Miles and Points: What’s In My Wallet
What credit cards I have to book redemption travel
Hi! Hello!
Today I am continuing my miles and points series and I wanted to talk about all the credit cards in my wallet and what I use each of these cards for. Credit card miles and points have been a game changer for my travel and have allowed me to travel longer and further for cheaper using redemptions from everyday purchase I would have made anyways. I am not putting myself into credit card debt for travel!
Before we get started let me say again, this is not financial advice. I use my credit cards for my everyday purchases and do not run up a high credit card bill in order to build up my points or meet spending bonuses. I have completely stopped using my debit card and instead put all my purchases on a credit card. I pay off these credit card off each month (for the most part) to avoid high interest rates and other fees. I know there is a lot of anxiety and fear around credit card debt but there are many advantages to opening several cards including building your credit history and credit score in addition to building points to redeem for travel. If you are eager to get into the miles and points game or expanding the cards that are in your wallet, I am happy to share my journey.
If you’re just joining me here, I would recommend going back and reading my previous post outlining my miles and points strategy as well as some of my tips and tricks. Let’s get into it!
American Airlines Card
My first travel credit was the Citi / AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard. At the time, I was flying almost exclusively American Airlines to and from North Carolina so having an airline branded card was great because I got perks like free checked bags and priority boarding. This card served me well for many years and got me to Europe and back several times for free using airline miles.
Now that I’ve really got into miles and points game, I’ve learned that having an airline branded card isn’t always the best way to get redemptions. Now I prioritize spending on bank travel cards like Chase/Capital One/Amex/Citi so that I can transfer those points to any of their partner airlines and hotels for the best redemptions.
Because this is the oldest credit card in my wallet, I will keep the account open for my credit history and the occasional time I book an American Airlines flight.
The annual fee for this card is $99 and this is waved for the first year. Right now they have a 50,000 bonus miles promotion going on which is great if you’re a frequent AA flier.
Point multipliers (additional points per dollar you earn in on purchases in specific categories): 2x points on restaurants, gas stations and on eligible American Airlines purchases
How I use this card: On booking AA flights
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
My love of travel hacking kicked in when I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. While you can book travel and use points through the Chase Travel portal, you get the best redemption if you transfer these points outside the Chase ecosystem to one of their transfer partners. Here is a helpful chart I put together of Chase transfer partners:
By far I would say the most valuable transfer partner in Chase’s portfolio is World of Hyatt. I was able to book us nearly a week of nights at a hotel in London for 9,000 points per night where as other hotel chains in London were charging nearly 20,000 points per night for rooms of the same caliber. Additionally, I find myself frequently transferring points to Flying Blue for flights on their partner airlines like Delta and Virgin Atlantic.
The annual fee for this card is $95 and they currently have a 100,000 points bonus offer which is ending very soon. Chase has an unwritten rule that they likely won’t approve you for a new card if you have opened 5 or more credit cards within the last 24 months so proceed with caution.
Points multipliers: 2x points on travel purchase, 5x points on Chase Travel purchases, 3x points dining/takeout/delivery/select streaming services/online grocery, 1x point on everything else
How I use this card: For groceries and restaurants
Chase also has a more elite card in the Sapphire family - the Chase Sapphire Reserve that I have considered getting. This is a premium travel card with a high annual fee of $550 and premium perks.
Capital One Venture X Card
The Capital One Venture X was my first dip into the “luxury credit card” aka a much higher annual fee. It has a $395 annual fee but compared to the other popular luxury cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum), it has the lowest. Let’s talk why I think this card is really great - first, right off the bat you get $300 of travel credit to use annually. So if you use this to book travel you already would, that brings the annual fee down to “$95.” Another perk of the card is that they give you a credit for Global Entry or TSA pre-check. Getting Global Entry is one of the best things I’ve spent money on and I just used my Capital One credit to renew mine every 5 years. Additionally, this card gives you access to a network of lounges including Priority Pass, Plaza Premium and Capital One lounges. The Capital One lounge in Las Vegas is very, very nice! They are opening one in JFK this summer and I couldn’t be more excited. Plus you can add additional authorized users to your account for no additional cost (I am looking at you Amex and Chase).
Here are the Capital One Venture X transfer partners:
Right now they are offering a 75,000-mile welcome bonus and if you’re looking for some additional perks from your credit card. This is a really great card to get!
Points multipliers: 10x miles on hotels & rental cars booked through Capital One Travel portal, 5x Miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 2x Miles on all other every day purchases
How I use this card: Everyday purchases and hotels booked through the Capital
One portal
American Express Platinum Card
In the credit card miles and points community, the American Express Platinum card is probably the most popular and the most talked about. This one has the highest annual fee of any other card in my wallet at $695 with $195 per additional user. That’s sticker shock right there. But let’s break down some of the perks of this card:
$200 annual credit in their Hotels + Resorts/The Hotel Collection
$200 annual airline incidental fees for the airline of your choice
Walmart+ Monthly Membership credit (which we used to get Paramount+ for free)
$250 Digital Entertainment Credit annually (which we use on Hulu and ESPN)
Lounge access to Priority Pass, Plaza Premium and AMEX lounges
$200 Uber Cash annually
$199 Clear Plus credit
$100 Shop Saks credit
Gold Status at Marriott and Hilton
$120 credit for Global Entry or $85 TSA Pre every 5 years
And more
This card is certainly a luxury BUT if you take advantage of all the things listed above, you really get a great return on the annual fee, you just have to make a point to carefully use all of the perks.
Here are the Amex Platinum transfer partners:
AMEX also has some of the best customer service I have ever experienced whenever I have had a question or concern with my account.
Points multipliers: 5x Miles on flights and prepaid prepaid hotels booked through American Express travel portal, 1x miles everything else
How I use this card: I mostly keep this one in my wallet for the perks and booking travel
World of Hyatt Card
I got the World of Hyatt Card before we went on our trip to the Dominican Republic because we were staying at the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana. Not only does this card come with Discoverist Status, you give 5 free nights once you reach the welcome spend limit. I strategically opened this card so we could use these free nights on trips later this year.
Like airline branded cards, hotel branded cards mean you can only use the points within the hotel chain but they often come with perks like status. The annual fee for this card is $95.
Points multipliers: 9x points on Hyatt purchases, 2x points restaurants/airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, 2x local transit and commuting (taxis, mass transit, tolls, parking and ride-share services), 2x points on fitness club & gym memberships
How I use this card: On Hyatt Bookings, gym memberships
Citi Strata Premier Card
The Citi Strata Premier card is the newest in my wallet! We knew we would be buying some expensive international flights so we opened this card so that we could take advantage of the 80,000 welcome bonus offer at the time. The point multipliers on this card are excellent and in categories we regularly spend in - on groceries and at restaurants
The annual fee is $95 per year and is currently offering 60,000 bonus points. I will also say that Citi takes security very seriously and for about the first month we had this card it felt like they blocked almost every purchase.
Points multipliers: 10x miles on hotels/attractions/rentals cars booked in Citi travel profile, 3x points on hotel and air travel, 3x points restaurants, 3x supermarkets, 3x gas and ev charging, 1x points everything else
How I use this card: On restaurants, groceries, hotels, air travel and gas
If you know that you are going to have a large purchase coming up, opening a new credit card is a great way to get yourself that much closer to a welcome or sign on bonus of points. Additionally, some people are able to pay their rent with a credit card for a small or no fee and I envy you.
I hope this look into my wallet is helpful and gives you some ideas on how to better use the cards you have or potentially give you some insight into what new card to open.
For now, hope you are taking care.
Until then,
Savannah
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Honorary phd in travel hacking.