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There are dozens of cards that have valuable signup bonuses. Which ones should you get first?
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When you are evaluating a signup bonus, promotion, or bonus category reward rate, it is not the NUMBER of points that's important, it is the VALUE of those points.  
  
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Unfortunately, there isn't a single exact answer that works for everyone. It depends on what promotional offers are available, the types of points you're likely to find most valuable, how easily you can meet spending requirements, and which cards you want to quickly obtain so you can start to take advantage of their unique travel benefits. Your priorities may also change based on a specific type of points you want for an upcoming trip.  
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Different types of reward points have very different values. Some points are worth a fixed 1 cent each. Other points, like Chase's Ultimate Rewards, are considerably more valuable, worth 1.5, 2, or even 3 cents each. A point from some hotel chains, like Hilton, are worth ½ cent or even less, while a point from Hyatt is worth 1.75 cents or more.  
  
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But even though there isn't a fixed order to follow, there are useful guidelines to help you optimize your signup bonus activity.  
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But the truth is that most points and miles don’t have a set value. The value of each type of point and mile is different for different people—depending on how you travel, how you plan to use your points, how much you spend, and how many points you already have.
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 +
<blockquote>
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WE assign a value to each type of point so that you have a place to start and we can have a conversation about the relative value of different options. But YOU need to eventually adjust these “base” values to reflect your unique situation and travel goals.
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</blockquote>
  
 
{{TOC}}
 
{{TOC}}
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*[[#A detailed plan (that includes business cards)|A detailed plan (that includes business cards)]]
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*[[#The diminished value of frequent flyer miles for coach flights|The diminished value of frequent flyer miles for coach flights]]
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*[[#A detailed plan (with only personal cards)|A detailed plan (with only personal cards)]]
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*[[#Get more value with business and first-class award tickets|Get more value with business and first-class award tickets]]
 +
*[[#“Fixed Value” frequent flyer points|“Fixed Value” frequent flyer points]]
 +
*[[#The value of different types of miles|The value of different types of miles]]
 +
*[[#Fixed-value credit card points|Fixed-value credit card points]]
 +
*[[#"Transferable" credit card points|"Transferable" credit card points]]
 +
*[[#An example|An example]]
 
{{/TOC}}
 
{{/TOC}}
  
 
{{Main|article}}
 
{{Main|article}}
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=== General guidelines ===
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=== Minimum Redemption Values ===
  
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If you want to optimize the signup bonuses and credit card benefits you get, you'll need to carefully plan the first set of cards you sign up for. Once you get a handful of new credit cards, some banks won't approve you for any more. If you don't get cards from these banks early on, you won't be able to get them until you've stopped signing up for new cards for a year or more.
+
Before we delve into the values of specific types of points, it is helpful to understand the concept of "Minimum Redemption Values".
 +
 
 +
Ideally, you could pay for all your hotel rooms and airplane tickets with points, but more people can't generate enough points to pay for all their travel. Rather than simply using your points at the first opportunity and then switching over to cash whenever you run out, it often makes sense to try to use your points on the most valuable opportunities and use cash when you would get less value from your points.  
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''Chase has a hard rule—you can't get ANY new Chase credit cards once you've gotten 5 new credit cards in the last 2 years'''. This counts the cards you get from any credit card company, not just the cards you get from Chase, and is called the "Chase 5/24" rule. {{Link|Chase 5/24}}.</li>
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<li>'''We recommend you set a "Minimum Redemption Value" (MRV) for each type of point'''. You would use your points whenever you could get more than this minimum value and use cash whenever you couldn't. For example, if you use .45 cents as the Minimum Redemption Value of a Hilton point, you'd use your points whenever you could get .45 cents or more in value. And you'd save your points for a more lucrative future redemption, whenever you would get less.</li>  
−
 
 
−
Since Chase offers some of the best available travel and rewards credit cards, you want to make sure you get as many Chase cards as possible before you hit the limit and are limited to only getting cards from other banks.
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Bank of America has a similar rule'''. You can't get any new Bank of America personal credit cards once you've gotten either 3 or 7 credit cards in the last 12 months. If you don't have a Bank of America bank account, the limit is just 3 cards in the previous year. Most people who are collecting credit cards will quickly exceed that limit. If you have a Bank of America bank account, the limit is 7 cards. If you are going slowly, you might occasionally dip underneath that limit. But if you are collecting bonuses more quickly, you are likely to stay above that limit as well. As with Chase, Bank of America counts all the cards you get, not just the ones from Bank of America.</li>  
 
  
−
<li>'''Most business cards aren't counted, but authorized user cards usually are'''. Since most business cards don't show up on your personal credit report, they aren't counted when Chase and Bank of America determine the number of new cards you've gotten. So, if you've gotten 4 personal credit cards and 10 business cards in the past 2 years, you'll still be under the Chase 5/24 limit. Be careful, Capital One and Discover business cards and some business cards from smaller banks do show up on your personal report and will be counted. </li>
+
<li>'''When shopping for hotels and flights, we like to convert point prices to an equivalent dollar amount'''. To continue our example, if an award night at a Hilton hotel cost 50,000 points, we'd multiple by .45 cents to convert it to a cash equivalent rate of $225. Then we'd compare that "price" against the cash rate or rates at other hotels. Similarly, if our Minimum Redemption Value for Delta miles was 1.2 cents each, we'd multiple the required number of miles by 1.2 cents to determine the "price" of an award ticket and compare to cash prices or flights on other airlines.</li>  
  
−
Since authorized user cards show up on your personal credit report, they are usually counted as well. If you apply and are denied, there is some chance that you can call in and get them to ignore these cards, but it is easier to avoid become an authorized cardholder in the first place.  
+
The cash rate essentially represents the opportunity cost of using your points for a given hotel or airplane ticket, rather than saving them for a future trip. And it makes it easy to compare an award option with your other options for a trip.  
  
−
<li>'''While Chase's small business cards don't count against their limit, once you've hit 5/24, you won't be able to get them'''. This can be confusing. Chase's business cards aren't counted as part of Chase's 5 card limit or Bank of America's 3 or 7 card limit, but once you've hit Chase's limit, they won't approve you for ANY cards, not even their small business cards. With Bank of America, you can still apply for business cards regardless of how many cards you've gotten.</li>  
+
<li>'''The trick is to set a value that is high enough that you tend to use your points on higher-valuable opportunities, but low enough that you will eventually use your points'''. If you find yourself never finding good opportunities to use a certain type of points and/or find it easy to generate lots of them, you should lower your Minimum Redemption Value. If you find yourself finding lots of great opportunities to that type of points and/or find it hard to generate more you should raise your Minimum Redemption Value.</li>  
  
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<li>'''Many other banks don't have firm rules, but often won't approve you if you've recently gotten "too many" cards'''. Usually they are focused on the number of cards you've gotten in the last 6 or 12 months. For example, once you've started collecting cards, it gets harder to get approved for Barclays, Capital One, and Wells Fargo cards and the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve.</li>  
+
<li>'''The expected value you'll get per point will always be higher than your Minimum Redemption Value'''. In the Hilton example, you might make one reservation at the minimum of .45 cents each, but you might get .6 cents on another reservation, or even 1.1 cents per point on a particularly good redemption. The average of these will always be higher than the minimum amount.</li>  
  
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<li>'''American Express and Citibank are much more lenient''', as are many smaller credit card companies. While they still care about your credit worthiness, they generally don't care if you've been getting a lot of other cards.</li>
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<li>'''If you plan on just redeeming your points at every opportunity, you'll get less value from them'''. While you can almost always use hotel points for rooms and the airline's own frequent flyer miles for flights, you won't always get very good value.  Continuing our example, there are plenty of times when you'll get less than .45 cents in value from your Hilton points. If you use your points on these types of reservations, your expected value will be lower.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''While you are still under the limits, any card you get from another bank reduces the number of Chase and Bank of America cards you can get'''. For example, if you sign up early for the American Express Delta Gold card for its free baggage benefit, that will count as one card against Chase's 5/24 limit. That means you'll have one less "slot" for getting a Chase card. Even if you have enough slots to get the Chase cards that are most important to you, you could have used the extra slot to apply for one of the other Chase cards (simply for its signup bonus).</li>
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
So, what should you do to maximize your benefits? We've included more detailed plans below, but they follow the same basic approach:
 
  
−
<ol>
 
−
<li>'''Consider opening Bank of America and U.S. Bank Account accounts'''. A Bank of America account will increase BOA's credit card limit from 3 to 7 total cards in the last 12 months; a U.S. Bank account will qualify you to get the Altitude Reserve card. You can avoid fees on these savings accounts by maintaining a balance of $500 at Bank of America or $300 at U.S. Bank.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''Figure out how many remaining "slots" you have'''. You may need to look at your credit report, but try to figure out how many personal credit cards you've signed up for in the last 12 and 24 months, including cards where you are only an "authorized cardholder". For example, if you've signed up for a single personal card in the last year and another in the year before that, you have room for three more personal credit cards before you hit the Chase 5/24 limit, but only two more cards before hit the Bank of America 3/12 limit. {{Link|Credit Score}}. </li>
 
  
−
Depending on the timing of your previous cards, new slots might be opening up soon, and you may get more room to open additional cards before you hit the limits.
+
=== Hotel points ===
  
−
<li>'''Prioritize which affected cards to get'''. You need to decide the best use of your remaining slots. You usually want to focus on getting the most important Chase and Bank of America cards. You'll also want to prioritize any absolutely critical cards (if any) from Barclays, Capital One, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank. You may be able to get those cards after you've hit the Chase 5/24 limit, but you may not.</li>
+
While hotel points are easy to redeem, the value of points varies greatly between different programs. Different hotel programs require dramatically different number of points for a night at similar hotels. For example, for a nice full-service downtown hotel in all but the most expensive cities, Hyatt might require 12,000 points, Marriott might require 40,000
  
−
'''Feel free to "waste" a slot on an important card from another bank'''. Because you can only sign up for cards so quickly, it may take many months before you hit Chase's 5/24 or Bank of America's 7/12 limit. If you don't want to wait that long to start taking advantage of a card's benefits or if you really need a certain type of points for an upcoming trip, you don't absolutely need to wait. It just means getting some other potentially slightly less valuable signup offer instead of one from Chase or Bank of America.
+
=== The diminished value of frequent flyer miles for coach flights ===
  
−
<li>'''If you have any leftover slots available, use them to get the Chase and Bank of America cards with the best possible signup offers'''. You won't be able to get these cards later, but you will still be able to get cards from most other banks.</li>
+
Travel and reward websites will usually tell you that most frequent flyer miles are worth around 1.5 cents each. But the truth is not so simple.
  
