Earning points and miles can get you a trip to beautiful Budapest, Hungary for $200 in business class! Photo by: Evan Berman

Readers of this site are familiar with the subject of many articles I write: using my own experience to show ways to get the most out of life for less. When it comes to travel, I frequently discuss using points to purchase airfare and hotel rooms. I thought it might be helpful to go through how much of each currency I have and discuss how I earned those points/miles and how I intend to use them. Spoiler alert: no credit card debt (yet anyway 😉 ).

The Rule of Cards:

Before I begin, it’s important to note that everything I lay out here is based on the assumption that all balances are paid in full each month. Since I’m writing about myself, I know this for a fact. But, if you’re new to the game, this is not like the safety video before a flight that you *must listen to*.

If you do not pay off your balance on time, two bad things happen: 1) your credit score is tanked for up to 10 years. I focus on credit scores mainly as a proxy for approval for new credit cards. But, there are much more serious repercussions. Want a house, a car, a new job? You’d better have a good credit score! Not paying a balance may result in a loan being denied or higher rates, which leads into point 2) the interest that you need to pay can be staggering. It is not uncommon for credit card interest rate to reach 25% or 30% APY! That means your $1,000 in debt could easily turn into $1,500 or more over time should you not pay debt this off. Never, I repeat never, use a credit card as a short term loan!

Now, let’s get into the fun part: earning and redeeming for travel!

Credit Card Points:

AmEx Membership Rewards Points:

My AmEx Membership Rewards Points Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

First up, in alphabetical order as well as earnings and redemptions, is American Express’ Membership Rewards Points (MR). As you can see above, I currently have just over 100,000 MR points.

Earnings:

These points have been earned in various ways– back in 2021 I opened the Gold Card and earned 75,000 points after meeting the minimum spending requirement and another 175,000 points from opening the Platinum card in 2022. Couple that with everyday spending, online shopping using the Rakuten portal and both an account opening and retention bonus and you can see how I have earned hundreds of thousands of MR points.

Redemptions:

As far as redeeming, I have been busy! 😉 I won’t go over every redemption but here are the highlights:

• 60,000 points transferred to Hilton (1:2 ratio) for a 2 night stay
• 55,000 points transferred to Qantas (1:1 ratio with a 20% transfer bonus) to book a LATAM Business Class flight
• 26,000 points transferred to Delta (1:1 ratio) for a LATAM Economy flight
• 115,000 points transferred to ANA (1:1 ratio) for a future Around the World Award Flight
• 70,000 points transferred to Emirates (1:1 ratio) for an Emirates First Class Award Flight
• Various domestic awards booked, mainly through Avianca, Air Canada, and Virgin Atlantic.

For context, that is 266,000 AmEx MR Points spent on the long-haul flights for 2 complete trips (almost completely in Business and First Class) and a one-way flight for a 3rd, in addition to 60,000 points for 2 nights in a hotel during the Kentucky Derby. That’s a great example of how valuable AmEx Points are.

Future Uses:

What will I do with the remaining 100,000+ MR Points? Since these points are quite easy to accumulate, it is easier to spend them than some other currencies. I will likely transfer the points to Avianca LifeMiles to book Lufthansa First Class (87,000 points) or Air Canada for a complex Business Class itinerary with many partners (between 105,000 and 115,000 points), or Virgin Atlantic to fly Delta One to Europe (50,000 points).

Capital One (Venture Miles):

Some of my Capital One Venture Miles Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

Next up is Capital One Venture Miles. To clarify, while called “Miles,” these are points in the same way that the AmEx or Chase points are– transferable. As you can see above, I have just over 90,000 miles currently.

Earnings:

In 2022, I opened the Capital One Venture X and earned 100,000 miles after meeting the minimum spend requirement. This past month, I earned 10,000 miles from the Venture X Card anniversary bonus and the rest through spend (mostly 2x everywhere, though 10x on purchases through the Capital One Travel Portal).

Redemptions:

While not as busy as with AmEx, I’ve made several redemptions using Capital One Venture Miles. Here are the highlights:

• 15,000 Miles transferred to Emirates (1:1 ratio) to book Emirates First Class, with the addition of the points transferred from AmEx, mentioned above
• 31,500 Miles transferred to Turkish Airlines (1:1 ratio) to book Turkish Airlines Business Class
• 15,800 Miles transferred to Choice Privileges (1:1 ratio) to redeem for free nights in Norway
• Various awards booked, through Avianca and Air France mostly

Future Uses:

I have several uses in mind for the 90,000+ Venture Miles that I currently possess. Here are some ideas:

