Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

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Topic Author
JCrack
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2015 1:50 pm

Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

Specifically the Chase Sapphire Preferred? I know it's almost an art form, so I'm looking for crafty veterans familiar with navigating the redemption world by transferring to one of the many CSP partners (United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Air France Flying Blue (lets you book Delta and Alaska flights), British Airways Avios (lets you book American Airlines flights), Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (lets you book Delta flights), Korean SkyPass (lets you book Delta flights), Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer)

I've purposefully left my destination options open in order to take advantage of the potential deals. My only caveat is I'd like it to be somewhere warm during the months of Feb - April

Any experiences, or direct advice is appreciated.

EDIT: I have roughly 75k points and two travelers.
Kelmscott
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Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 8:02 am

Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by Kelmscott »

If you are looking for StarAlliance member flights, it's easy to search (and book) using United's web site/reservation system.

(See http://www.StarAlliance.com for member listings. You can even do a flight search on there to see the routes/carriers first.)

On United.com, click the reservation tab, add your origin/destination, dates, etc ...then click on the "search for award flights" you'll be able to see a week or month at a glance, so you can adjust dates based on availability.

If you're booking an open jaw ticket, sometimes it's easier to book each leg separately (2 one way tix) for award miles.

United's reservation system contains almost all of the StarAlliance members' award availability, so it's a great resource.
straws46
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by straws46 »

We usually use an award booking service (e.g. Cranky Concierge) for international flights since the rules are complex and always changing and we want to get business or first class tickets for those long flights. Domestically we use Southwest and save our points for the international trips. The value in transferring Ultimate Rewards points is enhanced when used for first class and business international flights. If you fly economy class or fly domestically it is not that good a use of points. It's easy to actually transfer the UR points on the Chase website. It's immediate to the partner you choose. Since you can also redeem those points for cash make sure you are getting a better value on the ticket you buy with those points.
ChiefIlliniwek
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by ChiefIlliniwek »

awardhacker.com is a great resource to check out the best airline to transfer the miles to. I would also go to Reddit and visit the awardtravel subreddit. Those people know how to work the system and get the best redemption.
Topic Author
JCrack
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

straws46 wrote:We usually use an award booking service (e.g. Cranky Concierge) for international flights since the rules are complex and always changing and we want to get business or first class tickets for those long flights. Domestically we use Southwest and save our points for the international trips. The value in transferring Ultimate Rewards points is enhanced when used for first class and business international flights. If you fly economy class or fly domestically it is not that good a use of points. It's easy to actually transfer the UR points on the Chase website. It's immediate to the partner you choose. Since you can also redeem those points for cash make sure you are getting a better value on the ticket you buy with those points.
Good feedback..thanks.
Topic Author
JCrack
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Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2015 1:50 pm

Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

ChiefIlliniwek wrote:awardhacker.com is a great resource to check out the best airline to transfer the miles to. I would also go to Reddit and visit the awardtravel subreddit. Those people know how to work the system and get the best redemption.
Another message board to navigate???

I'm going to check out awardhacker though, thanks.
traveltoomuch
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 5:48 am

Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by traveltoomuch »

While being open-minded is very helpful, having some concrete dreams could help usefully limit your search space.

General advice: assuming you want to use the points for airfare, form a vision (preferably more than one!), find award space that works for it, and only transfer points when you're sure the space is available and you're ready to book.

You clearly have enough for two domestic economy tickets on UA, and that's a pretty simple option. Do you have grander ambitions (e.g. Caribbean, Hawaii, crossing oceans, sitting in the front of the bus)? If you an get up to 80k points, you might want to look at transferring to Singapore to get two domestic F tickets on UA. I use more UA miles than anything else, but I've also transferred from CSP into BA to book on AA & Alaska.

Or, if your ambitions involve fancy hotels, there's arguably some good value to be found in transferring from CSP into Hyatt.

Let us know your dreams and maybe we can help more.
Topic Author
JCrack
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

traveltoomuch wrote:While being open-minded is very helpful, having some concrete dreams could help usefully limit your search space.

General advice: assuming you want to use the points for airfare, form a vision (preferably more than one!), find award space that works for it, and only transfer points when you're sure the space is available and you're ready to book.

