Earn hotel points and airlines miles with travel credit cards!
You’re going to be spending money anyway, so you might as well be funding your vacations for doing it. But… the credit card travel game definitely isn’t for everyone, and I would recommend you read my post on Things To Consider before applying for your first card. Under no circumstances would it be worth it to take a cheap vacation while maintaining a credit card balance with 20%+ interest; that would be extremely not cool.
These are all the cards we personally use and recommend. Since Greg works for an airline, and we can fly it (and almost every other airline you could imagine) for free or very inexpensively, we put a heavy emphasis on hotel cards.
We each apply for a card in our own name, so we can double our points and miles. Of course, that means having to meet two minimum spends, so I stage our applications where we’ll never run the risk of not meeting one.
As you’ll see, we definitely prefer Chase cards over any others. But… Chase has a 5/24 rule that limits how many cards you can be approved for in a 24 month period. That limit is five. Hence, the 5/24 rule. If you try to apply for more than five personal credit cards *from any issuer, not just Chase* in a two-year period, you will be denied. This does not apply to business credit cards. Apply accordingly! Get the personal Chase cards first, is what I’m saying, and keep track of when you apply if you are serious about earning many different miles and points.
If you’re saving for a particular destination, or a particular hotel or resort, getting a credit card or eight to boost your miles and points balances is a great and fun way to get there for cheap, or even free!
Depending on the card, we may get points or miles for referring them using the links below. Thank you in advance, and happy traveling!
Bank of America Alaska Airlines Visa Signature
Why we keep this card: This was Greg’s first credit card so we’ve kept his account open to maintain a good credit history with Bank of America, and because they offer one $99 companion ticket if/when we go to Alaska.
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Bevy:
Why we keep this card: We have the older version of this card, which offers an annual free night stay with no minimum spend requirement, and only a $95 annual fee. I’m sorry it’s no longer available. Mer.
American Express offers an even more expensive Marriott card, which I think is a better deal than the Bevy, in spite of the higher annual fee.
American Express Marriott Bonvoy Brilliance
Why we would keep this card, over the Bevy: No minimum spend to get a free hotel night every year. Priority Pass lounge access. $25/month restaurant credit. 10/10 recommend Global Entry to anyone who’s ever considered traveling out of the country.
American Express Hilton Honors
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! Plus it earns 3-7x points per dollar spent, so points are easy to accrue.
Why we keep this card: Free hotel night every year! If we don’t have a minimum spend to meet, we put all our big purchases on our Hyatt cards to get an extra free night and qualifying night credits. Those credits count toward our elite status. The higher our status, the more perks we get! That said, we only work on Greg’s status, always. He’s more likely to stay in hotels for work than I am, and we want him to get as high as he can. IN STATUS.
Chase IHG One Rewards Traveler
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! Plus, we’re grandfathered in for a free night every year with our card. I’m sorry the annual free night is no longer available. Mer.
Why we keep this card: Free anniversary night! Book three, get one free award nights! Global Entry statement credits! At minimum 3x points on purchases, points are easy to rack up.
Chase IHG One Rewards Premier Business
Why we keep this card: Free anniversary night! Global Entry statement credits! There are four of us, so we need four different cards that offer Global Entry credits. Book three, get four award nights!
Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
Why we keep this card: Free hotel night every year! Plus Marriott properties are all over, and for that reason we stay in them more than any other hotel brand.
Now, let’s delve into my *favorite* cards – the ones that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points!
Ultimate Rewards Points, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…
- You can redeem for travel booked through Chase.
- You can redeem for cash back.
- You can redeem for gift cards.
- You can redeem for statement credits.
- You can redeem for takeout or “exclusive culinary experiences” (whatever that means).
- You can redeem for “exclusive events” (I think the Warckens are discouraged from anything with ‘exclusive’ in the description).
- You can redeem for Amazon or Apply purchases.
- You can *earn* points with Shop through Chase.
- You can transfer points 1:1 to airline and hotel programs, including:
- Air Canada
- Air France KLM
- British Airways
- Emirates
- Iberia
- JetBlue
- Singapore Airlines
- Southwest
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- IHG
- Marriott
- World of Hyatt
- You can earn Ultimate Rewards points with any or all of the following cards:
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! Earns 5x points on revolving quarterly categories.
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! Earns at least 1.5x points on all purchases.
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! We use this card for all our investment real estate purchases, which earns us more free travel! Score.
Why we keep this card: No annual fee! We use this card for farm purchases, especially diesel, as it earns 2x points on fuel purchases.
Why we keep this card: This one deserves a post of its own. The $50 annual hotel credit automatically brings the annual fee down to just $45/yr. For us, the rest of the value comes from the ability to transfer to other travel programs.
The kicker to all these cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points is, *you can only transfer Ultimate Rewards points to airline and hotel programs if you have a Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve*.
You can earn as many Ultimate Rewards points as possible with the other cards, but you have to transfer those balances to your Sapphire balance before you can transfer out. It’s super easy, and it’s instant.
Transferring your points to airlines and hotels is also super easy, and instant. If you’re asking yourself, “But why would I want Iberia miles?” Because thanks to partnerships, you could use Iberia miles to fly Alaska or American airlines, or any other airline in the oneworld alliance. Or you could use Air France KLM miles to fly Delta, or any other airline in the SkyTeam Alliance. Or you could use Singapore miles to fly United, or any other airline in the Star Alliance.
I wrote a post about alliances too, so don’t get all stressed out!
Even though we fly standby, we like having all those airlines and alliances in our back pockets in case we get stuck somewhere and have to actually pay to get home. Well, use miles or points to get home. But can you imagine? It’s also nice to, you know, actually plan a trip where we have confirmed seats, and no one can come kick us out of first class to Tokyo if they had to make a last-minute switch to a shorter runway and are now over their weight limit. *Not* that I’m still bitter. Really, it’s all part of the fun of standby.
But also… should we fall on hard times… we can always cash out our Ultimate Rewards points for real money. So I think of them as a backup to the backup plan. They’re just so versatile, and I think the best points to accrue for newbies.
That’s all. Happy carding! Let me know where your credit card miles and points take you!