What Is Award Travel?

Imagine booking a 10-night family trip to Hawaii for under $50. I’ve managed to book that exact trip multiple times. With the right approach, travel hacking can help you can stretch your travel budget further than you ever thought possible.

A Beginner Guide To Award Travel: Points and Miles

Using points and miles is a great way to explore the world while saving tons of money on travel costs. By planning and using strategies to maximize points, rewards, and travel perks offered by airlines, hotels, and credit card companies, you can enjoy incredible trips without breaking the bank. Many people are unaware of the potential savings and benefits from points and miles, which gives us an advantage over the average traveler.

In this article I will only touch on everything you need to know to successfully earn and use points and miles. Links to the more extensive articles about each topic are included throughout this article.

Financial Responsibility Is Important for Successful Award Travel

I think everyone should be using a credit card that earns them points and miles, but only if you understand and are realistic about your finances. You also need to know what your credit score is and make sure you are tracking your spending habits.

I have kids and a full-time job and there is no way I would know all of my accounts and point balances if I did not keep track of them somewhere other than my brain. Staying organized is key to being successful with travel hacking. You are going to work hard for these points, and you don’t want to lose track of them!

What Are Points And Miles?

Points and miles are rewards you earn for spending on specific credit cards or through loyalty programs. Think of them as currency; you use the points or miles currency to “pay” for your travel expenses in award travel.

Points are typically associated with credit card rewards. Credit card companies might tempt you to use your points for cash, gift cards or to cover purchases on Amazon but that’s because they don’t want you to use the points for max value. The best way to use points is to redeem them for travel-related expenses, including hotel, flights, tickets, car rentals, and tours.

Miles, on the other hand, are usually related to airline programs and are mostly earned from taking flights or spending on a credit card.

Why You Should Use Points And Miles For Travel

Imagine flying to your dream destination without the burden of high ticket prices. Or using points for two hotel rooms instead of cramming the whole family into one tiny hotel room.

I can’t think of a reason not to take advantage of the benefits of using points and miles!

Using points and miles for travel can transform your adventures, allowing you to explore the world at a fraction of the cost. When you use rewards points wisely, you stretch your budget and gain access to premium experiences, such as upgrades and exclusive amenities.

Instead of spending money on flights and hotels you can spend money on excursions, souveniers, fabulous meals or more vacations!

Common Myths About Award Travel

Many people don’t use points and miles because they don’t understand them. I want to dispel at least a few myths about award travel. I also have an entire page dedicated to answering frequently asked questions. Please dont hesitate to let me know if you have a question that I haven’t answered and I will continue to expand the FAQs.

Myth: Won’t I need to spend more to earn enough points?

Truth: That’s incorrect. You do not need to spend more; in fact, I strongly discourage it. The amazing thing about award travel is that you can earn many points and miles with your everyday spending. 

Myth: Having too many credit cards will hurt my credit score.

Truth: Incorrect again. When done responsibly, having more credit cards will not hurt your credit. In fact, it can even improve if you manage your credit accounts wisely. However, certain aspects of travel hacking—such as applying for credit cards and managing debt—could negatively impact your credit if not handled properly.

Myth: Earning points and miles is too much work/too complicated.

Truth: This hobby can be as straightforward or as complex as you want, depending on how deep you dive into it. It involves using points, miles, and rewards programs strategically to save money on travel, but it does not have to be hard work if you approach it in an organized and informed manner.

Myth: Won’t I run out of credit cards to apply for?

Truth: It’s a valid concern, but the short answer is no. You won’t necessarily run out of credit cards if you apply responsibly. However, there are a few things to consider regarding the number of cards you should open, how to manage them, and when to stop applying for new ones.

How To Earn Points and Miles

There are many ways to earn points and miles, and understanding how to accumulate them effectively sets the foundation for rewarding trips. You might already have a card in your wallet that you think is only earning cash-back, but when combined with the correct companion credit card, the cash-back could become points. 

The easiest way to earn points is by using credit cards. The number of points you earn is different for every card based on the category offerings. For instance, you might earn:

• 2 points per $1 on everything with Capital One Venture X
• 3 points per $1 on dining with Amex Gold
• 4 points per $1 on groceries with Amex Gold

To maximize your points earing you will need to adopt a strategic approach to spending. We should categorize our regular expenses—like groceries, gas, and dining—and use cards that provide the highest returns on those categories.

