and first-class upgrades (likelihood improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on airline’s own flights (access improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on alliance airlines, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Instant upgrades on full fare economy tickets
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |lounge access access
|-
|Lounge access (for the entire alliance)
|Med
|Med
|Med
|-
|Discounted airport lounge membership
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Free airport lounge membership
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Free checked bags and other amenities
|-
|Free checked bags on the airline’s own flights (allowance increases by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Free checked bag on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Mid
|-
|Free beverage and snack in the main cabin
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Bonus award miles
|-
|Bonus award miles for flights (amount increases by status level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Minimum 500 QMs per flight
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Bonus for hitting elite status
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Priority Service
|-
|Priority check-in for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority check-in for alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority baggage handling on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority boarding for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority boarding on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority Phone line
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Access to most sold out flights
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Easier to change flights
|-
|Complimentary same day standby
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Waived same day flight changes
|Mid
|Mid
|100K
|-
|Priority standby list on alliance airlines
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Discounted or waived phone service charge
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Award ticket benefits
|-
|Priority award waitlist
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Anytime awards always available
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Better regular “saver” award availability
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
|Reduced, or waived, close-in award fees
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Reduced, or waived, redeposit and change fees
|Low
|High
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other
|-
|Ability to give status to others
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Benefits at Marriott Hotels
|Mid
|
|
{{/Table}}

When you earn elite status with any airline that belongs to an alliance, you get a set of benefits that works with all the other airlines in the alliances (plus additional benefits that work only for that airline). The shared alliance benefits are as follows:

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .75in;"|Star Alliance
!style="width: .75in;"|SkyTeam
!style="width: .75in;"|Oneworld
|-
|Priority waitlist and standby
|Low (Silver)
| rowspan="5" |Low

(Elite)
| rowspan="3" |Low

(Ruby)
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Priority check-in
| rowspan="6" |Mid

(Gold)
|-
|Free checked bag
| rowspan="4" |Mid

(Sapphire)
|-
|Priority boarding
|-
|Priority baggage handling
| rowspan="4" |Mid<br/>(Elite Plus)
|-
|Lounge access.
|-
|Priority security screening (at some locations)
|High<br/>(Emerald)
|-
|Guaranteed reservations on sold out flights
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
{{/Table}}

In addition to the normal Oneworld benefits, Alaska and American Airlines offer a few special benefits to the other airline's elites. Alaska 75K and American Executive Platinum members are eligible for premium cabin upgrades when flying on the other airline (Alaska elites will receive Global Upgrade Certificates). In addition, Alaksa Gold and American Platinum Pro members are eligible for extra-legroom seats as soon as they book.

=== Premium cabin upgrades ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''For most people, the most sought after elite benefit is the possibility of getting a free upgrade to business or first class'''. On paper, most frequent flyer programs give this benefit to all their elite members, regardless of status level.</li>

<li>'''In practice, it is nearly impossible to get upgraded with only low-level status, it is very hard to get upgraded with mid-level status, and upgrades aren’t reliable even with high-level status'''. Note that you only get premium cabin upgrades on the airline that you have status with, not with the other airlines in the alliance (with the exception of Alaska and American's unique partnership).</li>

{{ImageX|FirstClassMeal.jpg}}

<li>'''The likelihood of getting premium cabin upgrades has changed dramatically in the past few years'''. Airlines have become much more aggressive about selling their premium cabin seats, leaving far fewer empty seats available for elite flyers. Premium seat pricing has dropped, reducing the number of available seats. And as upgrades have gotten less common, more people are choosing to book directly into premium cabin seats, reducing the number of unsold seats even further.</li>

<li>'''The general process for handling upgrades is similar across different airlines'''. Until close to departure time, airlines will make only a limited set of their premium cabin seats available for upgrades. In other words, there may be ten unsold first-class seats on the plane, but only two of them might be available for upgrades. Airlines can change the number of seats available for upgrades at any time and will adjust them based on how their ticket sales are going.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''People can upgrade to these seats, ahead of time, using special upgrade certificates, and/or frequent flyer points'''. If no upgrade seats are currently available, they can add themselves to a wait list to take advantage of any new seats that become available later.</li>

<li>'''When it gets close to departure time, the airline starts processing any remaining upgrade space'''. This is where “unlimited free upgrades” comes into play. On many flights, there will be no upgrade space left, even though there may still be some premium seats available for sale. But if there are still upgrade seats available, the airlines will start giving them to their highest-level elites around 4-5 days before departure. If, somehow, there are still upgrade seats available, they will move onto lower-level elites, as it gets closer and closer to the departure day. Everyone who doesn’t get a seat, during this window, is automatically added to the wait list.</li>

<li>'''Before the flight leaves, many airlines (including American, Delta, and United) will make any remaining unsold premium cabin space available for upgrades'''. Multiple new seats usually become available that the airline had been holding back (to potentially sell). The wait list is prioritized by a number of factors, with elite status level the most important, and those passengers get free upgrades to any remaining seats.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Premium cabin upgrades from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
The upgrade system at American primarily uses “500-mile” upgrade coupons. A coupon is needed for every 500 miles you are traveling on your flight. A coupon isn’t needed for flights under 500 miles. Elite members receive four coupons for every 12,500 qualifying miles, and can purchase more for $40 each. Higher-level elites get unlimited upgrade coupons. You can use these certificates on flights within the United States, and to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Upgrades start getting processed for Executive Platinum members 100 hours before departure time, then for Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members at 72 hours, 48 hours, and 24 hours, prior to departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and Executive Platinum members are eligible for upgrades even on award tickets.

Alaska high-level (75K) elites are also eligible for unlimited upgrades in the North and Central America, but are only added to the upgrade list at check-in and are prioritized below Platinum Pro members. At some point, they will be eligible for upgrades 72 hours before travel. In addition, anyone qualifying for MVP Gold status for 2022, will receive a systemwide upgrade.

Platinum Pro members can select a "systemwide" upgrade with their choice benefit and Executive Pro can select 2 upgrades with either or both of their choices. These upgrades can be used on a one-way flight to pretty much anywhere that AA flies.

{{Label|Delta}}
All elite members get “unlimited” upgrades to First Class, but not Delta One or Delta Premium Select, on flights within the United States, and to Canada, the Caribbean, or Central America. You can even upgrade award tickets.

Upgrades start being processed for Diamond and Platinum members 120 hours before departure, then for Gold and Silver members at 72 hours, and 24 hours.

Delta Platinum members can choose 4 regional upgrades with their Choice benefit. Delta Diamond members can choose either 4 global or 8 regional or 2 global and 4 regional upgrades with any or all of their choices. Regional certificates can only be used on flights in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Global upgrades can be used on any flights including many flights on KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.

{{Label|United}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. They also get “unlimited” upgrades on all other flights.

Upgrades start getting processed for 1K members 96 hours before departure time, then for Platinum and Gold members at 72, and 48 hours, and then for Silver members on the day of departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and United credit cardholders can take advantage of upgrades on award tickets.

Platinum members receive 2 “Regional Premier Upgrades”, can earn 2 more if they reach 1K status, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles after that. Each certificate can be used for a one-way flight, and the upgrade can be confirmed, before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can only be used within the Americas.

1K members receive 6 “Global Premier Upgrades”, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles. Each global upgrade can be used for a one-way flight to almost anywhere, as long as the original ticket was purchased in certain fare classes. Upgrades can be confirmed before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can also be used ANA and Lufthansa flights.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have separate seat classes.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. At Gold and Gold 75K levels, this benefit extends to some less expensive fare classes, and to refundable economy award tickets. All elite members are eligible for unlimited upgrades on other fares, but they are processed as part of the normal upgrade window.

Upgrades start getting processed for MVP 75K members 120 hours prior to departure, and for Gold and MVP members at 72 hours, and 48 hours. Gold members can get a single companion upgraded along with them.

American Airline's highest-level elites (Executive Platinum) are also eligible for free upgrades 120 hours before departure, but are prioritized after MVP Gold 75Ks.

Gold level members also get four “Gold Guest Upgrade” certificates. Each is good for a one-way flight, are confirmed before the normal assignment window, and can be used by the elite flyer, or given to another person.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get any upgrade benefits.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Better economy seats ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elite frequent flyers get free access to “preferred” economy class seating'''. They can choose to sit closer to the front of the plane, or in exit row or bulkhead seats, without having to pay an extra surcharge.</li>

<li>'''Some planes have an “enhanced” economy seat section''', which not only is located closer to the front of the plane, but has extra leg room, and sometimes additional benefits, such as reserved overhead bin space, or a free drink. In some cases, elite frequent flyers get free access to those seats as well (when they are available), but sometimes the they are limited to just their choice of the “regular” seats.</li>

{{Image|AAMainCabinExtra.jpg}}

<li>'''In contrast to premium cabin upgrades, lower-level elites are much more likely to be able to take advantage of this benefit'''. There are many more enhanced economy seats available on each flight, and some of the higher-level elites will be moved up to business class.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded coach seats from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}
{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying on American Airlines, mid-level elites from any Oneworld program get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Main Cabin Extra”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level elites get a 50% discount if they want to pay for them ahead-of-time, and get free access to any remaining seats when they check-in for the flight. This benefit extends to 8 companions. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

When flying on other airlines, Oneworld elite members usually get the same access to enhanced and preferred seating, as the airline’s own elite passengers. Even low-level elites should get at least some kind of preferred seating, but it varies depending on the airline.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
When flying on Delta airlines, high-level Delta elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Comfort+”). Mid-level elites get access to any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites come next, at 24 hours before departure. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section, such as seats closer to the front of the plane. This benefit extends to a single companion. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

Elites on any SkyTeam airline are supposed to get some sort of preferred seating, when they fly on the alliance’s other airlines. However, this benefit isn’t usually as good as what you'll get, if you are an elite in the airline’s own program. For example, even high-level SkyTeam elites won’t get access to Delta’s Comfort+ seats.

{{Label|United}}
When flying on United, mid-level United elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Economy Plus”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level United elites get access to any remaining seats at check-in. Low level elites can extend the benefit to a single travelling companion, high-level elites can bring along up to 8.

Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant any preferred seating status on partner airlines. So, United high-level status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on other Star Alliance airlines; and Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on United.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have enhanced economy seats. Elite members get to board early, and choose whichever seat they want, including exit row seats. Mid-level elites board before low-level elites. These benefits don’t extend to companions.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites are entitled to enhanced economy seats “premium class”). These seats come with free drinks and better food. High-level elites from Alaska and AA are immediately upgraded, if seats are still available when they make their reservation, mid-level elites are immediately upgraded on most fares, and low-level elites are immediately upgraded on the highest priced fares. Mid-level elites, who weren’t upgraded earlier, can access any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites get access 48 hours before departure. Mid-level elites can extend the benefit to a single companion, low-level elites can’t. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Even More Space”). However, they can use their points to pay the $10-90 upgrade fee at significantly reduced rates (only 200-1,000 points).

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Airport lounge access ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Mid-level elite members get free access to airport lounges, whenever they are flying on one of that alliance’s airlines, even if they only have economy-class tickets'''.</li>

{{ImageX|LoungeSign.jpg}}

<li>'''Lounge access is available not just for the airline’s own lounges, but for almost all the lounges operated by the other airlines in the alliance'''. However, lounge access is only available when you are flying that day, on an alliance airline. For example, an American Airlines elite member can use British Airway’s lounges, regardless of what Oneworld airline they are flying. But, if they are flying on KLM (a SkyTeam carrier), they are out-of-luck.</li>

<li>'''American, Delta, and United want to sell as many lounge memberships as possible. As a result, they don’t provide their elite members, or people who purchased business or first-class tickets, access to their lounges on domestic itineraries'''. You’ll get better lounge access, if you have status with a foreign airline instead. Mid-level elites of other Star Alliance and Oneworld airlines, get access to United and American lounges, even on purely domestic trips.</li>

<li>'''Access to the most luxurious first-class lounges is usually not included as part of the elite status benefit, or are reserved only for people with high-level status'''.</li>

<li>'''Lounge access from each alliance''':</li>

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American / Alaska}}
Mid-level elites, from any Oneworld airline, get access to most Oneworld lounges. Only high-level elites get access to first class lounges. The benefit extends to one travelling companion. As noted above, American Airline and Alaskan Airlines elites don’t get free access to American Airlines or Alaska lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Mid-level elites, from any SkyTeam airline, get free lounge access, when they are flying on international itineraries. This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. Delta 100K mile elites (Delta Diamond Medallion) can choose a Delta membership as one of their three “choice bonuses”, which provides Delta club access, even on domestic flights.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
Mid-level elites, from any Star Alliance airline, get free lounge access at almost all Star Alliance lounges, but only if you are departing out of the airport (as opposed to on arrival). This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. As noted above, United elites don’t get access to United lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.
{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free checked bags ===

'''Elite frequent flyers always get access to at least one free checked bag, for themselves and for some number of traveling companions'''. If you frequently check bags, this can easily save you a significant amount of money. It is especially useful for American, Delta, and United’s new “basic economy” tickets, since elite members won’t have to pay to check their bags, and can still board early enough to find a good place for their carry-ons.

{{ImageX|CheckedBags.jpg}}

On the other hand, this benefit is also available to anyone who has one of the airline’s credit cards, and not just to elite flyers, so you may already have it.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying American Airlines, low-level American elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2 bags, and 100K+ elites get 3 bags. American Airlines elites also get 2 free checked bags when flying Alaska.

Mid-level elites from any Oneworld airline (including American) get at least one free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and two free checked bags on international itineraries, whenever they fly on a Oneworld airline. High-level Oneworld status provides 1 extra bag above the normal allowance.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
On Delta flights in the US, low-level Delta elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. Outside the US, all Delta elites get the same number of free bags, but the number varies per region.

Low-level elites from any SkyTeam airline get 1 extra piece of checked luggage than normal, whenever they fly on a SkyTeam airline.

{{Label|United / Star Alliance}}
When flying United, low-level Untied elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. The bags for mid-level elites can weigh up to 70lbs.