−
<li>'''Once you know how you are going to use your slots, you can apply for the cards in any order'''.</li> 
+
{{ImageX|EconomySeat.jpg}}
  
−
<li>'''If you are willing and able to get business cards, you can mix these in at any time'''. Feel free to prioritize signing up for any business cards that have useful benefits. If your credit utilization is high, consider using a few of your slots for personal cards first, in order to raise your credit score, and then focus on business cards for awhile.</li>
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
 
+
<li>'''Instead of having a fixed value, the value of frequent flyer miles varies widely based on your opportunities to use them'''. If you can use 25,000 points to book a cross-country flight that would have otherwise cost $400, you are getting 1.6 cents in value per point. However, if there is no saver availability and you need to use 50,000 points instead, you are only getting .8 cents in value. And if the flight were only $250, even at the cheaper award rate, you would only get 1 cent in value from your points. </li>
−
'''But make absolutely sure to get any Chase business cards before you hit the 5/24 limit'''. You don't need to get them right away, but you do need to get them before you apply for your 5<sup>th</sup> personal card in the last 24 months.
 
−
</ol>
 
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−
=== The Chase business card plan ===
 
−
 
 
−
'''If you are willing and able to get business cards, a good approach for collecting signup bonuses is to focus on the Chase Ink Business cards'''. {{Link|Business Cards}}
 
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−
There are currently three Ink cards: the Ink Preferred, Ink Cash, and Ink Unlimited. Typical signup bonuses are at least 80,000 Ultimate Rewards points for the Ink Preferred Card and 50,000 points for the other two cards, but higher offers are sometimes available. But you can earn more than three signup bonuses.  
 
  
−
'''Chase will often approve you for more than one of each of the Ink cards''' (and without needing to wait 24 months between signup bonuses). However, as discussed above, if you've signed up for at 5 personal credit cards in the past 24 months, you can't get approved for any Chase cards.  
+
On the other hand, if you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” to use 25,000 miles to book a trip from the East Coast to Hawaii (which would otherwise have cost $800), you are getting 3.2 cents in value per point.  
  
−
So, the basic strategy has three parts:
+
<li>'''It is hard to get good value for your frequent flyer miles on coach tickets'''. If ticket prices are high, there is usually no award availability or the airlines require huge numbers of points; and if prices are low, you aren't saving much money with your ticket. </li>
  
−
<ol>
+
Low-cost carriers have dramatically dropped the cost of international airfares from North America and on many flights within Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. At the same time, frequent flyer programs have been continuously increasing the number of miles (and sometimes the fees) you need to pay for award tickets. Plus, with airlines moving to dynamic pricing, it is hard to combine connecting flights into a single itinerary or use partner frequent flyer miles.  
−
<li>'''Apply for a steady stream of Chase Ink cards'''.</li>
 
−
<li>'''Freely mix-in business credit cards from most other banks'''.</li>
 
−
<li>'''Stick to only 4 new personal credit cards during any two year period'''.</li>
 
−
</ol>
 
  
−
==== Apply for a steady stream of Chase Ink cards ====
+
That said, you should occasionally be able to find well-priced convenient options.
  
−
With this approach, you severely limit the number of personal cards you get, in order to stay eligible for getting new Chase Ink cards.  
+
<li>'''If you don’t live in a popular international gateway, the situation is even worse'''. US carriers have gotten increasingly stingy with normal-priced awards, particularly on domestic flights. This doesn’t only affect your ability to find a good redemption opportunity when you are flying within the United States, it also affects many people’s ability to take advantage of international award tickets. Without award space available on your connection to an international gateway, you’ll need to buy a separate cash ticket to get you to the departure city or use your miles for an additional award ticket. In either case, you'll need to recheck your bags and worry about a missed connection.</li>
  
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<ul class="bulletlist">
+
<li>'''In extreme cases, fuel surcharges on international award tickets can be close to the full price for the ticket'''. For example, on British Airways flights to Europe, the out of pocket cost for an award ticket may only be $200 less than the regular ticket price. In the end, you would be saving only $200 with the 25–40,000 miles it will require to book your “free” tickets.</li>
  
 +
<li>'''There are often significant downsides to using frequent flyer tickets'''. You won’t earn new miles on the trip. Perhaps more importantly, you will often find yourself taking less convenient flights, in an effort to take advantage of the limited award space that is available.</li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
==== Freely mix-in business cards from most other banks ====
+
'''For most people, we recommend holding onto your miles, unless you are getting 1.5 cents each or more'''. While you typically can't get this much value from your frequent flyer miles, you should eventually be able to do so—you usually want to hold onto them until you can. There are sweet-spots in different award programs (where you can book tickets for less than the normal number of points); routes where the regular prices are still high; and the opportunity to book award space far ahead of time. 
  
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==== Stick to only 4 new personal credit cards during any two year period ====
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'''But because frequent flyer miles are hard to use, we only value them at around 1.2 cents each'''. In other words, while we expect to eventually get 1.5 cents or more in value, we wouldn't pay more than 1.2 cents each to acquire frequent flyer miles. This discount offsets the effort involved to use the miles and the less convenient flight options we are likely to settle on.
  
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=== A detailed plan (that includes business cards) ===
+
=== Get more value with business and first-class award tickets ===
  
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It is much easier to maximize your signup bonuses if you can take advantage of business cards.  
+
Things look different when you want to use your miles to get business or first-class award tickets or upgrades.  
  
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If you aren't able or willing to get business cards, you should jump down to the our [[Bonuses to get first#Only collecting personal cards|personal card only]] guide below. There's still plenty of opportunity to easily collect hundreds of thousands of rewards points for free travel, just not as much as if you can also incorporate business cards into your plans.
+
{{ImageX|BizClass2.jpg}}
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==== Before you hit the Chase 5/24 limit ====
 
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{{Box|Determine the total number of Chase cards you are comfortable getting}}
 
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'''There is some risk of getting too many Chase cards'''. Each time you apply, Chase reevaluates your entire relationship. If they decide that you are a potential risk, they can shut down all your accounts. Some people can get them reinstated and some can't. Unfortunately, there isn't really a clearly identifiable pattern, so there are no hard and fast rules to follow.  We wouldn't get more than a total of 8 Chase cards, including small business cards. This won't guarantee that you avoid a shutdown but feels like a reasonable trade-off between risk and reward. You might be able to get more; and you could conceivably get shut down from less.
 
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It is also worthwhile to start reducing the credit limits on your existing Chase cards, before you apply for more.
 
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This isn't as much of an issue for people who are sticking to personal cards, because they are already limited to a relatively small number of total Chase cards by the 5/24 rule.
 
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{{/Box}}
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
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<li>'''Apply for any particularly useful business cards at any time, so you can start taking advantage of their travel benefits.''' Business cards from Amex, Citibank, Bank of America, and Barclays won't count towards your 5/24 limit.</li>  
+
<li>'''When you use your miles to book premium-cabin international award tickets, you’ll get much more “face-value” from your miles—often 4 cents or more'''. For example, a business class round trip to Europe might cost $4,500. If you use 115,000 United points, that works out to about 4 cents in value per point. Some first-class tickets are priced high enough that you might theoretically get over 10 cents in face-value from your points.</li>
  
−
{{List|Card}}
+
<li>'''However, the real value of premium award tickets is based on how much you would have otherwise paid for the flights'''. If you would have paid the full cash price for premium-cabin seats, you are getting the full face-value from your award tickets. Anyone who would have actually paid out-of-pocket for an international business or first-class ticket is getting a great deal when they are able to use award tickets instead. </li>
−
{{CardItem|DeltaGoldBiz}}
 
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If you frequently fly on an airline and value free checked bags (or the Alaska and Delta companion certificates), prioritize getting business version of their credit card, such as the '''{{Card|DeltaGoldBiz|only}}''' or '''{{Card|DeltaPlatinumBiz|only}}''', '''{{Card|AABiz|only}}''' or '''{{Card|AviatorBiz|only}}''', '''{{Card|AlaskaBiz|only}}''', '''{{Card|UnitedBiz|only}}''' or '''{{Card|JetBlueBiz|only}}'''.  You don't need to rush to get any airline cards that are primarily interesting only for their signup bonuses.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|SWAPerformBiz}}
+
But if you wouldn’t normally consider paying more than $300-500 extra for a business class upgrade on an international flight, premium cabin redemptions are much less valuable than their face-value. Perhaps the tickets are only worth $1,000 or $1,500 to you. If so, you might still be only getting 1–1.5 cents in value from a typical redemption.  
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If you can get good value from the Southwest Companion Pass, your top priority is usually to get two Southwest Airlines cards, although sometimes the '''{{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}}''' is enough. Fortunately, you can get both business cars. Ideally, you would time your applications for near the beginning of the year to maximize the amount of time you can take advantage of your pass.  
 
  
−
{{CardItem|PlatinumBiz}}
+
In other words, many people might feel they get more value from using their points for two coach tickets or a bunch of hotel nights, rather than a single business class ticket; while other people would prefer spending a bunch of points to fly in a business or first-class seat they could never afford (or convince themselves to pay for).  
−
You should probably get the '''{{Card|PlatinumBiz|only}}''' to start taking advantage of the Hilton Gold breakfast benefit, extended airport lounge benefits, and Fine Hotels and Resorts program. The annual fee is huge, but so is the signup bonus. At the end of the first year, you can cancel it and sign up for one of the personal cards. Ideally, put off applying for a while to see if you can get an offer higher than the normal 75,000 membership rewards points.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|SPGBiz}}
+
<li>'''Regardless of how much you value the tickets, you will need to earn a lot of points before you will be able to make a premium cabin redemption and it can be very hard to find availability'''.  It will typically take around 200,000 points to pay for a round trip business class flight for two to Europe and 600,000 points for a family of four to fly on business class on a dream trip to Africa. That represents a lot of credit card spending or signup bonuses. So, if you realistically aren’t going to be generating many points from your spending, you are usually better off planning to use your points in a different way. </li>
−
If you don't already have the discontinued Chase Marriott business card and you need the extra 15 Marriott elite night credits each year, you should get Amex's '''{{Card|SPGBiz|only}}'''. This also starts the clock towards getting a Marriott free night certificate each year. Getting this card will block you from getting the regular Chase Marriott card for two years (and vice versa), but you can get  the {{Card|SPGLuxury|only}} at any time to get a total of 30 elite night credits per year (but you'll probably want to wait until your over 5/24).
 
