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Guide to maximizing rewards on travel purchases

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    Quick insights

    • Travel credit cards can earn rewards that can help you save money.
    • When you make eligible everyday purchases, you can earn points or miles that can then be used toward plane tickets, hotel stays, rental cars and more, depending on the issuer.
    • Many travel cards offer higher points for travel-related purchases and offer travel-specific perks.

    Most people don't associate filling up their gas tank with sipping a cocktail on a beach. But if you have a travel credit card, every eligible purchase you make may be putting you closer to taking the vacation of your dreams. From complimentary upgrades to first class seats, airport lounge access to free meals, travel credit cards may offer a bounty of benefits and rewards that you may be able to leverage depending on your spending habits. Let’s look at how you can leverage your spending and credit card points to help you book and potentially save on travel.

    Travel rewards cards explained

    Travel rewards credit cards earn points or miles on eligible purchases that can then help you save money on future travel. With these cards, you may be able to earn points on everyday spending, such as purchases made at grocery stores, gas stations and dining out. Those points can then be redeemed toward travel-related expenses like plane tickets, car rentals, hotel stays and more.

    While many credit cards offer rewards that can be redeemed for a variety of perks, travel credit cards may provide greater points on travel purchases and offer more travel-specific benefits.

    How to book travel with your credit card

    When it’s time to redeem your rewards, you’ll likely have one or both of these options through your card:

    • Booking directly through a travel portal
    • Transferring your points to a partner program

    Many card issuers have an online portal where you can browse through travel options and see how your points can be used toward the cost of travel. For example, Chase cardmembers can shop Chase Travel℠ to see how their points can be used to purchase a variety of travel services. Chase Travel offers dozens of merchants where you can book air travel, car rentals, hotel stays, excursions, cruises, local experiences and more.

    You may also be able to transfer your points to a partner program. Many travel credit cards allow you to move your points from the card issuer to an affiliated travel partner like an airline or hotel chain. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Sapphire Reserve® cardmembers can transfer their points to several major airlines and hotel chain, usually at a 1 to 1 value.

    How to maximize your rewards

    It can pay to shop around for the best redemption offers. When transferring your points or miles, partner programs may provide higher point values than the card issuer. For example, you might get 1.5x points through your card’s travel portal, but if you transfer your points to an affiliated hotel chain, they might provide 2.5x points.

    You may also want to look for opportunities to combine points with cash to cover the cost of more expensive flights or hotel stays.

    It can also be helpful to consider booking during off-peak travel times to get more value from your points.

    Earning travel points with everyday purchases

    Sometimes, card issuers may assign different point values to different spending categories, and this often varies by card. For example, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can get 5x points on hotels (excluding The Edit) booked through Chase Travel and 10x points with the Sapphire Reserve card.

    Some cards may offer rewards on rotating bonus categories. You might be able to earn more points in a given month or quarter on specific purchases, like gas stations or grocery stores. These categories change throughout the year, so be sure to read your card’s terms to understand which spending categories give you the best points at any given time.

    Can you convert cash back rewards to travel rewards points?

    Cash back rewards are typically earned as a percentage of your spending and can be redeemed for statement credits or deposited into your bank account. Some, but not all, credit card issuers may allow you to convert cash back rewards to travel points.

    Keep in mind, cash back rewards may have restrictions on redemption options and may not offer the same value as travel rewards points.

    Consolidating points across credit cards

    Consolidating points from multiple Chase credit cards can help you grow your rewards faster. This can also be helpful if you have a low number of points lingering on a card you use infrequently. In the case of Chase cards, you can move points to another Chase card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points.

    Additional considerations for travel rewards cardmembers

    It is not uncommon for travel rewards credit cards to have an annual fee, like the Chase Sapphire cards. If you're not a frequent traveler or don’t use your card’s travel benefits, it may be hard to justify the annual fee. It can be helpful to evaluate the value of the rewards and benefits against the annual fee to help determine if paying the fee is worth it to you.

    Travel credit card perks

    Some cards offer travel benefits that can help make your trips more convenient. Aside from earning travel rewards points and miles, travel credit cards may include:

    In summary

    Using your credit card to make eligible everyday purchases can help you save on travel. Travel credit cards can help you earn rewards points that can then be used toward travel-related purchases like airfare, hotel stays, rental cars and more. Chase cardmembers can access the Chase Travel portal to search for and compare travel savings.

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