How to Get More Value From Your Credit Card Points
Booking with Points 101 | Part 1
One of the most common mistakes people make when they first start booking travel with credit card points is assuming their credit card's travel portal is the best place to use them.
And I get it! You've spent months earning all those points, you're finally ready to book a trip, and your credit card company has a convenient travel booking website where you can use them.
Seems pretty straightforward, right? But here's what a lot of beginners don't realize. The exact same flight or hotel could cost you significantly fewer points simply by booking through a transfer partner instead!
And I'm not talking about saving a few hundred points. I'm talking about potentially saving THOUSANDS of points on a single booking!
But that's not the only reason I think it's important to understand the difference between travel portals and transfer partners.
There are also some important differences in how your reservation is handled, cancellation policies, loyalty benefits, and what happens when something goes wrong.
So let's break it all down!
What Is a Credit Card Travel Portal?
Most major credit card rewards programs have their own travel booking platforms, which are called travel portals. Think of these as being similar to Expedia where you search for and book flights, hotels, rental cars, and sometimes other travel experiences, all from that site, just like you would on any other travel booking website.
The big difference with travel portals is that you can use your credit card rewards points to pay for some or all of your booking instead of paying cash.
Sounds great and simple to use right? But, here's the catch.
When you book through your credit card's travel portal, your points are often worth just 1 cent per point. That means a $500 flight would cost you 50,000 points.
Now, I say often because there are exceptions. Some credit card programs offer increased point values for certain bookings, like Chase's Points Boost feature. But that's a topic for another day!
For the sake of keeping things simple, we're going to use 1 cent per point for our travel portal comparisons in this post.
What Exactly Are Transfer Partners?
Many credit card rewards programs also allow you to transfer your points to participating airline and hotel loyalty programs. These are called transfer partners.
And this is the step where people start to get confused, because transfer partners are completely separate from your cards travel portal.
Instead of booking through your credit card's travel portal, you transfer your points to an airline or hotel loyalty program (hence the name, transfer partners) and use those points to book an award flight or hotel stay directly through that program.
And THIS is where you can potentially get a whole lot more value from your points!
Why Transfer Partners Can Offer Better Value
So now you might be wondering, HOW exactly can transferring your points get you more value than booking through a travel portal? It all comes down to how flights and hotels are priced in a travel portal vs. through transfer partners.
Simply put, this is the biggest difference:
Travel Portals: The number of points you need is typically tied to the cash price of your booking. So, if a flight costs $500 and your points are worth 1 cent each, you'd need 50,000 points to book it.
Transfer Partners: Airlines and hotels have their own award pricing systems, meaning the number of points required isn't always directly tied to the cash price. Meaning that same exact $500 flight that costs 50,000 points through your credit card's travel portal might only cost 25,000 miles (plus taxes and fees) when booked directly through an airline transfer partner.
That's potentially HALF the points for the exact same flight! 🤯
Of course, not every redemption works out that way and I’ll break down the pros and cons of travel portals and transfer partners a little further into this post, including times when you actually NEED to book through the travel portal.
But first, let me show you a REAL life example from a hotel booking I recently found, where comparing these two options would have saved me over 13,000 points on just ONE night!
Real Example: Save Over 11,000 Points on One Hotel Night
I recently compared the cost of booking the Hyatt Centric Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco using two different methods, the Chase travel portal and through World of Hyatt directly if I were to transfer my Chase points to Hyatt.
The cash price for the night I was looking at was approximately $293 (and if you’re checking out the blog from the reel I posted and notice the price is different here, that’s because the price went UP in the travel portal after I created the reel!).
Here's what I found.
Option 1: Book Through Chase Travel Portal
$293 or 25,188 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for one night.
Now, if you look at the screenshot below you might be thinking, "Wait a second, there's a cheaper option for $255 or 21,420 points!"
And you'd be RIGHT! I’ll explain this more in the pros and cons section below, but what it comes down to is that travel portals sometimes charge more for flexible booking options. And this is a PERFECT example of exactly that!
The cheaper rate you see here comes with a more restrictive cancellation policy, while the higher rate offers more flexibility.
The reason I chose the more expensive option for this example is that when you use points to book an award stay directly through World of Hyatt (as in through a transfer partner), you often get some pretty FANTASTIC cancellation policies, including the ability to cancel and have your points returned, depending on the hotel's specific terms.
So, to make this as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as possible, I'm using the refundable Chase Travel rate rather than the cheaper, more restrictive option.
TIP: when comparing booking options, make sure you’re comparing options that are most similar to each other.