  
−
If you aren't going to get benefit from the extra elite night credits, you should probably postpone getting this card. Amex only allows you to have a total of 4 credit cards at any one time and requires you to keep each new card for at least a year. You want to leave slots open to collect signup bonuses or get more valuable cards. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.
+
In addition, you can’t always assume you’ll be able to find two business or first-class seats on the same flight, let alone four. While it is hard to find regularly priced award availability in coach, it is much harder to find it in business or first class.  
−
{{/List|Card}}
+
</ul>
  
−
<li>'''Get at least one of the Chase Ink cards'''. They have great signup bonuses; and you'll have more flexibility to take advantage of the Chase Unlimited Combo for your everyday spending (or earn points by purchasing gift cards at Office Supply stores), should you decide to do so later. Ideally, you'd get multiple Ink cards. {{Link|Chase Combo}}.</li>
+
=== “Fixed Value” frequent flyer points ===
  
−
{{List|Card}}
+
'''Some frequent flyer programs use “fixed-value” points'''. Most programs fix the number of miles needed for an award ticket to a specific region of the world—the value per point varies based on the ticket price. Fixed value programs fix the value of a point——the number of points you need to book the award varies based on the price.  
−
{{CardItem|InkPreferred}}
 
−
If you are collecting signup bonuses, always start with the '''{{Card|InkPreferred|only}}''' because it is has the highest bonus. You can always convert to the Ink Unlimited or Ink Cash card after the initial year to earn more useful bonus rewards on your spending (and eliminate the annual fee).  
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
  
−
<li>'''If you DON'T have a Bank of America bank account, you'll need to prioritize their cards along with the Chase (and other) cards below'''. Bank of America's limit of 3 total cards in 12 months is pretty severe. If you want any BOA cards, you'll need to get them before you get other personal cards. If you really need an extra BOA slot, you could focus primarily on business cards for the first year and wait until another one opens up. Keep in mind that Bank of America also has a separate limit of 3 of their own cards in any 12-month period (and 4 in any two-year period). </li>
+
{{Image|SWRedeem.jpg}}
  
−
If you have a Bank of America account, you can probably wait to get their cards. After you hit the Chase 5/24 limit, you will have room for at least two more cards before you hit Bank of America's 7/12 limit.
+
For example, on Southwest airline, a round trip domestic ticket doesn’t cost a fixed 25,000 points. The award price of the ticket is determined by dividing the ticket price by between 1.2 - 1.6 cents per point. There aren’t really good or really bad opportunities to use your points and there aren’t issues with award availability—you’ll get roughly the same value per point, regardless of when you use them.  
  
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{{List|Card}}
+
{{Table|Basic|2.5in}}
−
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
+
|Southwest Airlines
−
If you frequently use Amtrak, you definitely want the '''{{Card|Amtrak|only}}'''. It offers incredible reward rates for anyone who can use their reward points on Amtrak tickets. Plus, you'll get some nice Amtrak-related perks.  
+
|style="width: .5in;"|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|JetBlue
 +
|1.3
 +
{{/Table}}
  
−
{{CardItem|BOAPremium}}
+
=== The value of different types of miles ===
−
If there is a chance you want to eventually use the '''{{Card|BOAPremium|only}}''' or '''{{Card|BOATravel|only}}''' as your general purpose card (to earn up to 2.625% cashback on every purchase through the Premium Rewards program), you'll want to make sure to maintain that option by getting the Premium Rewards Card while you still can. It has a much more attractive signup bonus than the other BOA cards. After the first year, you can downgrade the card to the no-annual-fee Cash Rewards or Travel Rewards. You'll always have the option of converting back again.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|Alaska}}
+
The value for different types of frequent flyer miles varies based on the program's award charts, policies and fees, partner networks, and award availability.  
−
If you want an additional companion certificate every year, you might want to use a slot on the '''{{Card|Alaska|only}}'''. However, an even better option is to try to get one or more extra copies of the business version. If you can get as many copies of the business card as you want, there is no reason to use a valuable slot on the personal version. But, if BOA rejects you for the business cards, you can probably still get the personal version.
 
  
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{{CardItem|Spirit}}
+
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
If you frequently fly Spirit, you might want to get the '''{{Card|Spirit|only}}''' to help you reach Silver or Gold status.  
+
<li>'''Points from foreign airlines can be just as valuable as points from US airlines, even if you never plan to fly on that airline'''. For example, you may dismiss getting a credit card that offers British Airways points because you don’t often fly British Airways. However, British Airlines and American Airlines both belong to the Oneworld Alliance, so you can use your British Airlines points to book saver award space on American Airlines (as well as a bunch of other partners). In some ways, points on British Airlines can be even more valuable than American Airlines miles. Their program is distance-based, so it requires fewer miles when you are taking shorter American Airlines flights. </li>
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
  
−
<li>'''Prioritize which Chase (and other) cards to get with your personal slots'''. Most people should have enough slots to get all the cards they want to add to their core credit card collection (assuming they haven't already gotten more than a couple cards in the past two years and are also signing up for business cards). Remember there is a maximum limit of personal cards based on your available 5/24 slots and a separate maximum limit of total Chase cards based on the number you are comfortable with (plus the Bank of America limits).</li>
+
Due to the major alliances and partner programs, points from almost any frequent flyer program are useful to almost everyone.
  
−
{{List|Card}}
+
{{Image|AsiaMiles.jpg}}
−
{{CardItem|SapphirePreferred}}
 
−
Most people should use a slot for one of the '''[[Sapphire credit cards|Chase Sapphire cards]]''' (you can't receive the signup bonus on both). Even if you aren't 100% sure you want to use the Chase Unlimited Combo, it is nice to be able to keep open the option to do so. And it's well worth getting a Sapphire card just for its signup bonus.
 
  
−
If you don't think you'll need the Sapphire Reserve's lounge access over the next year (because you'll have it from other cards), get the Sapphire Preferred—it has a better signup bonus. After the initial year, you'll have the option to downgrade the card to a no-annual-fee Freedom Card. If you ever decide you want a Sapphire Reserve or Preferred card, you can convert back again, regardless of your 5/24 status.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|FreedomUnlimited}}
+
<li>'''On the other hand, it is getting harder to use points from partner programs, especially for US-based airlines'''. If you are planning to book most of your award tickets on American, Delta, or United, it might be a lot easier with their own miles than with a foreign frequent flyer program. A ticket may only require a little more than the normal number of miles, but not be true "saver" space, and thus not available through most or all partner programs. Keep in mind that Membership Rewards points can be converted directly to Delta miles, Ultimate Rewards points can be converted directly to United miles, and (for now), ThankYou points can be converted directly to American Airlines miles.</li>
−
Many people will want to use a slot for the '''{{Card|FreedomUnlimited|Only}}''' (or the '''{{Card|Freedom|Only}}''' if it has a better signup bonus). This locks in your ability to earn extra points on drugstore and some travel purchases down the road. The drawback is that you would typically get a better signup bonus by using your slot for another Chase or BOA card. You can always count on using the Ink Unlimited to earn 1.5x Ultimate Rewards on your everyday purchases, without giving up the nicer signup bonus, but you'll miss out on the personal card's extra bonus categories.  
 
  
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
+
<li>'''As discussed above, the base value of frequent flyer miles depends on your how frequent flyer programs work for you'''. If you are willing to deal with the extra complexity, have a great deal of flexibility, and/or place a high value on premium seats, miles are more valuable.</li>  
−
The '''{{Card|Hyatt|only}}''' gives you 5 elite night credits each year, plus 2 more credits for every $5,000 you spend. If you stay at Hyatt frequently enough that these extra credits might get you to the next status level (at least in some years), you'll want to make sure to get the Hyatt Card while you still can. Even if not, it is still a pretty good choice because of its annual free night certificate and valuable signup bonus. It is only available as a personal card.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Altitude}}
 
−
If you have room, we recommend getting the '''{{Card|Altitude|only}}''' with one of your slots. It offers a valuable 4.5% reward rate on purchases made with mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay) and a solid signup bonus. With a Samsung phone or watch, you can earn this mobile wallet reward rate at any location where you would "swipe" your card, even if they don't explicitly accept mobile wallet payments.
 
−
 
 
−
The Altitude Reserve is difficult to get once you start collecting other cards. So, if you would have remaining 5/24 slots available after reserving space for the critical personal cards you want from Chase and Bank of America, it is probably worthwhile using one of these slots for the Altitude Reserve. You'll give up the option to use that slot for one of the Chase personal cards, but you'll probably get to sign up for an additional Chase business card instead (since your total number of Chase cards is limited).
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Keep signing up for Chase cards until you have the maximum number you are comfortable with—the Ink cards usually have the most valuable signup bonuses'''. Once you've figured out how many cards you need to reserve for you most important cards, you can use any remaining slots to collect the cards with the most valuable signup bonuses or travel benefits. For example, if you determined that you could get 4 new personal cards before hitting the Chase 5/24 limit, decided that you were comfortable with a total of 8 new Chase cards, and prioritized 2 personal cards from Chase, 1 other personal card, and 2 Chase business cards, you have room for 1 more personal card and up to total of 4 Chase cards.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|InkPreferred}}
 
−
Except for special bonus offers, the most valuable Chase signup offer is the '''{{Card|InkPreferred|only}}''' (80,000 Ultimate Reward points)—and you can might be able to get more than one. You can keep signing up for this card, until you either hit the maximum number of Chase cards or until you are denied. Use an EIN for your first application and an SSN for the second application. To maximize the chances you'll get approved, lower your credit limits on your existing Chase cards before applying for each new card.  You can convert the Ink Preferred to no-annual-fee Ink Unlimited and Ink Cash cards after the first year.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|SapphirePreferred}}
 
−
If you can't get approved for another Ink Preferred Card and haven't already gotten a Sapphire card, your next most valuable signup offer is from the '''{{Card|SapphirePreferred|only}}'''.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|UnitedQuest}}
 
−
Depending on what the typical signup bonus for the '''{{Card|UnitedQuest|only}}''' winds up being, it may be more or less valuable than the Sapphire Preferred or the other Ink Cards. Its introductory offer is very valuable.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|InkCash}}
 
−
After that, your next most valuable offers are probably from the '''{{Card|InkCash|only}}''' or '''{{Card|InkUnlimited|only}}''', which both have typical signup offers of 50,000 Ultimate Rewards points. You may be able to get multiple versions of each of these cards, so feel free to try for additional copies.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|SWAPerformBiz}}
 
−
If you occasionally fly on Southwest and aren't likely to use your points for premium-cabin frequent flyer tickets, earning 70,000 Southwest Airlines points with the '''{{Card|SWAPerformBiz|only}}''' is probably more valuable than earning 50,000 Ultimate Reward points.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|CitiPremier}}
 
−
If you will have a personal slot leftover, another way to optimize your signup bonuses is to get one of the '''ThankYou rewards cards''' early in the process. You can only receive one bonus from these cards every 24 months and applying early starts the clock to qualifying for another bonus. You may be giving up the opportunity to get an additional Chase signup bonus, but you might squeeze in an extra ThankYou points bonus.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Instead of using your remaining slots to simply collect the most valuable Chase signup bonuses, you may want to get some Chase cards that have valuable ongoing benefits'''. You'll receive a less valuable bonus when you first sign up, but the other benefits will pay dividends over time. Depending on how many 5/24 slots you started with and how many personal cards you have already prioritized, you may not have room to substitute many of these cards. With our ongoing example, if you started with room for 4 new personal cards and are reserving space for a Sapphire card, the Hyatt card, and the Altitude Reserve, you only have room to substitute one of these cards instead of just getting another Chase business card.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
 
−
If it wasn't already part of your plan, consider getting the '''{{Card|Hyatt|only}}'''. The signup bonus is almost as good as the bonus on the Ink Cash and Ink Unlimited cards, and you'll get a free hotel night certificate each year and some elite status benefits.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|BA}}
 
−
The '''{{Card|BA|only}}''' is another intriguing option. Its base 50,000-Avios signup bonus is less valuable than the signup offers on the Southwest Business, Ink, and Sapphire cards, but it comes with credits to offset British Airlines award surcharges, which can make it worthwhile for people who might fly British Airways (or other Oneworld airlines) to or within Europe on a frequent basis. You also have the option of spending a bunch of extra money on it and earning an extra 50,000-point bonus. However, if you aren't a big spender or a frequent flyer program master, we'd stick to one of the other options.
 
