POINTS PROVISIONS

I just redeemed an 85K Marriott Free Night Award (FNA) Certificate for a night at The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto.  In my opinion this is a great use of this certificate.  Cash rates for this property are over $1,000 per night.  I received the 85K FNA Certificate since I hold the Chase Ritz-Carlton credit card.  Each year on your account anniversary you receive an 85K FNA Certificate.  Other notable benefits you receive with this credit card are automatic Marriott Gold status, 15 elite night credits, Priority Pass membership and a $300 annual travel credit that can be used for airline incidental purchases such as lounge passes, seat upgrades, baggage fees, in-flight entertainment and in-flight meals.  The annual fee for this credit card is steep at $450, but I believe the benefits plus the FNA Certificate you receive in return make the fee well worth it. In order to use the FNA Certificate I had the choice between a Deluxe Guest Room, 1 King, with either a City Vie...

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 ...

A great option for using your credit card points is to book hotel nights with them.  The process of booking a hotel night using points is similar to booking a normal stay using cash.  When searching on the hotel programs website, there is usually a check box for award bookings when you enter your search criteria.  Let's walkthrough an example using Hyatt, one of the best hotel options for maximizing your credit card points.  Keep in mind you can follow these steps for other hotel chains as well. The first thing you should do is sign-up for a World of Hyatt account through the Hyatt website.  In order to book a hotel night using points you will need to have a member account setup with the hotel program.  It's free to join and comes with the following benefits. Next, if you don't already have points with the hotel, you need to think about which credit card points will transfer to the hotel program.  In this case, since we're looking at Hyatt, w...

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...

EARNING CHASE ULTIMATE REWARDS POINTS You can earn Chase points with any of the following credit cards. PERSONAL CARDS No Annual Fee Credit Cards Freedom Flex -  5 points on up to $1,500 on combined quarterly bonus categories - 5 points on travel purchased through Chase - 3 points on restaurants and drugstores - 1 point everywhere else Freedom Unlimited - 5 points on travel purchased through Chase - 3 points on restaurants and drugstores - 1.5 points everywhere else Annual Fee Credit Cards Sapphire Preferred ($95/year) - 5 points on travel purchased through Chase - 3 points on restaurants, online grocery, and select streaming services - 2 points on travel - 1 point everywhere else Sapphire Reserve ($450/year) - 10 points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase - 5 points on flights purchased through Chase - 3 points on restaurants and travel - 1 point everywhere else BUSINESS CARDS No Annual Fee Credit Cards Ink Business Cash - 5 points on office supply, internet, cable...

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...