Mid-level elites from any Star Alliance airline get extra baggage allowance on partner airlines, but the exact rules are different for each airline.

{{Label|Southwest}}
2 free bags for every passenger, regardless of status.

{{Label|Alaska}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{/List|label}}

=== Priority service and boarding ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elites are given “priority” everything'''—a priority line to check-in, access to the priority line through security and immigration (when available), priority baggage handling, priority boarding (to stow that carry-on with no hassles), and a priority telephone number to contact the airline. In most cases, these benefits apply to every elite tier. But for some programs, some benefits may only be available to higher-level elites. Priority access can be used, in practice, by an entire group that is travelling together.</li>

{{ImageX|SkyPrioritySign.jpg}}

<li>'''Enhanced security access is useful even to people who already have TSE Precheck, because it works in many airports around the world''', and not just those in the United States.</li>

<li>'''Like free checked bags and airport lounge access, if you have status with any airline in one of the three major alliances, you’ll get priority privileges with all the airlines in that alliance'''. The airline’s credit card holders usually get at least priority boarding, and sometimes some other priority benefits.</li>

<li>'''Priority service from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Low-level Oneworld elites get priority check-in, stand-by, and reservations waitlist on any alliance airline. Priority boarding, security, and baggage handling come with mid-level Oneworld status. In addition, American Airlines low-level elites get priority boarding and security, when flying on American.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Low-level SkyTeam elites get most priority services on any alliance airline. Priority baggage handling and security access come with mid-level SkyTeam status, rather than low-level.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
All United elites get priority services when flying on United. Mid-level Star Alliance elites get priority service with any Star Alliance airline. Low-level Star Alliance elites only get priority waitlist and standby.

{{Label|Southwest}}
All elites get priority services.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites get priority services, except security line access, which is reserved for mid-level elites and above. Alaska doesn’t offer priority baggage handling.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites have access to priority services.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free or reduced charges for flight changes ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Most airlines will reduce, or eliminate, some charges for elite members, and allow for same-day flight changes, at no cost'''. These benefits usually kicks-in at mid-level, but there is quite a bit of variance between programs, and they usually don’t apply to partner airlines.</li>

<li>'''This benefit won’t usually save you a bunch of money, since you are probably doing your best, to avoid incurring any of these charges in the first place. However, it can change the way you fly'''. Once the the fees go away, you can change your behavior—proactively purchasing tickets for trips you might not wind up taking, switching flights when it would be only slightly more convenient, etc.</li>

<li>'''Waived fees from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Free same-day standby. Free same-day flight changes at the 100K+ level. 100K+ elites also get waived ticketing charges.

{{Label|Delta}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day changes and standby. High-level elites get waived cancellation fees.

{{Label|United}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day flight changes.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Everyone gets free ticket changes, not just elite members. Elites get free-same day standby (no need to pay the fare difference), but low-level elites only get this benefit on flights less than 2 hours before their original departure.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get waived ticket change fees, and free same-day flight changes (no need to pay the fare difference).

{{Label|JetBlue}}
All elites get free change and cancellation fees, for themselves and their companions.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Inflight Perks ===

'''Airlines sometimes give their elites extra inflight amenities'''. There are no generalities here, as the policies differ greatly for different programs. These benefits don’t extend to partner airlines.

{{ImageX|FlightAttendent.jpg}}

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
100K+ members get a free drink and snack, even when they are flying coach.

{{Label|Delta}}
Elites, who get enhanced economy seating, get premium snacks and drinks (plus dedicated overhead bin space).

{{Label|United}}
None

{{Label|Southwest}}
Mid-level elites get free Wi-Fi.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get a free drink, even if they are flying coach. And high-level elites don’t have to pay the fee for the inflight entertainment systems. Elites, who get enhanced economy seats, get free premium drinks.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Free drinks.

{{/List|label}}

=== Enhanced earning rates ===

'''Elite members of a frequent flyer program earn bonus miles on their flights'''.

{{Table|basic|5.5in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|
!style="width: 20%;"|Low-level
!style="width: 20%"|Mid-level
!style="width: 20%"|High-Level
!style="width: 20%"|100K+
|-
|American
|40%
|60%
|80%
|120%
|-
|Delta
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar
|11/dollar
|-
|United
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar plus one “choice” bonus upon qualification.
|11/dollar, plus 3 additional “choice” bonuses upon qualification.
|-
|Southwest
|25%
|100%
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Alaska
|50%
|100%
|125%, plus 50K bonus on qualification.
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|JetBlue
|<nowiki>+3pts / dollar</nowiki>

15K point bonus on qualification (from flying)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

=== Enhanced award access ===

'''Some airlines provide some award-booking benefits to their elites, such as increased access to award availability'''.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Elite don’t have to pay award processing fees. 100K+ elites don’t have to pay award change and cancellation fees, and get expanded award availability.

{{Label|United}}
All elites get unrestricted access to non-saver award space, better availability for economy award redemptions, and reduced award ticket fees (for changes, cancellations, close-in booking, and telephone booking). High-level elites get increased access to premium award seats.

{{/List|label}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|best programs}}
{{Next|consolidate miles}}
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{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:31:51Z

Editor: /* Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|frequent flyer benefits}}}}
{{Page|article|air elite status|best programs}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Elite status basics|Elite status basics]]
*[[#Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances|Overview of elite status benefits]]
*[[#Premium cabin upgrades|Premium cabin upgrades]]
*[[#Better economy seats|Better economy seats]]
*[[#Airport lounge access|lounge access access]]
*[[#Free checked bags|Free checked bags]]
*[[#Priority service and boarding|Priority service and boarding]]
*[[#Free or reduced charges for flight changes|Free or reduced charges for flight changes]]
*[[#Inflight Perks|Inflight Perks]]
*[[#Enhanced earning rates|Enhanced earning rates]]
*[[#Enhanced award access|Enhanced award access]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Elite status basics ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Airlines typically have three or four elite status levels'''. The specific names for the levels differ for each program, but the benefits are usually somewhat comparable. “Low-level” status is typically earned for earning 25,000 qualifying miles per year. “Mid-level” status is typically earned for earning 50,000 qualifying miles per year. And there can be multiple tiers of “High-level” status earned for earning 75,000, or more, qualifying miles per year. When an airline has a fourth tier, it is almost always requires at least 100,000 qualifying miles.</li>

{{Image|AAStatusLevels.jpg}}

<li>'''When you earn elite status with any airline in an alliance, most of your benefits apply to every airline in that alliance'''. For example, if you are a low-level elite in any Star Alliance program, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority check-in, higher reward earning rates, and other benefits on every Star Alliance flight.</li>

{{Image|SkyPriority.jpg}}

<li>'''Some elite status benefits are only available, when flying on the airline’s own flights'''. While most benefits are available when flying on the airline’s alliance partners, some of the most valuable benefits, such as potential upgrades to premium cabin seats, are only available when flying on the airline you have status with. Other times, the benefit is enhanced when you are flying on that airline. For example, while free baggage privileges extend across the entire alliance, you might get even better privileges on the airline where you have status.</li>

<li>'''Upgrades to business or first-class seats are one of the most valuable elite status benefits, but you won't get them very often, especially if you don't have high-level status'''. Airlines are selling more of their premium cabin seats (at reduced pricing). There are less seats leftover, for elite member upgrades. Competition for whichever seats remain is high, especially for flights to and from airports where the airline is popular. If you are a low-level elite, you may never get upgraded; if you are a mid-level elite, getting upgraded is rare; and if you are high-level elite, you still can’t count on an upgrade. You won’t get upgraded to a better cabin class, when you are flying on partner airlines. </li>

{{ImageX|FirstClass1.jpg}}

<li>'''American and United mid-level elites don’t get access to airport lounges when they are flying domestically, but mid-level elites of their airline partners do'''. If you have mid-level status with an airline Star Alliance and Oneworld, you’ll get lounge access whenever you fly with any airline in that alliance—with one big exception. The US airlines don’t provide lounge access on their own DOMESTIC flights. For example, if you have elite status with British Airways, you’ll have lounge access, even on economy-class American Airlines domestic flights; but if you have the same status directly with American Airlines, you won’t have access, even if you have a first-class ticket. The US Airlines want to protect the lucrative fees that they charge for lounge memberships.</li>

<li>'''Elite status usually lasts for 13 or 14 months. after the year you qualify'''. With most programs, elite qualification is based on calendar years. Your elite status starts shortly after you qualify. You will then retain your status over the entire following year, as well as the first month or two of the year after that. If you qualify early in a calendar year, you could enjoy your benefits for over two years.</li>
</ul>

=== Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances ===

This chart compares elite status benefits available from the three biggest US airlines.

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .5in;"|United
!style="width: .5in;"|Delta
!style="width: .5in;"|AA / Alaska
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Access to better seats
|-
|Access to preferred seats (on any alliance airline that has preferred seating)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority reservation waitlist on any alliance airline
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Eligible for business and first-class upgrades (likelihood improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on airline’s own flights (access improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on alliance airlines, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Instant upgrades on full fare economy tickets
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |lounge access access
|-
|Lounge access (for the entire alliance)
|Med
|Med
|Med
|-
|Discounted airport lounge membership
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Free airport lounge membership
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Free checked bags and other amenities
|-
|Free checked bags on the airline’s own flights (allowance increases by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Free checked bag on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Mid
|-
|Free beverage and snack in the main cabin
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Bonus award miles
|-
|Bonus award miles for flights (amount increases by status level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Minimum 500 QMs per flight
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Bonus for hitting elite status
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Priority Service
|-
|Priority check-in for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority check-in for alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority baggage handling on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority boarding for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority boarding on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority Phone line
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Access to most sold out flights
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Easier to change flights
|-
|Complimentary same day standby
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Waived same day flight changes
|Mid
|Mid
|100K
|-
|Priority standby list on alliance airlines
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Discounted or waived phone service charge
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Award ticket benefits
|-
|Priority award waitlist
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Anytime awards always available
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Better regular “saver” award availability
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
|Reduced, or waived, close-in award fees
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Reduced, or waived, redeposit and change fees
|Low
|High
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other
|-
|Ability to give status to others
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Benefits at Marriott Hotels
|Mid
|
|
{{/Table}}

When you earn elite status with any airline that belongs to an alliance, you get a set of benefits that works with all the other airlines in the alliances (plus additional benefits that work only for that airline). The shared alliance benefits are as follows:

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .75in;"|Star Alliance
!style="width: .75in;"|SkyTeam
!style="width: .75in;"|Oneworld
|-
|Priority waitlist and standby
|Low (Silver)
| rowspan="5" |Low

(Elite)
| rowspan="3" |Low

(Ruby)
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Priority check-in
| rowspan="6" |Mid

(Gold)
|-
|Free checked bag
| rowspan="4" |Mid

(Sapphire)
|-
|Priority boarding
|-
|Priority baggage handling
| rowspan="4" |Mid<br/>(Elite Plus)
|-
|Lounge access.
|-
|Priority security screening (at some locations)
|High<br/>(Emerald)
|-
|Guaranteed reservations on sold out flights
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
{{/Table}}

In addition to the normal Oneworld benefits, Alaska and American Airlines offer a few special benefits to the other airline's elites. Alaska 75K and American Executive Platinum members are eligible for premium cabin upgrades when flying on the other airline (Alaska elites will receive Global Upgrade Certificates). In addition, Alaksa Gold and American Platinum Pro members are eligible for extra-legroom seats as soon as they book.

=== Premium cabin upgrades ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''For most people, the most sought after elite benefit is the possibility of getting a free upgrade to business or first class'''. On paper, most frequent flyer programs give this benefit to all their elite members, regardless of status level.</li>

<li>'''In practice, it is nearly impossible to get upgraded with only low-level status, it is very hard to get upgraded with mid-level status, and upgrades aren’t reliable even with high-level status'''. Note that you only get premium cabin upgrades on the airline that you have status with, not with the other airlines in the alliance (with the exception of Alaska and American's unique partnership).</li>

{{ImageX|FirstClassMeal.jpg}}

<li>'''The likelihood of getting premium cabin upgrades has changed dramatically in the past few years'''. Airlines have become much more aggressive about selling their premium cabin seats, leaving far fewer empty seats available for elite flyers. Premium seat pricing has dropped, reducing the number of available seats. And as upgrades have gotten less common, more people are choosing to book directly into premium cabin seats, reducing the number of unsold seats even further.</li>

<li>'''The general process for handling upgrades is similar across different airlines'''. Until close to departure time, airlines will make only a limited set of their premium cabin seats available for upgrades. In other words, there may be ten unsold first-class seats on the plane, but only two of them might be available for upgrades. Airlines can change the number of seats available for upgrades at any time and will adjust them based on how their ticket sales are going.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''People can upgrade to these seats, ahead of time, using special upgrade certificates, and/or frequent flyer points'''. If no upgrade seats are currently available, they can add themselves to a wait list to take advantage of any new seats that become available later.</li>

<li>'''When it gets close to departure time, the airline starts processing any remaining upgrade space'''. This is where “unlimited free upgrades” comes into play. On many flights, there will be no upgrade space left, even though there may still be some premium seats available for sale. But if there are still upgrade seats available, the airlines will start giving them to their highest-level elites around 4-5 days before departure. If, somehow, there are still upgrade seats available, they will move onto lower-level elites, as it gets closer and closer to the departure day. Everyone who doesn’t get a seat, during this window, is automatically added to the wait list.</li>

<li>'''Before the flight leaves, many airlines (including American, Delta, and United) will make any remaining unsold premium cabin space available for upgrades'''. Multiple new seats usually become available that the airline had been holding back (to potentially sell). The wait list is prioritized by a number of factors, with elite status level the most important, and those passengers get free upgrades to any remaining seats.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Premium cabin upgrades from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
The upgrade system at American primarily uses “500-mile” upgrade coupons. A coupon is needed for every 500 miles you are traveling on your flight. A coupon isn’t needed for flights under 500 miles. Elite members receive four coupons for every 12,500 qualifying miles, and can purchase more for $40 each. Higher-level elites get unlimited upgrade coupons. You can use these certificates on flights within the United States, and to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Upgrades start getting processed for Executive Platinum members 100 hours before departure time, then for Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members at 72 hours, 48 hours, and 24 hours, prior to departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and Executive Platinum members are eligible for upgrades even on award tickets.