−
 
 
−
The {{Card|Iberia|only}} and {{Card|AerLingus|only}} would be excellent options if you know you'll have the opportunity to use their companion benefits during your initial year. The value of these benefits would easily outweigh the value of the extra points you could earn with other cards.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|IHG}}
 
−
Some people might want to consider using one of their slots for the '''{{Card|IHG|only}}''' to receive its annual free night certificates and high-level status. IHG Platinum status doesn't provide much in the way of benefits, but it can sometimes be useful for matching to high level status in other hotel programs.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''You can get the cards from this phase in whatever order you want'''.  Just be sure to get all the Chase cards before you get the final personal card that will make you hit the 5/24 limit and all the Bank of America personal cards before you hit the 3/12 limit (if that applies to you).
 
  
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
−
<li>If you want the Altitude Reserve, get that as one of your first cards. We'd sign up for a Chase card first and get the Altitude Reserve as your next card. This lets you spread out your Chase applications a little, while still letting you apply for the Altitude Reserve before you get too many other cards. It also gives you a little time to open a U.S. Bank checking account (if necessary) to qualify for the card.</li>  
+
<li>'''If you plan to use your points for economy-class tickets, the value of a typical frequent flyer mile is around 1.2 cents'''. On many trips, you won’t find an opportunity to use your points at all. When there is award space available, you often won’t be able to get this much value from your miles. But, when you do get a good opportunity to use your points, you can get 1.5-2 cents per point. We discount the value somewhat due to the difficulty of finding these good value redemptions (especially with more attractive flight options).</li>  
  
−
<li>Get the cards that have the most valuable ongoing benefits early, so you can start taking advantage of those benefits. If you are planning to use one of your slots on a Citi ThankYou card, try to get that early to start Citibank's 24-month clock.</li>  
+
<li>'''If you assign a high value to business and first-class award tickets and plan to use your points in this way, the value of a typical point is 3-4 cents'''. You’ll sometimes be able to get more value than this. It can be very hard to find award space when you need it, so you'll need to be lucky or flexible to use your miles for premium cabin seats, especially as a couple or family.  
 +
</li>  
  
−
<li>Get the Chase cards that are most important to you, before you focus on the ones with the best signup offers. If you start out just focusing on collecting the most valuable bonuses, there is a small risk that Chase will stop approving new applications before you get all the Chase cards that you really want. You should be able to lower credit limits or close some existing cards, but there really isn't a reason not to just prioritize your highest-priority cards first.</li>
+
<li>'''If you value business and first-class seats less highly, the value of a typical airline mile is closer to 1.2 - 1.5 cents again'''. If you only value a business class seat at a premium of around $500, the extra value you’ll receive when you can find premium cabin availability is balanced out by the extra miles required.</li>  
  
−
<li>Evenly mix in the business cards from other banks. You can technically signup for two Chase cards every month, but we recommend spacing your Chase applications, leaving at least 1.5 to 2 months between applications. This lower velocity might reduce the chance of a Chase shut down. By switching between Chase and non-Chase cards, you'll naturally spread out your Chase applications over time.</li>  
+
<li>'''If you don’t want to spend much time mastering frequent flyer miles, their value is probably still around 1 cent per point'''. It becomes easier to find redemption opportunities when you only require 1 cent per point. You can start finding opportunities to user your points on more expensive anytime awards or for less expensive flights. Even if you are willing to accept 1 cent per point, it can still be hard to use miles from foreign airline programs.</li>  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
 +
<li>'''From these base values, the relative value of points for different programs depends on their award charts, policies, and partners'''. If a program often offers lower-than-normal price rewards, has particularly good redemption policies, doesn’t charge excessive fees, and/or has a good set of useful airline partners, their points are more valuable. For example, Alaska Airlines has a good partner network, offers reduced priced short-distance awards, has some great values in their partner award charts, isn’t particularly stingy with availability, and is the only airline that allows a free stopover on a one-way award, making their points more valuable than many of their rivals.</li>
 +
 +
Of course, what matters most is how the program will work for you. If you frequently fly to Central America or Korea, programs that offer less expensive redemptions to those regions are more valuable. If you don’t, it doesn’t matter that those sweet spots exist.
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
==== Right after you hit 5/24 ====
+
'''Here are the current set of values from a few popular websites''', While they may not be accurate guidelines, they should give you an idea of which airline points are more or less valuable than others.  
−
 
 
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
−
<li>'''If you have a Bank of America account and postponed getting their cards, you'll need to get them before you hit 7/12'''.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Sign up for a few other cards that are hard to get later'''. Capital One and Wells Fargo are stingy about approving anyone who is collecting credit cards. In addition, Capital One doesn't like customers who have good credit and pay their bills every month. So, there is a good chance you can't get approved for their cards. But now is the most likely time (at least till you eventually start slowing down). The longer you wait, the harder it will get.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|Venture}}
 
−
The '''{{Card|Venture|only}}''' has a valuable signup bonus, the ability to transfer your points to airline partners, and is hard to get approved for once you've started signing up for credit cards.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Spark}}
 
−
Some of the '''[//www.capitalone.com/small-business/credit-cards/ Spark business cards]''' often have the most valuable signup bonuses of any of the Capital One and Wells Fargo cards. Even though they are business cards, they will show up on your personal credit report, so don't get them until after you've hit the Chase and BOA limits. The "miles" version is better than the "cash" version, but if you get approved, you can try to apply for the other one about six months later.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Propel}}
 
−
This is the most likely time to get approved for a Wells Fargo card. We suggest starting with the '''{{Card|Propel|only}}'''. The normal signup bonus of 30,000 points isn't that great. But, if you can also get approved for the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card, the points are worth 1.5 cents each. You'll need to wait 15 months between applying for different Wells Fargo cards.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
  
−
<li>'''Consider any remaining cards that you want for their ongoing travel benefits'''. The two likeliest candidates are both Amex cards. Since you are limited to a total of 4 Amex credit cards at a time, getting these cards will reduce the number of slots you have for collecting Amex signup bonuses. You may want to postpone getting them until later or getting them for a year, cancelling them, and then getting them again once you've collected most of the other signup bonuses. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
+
{{Table|Basic|5.5in}}
 +
! 
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|[//onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/value-miles-points/ One Mile at a Time]
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|[//thepointsguy.com/guide/monthly-valuations/ Points Guy]
 +
!style="width: .75in;"|[//viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2019/01/31/how-much-are-miles-really-worth-assigning-a-value-to-points-from-each-program/ View from the Wing]
 +
|-
 +
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|4}}Major US Airlines
 +
|-
 +
|Alaska
 +
|1.8
 +
|1.8
 +
|1.6
 +
|-
 +
|American
 +
|1.5
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|Delta
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.1
 +
|-
 +
|United
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.3
 +
|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|style="background-color: ghostwhite;" {{c|4}}Others
 +
|-
 +
|Air Canada (Aeroplan)
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.5
 +
|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|Air France / KLM (Flying Blue)
 +
|1.3
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.2
 +
|-
 +
|ANA
 +
|
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.5
 +
|-
 +
|Avianca
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.7
 +
|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|British Airways
 +
|1.3
 +
|1.5
 +
|1.2
 +
|-
 +
|Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.3
 +
|1.3
 +
|-
 +
|Emirates
 +
|1.0
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.1
 +
|-
 +
|Etihad
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.2
 +
|-
 +
|Frontier
 +
|
 +
|1.1
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|Hawaiian
 +
|
 +
|0.9
 +
|1.0
 +
|-
 +
|Korean Air
 +
|1.5
 +
|1.7
 +
|1.5
 +
|-
 +
|Lufthansa (Miles & More)
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.2
 +
|-
 +
|Singapore
 +
|1.4
 +
|1.3
 +
|1.4
 +
|-
 +
|Turkish
 +
|
 +
|1.3
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|Virgin Atlantic
 +
|1.2
 +
|1.6
 +
|1.0
 +
{{/Table}}
  
−
{{List|Card}}
+
=== Fixed-value credit card points ===
−
{{CardItem|HiltonAspire}}
 
−
If you feel you can get good use of hotel certificates, you should prioritize getting the '''{{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}''', so you can start earning free night certificates (which can be used at very expensive hotels).  The card has a high annual fee, but also includes several valuable statement credits. The Hilton Surpass card requires you to spend $15,000 per year to get your certificate. Since you want to use your spending to qualify for signup bonuses, if you are going to get one of these cards early, the Aspire card is your better bet.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|SPGLuxury}}
+
Programs that let you use your points to "purchase" travel are called “Fixed Value” programs, because each point is generally worth a fixed amount of cash towards your purchase. For example, every point you earn from the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card is worth a fixed 1.5 cents towards travel purchases. Points from most of these programs are worth 1 cent each.  
−
If you didn't get the Chase Marriott card when you were under 5/24 and you really want the 15 elite night credits and free night certificate, you probably want to get the '''{{Card|SPGluxury|only}}'''.  Like the Hilton Aspire, it has a high annual fee, but the $300 Marriott hotel credit is extremely easy to use to use. Also, like the Hilton Aspire, it will take up one of your 4 available Amex slots.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Get the clock started with the major credit card companies'''. Most credit card companies have rules that require you to spread out your applications over time. If you want to collect signup bonuses at a quick pace, you'll want to "get the clock going" with each of these companies.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|CitiPremier}}
 
−
You can only get the signup bonus for one Citibank ThankYou card every 24 months. If you didn't already get one while you were under 5/24, get whichever of the '''ThankYou rewards cards''' that currently has the best signup bonus and start the clock until you can pick up your next bonus.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|HiltonAspire}}
 
−
American Express will only allow you to have a total of four credit cards at a time and wants you to keep each card for at least of year. That effectively limits you to four credit cards a year. The Amex Platinum, Gold, and Green cards are "charge" cards and don't count against the four-card limit. If you want to hold onto a few Amex credit cards for the long run, you'll be limited to even fewer signup bonuses per year. You'll need to spread your Amex credit card applications out over a few years. Now is a good time to get a couple of one-year-only Amex cards and start the process. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Prioritize earning the points you need'''. Despite any other advice, if you need a certain type of points for an upcoming trip, prioritize any associated signup bonuses. Don't forget that you may be able to covert Membership Rewards or other transferable points to the points you need.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Take advantage of good promotional offers when they are available'''. We will try to keep you updated on our {{link|best offers|best offers page}}.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
</ul>
 
−
 
 
−
==== Then... ====
 
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''Continue to take advantage of any particularly good promotional offers'''—they may not be available later.</li>
+
<li>'''Some of these programs allow you to "erase" any travel purchase you make with your card'''. After you use the card to buy travel, you go to the credit card company website and use your points to eliminate the charge (or part of the charge) from your bill. For example, you can go to Hotels.com, use your card to pay for a hotel for $89, and then use $89 worth of points (usually 8,900 points) to refund the cost.</li>
  