• Add to my Wyndham Rewards balance and book 1-bedroom Vacasa rentals, Wyndham hotels, and/or condos for 15,000 points per night
• Transfer to Choice Privileges and book Choice hotels in Scandinavia and Japan (8,000-18,000 points per night)
• Transfer to Turkish Airlines and redeem for Business Class to Europe for only 45,000 miles each way

Chase (Ultimate Rewards Points):

My Chase Ultimate Rewards Points earnings, broken down by purchase type, prior to the March Statement closing in mid-April. Photo by: Evan Berman

A list of my Chase redemptions. As you can see, they are mostly transfers to travel partners, namely Hyatt. Photo by: Evan Berman

Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) are beloved by many for the solid and varied value that they provide. As you can see, I currently have just under 50,000 points. I wrote an article about the different options for redemption of UR Points. Let’s discuss how I’ve earned and redeemed points.

Earnings:

Back in 2021, I opened the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and earned 100,000 points after meeting the minimum spend requirements. I have since upgraded the card to the Sapphire Reserve card and have earned a great deal of points from spending, particularly from Lyft (10x) and Travel and Dining (3x).

Redemptions:

I used UR Points for a few different redemptions. Here are a few of them:

• Remptions through the Chase Travel portal at 1.5 cents per point for $93 and $231.60
• Many redemptions via Hyatt, in total 46,000 points for 12 nights in total
• Economy redemptions for travel in Europe via United (14,000 points in total).

As you can see, the main use that I have for UR points is transferring to Hyatt, especially for Category 1 hotels at only 3,500-6,500 points per night. These take care of many hotel stays that I have while on trips, though there are also great uses of points for flights.

Future Uses:

I have plenty of uses bookmarked for future redemptions. You’ll be unsurprised to learn that the primary use will be future Hyatt hotels. That being said, I can also see redemptions for domestic or short-haul international economy flights. Why not premium international flights? I value Hyatt redemptions so highly that I am willing to focus on Hyatt redemptions with UR points and leave premium flight redemptions to AmEx MR Points and Capital One Venture Miles.

Citi (Thank You Points):

My Citi ThankYou Points Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

Next up is the Citi ThankYou Points currency. It’s important to note that while these points are listed as ThankYou points, these are not transferable. I have not been able to open a Citi Premier Card, the only available card that would allow me to transfer points to travel partners. I do have plans to eventually upgrade to/open this card.

Earnings:

In 2022, I opened the Citi Custom Cash Card and received 25,000 points after completing the minimum spend requirement. For now, I do not put much spend on this card, though when I do I almost always earn 5x on spend. As such, I do not earn many of these points as they are not currently very lucrative.

Redemptions:

Since I do not have transferable points now, I have not redeemed any. My only option at this moment would be to redeem for gift cards, travel (at 1 cent per point), or redeeming for cash, but these are not good value.

Future Uses:

As mentioned above, I will have to wait until having a Citi Premier Card to transfer to travel partners. Here are some of the best uses:

• Transferring to Choice Privileges (1:2 ratio) for stays, primarily at Choice Hotels in Scandinavia and Japan (4,000-9,000 points transferred for a free night)
• Transferring to Turkish Airlines (1:1 ratio) to book Turkish Business Class to Europe for 45,000 points each way
• Transferring to Wyndham Rewards (1:1 ratio) to top off my balance and book 1-bedroom Vacasa rentals, Wyndham hotels, and/or condos for 15,000 points per night

Airline Miles:

American Airlines (AAdvantage Miles):

My AA Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

I have redeemed and earned many American Airlines miles over the past couple of years. As you can see above, I currently have just over 20,000 miles.

Earnings:

In 2022, I opened the Barclaycard’s American Airlines World Elite Business Card and earned 80,000 miles after meeting the minimum spend requirements. Additionally, I earned roughly 45,000 miles through other means including booking hotels at RocketMiles and shopping through the AA Shopping Portal. This warrants a full article deep dive, but with the changes in the loyalty program and the introduction of Loyalty Points, it is much easier to earn AA miles compared to other airlines, such as Delta or United.

I have also earned a small amount of miles (no more than 5,000) via flying.

Redemptions:

The above screenshot shows my most recent award redemptions. I have planned future travel to South Africa via Qatar QSuites and AA’s transcontinental First Class. The great thing about redeeming AA miles is that all awards are freely cancellable at any time. As such, if a different plan emerges, I can cancel and rebook somewhere else.