Option 2: Transfer Chase Points to World of Hyatt
Next, I checked the exact same hotel and date directly through World of Hyatt.
And guess what?
The same room was available for just: 12,000 World of Hyatt points!
That's a savings of OVER 13,000 POINTS on just ONE night!!! 🤯
That's MORE than HALF the points you would have spent booking the exact same hotel room on the exact same date through the travel portal!
Think about that for a second. You could book TWO nights directly through Hyatt for FEWER points than it would cost to book just ONE night through Chase Travel!
And that's just ONE hotel stay. Imagine how quickly those savings could add up over multiple nights or trips?!
THIS is why understanding how to use transfer partners can be such a game changer!
I do want to note that Chase-to-Hyatt transfer ratios depend on which eligible Chase card you have. Some cards transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, while certain cards have a 4:3 transfer ratio. At the 4:3 ratio, you would need to transfer 16,000 Chase points to receive 12,000 Hyatt points, which is still fewer than the portal quote in this example.
*Hotel award rates, availability, and portal redemption values change, so this is just a snapshot of one specific booking comparison, not a guarantee of future pricing.
The Pros of Booking Through a Travel Portal
Let me start by saying that booking through a travel portal isn't necessarily a bad thing! In fact, there are times when it makes perfect sense, and even situations where you NEED to book through your credit card's travel portal to take advantage of certain benefits.
1. When You Have a Hotel or Travel Credit to Use
Many travel credit cards come with annual hotel or travel credits that can help offset the cost of your trips. Most of these credits require you to book through your credit card's travel portal to use them! So if you have one of these credits available, booking through the portal might actually be your only option for using that credit.
2. You Don't Have to Worry About Award Availability
When transferring points to an airline or hotel, you'll want to confirm there's a room or flight available to book with loyalty points BEFORE transferring your points.
Through a travel portal, you're typically booking from available cash inventory instead. So even if there's no award availability through the loyalty program, you might still be able to book with points through the travel portal (just keep in mind it may cost more points than you'd like to spend!).
3. You Can Use Points for Travel That Doesn't Have a Transfer Partner Option
Maybe you're booking a boutique hotel, an independent property, or a flight on an airline that isn't available through your card's transfer partners. A travel portal can give you more options!
4. You May Be Able to Combine Points and Cash (or Points and Hotel Credits)
Depending on the credit card program, you may be able to use some points and pay the remaining balance with your card. Or even better, if you're using a travel or hotel credit like I mentioned above, you might be able to combine that credit with points to cover the rest of your booking, sometimes for a GREAT deal!
5. Sometimes the Portal Really IS the Better Deal!
Not every transfer partner redemption offers great value. Sometimes the cash price of a flight or hotel is low enough that booking through a travel portal makes more sense.
That's why I ALWAYS recommend comparing your options before booking!
The Downsides of Booking Through a Travel Portal
Here's where I want you to pay attention, because there are a few things I wish more people understood before booking through a credit card travel portal.
1. You're Booking Through a Third Party
This is a BIG one! When you book through most credit card travel portals, you're generally making a third-party reservation rather than booking directly with the airline or hotel.
And while that might not seem like a big deal when everything goes according to plan, it can become frustrating when something goes wrong.
For example, let's say you book a hotel through your credit card's travel portal and later need to change your dates.You call the hotel directly, but they tell you that because you booked through a third party, you'll need to contact the travel portal to make the change.
Now you're dealing with an extra layer of customer service.
2. Cancellation Policies Can Be Different
This is another BIG one! Whether you're booking through a travel portal or using points through a transfer partner, ALWAYS pay attention to the cancellation policy! But in particular I want you to hear this about travel portals. . .
When booking through a travel portal, you might find that the cheapest rate is nonrefundable, or that you'll need to spend more money or points to get a reservation with a more flexible cancellation policy.
Cancellation deadlines and refund policies can also vary. And if you book a nonrefundable reservation using points through a travel portal, don't assume you'll automatically get those points back if your plans change!
Here's where booking through transfer partners can sometimes have an advantage!
Many airline and hotel loyalty programs offer flexible cancellation policies on award bookings. Depending on the program and reservation, you may be able to cancel and have your points redeposited into your loyalty account, often without a fee.
For example, many hotel award bookings allow you to cancel up until 24–48 hours before check-in and receive your points back. Certain airline award tickets can also be canceled before departure with miles redeposited, although policies vary by airline.
My tip: Don't just compare the number of points required to book. Compare the cancellation policies, too!