−
<li>'''Replace your Amex Platinum card every year'''. As you work your way through the signup bonuses, you'll maintain access to the Platinum card's valuable unique benefits. Unless you find a better than normal offer for the regular version, you should ideally start with the Morgan Stanley version. Unfortunately, you'll need to temporarily set up an Access investment account to qualify (and keep it open for the year you have the card). But getting the Morgan Stanley version gives you more time to find a better offer for the regular version and the card could go away at any time. Save the Schwab version for last in case you decide you want to use it to cash out your Membership Reward points. </li>  
+
<li>'''Points from these programs are about as valuable as real cashback'''. Most people are going to spend enough on travel each year that they will be able to easily use any points they earn. You can buy on any website you want or directly from a travel provider. You can use your points to offset a very wide range of travel purchases, usually even things like car share rides, subway tolls, theme park tickets, and the taxes and fees on your award tickets. In many cases, you'll still even earn new rewards on the purchases you later eliminate.</li>
  
−
<li>'''Keep working your way through the offerings of the major banks'''.</li>  
+
<li>'''The main downside is that you will need to use the card for at least some of your travel purchases''', instead of a different card that you might prefer. For those purchases, you might earn a less valuable reward rate or miss out on free travel insurance.</li>
  
−
<ul>
+
<li>'''Other fixed-value programs force you to purchase directly through the credit card company's website'''. They work with a third-party company to offer their own travel booking site, sort of like Expedia, but not as good. Sometimes they will give you more value per point when used to make airfare purchases than other types of travel purchases. For example, your points may be worth 1.5 cents towards airfare, but only 1 cent towards hotels and car rentals.</li>
−
<li>Get a new '''Citi Thankyou card''' every two years. You can convert older unwanted versions of these cards to the Rewards+ card, rather than cancelling them, so they won't reset your clock.</li>  
 
  
−
<li>Get the '''{{Card|AA|Only}}'''. You are only eligible for the bonus on the personal once every four years. Unlike the ThankYou cards, cancelling this card won't reset the clock for earning another bonus. The '''{{Card|AABiz|only}}''' version is on its own four year clock. If you want the checked bag benefit, spread out your applications. If you just want the miles, you can sign up for both at around the same time.</li>  
+
<li>'''Points from these programs aren't as valuable as their full "face value"'''. While they charge standard prices for hotels, car rentals, and usually cruises, you can get almost always get better deals elsewhere. With hotel bookings, you won't be able to take advantage of the hotel's loyalty program. </li>  
  
−
<li>Sign up for the '''{{Card|Aviator|only}}''' and consider some of the other Barclays cards, such as the '''{{Card|JetBlue|only}}'''.</li>
+
Airfare prices are more standardized across the web. But with the credit card websites you sometimes can't book basic economy fares, you usually won't receive any free credit card travel insurance, it is always less convenient than booking directly with the airline, and you may miss out on small amount of extra rewards you could have earned by booking through a different travel booking site. And some of these sites tack on small extra fees and have extra cancellation charges (or no cancellations!)
−
</ul>
 
  
−
<li>'''You can still apply for Bank of America business cards''' even if you are over their 3/12 or 7/12 limits.</li>
+
Due to the limitations of booking through the site, if points are counted 1 cent towards travel purchases, we would value them as worth between .8 and .9 cents.  
  
−
<li>'''Slowly work through the many different Amex cards'''. Amex is relatively indifferent to the total number of cards you have or applied for. Since you can only receive each American Express bonus once per lifetime, there is no rush to work your way through all their different offers. But if a great promotional offer is available or one of their cards is being discontinued, you'll want to fit it into your plans, rather than waiting. On the other hand, because the speed at which you can collect signup bonuses is affected by Amex's 4 credit card limit (discussed above), it can be helpful to start working your way their signup bonuses. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
+
<li>'''A few programs have some trickier rules for getting maximum value from your points'''. Sometimes you can only use your points for the full value of a purchase. If you don't have enough, you can't use your points. When you do have enough to make a purchase, you are likely to have leftover points that will be hard to use on other purchases. Sometimes you need to use a block of points to make a purchase of "up to" a dollar amount, such as for a ticket purchase of up to $400. If the purchase is less than that, you aren't getting the full theoretical value from your points.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''Don't forget about the valuable cards that come from the smaller companies''', like the '''{{Card|Avianca|only}}''' and '''{{Card|Cathay|only}}'''.</li>
+
<li>'''You often also have the option of using fixed-value points for other things''' (such as gift cards or merchandise), but you'll get the best value per point on travel purchases.</li>  
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
=== A detailed plan (with only personal cards) ===
+
=== "Transferable" credit card points ===
−
 
 
−
If you aren't willing or able to get business cards, you'll miss out on some opportunities, but there are can still collect dozens of valuable signup offers.
 
−
 
 
−
==== Before you hit the Chase 5/24 limit ====
 
−
 
 
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
−
<li>'''If you DON'T have a Bank of America account, you'll need to prioritize their cards along with the Chase (and other) cards below'''. Bank of America's limit of 3 total cards in 12 months is pretty severe. If you want any BOA cards, you'll need to get them before you get other personal cards. </li>
 
−
 
 
−
If you have a Bank of America account, you can probably wait to get their cards. After you hit the Chase 5/24 limit, you will have room for at least two more cards before you hit Bank of America's 7/12 limit.
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|Alaska}}
 
−
If you often fly on Alaska as part of a couple or family, you definitely want the '''{{Card|Alaska|only}}'''. You can usually get great value from its companion certificate and other benefits.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Amtrak}}
 
−
If you frequently use Amtrak, you definitely want the '''{{Card|Amtrak|only}}'''. It offers incredible reward rates for anyone who can use their reward points on Amtrak tickets. Plus, you'll get some nice Amtrak-related perks.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|BOAPremium}}
 
−
If there is a chance you want to eventually use the '''{{Card|BOAPremium|only}}''' or '''{{Card|BOATravel|only}}''' as your general purpose card (to earn up to 2.625% cashback on every purchase through the Premium Rewards program), you'll want to make sure to maintain that option by getting the Premium Rewards Card while you still can. It has a much more attractive signup bonus than the other BOA cards. After the first year, you can downgrade the card to the no-annual-fee Cash Rewards or Travel Rewards. You'll always have the option of converting back again.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Spirit}}
 
−
If you frequently fly Spirit, you might want to get the '''{{Card|Spirit|only}}''' to help you reach Silver or Gold status.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Prioritize which Chase (and other) cards to get with your personal slots'''. If you are collecting signup bonuses, it will be a long time till you will be under the 5/24 limit and will have another opportunity to get them. Depending on how many cards you've already gotten in the past couple of years, how many slots you need to use for Bank of America cards, and how many of these other cards are important to you, you may not have enough slots to get them all. </li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|UnitedQuest}}
 
−
If you frequently fly on United, make sure to get the '''{{Card|UnitedQuest|only}}''' for its free checked bag benefit, ability to access additional award inventory, and other United Airlines benefits. Even if you aren't sure you need it, it may be worth getting. You'll get a worthwhile signup bonus when you first get the card. After the first year, you can downgrade to the no-annual-fee version and retain access to the extra United award space. Then, if you ever feel like you need the free bags or other benefits, you can upgrade back to the Quest or to the Explorer or Club card, without needing to have an open Chase slot.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
 
−
The '''{{Card|Hyatt|only}}''' gives you 5 elite night credits each year, plus 2 more credits for every $5,000 you spend. If you stay at Hyatt frequently enough that these extra credits might get you to the next status level (at least in some years), you'll want to make sure to get the Hyatt Card while you still can. Even if not, it is still a pretty good choice because of its annual free night certificate and valuable signup bonus. It is only available as a personal card.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|SapphireReserve}}
 
−
If you want to preserve the option to follow our standard advice for everyday spending (once you move on from focusing most of energy on collecting lots of signup bonuses), make sure to get both the '''{{Card|SapphireReserve|only}}''' and the '''{{Card|FreedomUnlimited|only}}''' (or the Freedom Flex card if it has a better signup bonus at the time). The Sapphire Preferred may have a slightly better signup bonus, but it is nice to have access to airport lounges and the Sapphire Reserve's other benefits, and you might not get another card with these benefits for many months.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
If you are confident that you will be concentrating on signup bonuses for the next few years, these cards can be a lower priority, as most of your credit card spending will be focused on meeting minimum spending requirements. At the point where you stop collecting new signup bonuses, you can take advantage of other everyday spending options (or wait until you fall under the 5/24 limit). But if you have enough slots, we strongly recommend getting them both.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|SWAPriority}}
 
−
If you value the Southwest Companion Pass and believe you can earn the large number of extra points you would need to qualify with only a single Southwest signup bonus, make sure to get the '''{{Card|SWAPriority|only}}'''.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Altitude}}
 
−
If you have room, we recommend getting the '''{{Card|Altitude|only}}''' with one of your slots. It offers a valuable 4.5% reward rate on purchases made with mobile wallets (such as Apple Pay). With a Samsung phone or watch, you can earn this mobile wallet reward rate at any location where you would "swipe" your card, even if they don't explicitly accept mobile wallet payments.
 
−
 
 
−
The Altitude Reserve is difficult to get once you start collecting other cards. So, if you would have remaining 5/24 slots available after reserving space for the critical personal cards you want from Chase and Bank of America, it is probably worthwhile using one of these slots for the Altitude Reserve. You'll give up the option to use that slot for one of the Chase personal cards, but you'll probably get to sign up for an additional Chase business card instead (since your total number of Chase cards is limited).
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Fill in any remaining slots with the best of the remaining Chase cards'''. After prioritizing the cards you definitely want to get, you should use any remaining slots to collect the best most valuable signup bonuses or best benefits. You might have already prioritized some of these cards.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|SapphirePreferred}}
 
−
The signup bonuses on the '''[[Sapphire credit cards|Sapphire cards]]''' are generally the most valuable of all the Chase cards, but you can only get one of them (during any 48 month period). If you want immediate access to airport lounges, get the {{Card|SapphireReserve|only}}. Otherwise, the {{Card|SapphirePreferred|only}} has a more value signup offer.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Hyatt}}
 
−
Another good option for most everyone is the '''{{Card|Hyatt|only}}'''. Not only do you get the signup bonus, you get a valuable free night certificate each year (and the ability to earn another one with $15,000 in spending) plus some elite status benefits.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|UnitedQuest}}
 
−
Most people can make good use of the large signup bonus from the '''{{Card|UnitedQuest|only}}'''. And at the end of the year, you'll be able to downgrade to the no-annual-fee version to preserve your access to extra United award space and your ability to upgrade to a United card with extra benefits if you ever need to.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|SWAPlus}}
 
−
If you occasionally fly Southwest, the '''[[Southwest credit cards|Southwest credit cards]]''' provide a solid signup bonus. With Southwest, you don't need to find award space, you can use their points, at a value of about 1.5 cents each, to pay for any ticket. As a result, it is easy to cash out your points. The signup bonuses fluctuate between 40,0000 and 60,000 points. Signing up at the high end of the range makes this card particularly worthwhile.
 