Alaska high-level (75K) elites are also eligible for unlimited upgrades in the North and Central America, but are only added to the upgrade list at check-in and are prioritized below Platinum Pro members. At some point, they will be eligible for upgrades 72 hours before travel. In addition, anyone qualifying for MVP Gold status for 2022, will receive a systemwide upgrade.

Platinum Pro members can select a "systemwide" upgrade with their choice benefit and Executive Pro can select 2 upgrades with either or both of their choices. These upgrades can be used on a one-way flight to pretty much anywhere that AA flies.

{{Label|Delta}}
All elite members get “unlimited” upgrades to First Class, but not Delta One or Delta Premium Select, on flights within the United States, and to Canada, the Caribbean, or Central America. You can even upgrade award tickets.

Upgrades start being processed for Diamond and Platinum members 120 hours before departure, then for Gold and Silver members at 72 hours, and 24 hours.

Delta Platinum members can choose 4 regional upgrades with their Choice benefit. Delta Diamond members can choose either 4 global or 8 regional or 2 global and 4 regional upgrades with any or all of their choices. Regional certificates can only be used on flights in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Global upgrades can be used on any flights including many flights on KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.

{{Label|United}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. They also get “unlimited” upgrades on all other flights.

Upgrades start getting processed for 1K members 96 hours before departure time, then for Platinum and Gold members at 72, and 48 hours, and then for Silver members on the day of departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and United credit cardholders can take advantage of upgrades on award tickets.

Platinum members receive 2 “Regional Premier Upgrades”, can earn 2 more if they reach 1K status, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles after that. Each certificate can be used for a one-way flight, and the upgrade can be confirmed, before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can only be used within the Americas.

1K members receive 6 “Global Premier Upgrades”, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles. Each global upgrade can be used for a one-way flight to almost anywhere, as long as the original ticket was purchased in certain fare classes. Upgrades can be confirmed before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can also be used ANA and Lufthansa flights.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have separate seat classes.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. At Gold and Gold 75K levels, this benefit extends to some less expensive fare classes, and to refundable economy award tickets. All elite members are eligible for unlimited upgrades on other fares, but they are processed as part of the normal upgrade window.

Upgrades start getting processed for MVP 75K members 120 hours prior to departure, and for Gold and MVP members at 72 hours, and 48 hours. Gold members can get a single companion upgraded along with them.

American Airline's highest-level elites (Executive Platinum) are also eligible for free upgrades 120 hours before departure, but are prioritized after MVP Gold 75Ks.

Gold level members also get four “Gold Guest Upgrade” certificates. Each is good for a one-way flight, are confirmed before the normal assignment window, and can be used by the elite flyer, or given to another person.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get any upgrade benefits.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Better economy seats ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elite frequent flyers get free access to “preferred” economy class seating'''. They can choose to sit closer to the front of the plane, or in exit row or bulkhead seats, without having to pay an extra surcharge.</li>

<li>'''Some planes have an “enhanced” economy seat section''', which not only is located closer to the front of the plane, but has extra leg room, and sometimes additional benefits, such as reserved overhead bin space, or a free drink. In some cases, elite frequent flyers get free access to those seats as well (when they are available), but sometimes the they are limited to just their choice of the “regular” seats.</li>

{{Image|AAMainCabinExtra.jpg}}

<li>'''In contrast to premium cabin upgrades, lower-level elites are much more likely to be able to take advantage of this benefit'''. There are many more enhanced economy seats available on each flight, and some of the higher-level elites will be moved up to business class.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded coach seats from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}
{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying on American Airlines, mid-level elites from any Oneworld program get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Main Cabin Extra”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level elites get a 50% discount if they want to pay for them ahead-of-time, and get free access to any remaining seats when they check-in for the flight. This benefit extends to 8 companions. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

When flying on other airlines, Oneworld elite members usually get the same access to enhanced and preferred seating, as the airline’s own elite passengers. Even low-level elites should get at least some kind of preferred seating, but it varies depending on the airline.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
When flying on Delta airlines, high-level Delta elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Comfort+”). Mid-level elites get access to any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites come next, at 24 hours before departure. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section, such as seats closer to the front of the plane. This benefit extends to a single companion. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

Elites on any SkyTeam airline are supposed to get some sort of preferred seating, when they fly on the alliance’s other airlines. However, this benefit isn’t usually as good as what you'll get, if you are an elite in the airline’s own program. For example, even high-level SkyTeam elites won’t get access to Delta’s Comfort+ seats.

{{Label|United}}
When flying on United, mid-level United elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Economy Plus”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level United elites get access to any remaining seats at check-in. Low level elites can extend the benefit to a single travelling companion, high-level elites can bring along up to 8.

Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant any preferred seating status on partner airlines. So, United high-level status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on other Star Alliance airlines; and Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on United.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have enhanced economy seats. Elite members get to board early, and choose whichever seat they want, including exit row seats. Mid-level elites board before low-level elites. These benefits don’t extend to companions.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites are entitled to enhanced economy seats “premium class”). These seats come with free drinks and better food. High-level elites from Alaska and AA are immediately upgraded, if seats are still available when they make their reservation, mid-level elites are immediately upgraded on most fares, and low-level elites are immediately upgraded on the highest priced fares. Mid-level elites, who weren’t upgraded earlier, can access any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites get access 48 hours before departure. Mid-level elites can extend the benefit to a single companion, low-level elites can’t. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Even More Space”). However, they can use their points to pay the $10-90 upgrade fee at significantly reduced rates (only 200-1,000 points).

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Airport lounge access ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Mid-level elite members get free access to airport lounges, whenever they are flying on one of that alliance’s airlines, even if they only have economy-class tickets'''.</li>

{{ImageX|LoungeSign.jpg}}

<li>'''Lounge access is available not just for the airline’s own lounges, but for almost all the lounges operated by the other airlines in the alliance'''. However, lounge access is only available when you are flying that day, on an alliance airline. For example, an American Airlines elite member can use British Airway’s lounges, regardless of what Oneworld airline they are flying. But, if they are flying on KLM (a SkyTeam carrier), they are out-of-luck.</li>

<li>'''American, Delta, and United want to sell as many lounge memberships as possible. As a result, they don’t provide their elite members, or people who purchased business or first-class tickets, access to their lounges on domestic itineraries'''. You’ll get better lounge access, if you have status with a foreign airline instead. Mid-level elites of other Star Alliance and Oneworld airlines, get access to United and American lounges, even on purely domestic trips.</li>

<li>'''Access to the most luxurious first-class lounges is usually not included as part of the elite status benefit, or are reserved only for people with high-level status'''.</li>

<li>'''Lounge access from each alliance''':</li>

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American / Alaska}}
Mid-level elites, from any Oneworld airline, get access to most Oneworld lounges. Only high-level elites get access to first class lounges. The benefit extends to one travelling companion. As noted above, American Airline and Alaskan Airlines elites don’t get free access to American Airlines or Alaska lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Mid-level elites, from any SkyTeam airline, get free lounge access, when they are flying on international itineraries. This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. Delta 100K mile elites (Delta Diamond Medallion) can choose a Delta membership as one of their three “choice bonuses”, which provides Delta club access, even on domestic flights.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
Mid-level elites, from any Star Alliance airline, get free lounge access at almost all Star Alliance lounges, but only if you are departing out of the airport (as opposed to on arrival). This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. As noted above, United elites don’t get access to United lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.
{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free checked bags ===

'''Elite frequent flyers always get access to at least one free checked bag, for themselves and for some number of traveling companions'''. If you frequently check bags, this can easily save you a significant amount of money. It is especially useful for American, Delta, and United’s new “basic economy” tickets, since elite members won’t have to pay to check their bags, and can still board early enough to find a good place for their carry-ons.

{{ImageX|CheckedBags.jpg}}

On the other hand, this benefit is also available to anyone who has one of the airline’s credit cards, and not just to elite flyers, so you may already have it.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying American Airlines, low-level American elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2 bags, and 100K+ elites get 3 bags. American Airlines elites also get 2 free checked bags when flying Alaska.

Mid-level elites from any Oneworld airline (including American) get at least one free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and two free checked bags on international itineraries, whenever they fly on a Oneworld airline. High-level Oneworld status provides 1 extra bag above the normal allowance.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
On Delta flights in the US, low-level Delta elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. Outside the US, all Delta elites get the same number of free bags, but the number varies per region.

Low-level elites from any SkyTeam airline get 1 extra piece of checked luggage than normal, whenever they fly on a SkyTeam airline.

{{Label|United / Star Alliance}}
When flying United, low-level Untied elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. The bags for mid-level elites can weigh up to 70lbs.

Mid-level elites from any Star Alliance airline get extra baggage allowance on partner airlines, but the exact rules are different for each airline.

{{Label|Southwest}}
2 free bags for every passenger, regardless of status.

{{Label|Alaska}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{/List|label}}

=== Priority service and boarding ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elites are given “priority” everything'''—a priority line to check-in, access to the priority line through security and immigration (when available), priority baggage handling, priority boarding (to stow that carry-on with no hassles), and a priority telephone number to contact the airline. In most cases, these benefits apply to every elite tier. But for some programs, some benefits may only be available to higher-level elites. Priority access can be used, in practice, by an entire group that is travelling together.</li>

{{ImageX|SkyPrioritySign.jpg}}

<li>'''Enhanced security access is useful even to people who already have TSE Precheck, because it works in many airports around the world''', and not just those in the United States.</li>

<li>'''Like free checked bags and airport lounge access, if you have status with any airline in one of the three major alliances, you’ll get priority privileges with all the airlines in that alliance'''. The airline’s credit card holders usually get at least priority boarding, and sometimes some other priority benefits.</li>

<li>'''Priority service from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Low-level Oneworld elites get priority check-in, stand-by, and reservations waitlist on any alliance airline. Priority boarding, security, and baggage handling come with mid-level Oneworld status. In addition, American Airlines low-level elites get priority boarding and security, when flying on American.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Low-level SkyTeam elites get most priority services on any alliance airline. Priority baggage handling and security access come with mid-level SkyTeam status, rather than low-level.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
All United elites get priority services when flying on United. Mid-level Star Alliance elites get priority service with any Star Alliance airline. Low-level Star Alliance elites only get priority waitlist and standby.

{{Label|Southwest}}
All elites get priority services.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites get priority services, except security line access, which is reserved for mid-level elites and above. Alaska doesn’t offer priority baggage handling.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites have access to priority services.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free or reduced charges for flight changes ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Most airlines will reduce, or eliminate, some charges for elite members, and allow for same-day flight changes, at no cost'''. These benefits usually kicks-in at mid-level, but there is quite a bit of variance between programs, and they usually don’t apply to partner airlines.</li>

<li>'''This benefit won’t usually save you a bunch of money, since you are probably doing your best, to avoid incurring any of these charges in the first place. However, it can change the way you fly'''. Once the the fees go away, you can change your behavior—proactively purchasing tickets for trips you might not wind up taking, switching flights when it would be only slightly more convenient, etc.</li>

<li>'''Waived fees from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Free same-day standby. Free same-day flight changes at the 100K+ level. 100K+ elites also get waived ticketing charges.

{{Label|Delta}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day changes and standby. High-level elites get waived cancellation fees.

{{Label|United}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day flight changes.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Everyone gets free ticket changes, not just elite members. Elites get free-same day standby (no need to pay the fare difference), but low-level elites only get this benefit on flights less than 2 hours before their original departure.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get waived ticket change fees, and free same-day flight changes (no need to pay the fare difference).

{{Label|JetBlue}}
All elites get free change and cancellation fees, for themselves and their companions.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Inflight Perks ===

'''Airlines sometimes give their elites extra inflight amenities'''. There are no generalities here, as the policies differ greatly for different programs. These benefits don’t extend to partner airlines.

{{ImageX|FlightAttendent.jpg}}

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
100K+ members get a free drink and snack, even when they are flying coach.

{{Label|Delta}}
Elites, who get enhanced economy seating, get premium snacks and drinks (plus dedicated overhead bin space).

{{Label|United}}
None

{{Label|Southwest}}
Mid-level elites get free Wi-Fi.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get a free drink, even if they are flying coach. And high-level elites don’t have to pay the fee for the inflight entertainment systems. Elites, who get enhanced economy seats, get free premium drinks.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Free drinks.

{{/List|label}}

=== Enhanced earning rates ===

'''Elite members of a frequent flyer program earn bonus miles on their flights'''.

{{Table|basic|5.5in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|
!style="width: 20%;"|Low-level
!style="width: 20%"|Mid-level
!style="width: 20%"|High-Level
!style="width: 20%"|100K+
|-
|American
|40%
|60%
|80%
|120%
|-
|Delta
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar
|11/dollar
|-
|United
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar plus one “choice” bonus upon qualification.
|11/dollar, plus 3 additional “choice” bonuses upon qualification.
|-
|Southwest
|25%
|100%
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Alaska
|50%
|100%
|125%, plus 50K bonus on qualification.
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|JetBlue
|<nowiki>+3pts / dollar</nowiki>

15K point bonus on qualification (from flying)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

=== Enhanced award access ===

'''Some airlines provide some award-booking benefits to their elites, such as increased access to award availability'''.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Elite don’t have to pay award processing fees. 100K+ elites don’t have to pay award change and cancellation fees, and get expanded award availability.

{{Label|United}}
All elites get unrestricted access to non-saver award space, better availability for economy award redemptions, and reduced award ticket fees (for changes, cancellations, close-in booking, and telephone booking). High-level elites get increased access to premium award seats.