Future Uses:

2023 has unfortunately been a year of devaluations so far. I am very concerned that American will follow suit and “create a simpler program” or use some other platitude that belies the fact that their miles have become less valuable. For now; however, there are plenty of great uses that I would love to keep using. I’ve already mentioned arguably the best: flying to South Africa or the Maldives for 75,000 miles from the US via Qatar QSuites. Here are some other uses that I hope to take advantage of in the future:

• Fly to Australia/New Zealand from the US for 80,000 miles each way in business class via Air Tahiti Nui, Fiji Airways, or Qantas. Note that award availability is very difficult to find.
• Fly on Etihad’s A380 First Class only available between Abu Dhabi and London for 60,000 miles each way
• Fly Japan Airlines in Business Class (60,000 miles) or First Class (80,000 miles)

Delta SkyMiles:

My Delta Activity and current miles. As you can see, I’ve earned only 16 miles this year in addition to the rollover MQMs from 2022. Photo by: Evan Berman

I have a love/hate relationship with Delta. On the one hand, they are clearly the best airline in the US, especially of the “Big 3.” The service, on-time departures, lounges, and overall experience is far superior to American and even more so compared to United. That being said, their miles are essentially fixed at ~1.3 cents per mile in value, with only marginal differences in value for premium vs. economy cabins.

Whereas it’s frequently possible to get 5 or even 10 cents per point using American (ex. 75k AA miles for a $5k QSuites flight, 6.67 cents per mile)or United (ex. 68,000 United miles for a $3,500 Lufthansa Business Class flight, 5.14 cents per miles), it is essentially impossible to do this on Delta. That is, unless you find the few remaining loopholes in pricing that I’ll discuss in a future article. For now, here’s a hint: come back to beaches and tequila!

Earnings:

I’ve earned a fair amount of Delta SkyMiles from flying over the years. However, due to the consistent devaluation of their currency and the fact that I have fewer trips on Delta planned this year (meaning I will not re-qualify for status based on current patterns), I have opted to start crediting their flights to a SkyTeam partner. For now, this has been Korean Air due to their lucrative earning even on economy flights (miles equal to 100% of distance flown) and sweet spot redemptions (including First Class to Asia for only 80,000 miles!).

As such, I do not forecast many more SkyMiles earnings unless I decide to chase Delta Elite Status again. I earn miles on every Lyft ride (1x everywhere except for 2x to or from an airport) and may open a Delta card to earn status and redeem at the sweet spot I alluded to, but for now, I’m content to eschew earning SkyMiles.

Should I need SkyMiles for some reason, I can always transfer from AmEx at a 1:1 ratio, though I would need to pay the excise fee of $0.006 cents per 1,000 points transferred.

Redemptions:

As mentioned, redemptions are rarely spectacular value. I’ve consistently gotten ~1.3-1.5 cents per mile on redemptions in Economy and Comfort Plus. Strangely, redemptions for First Class are often less valuable, at around 1.25 cents per mile. Let me clarify that anytime you can travel for less, using another form of currency is great. That being said, Delta SkyMiles do not offer the same opportunity for upside as most other currencies.

My best redemption was:

• 30,000 SkyMiles for LATAM Economy, with a cash price of roughly $700, good for a bit over 2.3 cents per mile.

Future Uses:

I have one specific use that I will share in a future article detailing two of the remaining sweet spots in the Delta SkyMiles program but other than that, I do not anticipate much in the way of redemptions.

One fairly unique option is to fly business class from the US to Guam, generally via Korea, for as low as 80,000 miles one-way. If you have the flexibility to book nearly a year in advance, either the 80k level or the slightly higher 94,000 miles fare level is a solid deal for the very long flights. Unfortunately, with Delta’s dynamic pricing, you may need to search around for a bit to find these deals.

Another option is taking advantage of Flash Sales to book a domestic economy flight for as little as 5,000 miles each way. Just note that these deals are not announced and usually are only for a pair of cities (ex. San Francisco and Seattle).

United:

My United Activity. I’ve transferred in some miles from Chase to redeem for my recent European trip. Photo by: Evan Berman

United is an airline that I fly only when it is the cheapest/most convenient option by a great deal. For example, I flew from my hometown of Charleston to Seattle via Chicago as the fare was nearly $200 less than Delta, the next cheapest option. The service is relatively poor and Newark is not a place I want to be. 🙂

However, they are members of the largest of the 3 alliances, Star Alliance. I value their miles a great deal as they can offer great deals on international premium cabin travel on terrific airlines such as All Nippon Airlines (ANA), EVA Airlines, and Singapore Airlines to Asia, and Lufthansa Airlines, Swiss Airlines, and Turkish Airlines to Europe.

