Credit cards, and especially credit card welcome bonuses, are what make this nearly free travel all possible. There are three primary types of travel reward credit cards:
- Transferable points (Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards)
- Co-branded (Chase’s Southwest cards, AMEX Hilton Cards)
- Fixed value (statement credit, Barclays Arrival Plus)
In this post:
Transferable Points = The Most Valuable Points!
Amex and Chase are the kings of transferable points. Citi Thank You points are and Marriott points also are in this category.
Transferable points get their extra value from 2 advantages:
- You can transfer them to travel partners to earn more value than 1 cent per 1 point.
- They are flexible so you can usually cash them out for literal cash if you want or you can save them until you have a trip you can plan for.
The ability to transfer points to a travel partner is what unlocks the extreme reward redemptions. For instance, I recently flew my wife and myself round trip in business class Dubai to New Zealand on Singapore Airlines for 312,000 points.
These points came from several Chase Ultimate Rewards card, American Express Membership Reward cards, and Marriott/SPG cards. While these tickets would have cost over $7000 had I bought them with cash, I was able to get 2.2 cents per transferable point.
I also booked ANA first class from Hawaii to Tokyo for 240,000 Amex points. These 2 tickets would have cost over $27,000 if I paid cash. This redemption was worth 11 cents per point, which is huge!
You can see the itinerary below. First image is the cash price, $27,325. Second image is what I paid: 240,000 Amex points + $485.92 in taxes and fees.
Co-Branded Hotel Points and Airline Miles
These cards are fantastic for military servicemembers, as they usually offer annual recurring benefits and no annual fee for military personnel.
You can earn free annual nights, points for hotel and resort stays and miles for free airfare.
Some of the cards to check out include:
Co-Branded Hotel Cards
| Card |
|---|
| Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card |
| Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card |
| World of Hyatt Credit Card |
| IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card |
| Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card |
| Hilton Honors American Express Card |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bevy® American Express® Card |
| Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card |
| Bilt Mastercard® |
| Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card |
| Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card |
Co-Branded Airline Cards
| Card |
|---|
| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card |
| Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® |
| United Quest℠ Card |
| Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® |
| Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card |
| Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card |
| Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card |
| Alaska Airlines Visa Signature® Credit Card |
| United℠ Explorer Card |
| United Club℠ Infinite Card |
| United℠ Business Card |
| CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® |
| Hawaiian Airlines® World Elite Mastercard® |
Fixed Value Cards
Fixed value cards offer you a fixed value per point. Usually 1 point = 1 cent, so a 50,000 point bonus is worth $500.
These cards are very flexible to use because you know how much value you are getting from the beginning. When you are ready to travel, you simply purchase the tickets or hotel stay, apply the points to your charges, and the charges disappear, up to the amount you apply.
For instance, let’s say you buy a $300 plane ticket and 2 nights at a hotel at $200 total for your brother’s college graduation. That adds up to $500 of expenses, which you can completely pay for with 50,000 points.