Make a New Year’s Resolution to Use Your Points and Miles Better: Here’s How

Like many people who love to travel, I tick a few destinations off my list of places to visit each year. The problem is always how to save money. While I often use my credit card rewards to book flightsI never really know if I’ll get great value out of my rewards.

So a few years ago, I decided that one of my New Year’s resolutions was to learn how to use my points and miles better. After all, more efficient use of rewards means I can travel for less and then to more destinations.

Here’s how I’m trying to maximize my travel rewards without having to become a travel guru dedicated to awards.

Use Chase points when staying at Hyatt

Whenever I plan a trip, I consider using Chase Ultimate Rewards Gate to book my flight. But there’s so much more you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for — including hotels, experiences, and sporting events — can help keep the cost of your stay down.

For example, you can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a stay at Hyatt deliver them to World of Hyatt. You can also transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to IHG One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoybut the point of Hyatt in general is valuable significantly more.

Twenty-five thousand Hyatt points is enough for a standard complimentary night at a Tier 6 hotel like Park Hyatt Aviara or Park Hyatt Chicago. Redeeming these points can land you in a room that would otherwise cost more than $500 a night on most days. Hyatt’s World offers all members a free resort stay bonus, which can add to the savings.

If you want to earn fully transferable Ultimate Rewards, consider adding Chase Sapphire Priority Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve or Ink . Business Preferred Credit Card into your wallet.

Related: How I spend 1 million World of Hyatt points

You might consider using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a ride directly in Chase Ultimate Rewards Gate. But let’s see what that means for a one-way flight from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Washington’s Dulles International Airport (IAD).

I opted for a sample flight that cost $428.60 if I booked directly on the United website.

If you have Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to move through the portal for 1.5 cents each. So this flight will claim 28,573 Ultimate Rewards points if you have Chase Sapphire Reserve and redeem it for this flight through Chase’s travel portal.

Alternatively, you can book this flight for 15,000 MileagePlus miles and $5.60 in taxes and fees. Remember, you can transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United MileagePlus with a 1:1 ratio.

Of course, when you transfer your credit card rewards to a rewards program, you usually won’t earn frequent flyer miles on your ticket (something you typically earn when you book through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal). .

Check reward rates with transfer partners before redeeming rewards directly through your credit card issuer’s travel portal. In particular, it may make sense to transfer rewards to book award flights or stay when payout rates are high or reward rates are low.

Related: How (and why) you should earn transfer points

Track your points and miles

Using points and miles properly is difficult if you don’t track them properly. Fortunately, there are ways to track your points and miles.

I used to track my rewards manually in a Word document, but it was time consuming and cumbersome to update. So you might want to use an automated tool. One option is TPG . appkeep track of all your balances in one place, automatically calculate their value and notify you in advance when they will expire.

The TPG app gives you a snapshot of your location and can help inform your travel plans. When you log in, you’ll see where you get the most rewards with the accounts you’ve synced (and the value of Valuation of TPG).

Related: Change the way you travel — download the TPG . app

Sign up for all loyalty programs

Many people (including you really) don’t sign up for every loyalty program because they think, “Oh, I’ve never actually flown JetBlue or stayed at a Hilton.” But that thought cost me thousands of points and miles.

Even if you’re not loyal to an airline or hotel chain, signing up for a program as you fly or stay means adding more rewards to your balance whenever you use it again. programme. You can even get extra perks, such as free Wi-Fi during your hotel stay, just for being a member.

You may not want to join every program available today. But consider this solution: I will make sure I have frequent flyer numbers listed on every flight I take.

Doing so will accumulate rewards in various programs that can eventually get you a free ride.

Related: Hilton, Marriott and other loyalty programs are giving away free points to new members

Use online shopping portals

I shop online often. But I can earn more rewards for purchases by going through shopping portal of my preferred credit card, airline or hotel. These portals are basically online shopping malls in partnership with hundreds of sellers. By starting at the portal instead of going directly to the retailer’s website, you can earn bonus points or miles on thousands of items.

For example, let’s say you want to buy makeup from Sephora. If you go directly to Sephora’s website, you’ll only earn rewards for credit card purchases. But you can win more rewards if you click through Shopping portal AAdvantagefor example, before your purchase.

If you want to earn money instead of points and miles, you can explore online shopping portals like rakuten and Top Cashback. I recommend using a shopping portal synthesis every time you shop online to find the program that gives your seller the best return.

Related: Your guide to maximizing shopping portals for your online purchases