Got questions about travel rewards and credit card points? I’m your girl! I’m here to make everything simple and straightforward.
You have questions, I have answers
Using credit card points for travel typically doesn’t hurt your credit score if done responsibly. Here are a few reasons why:
- Smart Credit Utilization: With more credit cards, you’ll increase your total credit limit, and in turn decrease your credit utilization. When you keep your credit utilization low, you’re setting yourself up for a strong credit score
- Timely Payments: Paying off your balance in full each month not only helps you avoid interest charges but also builds a solid payment history, boosting your score.
- Strategic Applications: Applying for new cards thoughtfully allows you to maximize rewards without significantly impacting your score, turning each application into a step toward more travel experiences.
- Building Account Age: Keeping older accounts open contributes positively to your credit history
- Diverse Credit Mix: Managing a mix of credit types enhances your score
I recommend having at least a 700 credit score to get started. If you need help improving your score, here’s a blog post from my friends at Travel Freely with advice.
Lots of travel credit cards come with annual fees (but plenty don’t!). You’ll have to make a personal decision and see if the card benefits (like the welcome offer, any type of travel credit, lounge access, etc.) are worth the annual fee to you. It’s always a personal choice!
Think about it this way - would you pay $95 in order to get $600+ worth of travel in return?
Personally, I pay anywhere between $1,000 - $2,000 a year in annual fees, but I’ve gotten over $100,000 worth of travel to date.
Think about it this way - would you pay $95 in order to get $600+ worth of travel in return?
Personally, I pay anywhere between $1,000 - $2,000 a year in annual fees, but I’ve gotten over $100,000 worth of travel to date.
Always keep a card open for a year. If after the year mark, you decide that the benefits of the card don’t outweigh the annual fee, you can consider closing the card. Most banks will refund the annual fee if you close it within 30 days of the annual fee posting.
An alternative option would be to downgrade the card to a no annual fee card. That way you keep the existing credit line open and help your overall credit age.
An alternative option would be to downgrade the card to a no annual fee card. That way you keep the existing credit line open and help your overall credit age.
Also known as a welcome offer, a sign up bonus is a promotional offer that rewards new card holders for opening a credit card and meeting a specific spending requirement within a certain timeframe.
Example: spend $4,000 in the first three months and receive 60,000 points
Example: spend $4,000 in the first three months and receive 60,000 points
Most often, your points don’t expire as long as you keep a credit card open with that card issuer. There are cases with specific airline or hotel loyalty programs where your points can’t expire if you don’t make a transaction for a long period of time.
You’re not alone! Earning points is the easy part - redeeming points can be the hard part.
There are a lot of tools to help you find award availability. Some of my favorite are:
There are a lot of tools to help you find award availability. Some of my favorite are:
- Awayz by Odynn (use code “TRAVELPOINTERSWITHALLI for $10 off)
- Thrifty Traveler (use code “TPWA” for $10 off)
- Seats.Aero
- PointsYeah
- MaxMyPoint
Definitely! It might just take a little more strategy. I work with big families all the time. As a big family, you’ll need more points for flights, but often times can save significantly on hotels (especially in the U.S. where 4-6 people can stay in a room).
Short answer - usually!
Long answer - it depends. Some card issuers allow you to combine points with another household member. Other issuers don’t allow you to combine points at all.
Most airline and hotel loyalty programs have ways to combine or “pool” your points with someone.
Long answer - it depends. Some card issuers allow you to combine points with another household member. Other issuers don’t allow you to combine points at all.
Most airline and hotel loyalty programs have ways to combine or “pool” your points with someone.
Credit card point transfer partners are airline and hotel chains with which credit card issuers allow you to transfer your earned points or miles.
Typically, you’ll see your points are more valuable if you utilize transfer partners instead of using your points for things like cash back or gift cards.
Typically, you’ll see your points are more valuable if you utilize transfer partners instead of using your points for things like cash back or gift cards.
Airline alliances are partnerships between multiple airlines that work together to provide benefits to their customers. The 3 major alliances are OneWorld, Sky Team, and Star Alliance.
The benefit of airline alliances is that airlines in an alliance share routes and resources, making it easier for passengers to travel. For example, if you’re looking to travel to Switzerland, you may see a Swiss Air operated flight that is bookable on the United website because they are both part of the Star Alliance.
The benefit of airline alliances is that airlines in an alliance share routes and resources, making it easier for passengers to travel. For example, if you’re looking to travel to Switzerland, you may see a Swiss Air operated flight that is bookable on the United website because they are both part of the Star Alliance.
You can only combine points of the same “type”. So if you have multiple cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards, you can combine those points. But you can’t combine your Capital One Miles with your Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Another example - if you have a co-branded card ( a card that earns only one specific airline or hotel points). So your Marriott card ONLY earns Marriott points and cannot be combined with other types of points.
Another example - if you have a co-branded card ( a card that earns only one specific airline or hotel points). So your Marriott card ONLY earns Marriott points and cannot be combined with other types of points.
If it’s your oldest card, I recommend keeping it open to maintain your credit age. If it has an annual fee, you could call the card issuer and see if you have an option to downgrade to a no annual fee card. That way you keep the credit line open, but don’t have to pay the annual fee.
While that’s highly dependent on the type of trip you’d like to take and duration, most people can earn enough points for a weekend trip in about 3 months.
If you still have questions or need personalized guidance, book a 1:1 call with me today!
Still have questions? I’m here to help!
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Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.