You clearly have enough for two domestic economy tickets on UA, and that's a pretty simple option. Do you have grander ambitions (e.g. Caribbean, Hawaii, crossing oceans, sitting in the front of the bus)? If you an get up to 80k points, you might want to look at transferring to Singapore to get two domestic F tickets on UA. I use more UA miles than anything else, but I've also transferred from CSP into BA to book on AA & Alaska.

Or, if your ambitions involve fancy hotels, there's arguably some good value to be found in transferring from CSP into Hyatt.

Let us know your dreams and maybe we can help more.
Thanks. Looking at Caribbean and potentially Hawaii sometime in 2017. Will definitely get to 80k before I book.

Also looking at a trip to Ireland in 2018. Maybe I should bank the points awhile and use it on upgraded class traveling there?
traveltoomuch
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by traveltoomuch »

JCrack wrote:
Thanks. Looking at Caribbean and potentially Hawaii sometime in 2017. Will definitely get to 80k before I book.

Also looking at a trip to Ireland in 2018. Maybe I should bank the points awhile and use it on upgraded class traveling there?
In that case: consider Singapore miles on UA for US mainland-Hawaii routes - their award chart is a little nicer than UA's. There are many interesting options for the Caribbean, particularly using BA points on AA.

I would not hoard points for business class to Ireland - the spectacular deal (25K BA points for one-way business class on Aer Lingus from Boston) changed in April, and you don't really have enough points for two business class tickets otherwise.
alaskantraveler
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by alaskantraveler »

80k UR points is really not that many, and will barely get you one international rt economy ticket. It takes many, many hours to understand all of the routing rules for each airline. Consider an awardbooking service if you are looking for biz/1st class international multi stop trips.. They offer one on saverocity. I think its $150 per person only if they are able to find an award for you. I like to use UR for direct non stop flights using Avios on American and Alaskan. I look at domestic economy on United starting at 25k miles rt. Mexico /Hawaii, 35k rt.

If you really very very flexible you can do the research yourself. googling "best use xxxx miles" is a good place to start as many bloggers give good advice on the sweet spots of many airline award charts. travelisfree is my favorite blogger in the space with a lot of great resources.
Pdxnative
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by Pdxnative »

There are a few good overviews on ur transfer partners here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/wi ... ing_guides

With airfare prices fairly low on some routes, you might find paying for airfare and transferring points to Hyatt for lodging gives you the most flexibility.
dbr
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by dbr »

The missing information is where you are traveling from, which will have a lot to do with what airline might be helpful. 75K points isn't very many for two people. It is possible Southwest to Mexico, Florida, or the Caribbean is an option. You might be able to get from Chicago to Montego Bay for 20,000 points per person each way on "Wanna Get Away" fares, for example. I think you have a better chance of making something work on SW than about anyone else. Note SW flights are always one way bookings and SW is very cooperative at changing or refunding miles awards and bags are always free.
Lindrobe
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by Lindrobe »

I am not trying to hijack your thread, but I am also looking to use some Chase Sapphire Rewards. I have about 90,000 points on my Chase Sapphire and 100,000 in my Marriott account. I had planned to combine the points and book directly through Marriott for 45,000 points per night in the Virgin Islands. With 5th night free, I could stay for 5 nights for 180,000 points. If I book through the Chase Sapphire App, I can get the same hotel for less than 15,000 points per night. I couldn't believe what a better deal it was to book through Chase Sapphire.
traveltoomuch
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by traveltoomuch »

Lindrobe wrote:I had planned to ... book directly through Marriott for 45,000 points per night in the Virgin Islands.... If I book through the Chase Sapphire App, I can get the same hotel for less than 15,000 points per night. I couldn't believe what a better deal it was to book through Chase Sapphire.
I find it helpful to look at cash prices whenever I'm contemplating an award booking. I find hotel points (and Chase UR converted to hotel points) most valuable when cash rates are very, very high. If cash rates are low, I'll pay cash and hang onto the points.
LarryAllen
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by LarryAllen »

Points are great but don't exclude dollars. For example, the last few winters we could fly from the west coast to Hawaii for $328 and up round trip so you might start there and buy a cheap ticket and use points for hotels... or save up your points until you have a greater amount.
elTocino
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by elTocino »

Or, if your ambitions involve fancy hotels, there's arguably some good value to be found in transferring from CSP into Hyatt.
Agreed--Hyatt transfers can offer a great deal of value (rooms as low as 5K pts). Sidenote: transferring from UR to Hyatt to SWA can get you a companion pass if you play it right.
2stepsbehind
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by 2stepsbehind »

