Which travel points program/credit cards do you use?

[Anonymous]

We have a Marriott bonvoy account, so we book hotels there for work and pay using the chase sapphire reserve so it’s like double points. Then we get paid back from work and use points to travel.

[Anonymous]

Any feedback on Marriott credit cards?

[Anonymous]

I use Southwest card because we get the companion pass and because it is easy to use.

[Anonymous]

We've had our Marriott Bonvoy Premier (black) card for years and it's fantastic. You're gifted free hotel nights at least once or twice a year and since we put all expenses on this card and pay it off each month we have accrued a large amount of points. Marriotts are everywhere and it's very easy to use your points at all the different brands under Marriott.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've had our Marriott Bonvoy Premier (black) card for years and it's fantastic. You're gifted free hotel nights at least once or twice a year and since we put all expenses on this card and pay it off each month we have accrued a large amount of points. Marriotts are everywhere and it's very easy to use your points at all the different brands under Marriott.

My only concern is that I heard there are lots of black out dates for using the free nights and/or points. Besides extra points, any other perks?

[Anonymous]

I picked up this hobby after my divorce and probably spend $2k a year on travel worth between $15k and $20k. Take the free 10x travel course, it’s worth the time. Start with Chase Sapphire- right now they have an in-branch offer of 80,000 points if you spend $4k in three months and and additional 10,000 points if you spend a total of $6k in six months. Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to many hotel and airline chains. When you’re ready to book a trip check the points cost through the chase travel portal versus what the actual hotel or airline would charge in points booking directly. Chase has many different cards that earn Ultimate Rewards. You can be eligible for business card even if you don’t have a traditional business. Once you’ve worked through Chase you can either branch off to hotel or airline cards or move over to a different point currency. Capital One, Citibank and American Express have their own points systems with different hotel and airline transfer partners.

I just got back from the Dominican- paid $500 total (including tips) for four nights at Secrets Cap Cana (transferred 108,000 chase points to Hyatt, upgraded to oceanfront, would have cost around $5500), booked the flights on Southwest- 39,000 points (transferred from Chase, I have the companion pass so I only have to pay points for one ticket, the second only pays taxes). I have a cruise scheduled that was “free” from doing a timeshare pitch (have to pay taxes and gratuities) as well as an all inclusive planned for Mexico later this year. The cruise will probably cost about $1k because I’m planning on buying n the drink package and wifi. Mexico will be around $500 with ground transportation, tips and taxes on the airfare. It’s a very lucrative hobby.

[Anonymous]

I echo what most have said that the Chase rewards program is pretty great. I really like that we're not tied to one specific airline/hotel chain, and have the flexibility to use our points as we best see fit. Additionally, I think that since two of Chase's airline transfer partners are United/Southwest, both of who have hubs in the area, as well as British Airways (where you can convert points to AA), that's another huge benefit.

Generally, I'd stay away from cards for a specific airline, unless there's a practical reason for doing so (ex. if you live in Herndon/Sterling and it's much more convenient for you to fly out of IAD than DCA/BWI, then get the UA card).

[Anonymous]

I only use cash back cards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I echo what most have said that the Chase rewards program is pretty great. I really like that we're not tied to one specific airline/hotel chain, and have the flexibility to use our points as we best see fit. Additionally, I think that since two of Chase's airline transfer partners are United/Southwest, both of who have hubs in the area, as well as British Airways (where you can convert points to AA), that's another huge benefit.

Generally, I'd stay away from cards for a specific airline, unless there's a practical reason for doing so (ex. if you live in Herndon/Sterling and it's much more convenient for you to fly out of IAD than DCA/BWI, then get the UA card).

Very good points. Note that you can't directly convert BA Avios to AA miles- you can use BA Avios to book AA award flights, as they are made available to partners, which is less frequently recently. But still a good usage of Chase points when it is an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had our Marriott Bonvoy Premier (black) card for years and it's fantastic. You're gifted free hotel nights at least once or twice a year and since we put all expenses on this card and pay it off each month we have accrued a large amount of points. Marriotts are everywhere and it's very easy to use your points at all the different brands under Marriott.

My only concern is that I heard there are lots of black out dates for using the free nights and/or points. Besides extra points, any other perks?

There are so many hotels under the Marriott umbrella that black out dates haven't been an issue. There's always an available hotel to book. We use this card purely for hotel stays, although there may well be other benefits I'm not aware of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Step 1: ignore the Points Guy. It’s just a website to get credit card referrals at this point.

10000% Yes yes yes. Quoting and replying because this needs more attention!

[Anonymous]

Marriott and Hilton redemptions are really bad. Upscale resort hotels in good areas can be easily over 100,000 points PER night. Hilton at least waives the resort fee but Marriott does not. They both make the 5th night free but you are still talking 400k points for a 5 night stay. Puts the co-branded credit card bonuses into perspective - they aren’t as big as they sound.

[Anonymous]

I have a PNC travel reward credit card that refunds my credit card for flights booked. For every $ I spend I get two miles (100k in spending gets me 200,000 miles, or points). When I book a $1k flight on any airline, I can cash out 100k points and get $1,000 transferred back to my credit card.

Is this a good deal or not? I'm a single person who probably spends around 2,000-2,500 each month on credit cards as I use it for everything and pay off the balance monthly. Worth changing to Sapphire?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Step 1: ignore the Points Guy. It’s just a website to get credit card referrals at this point.

10000% Yes yes yes. Quoting and replying because this needs more attention!

Eh, I don't find his recommendations much different than I see on other sites.

[Anonymous]

Chase United Club card. My DH travels quite a bit and having club access is great. It is worth the the cost for him. They also paid for my Global Entry.