Here’s everything you need to know about how to get started using points and miles for travel. And find out how this travel blogger earned a free stay at a Clearwater Beach resort for a big family.
This past spring break, my family and I headed down to the beach in Clearwater, Florida with a family of six. It was almost entirely free! We used credit card points to book the room and managed to pick up a few upgrades and perks along the way.
Credit Card points (sometimes called rewards or miles) are a bank of points that credit cards give you for using them that you can redeem for cash, statement credit, gift cards, experiences, and travel. It’s one of the best ways to get free and discounted travel!
Flexible points cards are issued directly by the bank, and the points can be used for various things. A co-branded card only earns points for redemption with a specific company, like Hyatt, Marriott, Southwest, or Delta.
The fastest way to earn a lot of points is to open a new card with a sign-up offer. A good travel card will give you 50,000 to 100,000 or more points just for hitting a minimum spend threshold in a certain period of time, for example $3,000 in 3 months.
Chase is the only transfer partner with Hyatt, so if you want to stay at a Hyatt, you need Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards or you need a Hyatt card. We “paid” 44,000 a night for a one-bedroom suite, for a total of 178,000 points.
Someone gave us what’s called a “guest of honor” award. This gives us the benefits of the highest Hyatt elite status (Globalist). We got a free room upgrade from a one-bedroom suite to a two-bedroom suite.