POINTS PROVISIONS

I recently made a redemption at the Roku Kyoto, LXR Hotel & Resort using a Hilton Free Night Reward.  A standard room redemption using Hilton Honors points would have been 110,000 points per night or the cash rate for this booking would have been JPY 118,680, approximately $800 at the time of writing.  I received the Annual Free Night Reward, which could be redeemed at any Hilton hotel, since I have the American Express Hilton Aspire card.  This card has a high annual fee of $550, but it comes with a bunch of benefits, such as an Annual Free Night Reward, a $400 Hilton Resort Credit which can be used in $200 increments semi-annually (only at resorts classified by Hilton per this website  https://www.hilton.com/en/locations/resorts/ ), a $200 Flight Credit which can be used in $50 increments each quarter, a $189 annual Clear credit, and Hilton’s top-tier Diamond Status which grants upgrades to preferred rooms and a food & beverage credit at US hotels or compli...

Since the new iPhone 15 was recently released, I thought it would be a good time to compare the value you could get with your points by redeeming for Flights or redeeming for a new iPhone.  They both sound like great ideas right?  It would be nice to not have to spend any cash on either of these pricey items, but in this post I will illustrate why it could be a better idea to use your points on flights instead of a brand new iPhone as tempting as that may be. The lowest cost option for a new iPhone 15 Pro is $999.00 through the Apple website or any mobile carrier.   Chase is charging 99,000 Ultimate Rewards points to buy a new iPhone 15 Pro.  This is a redemption value of $0.01 per point.  Not bad, but you could probably do better. American Express is charging a whopping 164,003 Membership Rewards points for the same new iPhone 15 Pro.  This is a redemption value of $0.006 per point, which is obviously worse than redeeming through Chase. So, if you were to ...

EARNING AMERICAN EXPRESS MEMBERSHIP REWARDS POINTS You can earn Amex points with any of the following credit cards. PERSONAL CARDS No Annual Fee Credit Cards Amex Everyday -  2 points on U.S. supermarkets, up to $6K per calendar year -  1 point everywhere else Annual Fee Credit Cards Amex Everyday Preferred ($95/year) - 3  points on U.S. supermarkets, up to $6K per calendar year - 2 points on U.S. gas stations -  1 point everywhere else American Express Green Card ($150/year) - 3 points on restaurants, travel, and transit -  1 point everywhere else American Express Gold Card ($250/year) - 4  points on U.S. supermarkets, up to $25K per calendar year - 4 points on restaurants - 3 points on flights -  1 point everywhere else The Platinum Card ($695/year) - 5 points on flights and prepaid hotels purchased through AmexTravel -  1 point everywhere else The Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley ($695/year) - 5 points on flights and prepaid hotels purchas...

AMERICAN EXPRESS MEMBERSHIP REWARDS AIRLINES 1. Aer Lingus Avios - INSTANT 2. AeroMexico Premier Points - Approx 4 to 5 Days 3. Air Canada Aeroplan Points - INSTANT 4. Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles - INSTANT 5. ANA Mileage Club Miles - Approx 2 to 3 Days 6. Avianca LifeMiles - INSTANT 7. British Airways Executive Club Avios - INSTANT 8. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - INSTANT 9. Delta Airlines SkyMiles - INSTANT 10. Emirates Skywards Miles - INSTANT 11. Etihad Guest Miles - INSTANT 12. Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles - INSTANT 13. Iberia Plus Avios - Approx 1 Day 14. JetBlue TrueBlue Points - INSTANT 15. Qantas Points - INSTANT 16.  Qatar Privilege Club Avios -  INSTANT 17. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles - INSTANT 18. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points - INSTANT HOTELS 1.  Choice Privileges Points - INSTANT 2. Hilton Honors Points - INSTANT 3. Marriott Bonvoy Points - INSTANT CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS AIRLINES 1.  Aer Lingus Avios - INSTANT 2.  Air Canada...

1. First, set a goal for a destination you want to visit. 2. Figure out what Airlines fly to/from the airports you need to use.  For a quick check, you can look up the airports on Wikipedia and look for the “Airlines and Destinations” section.  This step helps minimize connections. 3. Learn about the Airline Alliances.  There are three major alliances, Oneworld, Skyteam, and Star Alliance with the airline members listed  here .  Most major airlines in the world are a member of one of these.  4. Learn which credit card points can transfer into each Airline mileage program.  The transfer partners for each credit card points program are listed  here . This is important because even if a particular credit card point doesn't transfer to the Airline you are hoping to fly, it may be a member of the same Airline Alliance of a credit card transfer partner airline. It’s usually possible to use the credit card transfer partner airline miles to book the fligh...

  (Credit Card Transfer Partner) ONEWORLD 1. Alaska Airlines 2. American Airlines 3. British Airways  (AMEX, Capital One, Chase) 4. Cathay Pacific  (AMEX, Capital One, Citi) 5. Fiji Airways 6. Finnair (Capital One) 7. Iberia  (AMEX, Chase) 8. Japan Airlines 9. Malaysia Airlines 10. Qantas  (AMEX, Capital One, Citi) 11. Qatar Airways  (AMEX, Citi) 12. Royal Air Maroc 13. Royal Jordanian 14. SriLankan Airlines SKYTEAM 1. Aerolineas Argentinas 2. AeroMexico  (AMEX, Capital One, Citi) 3. Air Europa 4. Air France  (AMEX, Capital One, Chase, Citi) 5. China Airlines 6. China Eastern 7. Czech Airlines 8. Delta Air Lines  (AMEX) 9. Garuda Indonesia 10. ITA Airways 11. Kenya Airways 12. KLM  (AMEX, Chase, Citi) 13. Korean Air 14. Middle East Airlines 15. Saudia 16. Tarom 17. Vietnam Airlines 18. Virgin Atlantic  (AMEX, Capital One, Chase, Citi) 19. XiamenAir STAR ALLIANCE 1. Aegean 2. Air Canada  (AMEX, Capital One, Chase) 3. Air China 4...

** Exclusive Transfer Partner AMERICAN EXPRESS MEMBERSHIP REWARDS AIRLINES 1. Aer Lingus Avios 2. AeroMexico Premier Points 3. Air Canada Aeroplan Points 4. Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles 5. ANA Mileage Club Miles  ** 6. Avianca LifeMiles 7. British Airways Executive Club Avios 8. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 9. Delta Airlines SkyMiles  ** 10. Emirates Skywards Miles 11. Etihad Guest Miles 12. Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles  ** 13. Iberia Plus Avios 14. JetBlue TrueBlue Points 15. Qantas Points 16.  Qatar Privilege Club Avios 17. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles 18. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points HOTELS 1.  Choice Privileges Points 2. Hilton Honors Points  ** 3. Marriott Bonvoy Points CAPITAL ONE REWARDS AIRLINES 1. AeroMexico Premier Points 2.  Air Canada Aeroplan Points 3.  Air France KLM Flying Blue Miles 4. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 5. Avianca LifeMiles 6. British Airways Executive Club Avios 7.  Emirates Skywards Miles 8. Et...