Earnings:

As mentioned above, I rarely fly United. In fact, I’ve taken paid flights on other Star Alliance carriers more this year than I have flown United in the past 4-5 years! When I do fly on United, I often credit to a different airline with an even more valuable currency, such as Air Canada, Avianca LifeMiles, or Turkish Airlines. As such, it’s hard to earn meaningful amounts of United Miles. I almost exclusively “earn” United Miles by transferring points from Chase.

Redemptions:

Most of my redemptions that you see in the above screenshot are for economy travel in Europe. A few examples include:

• 6,500 miles for a one-way flight between Budapest, Hungary and Munich, Germany
• 6,500 miles for a one-way flight between Zagreb, Croatia and Ljubljana, Slovenia

Future Uses:

It may be worth my while to earn more United Miles in the future. While the mileage required is often more than with other programs such as Air Canada or Avianca LifeMiles, a sweet spot is 88,000 miles to fly either to Africa or Asia in business class, no matter how many connections. This amount, coupled with no fuel surcharges is a great value.

Hotel Points:

Hilton Honors Points:

My Hilton account activity, which does not show much! Photo by: Evan Berman

Hilton is a brand that I do not use very often. As you can see in the above screenshot, I’ve had 1 stay in 12 months and a whopping 648 point balance. Points have been so devalued that it is not uncommon to see hotels price at 100,000+ points per night. As such, even with a 1:2 transfer from AmEx, value is hard to come by. That being said, I did manage to find it!

Earnings:

I usually stay in Hyatt or boutique hotels with an exception of Choice in Scandinavia or Japan. As such, I rarely stay in Hiltons. Their points are not worth much to be, so I do not go out of my way to earn any. Should I start staying at more Hilton hotels, I could rack up the points, though again you need a lot for award nights.

Redemptions:

I have only the above redemption to showcase and boy was it a great one! I redeemed 120,000 points (60k AmEx MR points) for 2 nights in Louisville during the Kentucky Derby. You might think that 30k MR Points is a lot for a hotel room for 1 night and it certainly is, but consider that the cash price was $600/ night! Including taxes and fees (which are waived on award stays), I got over 1 cent per point with the transferred Hilton points and more than 2 cents per point on the MR points transferred in.

Of course, failing another event or location with that much demand for rooms (Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, etc. or resorts such as the Maldives), Hilton rarely gives great value in using points.

Future Uses:

Short answer: none! Of course, that’s not fully true. Should Hilton offer the best value, I would transfer AmEx points or buy Hilton points at the frequent price of $0.50 per point. That being said, I do not anticipate any upcoming stays in Hilton hotels.

Hyatt Bonus Points:

My Hyatt Points balance. The activity is quite a lot, so not shown here. Photo by: Evan Berman

Hyatt, my favorite hotel points currency! As you know by now in looking at my reviews, Hyatt is the brand that I frequent as much as possible. While slightly limited by the much smaller footprint compared to Hilton and Marriott and even Choice and Wyndham, the value is exceptional. I currently have 5,674 and that is enough for 1 night, nearly enough for 2 nights at off-peak pricing!

Earnings:

I earn a great deal of Hyatt Points through a few avenues. First, I sometimes book paid stays when the value is not terrific to book with points. Especially when travelling for work, I book Hyatt properties to juice my balance and help with elite status. Additionally, Hyatt frequently runs promos where you earn bonus points for completing x number of stays in a time period. Finally, I transfer quite a few points from Chase to book nights at Hyatt hotels.

Redemptions:

Quite a few redemptions to mention! I mostly stay in category 1 hotels when travelling solo or with friends, though sometimes there is a Category 2 or 3 hotel that offers good value. As such, I have frequently redeemed 3,500, 5,000 (such as this hotel in Santiago), or 6,500 points per night for hotels with the occasional higher amount (such as this hotel in Fort Lauderdale).

Future Uses:

I have quite a few future uses. I already have 1 night booked for this fall and several more will be booked shortly for my next international trip. If you care about luxurious hotels, the Park Hyatt and Andaz properties in places such as New York, Milan, Sydney, and Tokyo are good places to redeem 30,000 or so points for rooms that frequently sell for over $1,000 a night!

Marriott Bonvoy Points:

My Marriott Bonvoy Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

Marriott is the most convenient hotel brand for many. Simply put, there is a Marriott just about everywhere! The points can offer outsized value but are generally worth roughly 0.85 cents per point. As you can see, I currently have just under 13,000 points.

Earnings:

I’ve earned a few Marriott Bonvoy points over the past few years. For example, when staying at the W Santiago, despite booking via AmEx FHR, I was able to earn Bonvoy points. Additionally, in the past with work, I sometimes had no choice on where to stay and was put up at the nearest Marriott. As such, I earned points there.