3. You Might Miss Out on Hotel Loyalty Benefits
If you're a member of a hotel loyalty program like World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy, or Hilton Honors, booking through a third-party travel portal can sometimes affect your benefits.
Depending on the hotel and booking channel, you may not receive:
Hotel loyalty points for your stay
Elite night credits toward earning or maintaining status
Complimentary upgrades
Free breakfast or other elite benefits
Some travel portal programs offer their own special benefits, and certain bookings may qualify for exceptions, so it's important to check the specific terms. Especially if you have hotel elite status, this is definitely something to consider!
4. You Could Be Using WAY More Points Than Necessary!
And THIS is probably the BIGGEST reason I want you to understand the difference between booking through a travel portal and using transfer partners!
The Pros of Booking With Transfer Partners
If my example above wasn’t enough evidence that booking through your cards transfer partners can offer HUGE value over travel portals, here are a few more pros for you. . .
1. Potentially WAY better redemption value!
Sorry, I couldn’t help but reitterate this one AGAIN!
2. Direct bookings
In contrast to the travel portal being a 3rd party booking site, when you use your cards transfer partners and redeem your points directly through the airline or hotel's loyalty program, you're generally dealing directly with that program, which means if you need to make a change or have any issues, you can call that program directly to deal with it.
3. More ways to stretch your points!
The points you save on one booking can go toward another trip! And the savings can add up FAST when you’re finding good redemptions!
4. Access to airline and hotel award options.
You can take advantage of loyalty program award pricing and, in some cases, credit card transfer bonuses (that’s for another post another time).
What to Watch Out For When Booking with Transfer Partners
There are a few things you need to understand before moving your points (and I’ll go into these in more DETAIL in a later post in this series).
1. Transfers are generally irreversible.
Once you've transferred your credit card points to an airline or hotel loyalty program, you usually can't transfer them back.
That's why I ALWAYS recommend confirming that award availability (either hotel or flight) actually exists BEFORE transferring points.
2. Award availability isn't guaranteed.
Just because an airline operates a flight or a hotel has rooms available for cash doesn't mean you can book it using points.
3. Transfer ratios vary.
Not every transfer is 1:1. Depending on the card and loyalty program, you may receive more or fewer airline miles or hotel points than the number of credit card points you transfer.
4. Transfers aren't always instant.
Some transfers happen almost immediately, while others can take hours or even days. Make sure you know how long the transfer could take before hitting send.
5. Taxes and fees can add up.
Even when booking with airline miles, you'll often still owe taxes and fees, and sometimes carrier-imposed surcharges.
Always compare the full cost of the redemption, not just the number of points.
Travel Portals vs. Transfer Partners: Which Should You Use?
The short answer? Neither option is ALWAYS better, but transfer partners can often get you significantly more value from your points!
There are definitely times when booking through a travel portal makes more sense, especially if you're using a travel or hotel credit, booking an inexpensive flight, staying at an independent hotel, or booking something that isn't available through a transfer partner.
But as you saw in my Hyatt example, knowing how to use transfer partners can potentially save you THOUSANDS of points on a single booking!
And the more points you save on one trip, the more you have left to put toward the NEXT one!
That's why I always recommend checking BOTH options before making a reservation.
Because at the end of the day, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to booking travel with points. The best option is the one that gives YOU the most value for your specific trip!
My Biggest Tip: ALWAYS Compare Before You Book!
If there's ONE thing I want you to take away from this post, it's this:
Don't automatically book through your credit card's travel portal just because it's the easiest option!
Before using your hard-earned points, take a few extra minutes to:
Check your travel portal. See how many points you'd need to book your flight or hotel.
Explore your transfer partner options. Find out whether you can book the same flight or hotel directly through an airline or hotel loyalty program.
Compare the REAL cost. Factor in transfer ratios, taxes, fees, and the total number of credit card points required.
Look beyond the points. Compare cancellation policies, award availability, and any loyalty benefits before making your decision.
Remember, the goal isn't just to EARN a ton of points. It's to USE those points to travel better for less! ✈️🧡
Up Next: How to Find Your Credit Card's Transfer Partners
Now you know WHY transfer partners can be so valuable. But you might be wondering...
How do I know which airlines and hotels MY credit card points can transfer to?
That's exactly what we're covering in Episode 2 of Booking with Points 101! I'll walk you through how to find your credit card's transfer partners so you can start making the most of your points/miles!
Make sure you're following @pointsavvytraveler on Instagram so you don't miss the next episode!
And if you're completely new to earning credit card points and miles, be sure to check out my FREE Beginner's Guide to Points & Miles to help you get started.
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Here’s to traveling better for less!🧡
