Understanding Credit Card Points
Understanding credit card points is lost on a lot of people. Personally, I have done so much research and shopping around for the best cards, benefits of earning “points”, and what that meant for my American credit. It is stressful to open accounts and not know exactly what you are doing. Here is my guide to understanding travel credit cards and how to earn points on everyday purchases to travel for free!
A credit card “point” is essentially member incentives through bank loyalty programs or airline rewards. Most cards offer 1 point for every dollar spent on the card. And these cross over into rewards like cash back ($1=100 points), miles (average $350 plane ticket=50,000). Welcome offers are common which will probably pay for one trip in itself! Click here to read more info about what points from Forbes here.
Best Travel Cards
My two favorite cards I have had for years now are the Southwest Chase Rapid Rewards Card for domestic flights and the American Express Platinum card for it’s benefits like Priority Pass, free Global Entry + TSA PreCheck, UBER credits, and points towards travel. For every 10,000 points, it equals out to $60. I recently got a free flights from redeeming around 60,000 points for a $600 one way ticket to Spain for this year.
Overall I have been able to get multiple free flights from Southwest, complimentary travel insurance, and other benefits through both cards. I would also recommend checking out the Chase Sapphire.
Purchasing Points
Sometimes it might be cheaper to buy points than individual plane tickets. The business class seats on a flight may be around $2,700 USD and the same flight is 60,000 points for that same ticket. Which you could buy for around $800. Saving you almost $2k! These kinds of offers are rare but companies occasionally offer discounts and sales. Pretty cool huh?! Click here to learn the best tips for this practice from the Points Guy!
Other Ways to Earn Points
Gift Cards are your friend! Buy an Amazon gift card at a supermarket with an Amex Gold or Platinum, you would earn 4x points on it. And when you load this onto your Amazon account, its kinda like getting 4x points instead of just 1x points on purchases without deals.
If you owe any taxes, the IRS will charge you 2% fee to use a miles credit card but take this opportunity to wrack up serious points… So if you find a credit card deal with an amazing opening offer, why wouldn’t you finance it yourself rather than do a payment plan?!
Another hack to use to earn more points… Rakuten (a cash back affiliate marketing tool) can be used to earn 12x points per dollar. They allow you to earn Amex points instead of cash back in the fine print. Basically you can take advantage of so many travel deals, offers from everyday brands, exclusive VIP access, private events, and even cash back by using a travel credit card. Just depends on what kinda benefits are most important to you.
Still nervous to open a card or need more expert advice to help you understanding credit card points futher?! Check out these Tips from Zachary Burrabel, aka the master of credit card hacks on TikTok. Or the Points Guy! Check out his Awards vs Cash Calculator here to help you see if you are getting the most bang for your buck! Good luck and happy shopping!