{{/List|label}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|best programs}}
{{Next|consolidate miles}}
{{Next|air elite status}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:31:22Z

Editor: /* Airport lounge access */

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:29:49Z

Editor: /* Better economy seats */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|frequent flyer benefits}}}}
{{Page|article|air elite status|best programs}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Elite status basics|Elite status basics]]
*[[#Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances|Overview of elite status benefits]]
*[[#Premium cabin upgrades|Premium cabin upgrades]]
*[[#Better economy seats|Better economy seats]]
*[[#Airport lounge access|lounge access access]]
*[[#Free checked bags|Free checked bags]]
*[[#Priority service and boarding|Priority service and boarding]]
*[[#Free or reduced charges for flight changes|Free or reduced charges for flight changes]]
*[[#Inflight Perks|Inflight Perks]]
*[[#Enhanced earning rates|Enhanced earning rates]]
*[[#Enhanced award access|Enhanced award access]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Elite status basics ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Airlines typically have three or four elite status levels'''. The specific names for the levels differ for each program, but the benefits are usually somewhat comparable. “Low-level” status is typically earned for earning 25,000 qualifying miles per year. “Mid-level” status is typically earned for earning 50,000 qualifying miles per year. And there can be multiple tiers of “High-level” status earned for earning 75,000, or more, qualifying miles per year. When an airline has a fourth tier, it is almost always requires at least 100,000 qualifying miles.</li>

{{Image|AAStatusLevels.jpg}}

<li>'''When you earn elite status with any airline in an alliance, most of your benefits apply to every airline in that alliance'''. For example, if you are a low-level elite in any Star Alliance program, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority check-in, higher reward earning rates, and other benefits on every Star Alliance flight.</li>

{{Image|SkyPriority.jpg}}

<li>'''Some elite status benefits are only available, when flying on the airline’s own flights'''. While most benefits are available when flying on the airline’s alliance partners, some of the most valuable benefits, such as potential upgrades to premium cabin seats, are only available when flying on the airline you have status with. Other times, the benefit is enhanced when you are flying on that airline. For example, while free baggage privileges extend across the entire alliance, you might get even better privileges on the airline where you have status.</li>

<li>'''Upgrades to business or first-class seats are one of the most valuable elite status benefits, but you won't get them very often, especially if you don't have high-level status'''. Airlines are selling more of their premium cabin seats (at reduced pricing). There are less seats leftover, for elite member upgrades. Competition for whichever seats remain is high, especially for flights to and from airports where the airline is popular. If you are a low-level elite, you may never get upgraded; if you are a mid-level elite, getting upgraded is rare; and if you are high-level elite, you still can’t count on an upgrade. You won’t get upgraded to a better cabin class, when you are flying on partner airlines. </li>

{{ImageX|FirstClass1.jpg}}

<li>'''American and United mid-level elites don’t get access to airport lounges when they are flying domestically, but mid-level elites of their airline partners do'''. If you have mid-level status with an airline Star Alliance and Oneworld, you’ll get lounge access whenever you fly with any airline in that alliance—with one big exception. The US airlines don’t provide lounge access on their own DOMESTIC flights. For example, if you have elite status with British Airways, you’ll have lounge access, even on economy-class American Airlines domestic flights; but if you have the same status directly with American Airlines, you won’t have access, even if you have a first-class ticket. The US Airlines want to protect the lucrative fees that they charge for lounge memberships.</li>

<li>'''Elite status usually lasts for 13 or 14 months. after the year you qualify'''. With most programs, elite qualification is based on calendar years. Your elite status starts shortly after you qualify. You will then retain your status over the entire following year, as well as the first month or two of the year after that. If you qualify early in a calendar year, you could enjoy your benefits for over two years.</li>
</ul>

=== Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances ===

This chart compares elite status benefits available from the three biggest US airlines.

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .5in;"|United
!style="width: .5in;"|Delta
!style="width: .5in;"|AA
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Access to better seats
|-
|Access to preferred seats (on any alliance airline that has preferred seating)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority reservation waitlist on any alliance airline
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Eligible for business and first-class upgrades (likelihood improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on airline’s own flights (access improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on alliance airlines, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Instant upgrades on full fare economy tickets
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |lounge access access
|-
|Lounge access (for the entire alliance)
|Med
|Med
|Med
|-
|Discounted airport lounge membership
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Free airport lounge membership
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Free checked bags and other amenities
|-
|Free checked bags on the airline’s own flights (allowance increases by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Free checked bag on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Mid
|-
|Free beverage and snack in the main cabin
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Bonus award miles
|-
|Bonus award miles for flights (amount increases by status level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Minimum 500 QMs per flight
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Bonus for hitting elite status
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Priority Service
|-
|Priority check-in for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority check-in for alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority baggage handling on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority boarding for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority boarding on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority Phone line
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Access to most sold out flights
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Easier to change flights
|-
|Complimentary same day standby
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Waived same day flight changes
|Mid
|Mid
|100K
|-
|Priority standby list on alliance airlines
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Discounted or waived phone service charge
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Award ticket benefits
|-
|Priority award waitlist
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Anytime awards always available
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Better regular “saver” award availability
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
|Reduced, or waived, close-in award fees
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Reduced, or waived, redeposit and change fees
|Low
|High
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other
|-
|Ability to give status to others
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Benefits at Marriott Hotels
|Mid
|
|
{{/Table}}

When you earn elite status with any airline that belongs to an alliance, you get a set of benefits that works with all the other airlines in the alliances (plus additional benefits that work only for that airline). The shared alliance benefits are as follows:

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .75in;"|Star Alliance
!style="width: .75in;"|SkyTeam
!style="width: .75in;"|Oneworld
|-
|Priority waitlist and standby
|Low (Silver)
| rowspan="5" |Low

(Elite)
| rowspan="3" |Low

(Ruby)
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Priority check-in
| rowspan="6" |Mid

(Gold)
|-
|Free checked bag
| rowspan="4" |Mid

(Sapphire)
|-
|Priority boarding
|-
|Priority baggage handling
| rowspan="4" |Mid<br/>(Elite Plus)
|-
|Lounge access.
|-
|Priority security screening (at some locations)
|High<br/>(Emerald)
|-
|Guaranteed reservations on sold out flights
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
{{/Table}}

In addition to the normal Oneworld benefits, Alaska and American Airlines offer a few special benefits to the other airline's elites. Alaska 75K and American Executive Platinum members are eligible for premium cabin upgrades when flying on the other airline (Alaska elites will receive Global Upgrade Certificates). In addition, Alaksa Gold and American Platinum Pro members are eligible for extra-legroom seats as soon as they book.

=== Premium cabin upgrades ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''For most people, the most sought after elite benefit is the possibility of getting a free upgrade to business or first class'''. On paper, most frequent flyer programs give this benefit to all their elite members, regardless of status level.</li>

<li>'''In practice, it is nearly impossible to get upgraded with only low-level status, it is very hard to get upgraded with mid-level status, and upgrades aren’t reliable even with high-level status'''. Note that you only get premium cabin upgrades on the airline that you have status with, not with the other airlines in the alliance (with the exception of Alaska and American's unique partnership).</li>

{{ImageX|FirstClassMeal.jpg}}

<li>'''The likelihood of getting premium cabin upgrades has changed dramatically in the past few years'''. Airlines have become much more aggressive about selling their premium cabin seats, leaving far fewer empty seats available for elite flyers. Premium seat pricing has dropped, reducing the number of available seats. And as upgrades have gotten less common, more people are choosing to book directly into premium cabin seats, reducing the number of unsold seats even further.</li>

<li>'''The general process for handling upgrades is similar across different airlines'''. Until close to departure time, airlines will make only a limited set of their premium cabin seats available for upgrades. In other words, there may be ten unsold first-class seats on the plane, but only two of them might be available for upgrades. Airlines can change the number of seats available for upgrades at any time and will adjust them based on how their ticket sales are going.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''People can upgrade to these seats, ahead of time, using special upgrade certificates, and/or frequent flyer points'''. If no upgrade seats are currently available, they can add themselves to a wait list to take advantage of any new seats that become available later.</li>

<li>'''When it gets close to departure time, the airline starts processing any remaining upgrade space'''. This is where “unlimited free upgrades” comes into play. On many flights, there will be no upgrade space left, even though there may still be some premium seats available for sale. But if there are still upgrade seats available, the airlines will start giving them to their highest-level elites around 4-5 days before departure. If, somehow, there are still upgrade seats available, they will move onto lower-level elites, as it gets closer and closer to the departure day. Everyone who doesn’t get a seat, during this window, is automatically added to the wait list.</li>

<li>'''Before the flight leaves, many airlines (including American, Delta, and United) will make any remaining unsold premium cabin space available for upgrades'''. Multiple new seats usually become available that the airline had been holding back (to potentially sell). The wait list is prioritized by a number of factors, with elite status level the most important, and those passengers get free upgrades to any remaining seats.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Premium cabin upgrades from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
The upgrade system at American primarily uses “500-mile” upgrade coupons. A coupon is needed for every 500 miles you are traveling on your flight. A coupon isn’t needed for flights under 500 miles. Elite members receive four coupons for every 12,500 qualifying miles, and can purchase more for $40 each. Higher-level elites get unlimited upgrade coupons. You can use these certificates on flights within the United States, and to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Upgrades start getting processed for Executive Platinum members 100 hours before departure time, then for Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members at 72 hours, 48 hours, and 24 hours, prior to departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and Executive Platinum members are eligible for upgrades even on award tickets.

Alaska high-level (75K) elites are also eligible for unlimited upgrades in the North and Central America, but are only added to the upgrade list at check-in and are prioritized below Platinum Pro members. At some point, they will be eligible for upgrades 72 hours before travel. In addition, anyone qualifying for MVP Gold status for 2022, will receive a systemwide upgrade.

Platinum Pro members can select a "systemwide" upgrade with their choice benefit and Executive Pro can select 2 upgrades with either or both of their choices. These upgrades can be used on a one-way flight to pretty much anywhere that AA flies.

{{Label|Delta}}
All elite members get “unlimited” upgrades to First Class, but not Delta One or Delta Premium Select, on flights within the United States, and to Canada, the Caribbean, or Central America. You can even upgrade award tickets.

Upgrades start being processed for Diamond and Platinum members 120 hours before departure, then for Gold and Silver members at 72 hours, and 24 hours.

Delta Platinum members can choose 4 regional upgrades with their Choice benefit. Delta Diamond members can choose either 4 global or 8 regional or 2 global and 4 regional upgrades with any or all of their choices. Regional certificates can only be used on flights in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Global upgrades can be used on any flights including many flights on KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.

{{Label|United}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. They also get “unlimited” upgrades on all other flights.

Upgrades start getting processed for 1K members 96 hours before departure time, then for Platinum and Gold members at 72, and 48 hours, and then for Silver members on the day of departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and United credit cardholders can take advantage of upgrades on award tickets.

Platinum members receive 2 “Regional Premier Upgrades”, can earn 2 more if they reach 1K status, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles after that. Each certificate can be used for a one-way flight, and the upgrade can be confirmed, before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can only be used within the Americas.

1K members receive 6 “Global Premier Upgrades”, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles. Each global upgrade can be used for a one-way flight to almost anywhere, as long as the original ticket was purchased in certain fare classes. Upgrades can be confirmed before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can also be used ANA and Lufthansa flights.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have separate seat classes.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. At Gold and Gold 75K levels, this benefit extends to some less expensive fare classes, and to refundable economy award tickets. All elite members are eligible for unlimited upgrades on other fares, but they are processed as part of the normal upgrade window.

Upgrades start getting processed for MVP 75K members 120 hours prior to departure, and for Gold and MVP members at 72 hours, and 48 hours. Gold members can get a single companion upgraded along with them.

American Airline's highest-level elites (Executive Platinum) are also eligible for free upgrades 120 hours before departure, but are prioritized after MVP Gold 75Ks.

Gold level members also get four “Gold Guest Upgrade” certificates. Each is good for a one-way flight, are confirmed before the normal assignment window, and can be used by the elite flyer, or given to another person.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get any upgrade benefits.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Better economy seats ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elite frequent flyers get free access to “preferred” economy class seating'''. They can choose to sit closer to the front of the plane, or in exit row or bulkhead seats, without having to pay an extra surcharge.</li>

<li>'''Some planes have an “enhanced” economy seat section''', which not only is located closer to the front of the plane, but has extra leg room, and sometimes additional benefits, such as reserved overhead bin space, or a free drink. In some cases, elite frequent flyers get free access to those seats as well (when they are available), but sometimes the they are limited to just their choice of the “regular” seats.</li>

{{Image|AAMainCabinExtra.jpg}}

<li>'''In contrast to premium cabin upgrades, lower-level elites are much more likely to be able to take advantage of this benefit'''. There are many more enhanced economy seats available on each flight, and some of the higher-level elites will be moved up to business class.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded coach seats from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}
{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying on American Airlines, mid-level elites from any Oneworld program get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Main Cabin Extra”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level elites get a 50% discount if they want to pay for them ahead-of-time, and get free access to any remaining seats when they check-in for the flight. This benefit extends to 8 companions. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

When flying on other airlines, Oneworld elite members usually get the same access to enhanced and preferred seating, as the airline’s own elite passengers. Even low-level elites should get at least some kind of preferred seating, but it varies depending on the airline.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
When flying on Delta airlines, high-level Delta elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Comfort+”). Mid-level elites get access to any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites come next, at 24 hours before departure. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section, such as seats closer to the front of the plane. This benefit extends to a single companion. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

Elites on any SkyTeam airline are supposed to get some sort of preferred seating, when they fly on the alliance’s other airlines. However, this benefit isn’t usually as good as what you'll get, if you are an elite in the airline’s own program. For example, even high-level SkyTeam elites won’t get access to Delta’s Comfort+ seats.

{{Label|United}}
When flying on United, mid-level United elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Economy Plus”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level United elites get access to any remaining seats at check-in. Low level elites can extend the benefit to a single travelling companion, high-level elites can bring along up to 8.

Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant any preferred seating status on partner airlines. So, United high-level status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on other Star Alliance airlines; and Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on United.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have enhanced economy seats. Elite members get to board early, and choose whichever seat they want, including exit row seats. Mid-level elites board before low-level elites. These benefits don’t extend to companions.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites are entitled to enhanced economy seats “premium class”). These seats come with free drinks and better food. High-level elites from Alaska and AA are immediately upgraded, if seats are still available when they make their reservation, mid-level elites are immediately upgraded on most fares, and low-level elites are immediately upgraded on the highest priced fares. Mid-level elites, who weren’t upgraded earlier, can access any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites get access 48 hours before departure. Mid-level elites can extend the benefit to a single companion, low-level elites can’t. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Even More Space”). However, they can use their points to pay the $10-90 upgrade fee at significantly reduced rates (only 200-1,000 points).

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Airport lounge access ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Mid-level elite members get free access to airport lounges, whenever they are flying on one of that alliance’s airlines, even if they only have economy-class tickets'''.</li>

{{ImageX|LoungeSign.jpg}}

<li>'''Lounge access is available not just for the airline’s own lounges, but for almost all the lounges operated by the other airlines in the alliance'''. However, lounge access is only available when you are flying that day, on an alliance airline. For example, an American Airlines elite member can use British Airway’s lounges, regardless of what Oneworld airline they are flying. But, if they are flying on KLM (a SkyTeam carrier), they are out-of-luck.</li>

<li>'''American, Delta, and United want to sell as many lounge memberships as possible. As a result, they don’t provide their elite members, or people who purchased business or first-class tickets, access to their lounges on domestic itineraries'''. You’ll get better lounge access, if you have status with a foreign airline instead. Mid-level elites of other Star Alliance and Oneworld airlines, get access to United and American lounges, even on purely domestic trips.</li>

<li>'''Access to the most luxurious first-class lounges is usually not included as part of the elite status benefit, or are reserved only for people with high-level status'''.</li>

<li>'''Lounge access from each alliance''':</li>

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Mid-level elites, from any Oneworld airline, get access to most Oneworld lounges. Only high-level elites get access to first class lounges. The benefit extends to one travelling companion. As noted above, American Airline elites don’t get access to American Airline lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Mid-level elites, from any SkyTeam airline, get free lounge access, when they are flying on international itineraries. This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. Delta 100K mile elites (Delta Diamond Medallion) can choose a Delta membership as one of their three “choice bonuses”, which provides Delta club access, even on domestic flights.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
Mid-level elites, from any Star Alliance airline, get free lounge access at almost all Star Alliance lounges, but only if you are departing out of the airport (as opposed to on arrival). This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. As noted above, United elites don’t get access to United lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Alaska doesn’t provide free lounge access to their elite flyers. However, high-level elites get four day passes for their lounges, per year.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free checked bags ===

'''Elite frequent flyers always get access to at least one free checked bag, for themselves and for some number of traveling companions'''. If you frequently check bags, this can easily save you a significant amount of money. It is especially useful for American, Delta, and United’s new “basic economy” tickets, since elite members won’t have to pay to check their bags, and can still board early enough to find a good place for their carry-ons.

{{ImageX|CheckedBags.jpg}}

On the other hand, this benefit is also available to anyone who has one of the airline’s credit cards, and not just to elite flyers, so you may already have it.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying American Airlines, low-level American elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2 bags, and 100K+ elites get 3 bags. American Airlines elites also get 2 free checked bags when flying Alaska.

Mid-level elites from any Oneworld airline (including American) get at least one free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and two free checked bags on international itineraries, whenever they fly on a Oneworld airline. High-level Oneworld status provides 1 extra bag above the normal allowance.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
On Delta flights in the US, low-level Delta elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. Outside the US, all Delta elites get the same number of free bags, but the number varies per region.

Low-level elites from any SkyTeam airline get 1 extra piece of checked luggage than normal, whenever they fly on a SkyTeam airline.

{{Label|United / Star Alliance}}
When flying United, low-level Untied elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. The bags for mid-level elites can weigh up to 70lbs.

Mid-level elites from any Star Alliance airline get extra baggage allowance on partner airlines, but the exact rules are different for each airline.

{{Label|Southwest}}
2 free bags for every passenger, regardless of status.

{{Label|Alaska}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{/List|label}}

=== Priority service and boarding ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elites are given “priority” everything'''—a priority line to check-in, access to the priority line through security and immigration (when available), priority baggage handling, priority boarding (to stow that carry-on with no hassles), and a priority telephone number to contact the airline. In most cases, these benefits apply to every elite tier. But for some programs, some benefits may only be available to higher-level elites. Priority access can be used, in practice, by an entire group that is travelling together.</li>

{{ImageX|SkyPrioritySign.jpg}}

<li>'''Enhanced security access is useful even to people who already have TSE Precheck, because it works in many airports around the world''', and not just those in the United States.</li>

<li>'''Like free checked bags and airport lounge access, if you have status with any airline in one of the three major alliances, you’ll get priority privileges with all the airlines in that alliance'''. The airline’s credit card holders usually get at least priority boarding, and sometimes some other priority benefits.</li>

<li>'''Priority service from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Low-level Oneworld elites get priority check-in, stand-by, and reservations waitlist on any alliance airline. Priority boarding, security, and baggage handling come with mid-level Oneworld status. In addition, American Airlines low-level elites get priority boarding and security, when flying on American.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Low-level SkyTeam elites get most priority services on any alliance airline. Priority baggage handling and security access come with mid-level SkyTeam status, rather than low-level.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
All United elites get priority services when flying on United. Mid-level Star Alliance elites get priority service with any Star Alliance airline. Low-level Star Alliance elites only get priority waitlist and standby.

{{Label|Southwest}}
All elites get priority services.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites get priority services, except security line access, which is reserved for mid-level elites and above. Alaska doesn’t offer priority baggage handling.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites have access to priority services.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free or reduced charges for flight changes ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Most airlines will reduce, or eliminate, some charges for elite members, and allow for same-day flight changes, at no cost'''. These benefits usually kicks-in at mid-level, but there is quite a bit of variance between programs, and they usually don’t apply to partner airlines.</li>

<li>'''This benefit won’t usually save you a bunch of money, since you are probably doing your best, to avoid incurring any of these charges in the first place. However, it can change the way you fly'''. Once the the fees go away, you can change your behavior—proactively purchasing tickets for trips you might not wind up taking, switching flights when it would be only slightly more convenient, etc.</li>

<li>'''Waived fees from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Free same-day standby. Free same-day flight changes at the 100K+ level. 100K+ elites also get waived ticketing charges.

{{Label|Delta}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day changes and standby. High-level elites get waived cancellation fees.

{{Label|United}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day flight changes.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Everyone gets free ticket changes, not just elite members. Elites get free-same day standby (no need to pay the fare difference), but low-level elites only get this benefit on flights less than 2 hours before their original departure.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get waived ticket change fees, and free same-day flight changes (no need to pay the fare difference).

{{Label|JetBlue}}
All elites get free change and cancellation fees, for themselves and their companions.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Inflight Perks ===

'''Airlines sometimes give their elites extra inflight amenities'''. There are no generalities here, as the policies differ greatly for different programs. These benefits don’t extend to partner airlines.

{{ImageX|FlightAttendent.jpg}}

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
100K+ members get a free drink and snack, even when they are flying coach.

{{Label|Delta}}
Elites, who get enhanced economy seating, get premium snacks and drinks (plus dedicated overhead bin space).

{{Label|United}}
None

{{Label|Southwest}}
Mid-level elites get free Wi-Fi.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get a free drink, even if they are flying coach. And high-level elites don’t have to pay the fee for the inflight entertainment systems. Elites, who get enhanced economy seats, get free premium drinks.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Free drinks.

{{/List|label}}

=== Enhanced earning rates ===

'''Elite members of a frequent flyer program earn bonus miles on their flights'''.

{{Table|basic|5.5in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|
!style="width: 20%;"|Low-level
!style="width: 20%"|Mid-level
!style="width: 20%"|High-Level
!style="width: 20%"|100K+
|-
|American
|40%
|60%
|80%
|120%
|-
|Delta
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar
|11/dollar
|-
|United
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar plus one “choice” bonus upon qualification.
|11/dollar, plus 3 additional “choice” bonuses upon qualification.
|-
|Southwest
|25%
|100%
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Alaska
|50%
|100%
|125%, plus 50K bonus on qualification.
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|JetBlue
|<nowiki>+3pts / dollar</nowiki>

15K point bonus on qualification (from flying)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

=== Enhanced award access ===

'''Some airlines provide some award-booking benefits to their elites, such as increased access to award availability'''.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Elite don’t have to pay award processing fees. 100K+ elites don’t have to pay award change and cancellation fees, and get expanded award availability.

{{Label|United}}
All elites get unrestricted access to non-saver award space, better availability for economy award redemptions, and reduced award ticket fees (for changes, cancellations, close-in booking, and telephone booking). High-level elites get increased access to premium award seats.

{{/List|label}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|best programs}}
{{Next|consolidate miles}}
{{Next|air elite status}}
{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:24:45Z

Editor: /* Premium cabin upgrades */

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|frequent flyer benefits}}}}
{{Page|article|air elite status|best programs}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Elite status basics|Elite status basics]]
*[[#Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances|Overview of elite status benefits]]
*[[#Premium cabin upgrades|Premium cabin upgrades]]
*[[#Better economy seats|Better economy seats]]
*[[#Airport lounge access|lounge access access]]
*[[#Free checked bags|Free checked bags]]
*[[#Priority service and boarding|Priority service and boarding]]
*[[#Free or reduced charges for flight changes|Free or reduced charges for flight changes]]
*[[#Inflight Perks|Inflight Perks]]
*[[#Enhanced earning rates|Enhanced earning rates]]
*[[#Enhanced award access|Enhanced award access]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Elite status basics ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Airlines typically have three or four elite status levels'''. The specific names for the levels differ for each program, but the benefits are usually somewhat comparable. “Low-level” status is typically earned for earning 25,000 qualifying miles per year. “Mid-level” status is typically earned for earning 50,000 qualifying miles per year. And there can be multiple tiers of “High-level” status earned for earning 75,000, or more, qualifying miles per year. When an airline has a fourth tier, it is almost always requires at least 100,000 qualifying miles.</li>

{{Image|AAStatusLevels.jpg}}

<li>'''When you earn elite status with any airline in an alliance, most of your benefits apply to every airline in that alliance'''. For example, if you are a low-level elite in any Star Alliance program, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority check-in, higher reward earning rates, and other benefits on every Star Alliance flight.</li>

{{Image|SkyPriority.jpg}}

<li>'''Some elite status benefits are only available, when flying on the airline’s own flights'''. While most benefits are available when flying on the airline’s alliance partners, some of the most valuable benefits, such as potential upgrades to premium cabin seats, are only available when flying on the airline you have status with. Other times, the benefit is enhanced when you are flying on that airline. For example, while free baggage privileges extend across the entire alliance, you might get even better privileges on the airline where you have status.</li>

<li>'''Upgrades to business or first-class seats are one of the most valuable elite status benefits, but you won't get them very often, especially if you don't have high-level status'''. Airlines are selling more of their premium cabin seats (at reduced pricing). There are less seats leftover, for elite member upgrades. Competition for whichever seats remain is high, especially for flights to and from airports where the airline is popular. If you are a low-level elite, you may never get upgraded; if you are a mid-level elite, getting upgraded is rare; and if you are high-level elite, you still can’t count on an upgrade. You won’t get upgraded to a better cabin class, when you are flying on partner airlines. </li>

{{ImageX|FirstClass1.jpg}}

<li>'''American and United mid-level elites don’t get access to airport lounges when they are flying domestically, but mid-level elites of their airline partners do'''. If you have mid-level status with an airline Star Alliance and Oneworld, you’ll get lounge access whenever you fly with any airline in that alliance—with one big exception. The US airlines don’t provide lounge access on their own DOMESTIC flights. For example, if you have elite status with British Airways, you’ll have lounge access, even on economy-class American Airlines domestic flights; but if you have the same status directly with American Airlines, you won’t have access, even if you have a first-class ticket. The US Airlines want to protect the lucrative fees that they charge for lounge memberships.</li>

<li>'''Elite status usually lasts for 13 or 14 months. after the year you qualify'''. With most programs, elite qualification is based on calendar years. Your elite status starts shortly after you qualify. You will then retain your status over the entire following year, as well as the first month or two of the year after that. If you qualify early in a calendar year, you could enjoy your benefits for over two years.</li>
</ul>

=== Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances ===

This chart compares elite status benefits available from the three biggest US airlines.

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .5in;"|United
!style="width: .5in;"|Delta
!style="width: .5in;"|AA
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Access to better seats
|-
|Access to preferred seats (on any alliance airline that has preferred seating)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority reservation waitlist on any alliance airline
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Eligible for business and first-class upgrades (likelihood improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on airline’s own flights (access improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on alliance airlines, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Instant upgrades on full fare economy tickets
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |lounge access access
|-
|Lounge access (for the entire alliance)
|Med
|Med
|Med
|-
|Discounted airport lounge membership
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Free airport lounge membership
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Free checked bags and other amenities
|-
|Free checked bags on the airline’s own flights (allowance increases by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Free checked bag on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Mid
|-
|Free beverage and snack in the main cabin
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Bonus award miles
|-
|Bonus award miles for flights (amount increases by status level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Minimum 500 QMs per flight
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Bonus for hitting elite status
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Priority Service
|-
|Priority check-in for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority check-in for alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority baggage handling on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority boarding for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority boarding on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority Phone line
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Access to most sold out flights
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Easier to change flights
|-
|Complimentary same day standby
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Waived same day flight changes
|Mid
|Mid
|100K
|-
|Priority standby list on alliance airlines
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Discounted or waived phone service charge
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Award ticket benefits
|-
|Priority award waitlist
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Anytime awards always available
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Better regular “saver” award availability
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
|Reduced, or waived, close-in award fees
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Reduced, or waived, redeposit and change fees
|Low
|High
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other
|-
|Ability to give status to others
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Benefits at Marriott Hotels
|Mid
|
|
{{/Table}}

When you earn elite status with any airline that belongs to an alliance, you get a set of benefits that works with all the other airlines in the alliances (plus additional benefits that work only for that airline). The shared alliance benefits are as follows:

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .75in;"|Star Alliance
!style="width: .75in;"|SkyTeam
!style="width: .75in;"|Oneworld
|-
|Priority waitlist and standby
|Low (Silver)
| rowspan="5" |Low

(Elite)
| rowspan="3" |Low

(Ruby)
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Priority check-in
| rowspan="6" |Mid

(Gold)
|-
|Free checked bag
| rowspan="4" |Mid

(Sapphire)
|-
|Priority boarding
|-
|Priority baggage handling
| rowspan="4" |Mid<br/>(Elite Plus)
|-
|Lounge access.
|-
|Priority security screening (at some locations)
|High<br/>(Emerald)
|-
|Guaranteed reservations on sold out flights
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
{{/Table}}

In addition to the normal Oneworld benefits, Alaska and American Airlines offer a few special benefits to the other airline's elites. Alaska 75K and American Executive Platinum members are eligible for premium cabin upgrades when flying on the other airline (Alaska elites will receive Global Upgrade Certificates). In addition, Alaksa Gold and American Platinum Pro members are eligible for extra-legroom seats as soon as they book.