I am very skilled at redeeming credit card travel points, but as others have suggested: (1) you haven't given people a great deal of information; (2) even assuming you provided more guidance as to what you are hoping to achieve, it takes time to construct a good award redemption; and (3) you only have a limited amount of points available to you. There is a reason people charge for these services. If you aren't willing to put in the time, then I think you would be better served hiring an expert rather than expecting random people on the internet to take the time to put put together an excellent itinerary.
Topic Author
JCrack
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

2stepsbehind wrote:I am very skilled at redeeming credit card travel points, but as others have suggested: (1) you haven't given people a great deal of information; (2) even assuming you provided more guidance as to what you are hoping to achieve, it takes time to construct a good award redemption; and (3) you only have a limited amount of points available to you. There is a reason people charge for these services. If you aren't willing to put in the time, then I think you would be better served hiring an expert rather than expecting random people on the internet to take the time to put put together an excellent itinerary.
I asked for "experiences or direct advice" not for you to put together an excellent itinerary for me.
Topic Author
JCrack
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by JCrack »

Thanks for all the insight. Helping me narrow it down and know where to look.
lemonPepper
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by lemonPepper »

In terms of easy of use, I find that southwest airlines is hard to beat. And you get something like $16 per 1k points. And you can cancel and get all your points back. But they don't fly everywhere.

Hyatt is very good if you value high end hotels (esp in holiday season). They have all inclusives in cancun, cabo and jamaica.


Bad use:
marriott
ihg
traveltoomuch
Posts: 516
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by traveltoomuch »

JCrack wrote:Thanks for all the insight. Helping me narrow it down and know where to look.
You are most welcome. Feel free to check in again as you have more questions.

Full disclosure: even though I suggested transferring to Singapore, I have not done that myself. And I want to concur with lemonPepper on several things: Southwest is very easy to use - maybe not the most valuable way to use UR points, but very easy. And Marriott and IHG do not tempt me as UR transfer targets. Hyatt sometimes does.
Chicago60
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by Chicago60 »

My best advice is to click on one of the links below of the blogging experts I follow, and then do a search for ultimate rewards within the blog and get great information you can tailor for your specific circumstances:

http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/
http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/
http://www.doctorofcredit.com/
renue74
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by renue74 »

In late 2013, I started the miles game and got many credit cards with offers through my personal and business accounts. At one point, we had gotten about 750,000 points in the course of 6 months. I remember going to CVS and buying $3K in Vanilla reload cards to churn my cards.

After that, I stopped because we had enough for a while.

I used a few different sites:

http://thepointsguy.com/

http://millionmilesecrets.com/

https://awardwallet.com

The others are correct, your point accumulation is fairly low to do a lot. From the blog "experts," it appears you get the most bang for your buck with doing international flights in business/first class. The short haul domestic flights eat into your points.

I did move over about 150,000 points to my British Air Avios account...because I can use them for short haul domestic flights to Florida for about 14,000 points R/T. I think that's changed recently.

If you do your background checking on these sites, you will learn a lot.
lemonPepper
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by lemonPepper »

with the small number of points you have, I doubt you will be able to do the "best value" redemptions laid out by bloggers.

your home airport and destination will really dictate what is the best use of your points.
lemonPepper
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by lemonPepper »

While these sites have good information, be careful of them. They are like commission based financial advisors. Most of the advice has conflict of interest. Treat them as advertising
renue74
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Re: Anyone Skilled at Redeeming Credit Card Travel Points?

Post by renue74 »

lemonPepper wrote:
While these sites have good information, be careful of them. They are like commission based financial advisors. Most of the advice has conflict of interest. Treat them as advertising
This is correct. You must be aware that most sites about points do have some type of referral or commission system for the site owner. I think the big sites are pretty clear about that stating it in every article they write. If you click through to a credit card application, they get some kickback.

If you hear of a "good deal," make sure to look around at all the blogs/sites to verify.

Also...I keep an Excel worksheet of my cards, the minimum spends, and if I've achieved them yet.

It's more a hobby than anything else for me. We've been to Europe, Caribbean, and various domestic flights. Plus, we try to help out family who need to travel.

There are more hardcore folks who do it all the time. I read of one guy who constantly is traveling and doesn't have a home.
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