−
 
 
−
There are three different versions, but you can only earn the signup bonus on one (in any 24-month period). If all the signup bonuses are the same and you don't fly Southwest frequently, we recommend the Plus version. It has the lowest annual fee. If you fly Southwest more frequently, the extra benefits from the Priority version are worth the higher annual fee.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|BA}}
+
Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program.  Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”.
−
The '''{{Card|BA|only}}''' is another intriguing option. Its base 50,000-Avios signup bonus is less valuable than the signup offers on the Southwest Business, Ink, and Sapphire cards, but it comes with credits to offset British Airlines award surcharges, which can make it worthwhile for people who might fly British Airways (or other Oneworld airlines) to or within Europe on a frequent basis. You also have the option of spending a bunch of extra money on it and earning an extra 50,000-point bonus.  However, if you aren't a big spender or a frequent flyer program master, we'd stick to one of the other options.
 
  
−
The {{Card|Iberia|only}} and {{Card|AerLingus|only}} would be excellent options if you know you'll have the opportunity to use their companion benefits during your initial year. The value of these benefits would easily outweigh the value of the extra points you could earn with other cards.  
+
The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel.  
  
−
{{CardItem|IHG}}
+
The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.
−
Some people might want to consider using one of their slots for the '''{{Card|IHG|only}}''' to receive its annual free night certificates and high-level status. IHG Platinum status doesn't provide much in the way of benefits, but it can sometimes be useful for matching to high level status in other hotel programs.
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Marriott}}
 
−
The situation with the '''{{Card|Marriott|only}}''' is more complicated. Some people will want to make sure to have a Marriott card in order to get an extra 15 elite night credits every year towards Marriott Platinum status. You could always get the {{Card|SPGLuxury|only}}, but holding onto that card will take up one of four Amex credit card slots (which may eventually hold you back from maximizing your Amex signup opportunities or getting other Amex cards you want) and you'll need to make sure you are able to use the bill credit each year to offset the annual fee.
 
−
 
 
−
If the elite night credits and free night certificate appeal to you and you have room, we would recommend getting the Chase card, even though you will be giving up another worthwhile Chase signup bonus. It provides more flexibility with American Express down the road. If there are other Chase cards you really want, skip it. You'll still be able to get a Marriott card from Amex.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''You can get these cards in any order'''. Once you figure out how you want to use your available slots, the order you get these cards isn't important. You only need to make sure to get the most important cards before you wind up hitting the limit. If you are getting the Southwest airlines card, get it around the beginning of the year you plan to qualify.  Prioritize the card in the order you want to start taking advantage of their ongoing benefits.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
If you decide to squeeze in the Altitude Reserve, get that as one of your first cards. We'd sign up for a Chase card first and get the Altitude Reserve as your next card. This lets you spread out your Chase applications a little, while still letting you apply for the Altitude Reserve before you get too many other cards. It also gives you a little time to open a U.S. Bank checking account (if necessary) to qualify for the card.
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''We recommend limiting yourself to only one new Chase card every 1.5 to 2 months'''. At this rate, signing up for four cards would take a total of five or six months. If you are getting cards from Bank of America, you can mix those in. The official Chase limit is two personal cards in any 30-day period. But even if you can generate enough spending to sign up for the cards this quickly, there is some risk that Chase may get nervous and shut down your accounts.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
</ul>
 
  
−
==== Right after hitting 5/24 ====
+
In addition, Diners Club, Capital One, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.
  
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
 
<ul class="bulletlist">
−
<li>'''If you have a Bank of America account and postponed getting their cards, you'll need to get them before you hit 7/12'''.</li>
+
<li>'''Transferable credit card points are almost always more valuable than frequent flyer miles'''. Instead of being locked into a single program, you can transfer your points to several different frequent flyer programs. This lets you redeem award tickets for almost any airline and take advantage of whichever partner program offers the lowest priced redemptions for your trip.</li>  
−
 
 
−
<li>'''Sign up for a few other cards that are hard to get later'''. Capital One and Wells Fargo are stingy about approving anyone who is collecting credit cards. In addition, Capital One doesn't like customers who have good credit and pay their bills every month. So, there is a good chance you can't get approved for their cards. But now is the most likely time (at least till you eventually start slowing down). The longer you wait, the harder it will get.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{List|Card}}
 
−
{{CardItem|Venture}}
 
−
The '''{{Card|Venture|only}}''' has a valuable signup bonus, the ability to transfer your points to airline partners, and is hard to get approved for once you've started signing up for credit cards.  
 
−
 
 
−
{{CardItem|Propel}}
 
−
This is the most likely time to get approved for a Wells Fargo card. We suggest starting with the '''{{Card|Propel|only}}'''. The normal signup bonus of 30,000 points isn't that great. But, if you can also get approved for the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card, the points are worth 1.5 cents each. You'll need to wait 15 months between applying for different Wells Fargo cards.
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
−
 
−
<li>'''Get any remaining cards that you want for their ongoing travel benefits'''. If you held up getting these cards while you were under 5/24 (so that you could get fit in more Chase cards), you don't need to wait any longer. However, you may want to postpone getting some Amex cards you want or at least start by getting the less attractive versions of the cards in the same family. Amex limits you to a total of 4 credit cards at any time. To keep a good relationship with Amex, you'll need to keep each new card for at least year. Therefore, each card you hold onto uses up a slot you could have used to collect an additional Amex signup bonus per year. </li>  
 
−
 
 
−
Fortunately, many of Amex's most lucrative signup bonuses are part of families. So, you can gradually collect the bonuses from each one, while maintaining access to their desirable benefits. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.
 
  
 +
{{Image|TransferPrograms.png|480}}
  
−
{{List|Card}}
+
Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, Thank You points, and Diner's Club points transfer to airlines on a 1:1 basis. The value you can get from these points is about the same as you can get from miles in a good frequent flyer program, but since you can redeem your points on almost any airline, you’ll find opportunities to get those values much more frequently. And since you can take advantage of a cheaper-than-normal option for each trip, your typical award ticket might, on average, cost 20% fewer miles.  
−
{{CardItem|DeltaGold}}
 
−
If you value the checked bag benefit, you might want to get started with the credit card for the airline(s) you fly the most, such as the '''{{Card|DeltaGold|only}}''' or '''{{Card|DeltaPlatinum|only}}''', '''{{Card|AA|only}}''' or '''{{Card|Aviator|only}}''', or '''{{Card|JetBlue|only}}'''. . This is especially true if you live in Delta territory and want to start receiving companion certificates.
 
  
−
{{CardItem|PlatinumCard}}
+
Marriott points transfer to Airline miles at a rate of 3 points to 1 mile, but you'll receive 25,000 miles for every block of 60,000 points you transfer. Capital One points transfer at a rate of 4 points to 3 miles (or 4 points for 2 miles for Singapore or Emirates). So, these points are worth less than an airline mile (but you'll earn at least 2 points per dollar).  
−
You probably want to get started with your first '''{{Card|PlatinumCard|only}}''' to start enjoying access to additional airport lounges, the Hilton Gold breakfast benefit, and the Fine Hotels and Resorts program.  By signing up for a different version of the Amex Platinum card each year, you can maintain continuous access to these benefits, while offsetting the high annual fees with signup bonuses.  
 
  
−
Unless you find a better than normal offer for the regular version, you should ideally start with the Morgan Stanley version. Unfortunately, you'll need to temporarily set up a small Access investment account to qualify (and keep it open for the year you have the card). But this gives you more time to find a better offer for the regular version and the Morgan Stanley version could go away at any time. Save the Schwab version for last in case you decide you want to use it to cash out your Membership Reward points.
+
<li>'''For most people, Ultimate Rewards points are generally more valuable than Membership Rewards points, which are more valuable than ThankYou points'''. Ultimate Rewards has easy-to-use redemption options, like booking award rooms through Hyatt, purchasing travel at 1.5 cents per point, or booking flights on Southwest Airline, which don't depend on finding good value award space for frequent flyer tickets. Membership Rewards is generally the best option for frequent flyer tickets. {{Link|Transferable Points}}. </li>
  
−
{{CardItem|HiltonAspire}}
+
<li>'''If you know you can get good value from your points with frequent flyer tickets or you are focusing on premium cabin award tickets, Membership Rewards points are the most valuable'''. ThankYou Rewards is probably next, but Ultimate Rewards points are close.</li>
−
If you feel you can get good use of hotel certificates, you should prioritize getting the '''{{Card|HiltonAspire|only}}''', so you can start earning free night certificates (which can be used at very expensive hotels). The card has a high annual fee, but also includes several valuable statement credits. The Hilton Surpass card requires you to spend $15,000 per year to get your certificate. Since you want to use your spending to qualify for signup bonuses, it is better to save this card for later.
 
  
−
If you do get at least one of the Hilton cards, it might change the prioritization of the Amex Platinum card (mentioned immediately above), as they also provide the free Hilton breakfast benefit.  
+
<li>'''If you have the Amex Business Platinum card, you can redeem your Membership Rewards points for 1.54 cents each when you use them to buy airfare—placing a floor on the value that points are worth'''. However, to make this approach work, you need to be eligible for a business card, pay an additional annual fee of $595 (which can be partially offset by some credits and benefits), and maintain a large balance of points.</li>
  
−
{{CardItem|SPGLuxury}}
+
<li>'''Marriott points are the most flexible'''. You can get good values per point when you redeem them for Marriott hotel rooms, they have the widest set of airline partners, and you’ll get 25,000 miles every time you redeem 60,000 points. But because of their long transfer times, there is some risk that any award space will disappear while you are waiting for your points to transfer.</li>
−
If you didn't get the Chase Marriott card when you were under 5/24, and you want the 15 elite night credits and free night certificate, you probably want to get the '''{{Card|SPGluxury|only}}'''. Like the Hilton Aspire, it has a high annual fee, but the $300 Marriott hotel credit is extremely easy to use to use. Like the Hilton Aspire, it will take up one of your available slots.  
 