=== Premium cabin upgrades ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''For most people, the most sought after elite benefit is the possibility of getting a free upgrade to business or first class'''. On paper, most frequent flyer programs give this benefit to all their elite members, regardless of status level.</li>

<li>'''In practice, it is nearly impossible to get upgraded with only low-level status, it is very hard to get upgraded with mid-level status, and upgrades aren’t reliable even with high-level status'''. Note that you only get premium cabin upgrades on the airline that you have status with, not with the other airlines in the alliance (with the exception of Alaska and American's unique partnership).</li>

{{ImageX|FirstClassMeal.jpg}}

<li>'''The likelihood of getting premium cabin upgrades has changed dramatically in the past few years'''. Airlines have become much more aggressive about selling their premium cabin seats, leaving far fewer empty seats available for elite flyers. Premium seat pricing has dropped, reducing the number of available seats. And as upgrades have gotten less common, more people are choosing to book directly into premium cabin seats, reducing the number of unsold seats even further.</li>

<li>'''The general process for handling upgrades is similar across different airlines'''. Until close to departure time, airlines will make only a limited set of their premium cabin seats available for upgrades. In other words, there may be ten unsold first-class seats on the plane, but only two of them might be available for upgrades. Airlines can change the number of seats available for upgrades at any time and will adjust them based on how their ticket sales are going.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''People can upgrade to these seats, ahead of time, using special upgrade certificates, and/or frequent flyer points'''. If no upgrade seats are currently available, they can add themselves to a wait list to take advantage of any new seats that become available later.</li>

<li>'''When it gets close to departure time, the airline starts processing any remaining upgrade space'''. This is where “unlimited free upgrades” comes into play. On many flights, there will be no upgrade space left, even though there may still be some premium seats available for sale. But if there are still upgrade seats available, the airlines will start giving them to their highest-level elites around 4-5 days before departure. If, somehow, there are still upgrade seats available, they will move onto lower-level elites, as it gets closer and closer to the departure day. Everyone who doesn’t get a seat, during this window, is automatically added to the wait list.</li>

<li>'''Before the flight leaves, many airlines (including American, Delta, and United) will make any remaining unsold premium cabin space available for upgrades'''. Multiple new seats usually become available that the airline had been holding back (to potentially sell). The wait list is prioritized by a number of factors, with elite status level the most important, and those passengers get free upgrades to any remaining seats.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Premium cabin upgrades from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
The upgrade system at American primarily uses “500-mile” upgrade coupons. A coupon is needed for every 500 miles you are traveling on your flight. A coupon isn’t needed for flights under 500 miles. Elite members receive four coupons for every 12,500 qualifying miles, and can purchase more for $40 each. Higher-level elites get unlimited upgrade coupons. You can use these certificates on flights within the United States, and to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Upgrades start getting processed for Executive Platinum members 100 hours before departure time, then for Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members at 72 hours, 48 hours, and 24 hours, prior to departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and Executive Platinum members are eligible for upgrades even on award tickets.

Alaska high-level (75K) elites are also eligible for unlimited upgrades in the North and Central America, but are only added to the upgrade list at check-in and are prioritized below Platinum Pro members. At some point, they will be eligible for upgrades 72 hours before travel. In addition, anyone qualifying for MVP Gold status for 2022, will receive a systemwide upgrade.

Platinum Pro members can select a "systemwide" upgrade with their choice benefit and Executive Pro can select 2 upgrades with either or both of their choices. These upgrades can be used on a one-way flight to pretty much anywhere that AA flies.

{{Label|Delta}}
All elite members get “unlimited” upgrades to First Class, but not Delta One or Delta Premium Select, on flights within the United States, and to Canada, the Caribbean, or Central America. You can even upgrade award tickets.

Upgrades start being processed for Diamond and Platinum members 120 hours before departure, then for Gold and Silver members at 72 hours, and 24 hours.

Delta Platinum members can choose 4 regional upgrades with their Choice benefit. Delta Diamond members can choose either 4 global or 8 regional or 2 global and 4 regional upgrades with any or all of their choices. Regional certificates can only be used on flights in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Global upgrades can be used on any flights including many flights on KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.

{{Label|United}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. They also get “unlimited” upgrades on all other flights.

Upgrades start getting processed for 1K members 96 hours before departure time, then for Platinum and Gold members at 72, and 48 hours, and then for Silver members on the day of departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and United credit cardholders can take advantage of upgrades on award tickets.

Platinum members receive 2 “Regional Premier Upgrades”, can earn 2 more if they reach 1K status, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles after that. Each certificate can be used for a one-way flight, and the upgrade can be confirmed, before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can only be used within the Americas.

1K members receive 6 “Global Premier Upgrades”, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles. Each global upgrade can be used for a one-way flight to almost anywhere, as long as the original ticket was purchased in certain fare classes. Upgrades can be confirmed before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can also be used ANA and Lufthansa flights.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have separate seat classes.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. At Gold and Gold 75K levels, this benefit extends to some less expensive fare classes, and to refundable economy award tickets. All elite members are eligible for unlimited upgrades on other fares, but they are processed as part of the normal upgrade window.

Upgrades start getting processed for MVP 75K members 120 hours prior to departure, and for Gold and MVP members at 72 hours, and 48 hours. Gold members can get a single companion upgraded along with them.

American Airline's highest-level elites (Executive Platinum) are also eligible for free upgrades 120 hours before departure, but are prioritized after MVP Gold 75Ks.

Gold level members also get four “Gold Guest Upgrade” certificates. Each is good for a one-way flight, are confirmed before the normal assignment window, and can be used by the elite flyer, or given to another person.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get any upgrade benefits.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Better economy seats ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elite frequent flyers get free access to “preferred” economy class seating'''. They can choose to sit closer to the front of the plane, or in exit row or bulkhead seats, without having to pay an extra surcharge.</li>

<li>'''Some planes have an “enhanced” economy seat section''', which not only is located closer to the front of the plane, but has extra leg room, and sometimes additional benefits, such as reserved overhead bin space, or a free drink. In some cases, elite frequent flyers get free access to those seats as well (when they are available), but sometimes the they are limited to just their choice of the “regular” seats.</li>

{{Image|AAMainCabinExtra.jpg}}

<li>'''In contrast to premium cabin upgrades, lower-level elites are much more likely to be able to take advantage of this benefit'''. There are many more enhanced economy seats available on each flight, and some of the higher-level elites will be moved up to business class.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded coach seats from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}
{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying on American Airlines, mid-level elites from any Oneworld program get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Main Cabin Extra”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level elites get a 50% discount. if they want to pay for them ahead-of-time, and get free access to any remaining seats when they check-in for the flight. This benefit extends to 8 companions. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

When flying on other airlines, Oneworld elite members usually get the same access to enhanced and preferred seating, as the airline’s own elite passengers. Even low-level elites should get at least some kind of preferred seating, but it varies depending on the airline.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
When flying on Delta airlines, high-level Delta elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Comfort+”). Mid-level elites get access to any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites come next, at 24 hours before departure. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section, such as seats closer to the front of the plane. This benefit extends to a single companion. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

Elites on any SkyTeam airline are supposed to get some sort of preferred seating, when they fly on the alliance’s other airlines. However, this benefit isn’t usually as good as what you'll get, if you are an elite in the airline’s own program. For example, even high-level SkyTeam elites won’t get access to Delta’s Comfort+ seats.

{{Label|United}}
When flying on United, mid-level United elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Economy Plus”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level United elites get access to any remaining seats at check-in. Low level elites can extend the benefit to a single travelling companion, high-level elites can bring along up to 8.

Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant any preferred seating status on partner airlines. So, United high-level status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on other Star Alliance airlines; and Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on United.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have enhanced economy seats. Elite members get to board early, and choose whichever seat they want, including exit row seats. Mid-level elites board before low-level elites. These benefits don’t extend to companions.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites are entitled to enhanced economy seats “premium class”). These seats come with free drinks and better food. High-level elites are immediately upgraded, if seats are still available when they make their reservation, mid-level elites are immediately upgraded on most fares, and low-level elites are immediately upgraded on the highest priced fares. Mid-level elites, who weren’t upgraded earlier, can access any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites get access 48 hours before departure. Mid-level elites can extend the benefit to a single companion, low-level elites can’t. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Even More Space”). However, they can use their points to pay the $10-90 upgrade fee at significantly reduced rates (only 200-1,000 points).

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Airport lounge access ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Mid-level elite members get free access to airport lounges, whenever they are flying on one of that alliance’s airlines, even if they only have economy-class tickets'''.</li>

{{ImageX|LoungeSign.jpg}}

<li>'''Lounge access is available not just for the airline’s own lounges, but for almost all the lounges operated by the other airlines in the alliance'''. However, lounge access is only available when you are flying that day, on an alliance airline. For example, an American Airlines elite member can use British Airway’s lounges, regardless of what Oneworld airline they are flying. But, if they are flying on KLM (a SkyTeam carrier), they are out-of-luck.</li>

<li>'''American, Delta, and United want to sell as many lounge memberships as possible. As a result, they don’t provide their elite members, or people who purchased business or first-class tickets, access to their lounges on domestic itineraries'''. You’ll get better lounge access, if you have status with a foreign airline instead. Mid-level elites of other Star Alliance and Oneworld airlines, get access to United and American lounges, even on purely domestic trips.</li>

<li>'''Access to the most luxurious first-class lounges is usually not included as part of the elite status benefit, or are reserved only for people with high-level status'''.</li>

<li>'''Lounge access from each alliance''':</li>

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Mid-level elites, from any Oneworld airline, get access to most Oneworld lounges. Only high-level elites get access to first class lounges. The benefit extends to one travelling companion. As noted above, American Airline elites don’t get access to American Airline lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Mid-level elites, from any SkyTeam airline, get free lounge access, when they are flying on international itineraries. This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. Delta 100K mile elites (Delta Diamond Medallion) can choose a Delta membership as one of their three “choice bonuses”, which provides Delta club access, even on domestic flights.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
Mid-level elites, from any Star Alliance airline, get free lounge access at almost all Star Alliance lounges, but only if you are departing out of the airport (as opposed to on arrival). This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. As noted above, United elites don’t get access to United lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Alaska doesn’t provide free lounge access to their elite flyers. However, high-level elites get four day passes for their lounges, per year.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free checked bags ===

'''Elite frequent flyers always get access to at least one free checked bag, for themselves and for some number of traveling companions'''. If you frequently check bags, this can easily save you a significant amount of money. It is especially useful for American, Delta, and United’s new “basic economy” tickets, since elite members won’t have to pay to check their bags, and can still board early enough to find a good place for their carry-ons.

{{ImageX|CheckedBags.jpg}}

On the other hand, this benefit is also available to anyone who has one of the airline’s credit cards, and not just to elite flyers, so you may already have it.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying American Airlines, low-level American elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2 bags, and 100K+ elites get 3 bags. American Airlines elites also get 2 free checked bags when flying Alaska.

Mid-level elites from any Oneworld airline (including American) get at least one free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and two free checked bags on international itineraries, whenever they fly on a Oneworld airline. High-level Oneworld status provides 1 extra bag above the normal allowance.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
On Delta flights in the US, low-level Delta elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. Outside the US, all Delta elites get the same number of free bags, but the number varies per region.

Low-level elites from any SkyTeam airline get 1 extra piece of checked luggage than normal, whenever they fly on a SkyTeam airline.

{{Label|United / Star Alliance}}
When flying United, low-level Untied elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. The bags for mid-level elites can weigh up to 70lbs.

Mid-level elites from any Star Alliance airline get extra baggage allowance on partner airlines, but the exact rules are different for each airline.

{{Label|Southwest}}
2 free bags for every passenger, regardless of status.

{{Label|Alaska}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{/List|label}}

=== Priority service and boarding ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elites are given “priority” everything'''—a priority line to check-in, access to the priority line through security and immigration (when available), priority baggage handling, priority boarding (to stow that carry-on with no hassles), and a priority telephone number to contact the airline. In most cases, these benefits apply to every elite tier. But for some programs, some benefits may only be available to higher-level elites. Priority access can be used, in practice, by an entire group that is travelling together.</li>

{{ImageX|SkyPrioritySign.jpg}}

<li>'''Enhanced security access is useful even to people who already have TSE Precheck, because it works in many airports around the world''', and not just those in the United States.</li>

<li>'''Like free checked bags and airport lounge access, if you have status with any airline in one of the three major alliances, you’ll get priority privileges with all the airlines in that alliance'''. The airline’s credit card holders usually get at least priority boarding, and sometimes some other priority benefits.</li>

<li>'''Priority service from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Low-level Oneworld elites get priority check-in, stand-by, and reservations waitlist on any alliance airline. Priority boarding, security, and baggage handling come with mid-level Oneworld status. In addition, American Airlines low-level elites get priority boarding and security, when flying on American.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Low-level SkyTeam elites get most priority services on any alliance airline. Priority baggage handling and security access come with mid-level SkyTeam status, rather than low-level.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
All United elites get priority services when flying on United. Mid-level Star Alliance elites get priority service with any Star Alliance airline. Low-level Star Alliance elites only get priority waitlist and standby.

