Woohoo! Another FREE Travel Success Story!

 

Woohoo! I just booked two round trip flights to Medellin, Colombia on points! And the best part by waiting a few days, I saved 20,000 points. 

I am going to show you how I do this so you can do it too, but if you feel like you need more support, join my Travel Coaching Program. Registration is open now for the second cohort. 

Okay, here's the way to redeem those points and miles:

The first step is to research the destination, which airlines fly there? I use Google Flights to figure that out. You can use the date grid if your dates are flexible to find the best price combination. You can use the price graph to figure out if the cost fluctuates. This is important! 

Once you know which airlines fly to the destination and when the price is the best, you can look at points or miles that will get you there. 

In this case, Copa Airlines had the best flights and it is a member of the Star Alliance. But I don't have any points or miles that transfer to Copa Airlines.

This is when the flexible points come in so handy! Chase Ultimate Reward points and Capital One points are the programs I prefer.  But there are also American Express Rewards and Citi. 

All of these programs are flexible meaning you can use the points for any travel, but the two I prefer have a few key differences. 

• Capital One points are always worth one cent per dollar.  You can either book through the Capital One Travel portal or use the travel eraser to get a statement credit for the purchase. If you have the Capital One Venture X, the $300 travel credit kicks in if you book through the portal too. It's great to have Capital One points for tours, flights on budget airlines, independent hotels and more. You can also transfer the points to several hotel chains and more than a dozen airlines. 

• Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be more valuable depending on which credit cards you have and how you use the points. For example, with the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, my points are worth 1.5%. When I book the flight through the Chase Travel Portal, it will only cost 56,374 points even though the price is $845.60. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card, then your points are worth 1.25%. 

You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Reward points to dozens of airlines and several hotel chains. You can read here about how to transfer points to Hyatt for sweet deals. 

Just like the prices for flights increase and decrease depending on the day of the week and when you book, it's the same in the travel portals.  So check several times before you finally book so you get the best deal. When I checked this flight the first time, it was priced at 56,374 points, but I wasn't quite ready to book. Then when I was ready to book, the price had jumped to 74,000 points so I waited a few days and it dropped again. 

Sometimes the price drops on Tuesdays and Wednesdays so keep that in mind. 

A benefit to booking flights through the travel portals is that taxes are included. Pretty nice! Some people are hesitant to book through travel portals because they are considered third party instead of booking directly through the airline. I have not had a problem, but it is a personal decision. 

To book your flight through the Chase Travel Portal, login to your Chase.com account and click redeem points, click travel and then follow the prompts just like you would book through expedia or other third party platforms. When you get to the check out, click use points. You can even pay with a combination of points and cash. 

If you want to start earning Capital One points, you can either apply for the Capital One Venture card with a 75,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $95 annual fee or the Capital One Venture X card with a 75,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $395 annual fee (this includes $300 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass Lounge membership). 

If you want to start earning Chase Ultimate Reward points, we recommend you start with the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card with a 60,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and $95 annual fee or the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card  with a 60,000 bonus, $4,000 minimum spend and a $550 annual fee (this includes a $300 travel credit, $100 Global Entry credit and Priority Pass Lounge membership plus 1.5% point value in the portal). 

If you decide to apply for any of those credit cards, please consider using my referral links.