Marriott is a transfer partner of both Chase UR points and AmEx MR points, though neither is a wise strategy to pursue. In short, I do not earn many Marriott Bonvoy Points currently.

Redemptions:

Marriott is unique in redemption opportunities. Of course, many redeem points for an award night, which can range from 7,000 or so points per night to more than 100,000. However, a beautiful part of the Marriott Bonvoy program is the ability to transfer 3 Bonvoy Points to 1 mile of over 50 different airline partners. Some are common such as United or Air France/KLM Flying Blue. However, others such as Korean Air or Lufthansa Group Miles & More are the only way to earn these miles without flying!

My current redemption history is limited to 1 or 2 free nights.

Future Uses:

I will take advantage of the ability to transfer points 3:1 and likely open a credit card to allow more points to be transferred over to the airline that I choose. I do not have much use for Marriott points in hotel stays as my current balance is a bit low, though I have come across some interesting 1.0+ cents per point redemption opportunities.

Wyndham Rewards Points:

My Wyndham activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

Wyndham Rewards Points are often ignored. However, I argue that these are nearly as valuable as Hyatt and far more so than Hilton or Marriott. I currently have just under 27,000 points and will be earning even more over the next few months.

Earnings:

I recently opened the Wyndham Earner Business Card and will receive 45,000 points when I meet the signup bonus. This, coupled with the outrageous 17x points per dollar spent as a Diamond member, and numerous promotions, allows me to rack up points easily. I earn 8x on every dollar spent at Wyndham or Gas Stations and 5x on Utilities, Marketing, and Advertising with the Business card. Additionally, I took advantage of promotions to earn nearly 20,000 in bonus points.

Another lucrative option to earn these points is by shopping through the Wyndham portal. Additionally, Wyndham is a transfer partner of Capital One and Citi.

Redemptions:

I have only 1 redemption so far but it is a solid one: 30,000 points per night for a 2-bedroom Vacasa rental property on the Cape for a Holiday this summer! The cash prices at hotels are well over $300 per night and most rentals were nearly $500 per night, so these points were used well!

Future Uses:

The Vacasa partnership will be explained in a future article, but for now suffice it to say that 15,000 points per night per bedroom is the rate for these properties. I have plans to stay in several rental properties this summer and will make good use of these points.

Additionally, there are 3 price levels for Wyndham hotels: 7,500 per night, 15,000 per night, or 30,000 points per night. There are some very nice properties that fall in the 15k per night range. I expect to stay in a few in the summer and fall this year and going forward.

Other:

I will go through some other key players quickly:

Avianca LifeMiles:

Avianca LifeMiles Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

Avianca LifeMiles has a valuable loyalty program. I rarely fly with them but have credited some Star Alliance flights to the program in addition to all of the transfer partners (AmEx, Chase, and Capital One). Future redemptions may include Lufthansa first class (87,000 miles) and business class to Africa (70,000 miles).

Air Canada Aeroplan:

My Air Canada Activity. Photo by: Evan Berman

As with Avianca, I do not frequently fly Air Canada, but their loyalty program is quite valuable. I recently redeemed points (transferred in from AmEx) for an economy flight within Europe on Swiss Air. I have future plans for these points, including multi-stop flights to Asia and/or Oceania for 115,000 points one-way. I have earned points by crediting Star Alliance flights and transferring from AmEx, Chase, and Capital One.

Choice Privileges:

My Choice Activity, not including previous stays. Photo by: Evan Berman

As mentioned above and in review articles, I enjoy using Choice sweet spots, including Scandinavia and Japan. I’ve bought Choice points before as well as transferring 1:1 from Capital One and will likely gain access to Citi ThankYou Points to be able to transfer 1:2 from there. My redemptions have included Bergen, Oslo, and Tromsø. Future uses include hotels in Japan this fall.

Turkish Miles & Smiles:

Turkish Airlines Current mileage. Despite flying with them, since it was an award flight, the flight does not appear in activity! Photo by: Evan Berman

Finally, Turkish Miles & Smiles offers an archaic website but terrific value. I recently flew Turkish Business Class from the US to Europe for just 31,500 miles one-way, transferred from a combination of points from Capital One and AmEx. I have also credited miles and even a rental car to Turkish in the past. Future uses will include flying more with Turkish.

Recap:

I hope that this article give you an idea of my strategy, experience, and status with points and miles. I could talk forever about the ins and outs of each program (more to come on each of these), but for those new to the game, it can be hard to understand just how the game is played. Hopefully, this gives an idea of how I accumulate points and miles and redeem them for trips. As always, reach out with any questions and stay tuned for the next review in the Norway series, up next!