{{Label|Southwest}}
All elites get priority services.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites get priority services, except security line access, which is reserved for mid-level elites and above. Alaska doesn’t offer priority baggage handling.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites have access to priority services.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free or reduced charges for flight changes ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Most airlines will reduce, or eliminate, some charges for elite members, and allow for same-day flight changes, at no cost'''. These benefits usually kicks-in at mid-level, but there is quite a bit of variance between programs, and they usually don’t apply to partner airlines.</li>

<li>'''This benefit won’t usually save you a bunch of money, since you are probably doing your best, to avoid incurring any of these charges in the first place. However, it can change the way you fly'''. Once the the fees go away, you can change your behavior—proactively purchasing tickets for trips you might not wind up taking, switching flights when it would be only slightly more convenient, etc.</li>

<li>'''Waived fees from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Free same-day standby. Free same-day flight changes at the 100K+ level. 100K+ elites also get waived ticketing charges.

{{Label|Delta}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day changes and standby. High-level elites get waived cancellation fees.

{{Label|United}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day flight changes.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Everyone gets free ticket changes, not just elite members. Elites get free-same day standby (no need to pay the fare difference), but low-level elites only get this benefit on flights less than 2 hours before their original departure.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get waived ticket change fees, and free same-day flight changes (no need to pay the fare difference).

{{Label|JetBlue}}
All elites get free change and cancellation fees, for themselves and their companions.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Inflight Perks ===

'''Airlines sometimes give their elites extra inflight amenities'''. There are no generalities here, as the policies differ greatly for different programs. These benefits don’t extend to partner airlines.

{{ImageX|FlightAttendent.jpg}}

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
100K+ members get a free drink and snack, even when they are flying coach.

{{Label|Delta}}
Elites, who get enhanced economy seating, get premium snacks and drinks (plus dedicated overhead bin space).

{{Label|United}}
None

{{Label|Southwest}}
Mid-level elites get free Wi-Fi.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get a free drink, even if they are flying coach. And high-level elites don’t have to pay the fee for the inflight entertainment systems. Elites, who get enhanced economy seats, get free premium drinks.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Free drinks.

{{/List|label}}

=== Enhanced earning rates ===

'''Elite members of a frequent flyer program earn bonus miles on their flights'''.

{{Table|basic|5.5in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|
!style="width: 20%;"|Low-level
!style="width: 20%"|Mid-level
!style="width: 20%"|High-Level
!style="width: 20%"|100K+
|-
|American
|40%
|60%
|80%
|120%
|-
|Delta
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar
|11/dollar
|-
|United
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar plus one “choice” bonus upon qualification.
|11/dollar, plus 3 additional “choice” bonuses upon qualification.
|-
|Southwest
|25%
|100%
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Alaska
|50%
|100%
|125%, plus 50K bonus on qualification.
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|JetBlue
|<nowiki>+3pts / dollar</nowiki>

15K point bonus on qualification (from flying)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

=== Enhanced award access ===

'''Some airlines provide some award-booking benefits to their elites, such as increased access to award availability'''.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Elite don’t have to pay award processing fees. 100K+ elites don’t have to pay award change and cancellation fees, and get expanded award availability.

{{Label|United}}
All elites get unrestricted access to non-saver award space, better availability for economy award redemptions, and reduced award ticket fees (for changes, cancellations, close-in booking, and telephone booking). High-level elites get increased access to premium award seats.

{{/List|label}}

{{/Main|article}}
{{NextPages}}
{{Next|best programs}}
{{Next|consolidate miles}}
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{{/NextPages}}
{{/Page|article}}

Frequent flyer elite status benefits

2021-10-28T02:16:17Z

Editor:

{{DISPLAYTITLE:{{Title|frequent flyer benefits}}}}
{{Page|article|air elite status|best programs}}

{{TOC}}
*[[#Elite status basics|Elite status basics]]
*[[#Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances|Overview of elite status benefits]]
*[[#Premium cabin upgrades|Premium cabin upgrades]]
*[[#Better economy seats|Better economy seats]]
*[[#Airport lounge access|lounge access access]]
*[[#Free checked bags|Free checked bags]]
*[[#Priority service and boarding|Priority service and boarding]]
*[[#Free or reduced charges for flight changes|Free or reduced charges for flight changes]]
*[[#Inflight Perks|Inflight Perks]]
*[[#Enhanced earning rates|Enhanced earning rates]]
*[[#Enhanced award access|Enhanced award access]]
{{/TOC}}

{{Main|article}}
=== Elite status basics ===

<ul class="bulletlist">
<li>'''Airlines typically have three or four elite status levels'''. The specific names for the levels differ for each program, but the benefits are usually somewhat comparable. “Low-level” status is typically earned for earning 25,000 qualifying miles per year. “Mid-level” status is typically earned for earning 50,000 qualifying miles per year. And there can be multiple tiers of “High-level” status earned for earning 75,000, or more, qualifying miles per year. When an airline has a fourth tier, it is almost always requires at least 100,000 qualifying miles.</li>

{{Image|AAStatusLevels.jpg}}

<li>'''When you earn elite status with any airline in an alliance, most of your benefits apply to every airline in that alliance'''. For example, if you are a low-level elite in any Star Alliance program, you’ll get a free checked bag, priority check-in, higher reward earning rates, and other benefits on every Star Alliance flight.</li>

{{Image|SkyPriority.jpg}}

<li>'''Some elite status benefits are only available, when flying on the airline’s own flights'''. While most benefits are available when flying on the airline’s alliance partners, some of the most valuable benefits, such as potential upgrades to premium cabin seats, are only available when flying on the airline you have status with. Other times, the benefit is enhanced when you are flying on that airline. For example, while free baggage privileges extend across the entire alliance, you might get even better privileges on the airline where you have status.</li>

<li>'''Upgrades to business or first-class seats are one of the most valuable elite status benefits, but you won't get them very often, especially if you don't have high-level status'''. Airlines are selling more of their premium cabin seats (at reduced pricing). There are less seats leftover, for elite member upgrades. Competition for whichever seats remain is high, especially for flights to and from airports where the airline is popular. If you are a low-level elite, you may never get upgraded; if you are a mid-level elite, getting upgraded is rare; and if you are high-level elite, you still can’t count on an upgrade. You won’t get upgraded to a better cabin class, when you are flying on partner airlines. </li>

{{ImageX|FirstClass1.jpg}}

<li>'''American and United mid-level elites don’t get access to airport lounges when they are flying domestically, but mid-level elites of their airline partners do'''. If you have mid-level status with an airline Star Alliance and Oneworld, you’ll get lounge access whenever you fly with any airline in that alliance—with one big exception. The US airlines don’t provide lounge access on their own DOMESTIC flights. For example, if you have elite status with British Airways, you’ll have lounge access, even on economy-class American Airlines domestic flights; but if you have the same status directly with American Airlines, you won’t have access, even if you have a first-class ticket. The US Airlines want to protect the lucrative fees that they charge for lounge memberships.</li>

<li>'''Elite status usually lasts for 13 or 14 months. after the year you qualify'''. With most programs, elite qualification is based on calendar years. Your elite status starts shortly after you qualify. You will then retain your status over the entire following year, as well as the first month or two of the year after that. If you qualify early in a calendar year, you could enjoy your benefits for over two years.</li>
</ul>

=== Overview of elite status benefits with the major alliances ===

This chart compares elite status benefits available from the three biggest US airlines.

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .5in;"|United
!style="width: .5in;"|Delta
!style="width: .5in;"|AA
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Access to better seats
|-
|Access to preferred seats (on any alliance airline that has preferred seating)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority reservation waitlist on any alliance airline
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Eligible for business and first-class upgrades (likelihood improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on airline’s own flights (access improves by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats on alliance airlines, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|Low
|-
|Instant upgrades on full fare economy tickets
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |lounge access access
|-
|Lounge access (for the entire alliance)
|Med
|Med
|Med
|-
|Discounted airport lounge membership
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Free airport lounge membership
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Free checked bags and other amenities
|-
|Free checked bags on the airline’s own flights (allowance increases by level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Free checked bag on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Mid
|-
|Free beverage and snack in the main cabin
|100K
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Bonus award miles
|-
|Bonus award miles for flights (amount increases by status level)
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Minimum 500 QMs per flight
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Bonus for hitting elite status
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Priority Service
|-
|Priority check-in for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority check-in for alliance airlines
|Mid
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Priority security line access on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority baggage handling on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority boarding for the airline’s own flights
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Priority boarding on alliance airlines
|Mid
|Mid
|Mid
|-
|Priority Phone line
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Access to most sold out flights
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Easier to change flights
|-
|Complimentary same day standby
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Mid
|Low
|-
|Waived same day flight changes
|Mid
|Mid
|100K
|-
|Priority standby list on alliance airlines
|Low
|Low
|Low
|-
|Discounted or waived phone service charge
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Award ticket benefits
|-
|Priority award waitlist
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Anytime awards always available
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Better regular “saver” award availability
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|100K
|-
|Reduced, or waived, close-in award fees
|Low
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|Low
|-
|Reduced, or waived, redeposit and change fees
|Low
|High
|100K
|-
| colspan="4" style="background-color: ghostwhite;" |Other
|-
|Ability to give status to others
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|High
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Benefits at Marriott Hotels
|Mid
|
|
{{/Table}}

When you earn elite status with any airline that belongs to an alliance, you get a set of benefits that works with all the other airlines in the alliances (plus additional benefits that work only for that airline). The shared alliance benefits are as follows:

{{Table|basic|6.5in}}
!style="width: 2in;"|Benefit
!style="width: .75in;"|Star Alliance
!style="width: .75in;"|SkyTeam
!style="width: .75in;"|Oneworld
|-
|Priority waitlist and standby
|Low (Silver)
| rowspan="5" |Low

(Elite)
| rowspan="3" |Low

(Ruby)
|-
|Access to enhanced economy seats, when available
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Priority check-in
| rowspan="6" |Mid

(Gold)
|-
|Free checked bag
| rowspan="4" |Mid

(Sapphire)
|-
|Priority boarding
|-
|Priority baggage handling
| rowspan="4" |Mid<br/>(Elite Plus)
|-
|Lounge access.
|-
|Priority security screening (at some locations)
|High<br/>(Emerald)
|-
|Guaranteed reservations on sold out flights
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
{{/Table}}

In addition to the normal Oneworld benefits, Alaska and American Airlines offer a few special benefits to the other airline's elites. Alaska 75K and American Executive Platinum members are eligible for premium cabin upgrades when flying on the other airline (Alaska elites will receive Global Upgrade Certificates). In addition, Alaksa Gold and American Platinum Pro members are eligible for extra-legroom seats as soon as they book.

=== Premium cabin upgrades ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''For most people, the most sought after elite benefit is the possibility of getting a free upgrade to business or first class'''. On paper, most frequent flyer programs give this benefit to all their elite members, regardless of status level.</li>

<li>'''In practice, it is nearly impossible to get upgraded with only low-level status, it is very hard to get upgraded with mid-level status, and upgrades aren’t reliable even with high-level status'''. Note that you only get premium cabin upgrades on the airline that you have status with, not with the other airlines in the alliance (with the exception of Alaska and American's unique partnership).</li>

{{ImageX|FirstClassMeal.jpg}}

<li>'''The likelihood of getting premium cabin upgrades has changed dramatically in the past few years'''. Airlines have become much more aggressive about selling their premium cabin seats, leaving far fewer empty seats available for elite flyers. Premium seat pricing has dropped, reducing the number of available seats. And as upgrades have gotten less common, more people are choosing to book directly into premium cabin seats, reducing the number of unsold seats even further.</li>

<li>'''The general process for handling upgrades is similar across different airlines'''. Until close to departure time, airlines will make only a limited set of their premium cabin seats available for upgrades. In other words, there may be ten unsold first-class seats on the plane, but only two of them might be available for upgrades. Airlines can change the number of seats available for upgrades at any time and will adjust them based on how their ticket sales are going.</li>

<ul>
<li>'''People can upgrade to these seats, ahead of time, using special upgrade certificates, and/or frequent flyer points'''. If no upgrade seats are currently available, they can add themselves to a wait list to take advantage of any new seats that become available later.</li>

<li>'''When it gets close to departure time, the airline starts processing any remaining upgrade space'''. This is where “unlimited free upgrades” comes into play. On many flights, there will be no upgrade space left, even though there may still be some premium seats available for sale. But if there are still upgrade seats available, the airlines will start giving them to their highest-level elites around 4-5 days before departure. If, somehow, there are still upgrade seats available, they will move onto lower-level elites, as it gets closer and closer to the departure day. Everyone who doesn’t get a seat, during this window, is automatically added to the wait list.</li>

<li>'''Before the flight leaves, many airlines (including American, Delta, and United) will make any remaining unsold premium cabin space available for upgrades'''. Multiple new seats usually become available that the airline had been holding back (to potentially sell). The wait list is prioritized by a number of factors, with elite status level the most important, and those passengers get free upgrades to any remaining seats.</li>
</ul>

<li>'''Premium cabin upgrades from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
The upgrade system at American primarily uses “500-mile” upgrade coupons. A coupon is needed for every 500 miles you are traveling on your flight. A coupon isn’t needed for flights under 500 miles.
Elite members receive four coupons for every 12,500 qualifying miles, and can purchase more for $40 each. Higher-level elites get unlimited upgrade coupons. You can use these certificates on flights within the United States, and to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Upgrades start getting processed for Executive Platinum members 100 hours before departure time, then for Platinum Pro, Platinum, and Gold members at 72 hours, 48 hours, and 24 hours, prior to departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and Executive Platinum members are eligible for upgrades even on award tickets.

Platinum Pro members can select a "systemwide" upgrade with their choice benefit and Executive Pro can select 2 upgrades with either or both of their choices. These upgrades can be used on a one-way flight to pretty much anywhere that AA flies.

{{Label|Delta}}
All elite members get “unlimited” upgrades to First Class, but not Delta One or Delta Premium Select, on flights within the United States, and to Canada, the Caribbean, or Central America. You can even upgrade award tickets.