−
{{/List|Card}}
 
  
−
<li>'''Get the clock started with the major credit card companies'''. Most credit card companies have rules that require you to spread out your applications over time. If you want to collect signup bonuses at a quick pace, you'll want to "get the clock going" with each of these companies.</li>
+
<li>'''If you highly value business and first-class award tickets and are willing and able to build up large amounts of points, the value of transferable credit card points are over 4 cents each'''. They will be far more valuable than any other type of reward points.</li>  
  
−
<ul>
+
<li>'''If you don’t really want to mess around with frequent flyer miles, the value of transferable points depends on their other redemption options'''. Ultimate Rewards, Marriott and Capital One points deliver a lot of relative value even if you never redeem them for typical award tickets. ThankYou and Membership Rewards points don’t (unless you have the Business Platinum Card).</li>  
−
<li>You can only get the signup bonus for one Citibank ThankYou card every 24 months. Get whichever of the '''ThankYou rewards cards''' that currently has the best signup bonus and start the clock until you can pick up your next bonus.</li>
 
−
 
 
−
<li>'''American Express''' will only allow you to have a total of four credit cards at a time and wants you to keep each card for at least of year. That effectively limits you to a maximum of four Amex signup bonuses per year. The Amex Platinum, Gold, and Green cards are "charge" cards and don't count against the five-card limit. If you want to hold onto a few Amex credit cards for the long run, you'll be limited to even fewer signup bonuses per year. You'll need to spread your Amex credit card applications out over a few years. Now is a good time to get a couple of one-year-only Amex cards. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>  
 
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
<li>'''Prioritize earning the points you need'''. Despite any other advice, if you need a certain type of points for an upcoming trip, prioritize any associated signup bonuses. Don't forget that you may be able to covert Membership Rewards or other transferable points to the points you need.</li>
+
{{Table|Basic|6.5in}}
 +
!
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Ultimate Rewards
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Membership Rewards
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|ThankYou Rewards
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Marriott
 +
!style="width: 1in;"|Capital One
 +
|-
 +
|If you highly value business and first-class tickets
 +
|colspan="3" |At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more
 +
|1 - 1.5 or more
 +
|2 - 3 or more
 +
|-
 +
|If you are patient and take advantage of coach tickets
 +
| colspan="3" |1.5 – 2 cents or more
 +
|.5 - .8 or more
 +
|1 - 1.5 or more
 +
|-
 +
|Quality of their airline partners
 +
|Good
 +
|Very Good
 +
|Good
 +
|The Best (but slow)
 +
|Less Good
 +
|-
 +
|Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options
 +
|1.5 - 1.75
 +
|1
 +
|1
 +
|.7
 +
|1
 +
|-
 +
|Value from using points to pay for travel
 +
|1.5
  
−
<li>'''Take advantage of good promotional offers when they are available'''. We will try to keep you updated on our {{link|best offers|best offers page}}.</li>
+
(w/ Sapphire Reserve)
−
</ul>
+
|1
  
−
==== Then... ====
+
(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)
 +
|1
 +
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
 +
|1
 +
|-
 +
|The “base value” we use for our calculations
 +
|{{Value|UR}}
 +
|{{Value|MR}}
 +
|{{Value|TY}}
 +
|{{Value|Marriott}}
 +
|{{Value|Venture}}
 +
{{/Table}}
  
−
<ul class="bulletlist">
+
=== An example ===
−
<li>'''Continue to take advantage of any particularly good promotional offers'''—they may not be available later.</li>
 
  
−
<li>'''Replace your Amex Platinum card every year'''. As you work your way through the signup bonuses, you'll maintain access to the Platinum card's valuable unique benefits.</li>
+
If you are evaluating your options for a general purpose reward card, you might have the choice of a card that earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points, a card that earns 1.5x Membership Rewards points, and a card that earns 2.5% cash-back.  
  
−
<li>'''Keep working your way through the offerings of the major banks'''.</li>  
+
<ul class="simplelist">
 +
<li>The math on the 2.5% cash-back card is simple. It earns $250 back for every $10,000 you spend.</li>  
  
−
<ul>
+
<li>If you highly value premium-cabin award tickets, the Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards cards will each earn points worth at least $450-600 per $10,000 you spend and could earn rewards as high as $1,000 per $10,000. This is much better than the $250 from the cashback card. </li>
−
<li>Get a new '''[[Citi Prestige and Premier Cards|Citi Thankyou card]]''' every two years. You can convert older unwanted versions of these cards to the Rewards+ card, rather than cancelling them, so they won't reset your clock.</li>  
 
  
−
<li>Get the '''{{Card|AA|Only}}'''. You are only eligible for the bonus once every four years. Unlike the ThankYou cards, cancelling this card won't reset the clock for earning another bonus.</li>
+
<li>If you are patient and plan to redeem for economy-class frequent flyer tickets, spending $10,000 with the Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards cards will typically earn between $225 and $300 in award travel and might earn as much as $450. This is usually better than the cashback card but requires more time and effort. You would more strongly prefer the Ultimate Rewards card over the Membership Rewards card, because you would also have the option of redeeming at good value for Hyatt hotel rooms or other easy redemption options</li>  
−
 
 
−
<li>Sign up for the '''{{Card|Aviator|only}}''' and consider some of the other Barclays cards, such as the '''{{Card|JetBlue|only}}'''.</li>
 
−
</ul>
 
  
−
<li>'''Slowly work through the many different Amex cards'''. Amex is relatively indifferent to the total number of cards you have or applied for. Since you can only receive each American Express bonus once per lifetime, there is no rush to work your way through all their different offers. But if a great promotional offer is available or one of their cards is being discontinued, you'll want to fit it into your plans, rather than waiting. On the other hand, because the speed at which you can collect signup bonuses is affected by Amex's 4 credit card limit (discussed above), it can be helpful to start working your way their signup bonuses. {{Link|Amex Limits}}.</li>
+
<li>If you want to earn rewards more easily and more often, the Ultimate Rewards card should offer at least $255 in value when you redeem for Hyatt hotel. This is slightly better than the cashback card, plus there is additional upside to get even more value on particularly good redemptions. However, the Membership Rewards card doesn’t have any good options other than cashing-out at 1 cent per point, which would only give you $150 in value. So, in this scenario, 1.5x Ultimate Rewards > 2.5% cash-back >> 1.5x Membership Rewards.</li>  
  
−
<li>'''Don't forget about the valuable cards that come from the smaller companies''', like the '''{{Card|Avianca|only}}''' and '''{{Card|Cathay|only}}'''.</li>
+
<li>However, if you have the Amex Business Platinum card, you can cash-out at 1.54 cents per point (on your favorite airline), and see at least $230 from your Membership Rewards points, which probably tips the balance versus the cashback card (due to the possibility of redeeming for much more). </li>
 
</ul>
 
</ul>
  
−
{{/Main|Article}}  
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{{/Main|article}}  
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{{NextPages}}
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{{NextPages}}
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{{Next|Signup Intro}}  
 
 
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}  
 
{{Next|Credit Cards 101}}  
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{{Next|best offers}}  
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{{Next|Transferable Points}}
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{{/NextPages}}  
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{{Next|General Purpose}}
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{{/Page|Article}}
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{{/NextPages}}
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{{/Page|article}}

Revision as of 00:11, 28 August 2021

  Home, Easily Earn Points for Free Travel

CoinScale.jpg

When you are evaluating a signup bonus, promotion, or bonus category reward rate, it is not the NUMBER of points that's important, it is the VALUE of those points.

Different types of reward points have very different values. Some points are worth a fixed 1 cent each. Other points, like Chase's Ultimate Rewards, are considerably more valuable, worth 1.5, 2, or even 3 cents each. A point from some hotel chains, like Hilton, are worth ½ cent or even less, while a point from Hyatt is worth 1.75 cents or more.

But the truth is that most points and miles don’t have a set value. The value of each type of point and mile is different for different people—depending on how you travel, how you plan to use your points, how much you spend, and how many points you already have.

WE assign a value to each type of point so that you have a place to start and we can have a conversation about the relative value of different options. But YOU need to eventually adjust these “base” values to reflect your unique situation and travel goals.


Jump to


Minimum Redemption Values

Before we delve into the values of specific types of points, it is helpful to understand the concept of "Minimum Redemption Values".

Ideally, you could pay for all your hotel rooms and airplane tickets with points, but more people can't generate enough points to pay for all their travel. Rather than simply using your points at the first opportunity and then switching over to cash whenever you run out, it often makes sense to try to use your points on the most valuable opportunities and use cash when you would get less value from your points.

  • We recommend you set a "Minimum Redemption Value" (MRV) for each type of point. You would use your points whenever you could get more than this minimum value and use cash whenever you couldn't. For example, if you use .45 cents as the Minimum Redemption Value of a Hilton point, you'd use your points whenever you could get .45 cents or more in value. And you'd save your points for a more lucrative future redemption, whenever you would get less.
  • When shopping for hotels and flights, we like to convert point prices to an equivalent dollar amount. To continue our example, if an award night at a Hilton hotel cost 50,000 points, we'd multiple by .45 cents to convert it to a cash equivalent rate of $225. Then we'd compare that "price" against the cash rate or rates at other hotels. Similarly, if our Minimum Redemption Value for Delta miles was 1.2 cents each, we'd multiple the required number of miles by 1.2 cents to determine the "price" of an award ticket and compare to cash prices or flights on other airlines.

    • The cash rate essentially represents the opportunity cost of using your points for a given hotel or airplane ticket, rather than saving them for a future trip. And it makes it easy to compare an award option with your other options for a trip.

  • The trick is to set a value that is high enough that you tend to use your points on higher-valuable opportunities, but low enough that you will eventually use your points. If you find yourself never finding good opportunities to use a certain type of points and/or find it easy to generate lots of them, you should lower your Minimum Redemption Value. If you find yourself finding lots of great opportunities to that type of points and/or find it hard to generate more you should raise your Minimum Redemption Value.
  • The expected value you'll get per point will always be higher than your Minimum Redemption Value. In the Hilton example, you might make one reservation at the minimum of .45 cents each, but you might get .6 cents on another reservation, or even 1.1 cents per point on a particularly good redemption. The average of these will always be higher than the minimum amount.
  • If you plan on just redeeming your points at every opportunity, you'll get less value from them. While you can almost always use hotel points for rooms and the airline's own frequent flyer miles for flights, you won't always get very good value. Continuing our example, there are plenty of times when you'll get less than .45 cents in value from your Hilton points. If you use your points on these types of reservations, your expected value will be lower.



Hotel points

While hotel points are easy to redeem, the value of points varies greatly between different programs. Different hotel programs require dramatically different number of points for a night at similar hotels. For example, for a nice full-service downtown hotel in all but the most expensive cities, Hyatt might require 12,000 points, Marriott might require 40,000

The diminished value of frequent flyer miles for coach flights

Travel and reward websites will usually tell you that most frequent flyer miles are worth around 1.5 cents each. But the truth is not so simple.

EconomySeat.jpg
  • Instead of having a fixed value, the value of frequent flyer miles varies widely based on your opportunities to use them. If you can use 25,000 points to book a cross-country flight that would have otherwise cost $400, you are getting 1.6 cents in value per point. However, if there is no saver availability and you need to use 50,000 points instead, you are only getting .8 cents in value. And if the flight were only $250, even at the cheaper award rate, you would only get 1 cent in value from your points.

    • On the other hand, if you can take advantage of a “sweet spot” to use 25,000 miles to book a trip from the East Coast to Hawaii (which would otherwise have cost $800), you are getting 3.2 cents in value per point.

  • It is hard to get good value for your frequent flyer miles on coach tickets. If ticket prices are high, there is usually no award availability or the airlines require huge numbers of points; and if prices are low, you aren't saving much money with your ticket.

