Earn more rewards: How to use your points and miles better in 2025

At TPG, we attempt to cross off a couple of locations from our journey want record yearly. Nevertheless, discovering essentially the most economical option to get there and again is difficult. Though many TPG readers and staffers use credit card rewards for flight bookings, you could be not sure when you’re getting one of the best deal out of your rewards.

To handle this, we made it a New Yr’s decision to assist our readers perceive how to maximize their points and miles. You may reduce your journey bills and discover extra locations by utilizing your rewards extra effectively.

Listed below are 5 simple tricks to maximize your journey rewards in 2025.

Associated: How to choose your best credit card strategy

There are lots of methods you possibly can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for lodges, experiences and sporting occasions to assist scale back the price of your trip.

For instance, you should utilize Chase Final Rewards factors to e-book a Hyatt keep by transferring them to World of Hyatt. You can even switch Chase Final Rewards factors to IHG One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, however Hyatt factors are value considerably extra in TPG’s December 2024 valuations.

For instance, 21,000 World of Hyatt factors are sufficient for the standard free evening on an off-peak date at a Class 6 property just like the Nice Scotland Yard Resort or the Park Hyatt Chicago. Redeeming these factors might get you right into a room that may in any other case value greater than $500 per evening on most dates. World of Hyatt offers all members waived resort fees on award stays, which may add to the financial savings.

Associated: The best Hyatt hotels in the world

Listed below are among the finest playing cards to earn Final Rewards factors:

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• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 Final Rewards factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 60,000 bonus factors after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus factors after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: Earn $350 once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months your account is open; plus, earn a further $400 once you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first six months after account opening.
• Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: Earn a $750 money again bonus after you spend $6,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Freedom Flex®: Earn a $200 bonus after spending $500 on purchases in your first three months from account opening.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn an additional 1.5% on all the things you purchase (on as much as $20,000 spent within the first yr). That is value as much as $300 money again.

The primary three playing cards earn absolutely transferable Final Rewards factors, whereas the remaining 4 are technically billed as cash-back credit cards.

Nevertheless, when you even have an Final Rewards points-earning card, you possibly can convert your Chase cash-back rewards to Final Rewards factors. Because of this, having multiple Chase card within the household could make sense to maximise your incomes and redeeming potential.

Learn to switch bank card rewards

You may think about using your Chase Ultimate Rewards factors to e-book journey instantly within the Chase Travel℠ portal, however let’s take a look at what meaning for a one-way flight from Los Angeles Worldwide Airport (LAX) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) subsequent summer time.

I picked a nonstop pattern United Airways flight that may value $1,128 in common economic system class if I booked by Chase Journey.

When you’ve got the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you possibly can redeem Chase Final Rewards factors for journey by the portal at 1.5 cents apiece. So, this flight would require 75,200 Final Rewards factors you probably have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and redeem for this flight by Chase’s journey portal. When you had the Chase Sapphire Preferred, your Final Rewards factors are value a barely decrease 1.25 cents every when redeemed by Chase Journey, so that you would want 90,240 Final Rewards factors.

Alternatively, you possibly can e-book this flight in common economic system for 40,000 MileagePlus miles and simply $5.60 in taxes and charges. Keep in mind, you possibly can switch Chase Final Rewards factors to United MileagePlus at 1:1.

While you switch bank card rewards to a loyalty program, you normally will not earn frequent flyer miles in your ticket (which you sometimes would accrue when reserving by the Final Rewards journey portal). Nevertheless, you will possible come out nicely in entrance when you save tens of 1000’s of bank card factors by transferring them to a companion airline program relatively than redeeming them by a bank card journey portal.

Examine award charges with switch companions earlier than redeeming rewards by your bank card issuer’s journey portal. Transferring rewards to e-book award flights or stays might make sense when paid charges are excessive (like on peak summer time dates) or award charges are low.

Associated: How (and why) you should earn transferable points

Observe your factors and miles

Utilizing your factors and miles correctly is tough when you do not observe them precisely. Fortunately, there are numerous methods to track your points and miles.

Many people used to trace our rewards manually in a Phrase or Excel doc, however this was time-consuming and cumbersome to maintain updated. So, you may need to use an automatic instrument. One choice is the TPG App, which retains observe of all of your balances in the identical place, mechanically calculates their worth and offers you a heads-up when they are going to expire.

The TPG App offers you a snapshot of your present scenario and might help inform your journey plans. While you log in, you will see the place you will have essentially the most rewards with the accounts you’ve got synced (and the worth utilizing TPG’s monthly points and miles valuations).

Associated: How to keep your points and miles from expiring

Join all loyalty packages

Many individuals fail to join each loyalty program as a result of they assume they will by no means actually fly JetBlue or keep at a Hilton. However that mindset has value vacationers thousands and thousands of factors and miles.

Even when you aren’t loyal to 1 airline or resort chain, signing up for this system once you fly or keep means including extra rewards to your steadiness everytime you use this system once more. You may even get further perks, equivalent to free Wi-Fi throughout your resort keep, only for being a member.

When you may not need to be a part of each program now, think about guaranteeing you will have a loyalty quantity listed on each flight you’re taking. Doing so will construct up rewards in numerous packages that might ultimately get you a free journey.

Associated: These airline and hotel programs offer free points when you sign up

Use on-line purchasing portals to stack award factors

You may earn extra rewards on purchases for your self or family members this vacation season by a shopping portal. These portals are basically on-line purchasing malls that companion with 1000’s of retailers. By beginning on the portal relatively than going on to the retailer’s web site, you possibly can earn bonus factors or miles on 1000’s of things.

For instance, let’s assume you need to purchase a switch or tour by Viator. When you go on to the Viator web site, you will solely earn rewards to your bank card buy. When you as a substitute click on by the AAdvantage shopping portal, for instance, earlier than making your buy, you could possibly snag further rewards.

Must you desire incomes money again as a substitute of factors and miles, you possibly can discover on-line purchasing portals like Rakuten and TopCashback. We suggest utilizing a shopping portal aggregator every time you make a web based buy to search out this system that provides one of the best return to your service provider.

Associated: The beginners guide to airline shopping portals