credit card points travel/miles/airline and hotel rewards

[Anonymous]

We have never been able to travel enough (busy lawyers who don't take a lot of time off) to look into earning and using credit card miles for travel. DH is retiring in a year or two, and my schedule is a bit saner and I want to start traveling a lot more. Can anybody give me basic info about how the credit card/airline miles/hotel rewards points travel stuff works? I'm guessing you pick an airline and hotel chain and sign up and stay loyal? But then doesn't that take a lot of travel before you earn enough rewards for free stays/flights? Or do I just need the right credit card? But aren't those cards cards with fees and if so, are they high enough that you would have been better off just paying for your travel?

Anyone out there a whiz at this? How much travel do you have to do to make this stuff worthwhile?

[Anonymous]

https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

That makes sense.

[Anonymous]

There are really three ways to get points: business directly with an airline/hotel, a sign up bonus for a new card, and ongoing spend on a card. For redeeming you can book through a travel portal, which is usually a terrible value, or transfer to a partner which is the best value. My wife and I have traveled pretty much exclusively on points for the last decade or so. It requires flexibility and preparation but is worth it if you put the work in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

This is true. You still can accumulate plenty of miles/rewards/perks after the signup bonus, but the “windfall” of points comes early- it’s part of the pitch to lure you in.

I’m not an expert on the travel card game, but my favorite card is the AMEX Hilton card. The version I have has a $150 annual fee, but that is offset by a free night every year at any Hilton Hotel ($15000 minimum spend in the year on the card) and $50 quarterly credits on Hilton stays/charges. Of course, you accumulate points on all of your spending and redeeming points at Hilton brand hotels is pretty easy.

This is my main credit card. Some prefer airline cards, which my wife has. She has the United card, from Chase. Like my AMEX, it’s one of the lower tier cards- I can’t imagine paying a $500 - $700 annual fee! The card gets us two free checked bags and boarding group two, which is nice if we are carrying on bags and want dibs on bin space.

The higher fee cards get you additional perks. I think there is a United Card that gets you club access and a Hilton card that gives you Diamond status- Hilton Honors highest tier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

This. And the points you get after you have earned the bonus are just noise. If you want to truly “play the game” it’s about opening new cards on a steady pace and with a specific strategy so as not to limit how many new cards you can open. Different banks have different rules. There is a significant time investment up front to learn what you are doing and then a lesser but not zero ongoing time investment to stay abreast of new developments and learn how to make the best redemptions etc. I’m in pretty deep time-wise and I’d say I’m only intermediate level at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

This. And the points you get after you have earned the bonus are just noise. If you want to truly “play the game” it’s about opening new cards on a steady pace and with a specific strategy so as not to limit how many new cards you can open. Different banks have different rules. There is a significant time investment up front to learn what you are doing and then a lesser but not zero ongoing time investment to stay abreast of new developments and learn how to make the best redemptions etc. I’m in pretty deep time-wise and I’d say I’m only intermediate level at best.

There is definitely a degree to which this depends on your ability. My wife and I get to book all of our work travel on personal cards so we earn a ton a points from that. Beyond that just maximizing bonus categories i.e. 4x on food, 3x on travel, 2x on the rest etc. can add some. Always be on the look out for providing referrals to, sometimes to each other.

[Anonymous]

Just pick an airline and a lounge you want. Open the best credit card for those, and try to use that airline whenever possible.

In general I think the games are just to entertain people who have to travel for work and are stuck there anyway. It’s much better to be a leisure traveler and just pay for the perks you want as you go.

Except I do think it’s nice to have access to a lounge and they will give it to you just for opening a card so you might as well. I think it’s worth the Amex fee, but I would have had an Amex anyway.

[Anonymous]

I have looked into trying to be one of those people who manage to travel everywhere for free using points and reward mileage and have concluded it's really not worth the effort. I'm not going to devote myself full time to opening and closing credit cards and gaming the point system and tying myself to weird travel dates or restricting myself to specific airlines or hotel brands. Nor do I travel that much, two trips a year outside work is typical.

Just get a cash back credit card and use the cash to pay for tickets/flights. It seems to come out the same. I have Chase Sapphire but whenever I look at the points versus paying cash, I rarely see an advantage and as the years go by, the points decline in value and the airlines still tack on taxes and fees that usually end up being the equivalent of half a ticket price regardless of the points. So I'm planning to clear out all my points sometime in 2026 and switching to a cash back card.

If you/your DH want to turn this into a fun game in retirement, by all means give it a shot. But if you are a typical couple, probably better to roll your eyes, get a cashback card and not worry about the points or reward miles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://frequentmiler.com/start-here/

It's mostly about getting the card sign up bonuses.

This. And the points you get after you have earned the bonus are just noise. If you want to truly “play the game” it’s about opening new cards on a steady pace and with a specific strategy so as not to limit how many new cards you can open. Different banks have different rules. There is a significant time investment up front to learn what you are doing and then a lesser but not zero ongoing time investment to stay abreast of new developments and learn how to make the best redemptions etc. I’m in pretty deep time-wise and I’d say I’m only intermediate level at best.

There is definitely a degree to which this depends on your ability. My wife and I get to book all of our work travel on personal cards so we earn a ton a points from that. Beyond that just maximizing bonus categories i.e. 4x on food, 3x on travel, 2x on the rest etc. can add some. Always be on the look out for providing referrals to, sometimes to each other.

I mean obviously do this too. But it can’t compete with getting 100k+ in one swoop. If you only opened a few cards and then focused on category spending, you aren’t going to accumulate nearly as quickly as chasing bonuses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have looked into trying to be one of those people who manage to travel everywhere for free using points and reward mileage and have concluded it's really not worth the effort. I'm not going to devote myself full time to opening and closing credit cards and gaming the point system and tying myself to weird travel dates or restricting myself to specific airlines or hotel brands. Nor do I travel that much, two trips a year outside work is typical.

Just get a cash back credit card and use the cash to pay for tickets/flights. It seems to come out the same. I have Chase Sapphire but whenever I look at the points versus paying cash, I rarely see an advantage and as the years go by, the points decline in value and the airlines still tack on taxes and fees that usually end up being the equivalent of half a ticket price regardless of the points. So I'm planning to clear out all my points sometime in 2026 and switching to a cash back card.

If you/your DH want to turn this into a fun game in retirement, by all means give it a shot. But if you are a typical couple, probably better to roll your eyes, get a cashback card and not worry about the points or reward miles.

It’s totally valid to not want to put in the significant time investment, but done correctly the points redemptions are worth way more than cash back, objectively. Not using the travel portal, which is basically just a cash redemption, but actually transferring the points to travel partners (airline or hotel.)

[Anonymous]

Beginner level here. I have liked the simplicity of the Chase Sapphire credit card. We put virtually all our expenses on it, and often use their travel portal, which allows you to earn more points just got booking through them. We haven’t scored free trips yet… my husband skeptical of the opening new credit cards thing, but as others have said, I think that’s really the way to do it so you get the sign on bonus.

[Anonymous]

If you plan to travel a lot in the US/Caribbean then Southwest may be a good deal. If you qualify for a companion pass then one of you can fly for free on each flight.

[Anonymous]

I use chase sapphire but I don’t have the energy to make a full time job of it. Honestly I should have just got cash back. I normally end up using the travel portal so the value isn’t great.

[Anonymous]

If anyone has questions for someone deep in the hobby I’m happy to answer them. I’ve been doing it since you could buy coins from the mint to hit sign up bonuses so been at it a while.