For example, if we spend $500 monthly on groceries and use an Amex Gold card that earns 4 points per dollar, we earn 2,000 points.

By knowing your typically categories of spend and adjusting which credit card we use for that spending, we can maximize our points earning.

The Credit Card Sign-up Bonus (SUB)

Credit card sign-up bonuses are one of the fastest ways to earn points and miles. A sign-up bonus is a credit card company’s reward to encourage new customers to apply for a card. This bonus comes in the form of points, miles, or cash back and is awarded after you meet a minimum spending requirement.

Paying Tax on Credit Card Referral Points

I love being able to refer people to credit cards. Not only does that mean they are entering the world of points and miles and will experience the benefits, but also because if they use my referral link, I get bonus points.  At a minimum, you should be able to make referrals to your spouse or Player 2 (P2) and keep those points in the family!

Other Ways To Earn Points and Miles

If you shop online, you must use shopping portals.  If you don’t, you are missing out on so many points.  Nearly every rewards program offers a shopping portal, and I will teach you about my favorites.

Many banks, airlines, and hotels offer dining programs. By linking your credit card to the program and dining at participating restaurants earns you points. It’s super simple!

How to Redeem Points for Travel

All the hard work pays off when redeeming points and miles (technically, it pays off more when on the trip, but this section is about redeeming). How to redeem points can seem complicated and difficult to learn because of the many variables.  When you are just starting to use points and miles, I think it is important to remember to KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

My first redemption was with American Airlines miles on American Airlines metal and Marriott Bonvoy points at a Marriott.  Since then, I have made increasingly, although only slightly more complex bookings, for example, a flight on United Airlines metal booked through Air Canada with Aeroplan points transferred from Amex Membership Rewards.  In the area of more complex redemptions, I am still not an expert but I learn more every day. 

The Redemption Value Of Points And Miles

When you’re ready to use points and miles for travel, I think it’s important to understand the value of a point or mile. The value of points can vary based on factors such as dates, location, hotel, or airline if you are choosing seats in economy or business class just to name a few of the levers.

Some people like to maximize the value of their return or travel savings with luxury hotels and business or first class airline seats. There is no right or wrong way to use your points.

Understanding Airline and Hotel Programs

To book a flight or hotel with points, you must be a member of the airline or hotel reward program (sometimes called a loyalty program).  Points earned through a bank credit card, like Amex, Capital One, Citi, or Chase, can be transferred to these reward programs.

If you ever travel for work or pay for a hotel, rental car, or flight, you should make sure you are a member of these program to also earn points for paid travel.

How to Book an Award Flight

I usually begin planning each trip by booking my flight.  There are a variety of flight search aggregator tools both paid and unpaid, that are available to help simplify the search for flights.  I have a varieyt of articles where I walk you through how to use my favorite tool Pointsyeah and how to evaluate which award flight to choose. 

Flexibility is key when using points or miles for award bookings. I explain the importance of flexibility and how to maximize success when looking for award flights in my article about The Flexibility Triangle.

Simple explanation: the more flexible you can be on each of the 3 sides of the triangle, the more award flights are available to choose from.

How to Use Points for Hotel Stays

If you review my trip history, you’ll see that I primarily stay at Hyatt hotels. However, I also hold Hilton, Marriott, and IHG credit cards. I travel frequently enough that I utilize the flexibility of choosing the hotel chain that works best for me at the time and based on destination. 

For most trips, I book the hotel after the flight, the only exception is when I am booking the trip specifically so I can stay at an aspiration hotel such as the Waldorf Astoria in Cabo San Lucas, Grand Hyatt in Kauai, or the Alila Ventana in Big Sur. 

Just like for flight aggregators, I will teach you about the variety of tools that will help simplify the search for a hotel. I believe persistence is the key to finding the hotel where you want it when you want it. People cancel bookings every single day, leading to hotel availability changing every single day. 

Award Travel Decoder Ring

Every article, including this one, will probably use unfamiliar points and miles terminology.  I have an ever-growing page of frequently used terms in award travel that is always available for reference.

Bonus: Buying Points

I have yet to find good value for airline miles, but buying hotel points can lead to some amazing deals. I will show you how to evaluate whether buying points is worth the money.

Thanks for reading, friends! Happy Travels!