Upgrades start being processed for Diamond and Platinum members 120 hours before departure, then for Gold and Silver members at 72 hours, and 24 hours.

Delta Platinum members can choose 4 regional upgrades with their Choice benefit. Delta Diamond members can choose either 4 global or 8 regional or 2 global and 4 regional upgrades with any or all of their choices. Regional certificates can only be used on flights in North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. Global upgrades can be used on any flights including many flights on KLM, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Korean Air, and Aeromexico.

{{Label|United}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. They also get “unlimited” upgrades on all other flights.

Upgrades start getting processed for 1K members 96 hours before departure time, then for Platinum and Gold members at 72, and 48 hours, and then for Silver members on the day of departure. A single travelling companion can be upgraded with you, and United credit cardholders can take advantage of upgrades on award tickets.

Platinum members receive 2 “Regional Premier Upgrades”, can earn 2 more if they reach 1K status, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles after that. Each certificate can be used for a one-way flight, and the upgrade can be confirmed, before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can only be used within the Americas.

1K members receive 6 “Global Premier Upgrades”, and can earn additional upgrades with additional qualifying miles. Each global upgrade can be used for a one-way flight to almost anywhere, as long as the original ticket was purchased in certain fare classes. Upgrades can be confirmed before the normal assignment window. These upgrades can also be used ANA and Lufthansa flights.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have separate seat classes.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All elite members are automatically upgraded, if there is space available, when they buy full-fare economy tickets. At Gold and Gold 75K levels, this benefit extends to some less expensive fare classes, and to refundable economy award tickets. All elite members are eligible for unlimited upgrades on other fares, but they are processed as part of the normal upgrade window.

Upgrades start getting processed for MVP 75K members 120 hours prior to departure, and for Gold and MVP members at 72 hours, and 48 hours. Gold members can get a single companion upgraded along with them.

Gold level members also get four “Gold Guest Upgrade” certificates. Each is good for a one-way flight, are confirmed before the normal assignment window, and can be used by the elite flyer, or given to another person.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get any upgrade benefits.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Better economy seats ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elite frequent flyers get free access to “preferred” economy class seating'''. They can choose to sit closer to the front of the plane, or in exit row or bulkhead seats, without having to pay an extra surcharge.</li>

<li>'''Some planes have an “enhanced” economy seat section''', which not only is located closer to the front of the plane, but has extra leg room, and sometimes additional benefits, such as reserved overhead bin space, or a free drink. In some cases, elite frequent flyers get free access to those seats as well (when they are available), but sometimes the they are limited to just their choice of the “regular” seats.</li>

{{Image|AAMainCabinExtra.jpg}}

<li>'''In contrast to premium cabin upgrades, lower-level elites are much more likely to be able to take advantage of this benefit'''. There are many more enhanced economy seats available on each flight, and some of the higher-level elites will be moved up to business class.</li>

<li>'''Upgraded coach seats from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}
{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying on American Airlines, mid-level elites from any Oneworld program get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Main Cabin Extra”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level elites get a 50% discount. if they want to pay for them ahead-of-time, and get free access to any remaining seats when they check-in for the flight. This benefit extends to 8 companions. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

When flying on other airlines, Oneworld elite members usually get the same access to enhanced and preferred seating, as the airline’s own elite passengers. Even low-level elites should get at least some kind of preferred seating, but it varies depending on the airline.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
When flying on Delta airlines, high-level Delta elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Comfort+”). Mid-level elites get access to any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites come next, at 24 hours before departure. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section, such as seats closer to the front of the plane. This benefit extends to a single companion. There are no upgrades or preferred seating on basic economy fares.

Elites on any SkyTeam airline are supposed to get some sort of preferred seating, when they fly on the alliance’s other airlines. However, this benefit isn’t usually as good as what you'll get, if you are an elite in the airline’s own program. For example, even high-level SkyTeam elites won’t get access to Delta’s Comfort+ seats.

{{Label|United}}
When flying on United, mid-level United elites get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Economy Plus”), at the time they make their reservations. Low-level United elites get access to any remaining seats at check-in. Low level elites can extend the benefit to a single travelling companion, high-level elites can bring along up to 8.

Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant any preferred seating status on partner airlines. So, United high-level status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on other Star Alliance airlines; and Star Alliance elite status doesn’t grant you preferred seating on United.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Southwest doesn’t have enhanced economy seats. Elite members get to board early, and choose whichever seat they want, including exit row seats. Mid-level elites board before low-level elites. These benefits don’t extend to companions.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites are entitled to enhanced economy seats “premium class”). These seats come with free drinks and better food. High-level elites are immediately upgraded, if seats are still available when they make their reservation, mid-level elites are immediately upgraded on most fares, and low-level elites are immediately upgraded on the highest priced fares. Mid-level elites, who weren’t upgraded earlier, can access any remaining seats 72 hours before departure, and low-level elites get access 48 hours before departure. Mid-level elites can extend the benefit to a single companion, low-level elites can’t. All elites have access to preferred seating in the regular economy section.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites don’t get free access to enhanced economy seats (“Even More Space”). However, they can use their points to pay the $10-90 upgrade fee at significantly reduced rates (only 200-1,000 points).

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Airport lounge access ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Mid-level elite members get free access to airport lounges, whenever they are flying on one of that alliance’s airlines, even if they only have economy-class tickets'''.</li>

{{ImageX|LoungeSign.jpg}}

<li>'''Lounge access is available not just for the airline’s own lounges, but for almost all the lounges operated by the other airlines in the alliance'''. However, lounge access is only available when you are flying that day, on an alliance airline. For example, an American Airlines elite member can use British Airway’s lounges, regardless of what Oneworld airline they are flying. But, if they are flying on KLM (a SkyTeam carrier), they are out-of-luck.</li>

<li>'''American, Delta, and United want to sell as many lounge memberships as possible. As a result, they don’t provide their elite members, or people who purchased business or first-class tickets, access to their lounges on domestic itineraries'''. You’ll get better lounge access, if you have status with a foreign airline instead. Mid-level elites of other Star Alliance and Oneworld airlines, get access to United and American lounges, even on purely domestic trips.</li>

<li>'''Access to the most luxurious first-class lounges is usually not included as part of the elite status benefit, or are reserved only for people with high-level status'''.</li>

<li>'''Lounge access from each alliance''':</li>

{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Mid-level elites, from any Oneworld airline, get access to most Oneworld lounges. Only high-level elites get access to first class lounges. The benefit extends to one travelling companion. As noted above, American Airline elites don’t get access to American Airline lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Mid-level elites, from any SkyTeam airline, get free lounge access, when they are flying on international itineraries. This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. Delta 100K mile elites (Delta Diamond Medallion) can choose a Delta membership as one of their three “choice bonuses”, which provides Delta club access, even on domestic flights.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
Mid-level elites, from any Star Alliance airline, get free lounge access at almost all Star Alliance lounges, but only if you are departing out of the airport (as opposed to on arrival). This benefit extends to a single travelling companion. As noted above, United elites don’t get access to United lounges, when flying on domestic itineraries.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Alaska doesn’t provide free lounge access to their elite flyers. However, high-level elites get four day passes for their lounges, per year.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free checked bags ===

'''Elite frequent flyers always get access to at least one free checked bag, for themselves and for some number of traveling companions'''. If you frequently check bags, this can easily save you a significant amount of money. It is especially useful for American, Delta, and United’s new “basic economy” tickets, since elite members won’t have to pay to check their bags, and can still board early enough to find a good place for their carry-ons.

{{ImageX|CheckedBags.jpg}}

On the other hand, this benefit is also available to anyone who has one of the airline’s credit cards, and not just to elite flyers, so you may already have it.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American / Oneworld}}
When flying American Airlines, low-level American elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2 bags, and 100K+ elites get 3 bags. American Airlines elites also get 2 free checked bags when flying Alaska.

Mid-level elites from any Oneworld airline (including American) get at least one free checked bag on domestic itineraries, and two free checked bags on international itineraries, whenever they fly on a Oneworld airline. High-level Oneworld status provides 1 extra bag above the normal allowance.

{{Label|Delta / SkyTeam}}
On Delta flights in the US, low-level Delta elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. Outside the US, all Delta elites get the same number of free bags, but the number varies per region.

Low-level elites from any SkyTeam airline get 1 extra piece of checked luggage than normal, whenever they fly on a SkyTeam airline.

{{Label|United / Star Alliance}}
When flying United, low-level Untied elites get 1 free bag, mid-level elites get 2, and high-level elites get 3. The bags for mid-level elites can weigh up to 70lbs.

Mid-level elites from any Star Alliance airline get extra baggage allowance on partner airlines, but the exact rules are different for each airline.

{{Label|Southwest}}
2 free bags for every passenger, regardless of status.

{{Label|Alaska}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
2 free bags for the passenger and any companions.

{{/List|label}}

=== Priority service and boarding ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Elites are given “priority” everything'''—a priority line to check-in, access to the priority line through security and immigration (when available), priority baggage handling, priority boarding (to stow that carry-on with no hassles), and a priority telephone number to contact the airline. In most cases, these benefits apply to every elite tier. But for some programs, some benefits may only be available to higher-level elites. Priority access can be used, in practice, by an entire group that is travelling together.</li>

{{ImageX|SkyPrioritySign.jpg}}

<li>'''Enhanced security access is useful even to people who already have TSE Precheck, because it works in many airports around the world''', and not just those in the United States.</li>

<li>'''Like free checked bags and airport lounge access, if you have status with any airline in one of the three major alliances, you’ll get priority privileges with all the airlines in that alliance'''. The airline’s credit card holders usually get at least priority boarding, and sometimes some other priority benefits.</li>

<li>'''Priority service from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|Oneworld / American}}
Low-level Oneworld elites get priority check-in, stand-by, and reservations waitlist on any alliance airline. Priority boarding, security, and baggage handling come with mid-level Oneworld status. In addition, American Airlines low-level elites get priority boarding and security, when flying on American.

{{Label|SkyTeam / Delta}}
Low-level SkyTeam elites get most priority services on any alliance airline. Priority baggage handling and security access come with mid-level SkyTeam status, rather than low-level.

{{Label|Star Alliance / United}}
All United elites get priority services when flying on United. Mid-level Star Alliance elites get priority service with any Star Alliance airline. Low-level Star Alliance elites only get priority waitlist and standby.

{{Label|Southwest}}
All elites get priority services.

{{Label|Alaska}}
All Alaska elites get priority services, except security line access, which is reserved for mid-level elites and above. Alaska doesn’t offer priority baggage handling.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Elites have access to priority services.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Free or reduced charges for flight changes ===

<ul class="bulletlist">

<li>'''Most airlines will reduce, or eliminate, some charges for elite members, and allow for same-day flight changes, at no cost'''. These benefits usually kicks-in at mid-level, but there is quite a bit of variance between programs, and they usually don’t apply to partner airlines.</li>

<li>'''This benefit won’t usually save you a bunch of money, since you are probably doing your best, to avoid incurring any of these charges in the first place. However, it can change the way you fly'''. Once the the fees go away, you can change your behavior—proactively purchasing tickets for trips you might not wind up taking, switching flights when it would be only slightly more convenient, etc.</li>

<li>'''Waived fees from each alliance''':</li>
{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Free same-day standby. Free same-day flight changes at the 100K+ level. 100K+ elites also get waived ticketing charges.

{{Label|Delta}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day changes and standby. High-level elites get waived cancellation fees.

{{Label|United}}
Mid-level elites get free same-day flight changes.

{{Label|Southwest}}
Everyone gets free ticket changes, not just elite members. Elites get free-same day standby (no need to pay the fare difference), but low-level elites only get this benefit on flights less than 2 hours before their original departure.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get waived ticket change fees, and free same-day flight changes (no need to pay the fare difference).

{{Label|JetBlue}}
All elites get free change and cancellation fees, for themselves and their companions.

{{/List|label}}
</ul>

=== Inflight Perks ===

'''Airlines sometimes give their elites extra inflight amenities'''. There are no generalities here, as the policies differ greatly for different programs. These benefits don’t extend to partner airlines.

{{ImageX|FlightAttendent.jpg}}

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
100K+ members get a free drink and snack, even when they are flying coach.

{{Label|Delta}}
Elites, who get enhanced economy seating, get premium snacks and drinks (plus dedicated overhead bin space).

{{Label|United}}
None

{{Label|Southwest}}
Mid-level elites get free Wi-Fi.

{{Label|Alaska}}
Mid-level elites get a free drink, even if they are flying coach. And high-level elites don’t have to pay the fee for the inflight entertainment systems. Elites, who get enhanced economy seats, get free premium drinks.

{{Label|JetBlue}}
Free drinks.

{{/List|label}}

=== Enhanced earning rates ===

'''Elite members of a frequent flyer program earn bonus miles on their flights'''.

{{Table|basic|5.5in}}
!style="width: 20%;"|
!style="width: 20%;"|Low-level
!style="width: 20%"|Mid-level
!style="width: 20%"|High-Level
!style="width: 20%"|100K+
|-
|American
|40%
|60%
|80%
|120%
|-
|Delta
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar
|11/dollar
|-
|United
|7/dollar
|8/dollar
|9/dollar plus one “choice” bonus upon qualification.
|11/dollar, plus 3 additional “choice” bonuses upon qualification.
|-
|Southwest
|25%
|100%
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|Alaska
|50%
|100%
|125%, plus 50K bonus on qualification.
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
|JetBlue
|<nowiki>+3pts / dollar</nowiki>

15K point bonus on qualification (from flying)
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

=== Enhanced award access ===

'''Some airlines provide some award-booking benefits to their elites, such as increased access to award availability'''.

{{List|label}}

{{Label|American}}
Elite don’t have to pay award processing fees. 100K+ elites don’t have to pay award change and cancellation fees, and get expanded award availability.

{{Label|United}}
All elites get unrestricted access to non-saver award space, better availability for economy award redemptions, and reduced award ticket fees (for changes, cancellations, close-in booking, and telephone booking). High-level elites get increased access to premium award seats.

{{/List|label}}

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