This beginner’s guide will walk you through what points and miles are, how to earn them, and smart strategies to use them for flights.

1. What Are Points and Miles?

Points and miles are a form of travel money accrued from loyalty programs and travel rewards credit cards. Airline miles are tied to specific airlines’ rewards programs.

Credit card points are generally earned through travel-focused cards and sometimes transfer to multiple airline partners.

You could think of them as cash with airlines after you accrue a sufficient number, you can redeem them for an award flight or other travel privilege.

It’s one of the best perks about getting the right kind of credit card.

2. Earning Travel Points

There are three main ways one can gain points:

1. 1. Sign-up bonuses are large bonus points given when you meet a minimum spending requirement in the first few months with most travel cards. Only do this when your monthly expense allows you to spend around the same amount as the minimum spending requirement. It’s not worth getting into debt just for the points.
   2. Everyday Spending: You earn points as you spend on the card – the more strategic you are with categories like travel or dining, the more you’ll earn. Your monthly expenses can turn into points that allow you to travel the world. It’s better to not change your spending habits for points – avoid spending excessively just to get points.
   3. Shopping and Partners: Most airline and card portals offer bonus points when you shop through their sites or use partner services. There are some great partners that some credit cards have so make sure to check them out when you’re signing up.

3. Selecting the Right Cards

Depending on your travel style, different cards will make the most sense:

• General transfer cards such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards allow you to transfer to airlines that offer far better flight deals. You can transfer points to partners and alliances that makes the card more versatile and valuable to have.
• Co-branded cards earn miles directly with that airline/hotels and their partners, which simplifies redemption, if you’re loyal to one carrier. This is great when you already use certain hotels or airlines. For example, the Marriott Bonvoy gives you 21x points on hotels when booked through their travel portal.

Remember: Always pay your balance on time. Interest can negate the value of any points that you earn.

4. How to Use the Collected Points toward Flights

Once you’ve earned points, here’s how to actually get value from them:

• Search for Award Availability

Start with your destination and travel dates. 

Use Maxpoints.app to make a travel plan.  Figure out where you want to go and then plan the rest of the trip.  If you’re interested in going to Europe, find where you’ll land, plan cities you’ll want to visit along the way, and then figure out how you’ll get home.  It’s easier to get one way trips, but it might be cheaper to do a round trip. 

Search for flights through:

• Google Flights (https://www.google.com/flights)
  • Google Flights first to get a baseline for how much the first flight of the trip will cost.  If you’re planning on visiting other cities and then flying home from a different city, figure out how many days and roughly when you’ll plan on heading home.  Then search for the flight back and confirm that it’s cheaper than other cities you could potentially leave from. 
  • Google Flights typically has the cheapest flights listed and will let you easily see which airlines the flight is on.  Once you have that information you should check the airline to see how much flights cost directly from the source.  You may be able to transfer points there, and if there’s a multiplier you’ll get more value from your points.
• Credit Card Travel Portal 
  • Your credit card travel portal. Be flexible with dates and airports for the best value. Use the MaxPoints app to develop a travel plan with the Trip Builder, or create a spreadsheet to track where you want to go and what dates you’ll be there. But don’t just commit yet!
• Rove (rovemiles.com)
  • Another way to book with miles outside of credit card portals and Google is with rovemiles.com.  Book hotels and flights with them and earn miles both through Rove and through your credit card for the travel multiplier.  Rove offers high multipliers and sometimes has discounted rates from the airlines. 

Compare Options

Of course, sometimes booking through your credit card’s travel portal is easiest, but transfers to an airline loyalty program can yield higher value in terms of premium cabins or long-haul flights. Check your credit card partners to make sure you have all your options.

Book Strategically

Depending on the country, check when the off-seasons are. Traveling during the off-season often requires fewer points.

How to Get the Most Value

Here are practical ways to boost your points-to-flight value:

• Book early or last minute – many airlines release seats far in advance and sometimes free up closer to departure. It might be nerve-racking to wait until the last minute, but you can get up to 70% off the flights or hotels!  On the other hand, this strategy can be risky – early can often be much better, especially when it comes to flights.
• Use transfer bonuses: Sometimes the card programs will offer a bonus when transferring points to an airline partner.
• Pay attention to sales and promotions – a lot of times airlines or cards have deals where less points are required or there may be additional perks included.
  
  

Mistakes to Avoid 

• Redeeming points for gift cards or cash backs: These usually yield the poorest value compared to flights.
• Flight availability can change in a very short period of time. Limiting oneself to only one airline, whereas flying with alliances or transfer partners might be cheaper.