The Club CLT lounge at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport

I’ve always been someone who will search high and low for a good deal on anything, and travel is no different. I’ve always searched for really great deals on really great places, and I’ve found quite a lot of good ones!

I still do that today. But several years ago, I began to collect credit card points too so we could go even more and get much of it free!

When I first started researching the whole topic of earning points, it felt very overwhelming, but I was determined to learn how to do it. I read and listened to the ways many others did it, and the more I read, the more I learned. 

I decided to start simple. I wanted one card (a good one!) to put all of our spending on and collect as many points as possible. I researched the best travel credit cards and chose the one I thought suited our needs best. 

I’ve been doing it for a few years now, and I learn more and more as I go.  It is not possible to learn everything at once. You have to choose a starting place and learn along the way.

This post will outline the steps I suggest you take to get started and will show you an example based on the way we started. It will show you how to do it if you are have a spouse or partner or if you are doing it by yourself.

This will not be a detailed guide to an overall plan for earning and redeeming credit card points. It will be more of a simple guide for getting started.

Warning! I only suggest that you consider using credit cards if you are very disciplined with managing them. Credit cards should be paid on time and in full each month. Otherwise it is not worth using them, not to mention it will damage your credit.

HOW TO USE CREDIT CARD POINTS

5 Steps for Getting Started

Step 1:  Choose Your Strategy

You can get started using one of two strategies:

1- Choose a specific credit card issuer, collect points, and then plan a trip.

Choose only Chase cards to begin with, for example. Chase cards are very flexible. You can book flights, hotels, and rental cars on their travel portal with almost any airline and hotel, or you can transfer the Chase points to their many airline and hotel partners.

2- Base it on a specific trip you know you want to take.

If you know you want to go to London, for example, which airlines will get you there and what hotel chains are there? You can:

• Choose cards that will earn airline miles and hotel points for a specific airline and hotel chain (like an American Airline card and a Marriott card)  OR
• Choose flexible spending cards that can be used for multiple airlines and hotels (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Capital One Venture card)  OR
• Choose a combination both

Step 2:  Choose 1 Card

When choosing a card you need to think about what you spend most of your money on.

If you spend most of your money on groceries choose a card that gives you the most points on groceries. If you spend mostly on eating out or gas or travel choose a card that gives you the most points for those things.

Different cards give you a different number of points in each spending category. Make it a goal to always try to earn more than 1 point per dollar on your spending.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card, for example, gives you 3 points/dollar on dining, so if you eat out at restaurants frequently you would probably want to choose a card like that rather than the Chase Freedom Unlimited (although its a good card for other reasons) which gives you only 1.5 points/dollar on dining.

The following chart shows you some of the best travel cards, although this list is not exhaustive. There are others. See which one looks like it best matches your spending categories and your travel goals.

The cards on this chart are all flexible spending cards, meaning they can be transferred to any of the airline or hotel partners, or they can be redeemed on the credit card company’s travel portal for any available flights, accommodations, or rental cars. You can also look at airline or hotel branded cards if you know you can use those points specifically.

Click on each card below to see all of the benefits and details, and compare them all carefully. Make sure you are getting a card that is best for your plans.

Pay close attention to the bonus you can get for each card. That’s the best way to get a large amount of points!

Also pay attention to the annual fees. I would advise you not to choose a card just because it has a low fee or no fee. The cards with fees are the ones with the really good perks. The fees can be very much worth the cost. But again, compare closely to make sure it is right for you.

Chase

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase Freedom Unlimited

Travel, Dining

Travel, Dining

Travel, Everyday Purchases

$95 annual fee

$550 annual fee

$0 annual fee

Airline Partners: United, Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Emirates, Iberia Plus, JetBlue, Singapore Air
Hotel Partners: Marriott, Hyatt, IHG

Capital One

Capital One Venture

Capital One Venture X

Capital One VentureOne

Travel, Everyday Purchases

Travel, Everyday Purchases

Travel, Everyday Purchases

$95 annual fee

$395 annual fee

$0 annual fee

Airline Partners: Aeromexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM, Avianca Lifemiles, British Airways, Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles, Emirates, Etihad, EVA Air, Finnair, Qantas, Singapore, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Red
Hotel Partners: Accor, Wyndham, Choice Hotels

American Express

Platinum Card
from American Express

American Express Gold

American Express Green

Travel

Dining, Groceries, Travel

Travel, Dining

$695 annual fee

$250 annual fee

$150 annual fee

Airline Partners: Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM, ANA, Avianca, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, Hawaiian, Iberia, JetBlue, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic
Hotel Partners: Hilton, Marriott, Choice Privileges

Citi

Citi Premier

Gas, Travel, Dining, Groceries

$95 annual fee

Airline Partners: Aeromexico, Air France/KLM, Avianca LifeMiles, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, EVA Air, JetBlue, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic
Hotel Partners: Accor, Choice Hotels, Wyndham Rewards

Step 3:  Put All Spending On That Card

Put all of your normal spending on that card so you meet the minimum spending requirement to qualify for the sign-up bonus— things like groceries, household items, gas, dining, bills, etc.

Only pay for things you would normally pay for anyway. Buying extra things just to meet the minimum requirement defeats the purpose of earning points.

This would be the perfect time to make any large purchase that you have to make anyway.

Step 4:  Choose Another Card For Your Spouse/Partner

Approximately 3 months later and once you have met the minimum spending requirement on the first card, repeat the process in Steps 2 and 3 for your spouse or partner if you have one. If you don’t have anyone else repeat the process again for yourself. 

Step 5:  Put All Spending on Both Cards

Divide the spending between the two cards according to the best categories for each card.

For example, if card #1 is the Chase Sapphire Preferred put all dining (3 points/dollar) and travel (2-5 points/dollar) expenses on it. If card #2 is the Capital One Venture put all other (2 points/dollar) expenses on it.

You can repeat these steps over and over, choosing a card each time that aligns with your travel plans, but don’t apply for a new card more often than about every three months. You will likely not be approved if you do it more often than that.

A 2-Year Example

Below is an example of a 2-year plan based on the way my husband and I got started. We chose the first strategy listed in Step 1.

We chose to get all Chase cards for the first 2 years because of their 5/24 rule. It states that you cannot be approved for a Chase card if you have had more than 5 new credit cards from any bank in the last 24 months.

Chase has some of the best travel credit cards, so we wanted to get those while we could.

We got a new card approximately every 3 months (we actually went longer in between some, but I will show it in 3-month increments). If you are planning just for yourself, you can do it all yourself every 3 months (or less often if you prefer).

I’m not advising that you choose all of the cards we’ve chosen. It should be individualized for each person’s spending habits and travel goals.

Sample Calendar

If you use the links above, we will earn bonus points for referring you when you apply and are approved. 🙂

Again, this is just an example. You do not have to necessarily do what we did. Your spending habits and travel goals are likely different from ours. The most important thing is to choose one that you thing will work well for you and get started! You will learn as you go.