    • Low-cost carriers have dramatically dropped the cost of international airfares from North America and on many flights within Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. At the same time, frequent flyer programs have been continuously increasing the number of miles (and sometimes the fees) you need to pay for award tickets. Plus, with airlines moving to dynamic pricing, it is hard to combine connecting flights into a single itinerary or use partner frequent flyer miles.

    That said, you should occasionally be able to find well-priced convenient options.

  • If you don’t live in a popular international gateway, the situation is even worse. US carriers have gotten increasingly stingy with normal-priced awards, particularly on domestic flights. This doesn’t only affect your ability to find a good redemption opportunity when you are flying within the United States, it also affects many people’s ability to take advantage of international award tickets. Without award space available on your connection to an international gateway, you’ll need to buy a separate cash ticket to get you to the departure city or use your miles for an additional award ticket. In either case, you'll need to recheck your bags and worry about a missed connection.
  • In extreme cases, fuel surcharges on international award tickets can be close to the full price for the ticket. For example, on British Airways flights to Europe, the out of pocket cost for an award ticket may only be $200 less than the regular ticket price. In the end, you would be saving only $200 with the 25–40,000 miles it will require to book your “free” tickets.
  • There are often significant downsides to using frequent flyer tickets. You won’t earn new miles on the trip. Perhaps more importantly, you will often find yourself taking less convenient flights, in an effort to take advantage of the limited award space that is available.

For most people, we recommend holding onto your miles, unless you are getting 1.5 cents each or more. While you typically can't get this much value from your frequent flyer miles, you should eventually be able to do so—you usually want to hold onto them until you can. There are sweet-spots in different award programs (where you can book tickets for less than the normal number of points); routes where the regular prices are still high; and the opportunity to book award space far ahead of time.

But because frequent flyer miles are hard to use, we only value them at around 1.2 cents each. In other words, while we expect to eventually get 1.5 cents or more in value, we wouldn't pay more than 1.2 cents each to acquire frequent flyer miles. This discount offsets the effort involved to use the miles and the less convenient flight options we are likely to settle on.

Get more value with business and first-class award tickets

Things look different when you want to use your miles to get business or first-class award tickets or upgrades.

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  • When you use your miles to book premium-cabin international award tickets, you’ll get much more “face-value” from your miles—often 4 cents or more. For example, a business class round trip to Europe might cost $4,500. If you use 115,000 United points, that works out to about 4 cents in value per point. Some first-class tickets are priced high enough that you might theoretically get over 10 cents in face-value from your points.
  • However, the real value of premium award tickets is based on how much you would have otherwise paid for the flights. If you would have paid the full cash price for premium-cabin seats, you are getting the full face-value from your award tickets. Anyone who would have actually paid out-of-pocket for an international business or first-class ticket is getting a great deal when they are able to use award tickets instead.

    • But if you wouldn’t normally consider paying more than $300-500 extra for a business class upgrade on an international flight, premium cabin redemptions are much less valuable than their face-value. Perhaps the tickets are only worth $1,000 or $1,500 to you. If so, you might still be only getting 1–1.5 cents in value from a typical redemption.

    In other words, many people might feel they get more value from using their points for two coach tickets or a bunch of hotel nights, rather than a single business class ticket; while other people would prefer spending a bunch of points to fly in a business or first-class seat they could never afford (or convince themselves to pay for).

  • Regardless of how much you value the tickets, you will need to earn a lot of points before you will be able to make a premium cabin redemption and it can be very hard to find availability.  It will typically take around 200,000 points to pay for a round trip business class flight for two to Europe and 600,000 points for a family of four to fly on business class on a dream trip to Africa. That represents a lot of credit card spending or signup bonuses. So, if you realistically aren’t going to be generating many points from your spending, you are usually better off planning to use your points in a different way.

    • In addition, you can’t always assume you’ll be able to find two business or first-class seats on the same flight, let alone four. While it is hard to find regularly priced award availability in coach, it is much harder to find it in business or first class.

“Fixed Value” frequent flyer points

Some frequent flyer programs use “fixed-value” points. Most programs fix the number of miles needed for an award ticket to a specific region of the world—the value per point varies based on the ticket price. Fixed value programs fix the value of a point——the number of points you need to book the award varies based on the price.

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For example, on Southwest airline, a round trip domestic ticket doesn’t cost a fixed 25,000 points. The award price of the ticket is determined by dividing the ticket price by between 1.2 - 1.6 cents per point. There aren’t really good or really bad opportunities to use your points and there aren’t issues with award availability—you’ll get roughly the same value per point, regardless of when you use them.

Southwest Airlines 1.4
JetBlue 1.3

The value of different types of miles

The value for different types of frequent flyer miles varies based on the program's award charts, policies and fees, partner networks, and award availability.

  • Points from foreign airlines can be just as valuable as points from US airlines, even if you never plan to fly on that airline. For example, you may dismiss getting a credit card that offers British Airways points because you don’t often fly British Airways. However, British Airlines and American Airlines both belong to the Oneworld Alliance, so you can use your British Airlines points to book saver award space on American Airlines (as well as a bunch of other partners). In some ways, points on British Airlines can be even more valuable than American Airlines miles. Their program is distance-based, so it requires fewer miles when you are taking shorter American Airlines flights.

    • Due to the major alliances and partner programs, points from almost any frequent flyer program are useful to almost everyone.

    AsiaMiles.jpg


  • On the other hand, it is getting harder to use points from partner programs, especially for US-based airlines. If you are planning to book most of your award tickets on American, Delta, or United, it might be a lot easier with their own miles than with a foreign frequent flyer program. A ticket may only require a little more than the normal number of miles, but not be true "saver" space, and thus not available through most or all partner programs. Keep in mind that Membership Rewards points can be converted directly to Delta miles, Ultimate Rewards points can be converted directly to United miles, and (for now), ThankYou points can be converted directly to American Airlines miles.
  • As discussed above, the base value of frequent flyer miles depends on your how frequent flyer programs work for you. If you are willing to deal with the extra complexity, have a great deal of flexibility, and/or place a high value on premium seats, miles are more valuable.
    • If you plan to use your points for economy-class tickets, the value of a typical frequent flyer mile is around 1.2 cents. On many trips, you won’t find an opportunity to use your points at all. When there is award space available, you often won’t be able to get this much value from your miles. But, when you do get a good opportunity to use your points, you can get 1.5-2 cents per point. We discount the value somewhat due to the difficulty of finding these good value redemptions (especially with more attractive flight options).
    • If you assign a high value to business and first-class award tickets and plan to use your points in this way, the value of a typical point is 3-4 cents. You’ll sometimes be able to get more value than this. It can be very hard to find award space when you need it, so you'll need to be lucky or flexible to use your miles for premium cabin seats, especially as a couple or family.
    • If you value business and first-class seats less highly, the value of a typical airline mile is closer to 1.2 - 1.5 cents again. If you only value a business class seat at a premium of around $500, the extra value you’ll receive when you can find premium cabin availability is balanced out by the extra miles required.
    • If you don’t want to spend much time mastering frequent flyer miles, their value is probably still around 1 cent per point. It becomes easier to find redemption opportunities when you only require 1 cent per point. You can start finding opportunities to user your points on more expensive anytime awards or for less expensive flights. Even if you are willing to accept 1 cent per point, it can still be hard to use miles from foreign airline programs.
  • From these base values, the relative value of points for different programs depends on their award charts, policies, and partners. If a program often offers lower-than-normal price rewards, has particularly good redemption policies, doesn’t charge excessive fees, and/or has a good set of useful airline partners, their points are more valuable. For example, Alaska Airlines has a good partner network, offers reduced priced short-distance awards, has some great values in their partner award charts, isn’t particularly stingy with availability, and is the only airline that allows a free stopover on a one-way award, making their points more valuable than many of their rivals.

    • Of course, what matters most is how the program will work for you. If you frequently fly to Central America or Korea, programs that offer less expensive redemptions to those regions are more valuable. If you don’t, it doesn’t matter that those sweet spots exist.

Here are the current set of values from a few popular websites, While they may not be accurate guidelines, they should give you an idea of which airline points are more or less valuable than others.

  One Mile at a Time Points Guy View from the Wing
Major US Airlines
Alaska 1.8 1.8 1.6
American 1.5 1.4 1.4
Delta 1.2 1.2 1.1
United 1.4 1.3 1.4
Others
Air Canada (Aeroplan) 1.4 1.5 1.4
Air France / KLM (Flying Blue) 1.3 1.2 1.2
ANA 1.4 1.5
Avianca 1.4 1.7 1.4
British Airways 1.3 1.5 1.2
Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) 1.2 1.3 1.3
Emirates 1.0 1.2 1.1
Etihad 1.2 1.4 1.2
Frontier 1.1
Hawaiian 0.9 1.0
Korean Air 1.5 1.7 1.5
Lufthansa (Miles & More) 1.2 1.4 1.2
Singapore 1.4 1.3 1.4
Turkish 1.3
Virgin Atlantic 1.2 1.6 1.0

Fixed-value credit card points

Programs that let you use your points to "purchase" travel are called “Fixed Value” programs, because each point is generally worth a fixed amount of cash towards your purchase. For example, every point you earn from the U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve card is worth a fixed 1.5 cents towards travel purchases. Points from most of these programs are worth 1 cent each.

  • Some of these programs allow you to "erase" any travel purchase you make with your card. After you use the card to buy travel, you go to the credit card company website and use your points to eliminate the charge (or part of the charge) from your bill. For example, you can go to Hotels.com, use your card to pay for a hotel for $89, and then use $89 worth of points (usually 8,900 points) to refund the cost.
  • Points from these programs are about as valuable as real cashback. Most people are going to spend enough on travel each year that they will be able to easily use any points they earn. You can buy on any website you want or directly from a travel provider. You can use your points to offset a very wide range of travel purchases, usually even things like car share rides, subway tolls, theme park tickets, and the taxes and fees on your award tickets. In many cases, you'll still even earn new rewards on the purchases you later eliminate.
  • The main downside is that you will need to use the card for at least some of your travel purchases, instead of a different card that you might prefer. For those purchases, you might earn a less valuable reward rate or miss out on free travel insurance.
  • Other fixed-value programs force you to purchase directly through the credit card company's website. They work with a third-party company to offer their own travel booking site, sort of like Expedia, but not as good. Sometimes they will give you more value per point when used to make airfare purchases than other types of travel purchases. For example, your points may be worth 1.5 cents towards airfare, but only 1 cent towards hotels and car rentals.
  • Points from these programs aren't as valuable as their full "face value". While they charge standard prices for hotels, car rentals, and usually cruises, you can get almost always get better deals elsewhere. With hotel bookings, you won't be able to take advantage of the hotel's loyalty program.

    • Airfare prices are more standardized across the web. But with the credit card websites you sometimes can't book basic economy fares, you usually won't receive any free credit card travel insurance, it is always less convenient than booking directly with the airline, and you may miss out on small amount of extra rewards you could have earned by booking through a different travel booking site. And some of these sites tack on small extra fees and have extra cancellation charges (or no cancellations!)

    Due to the limitations of booking through the site, if points are counted 1 cent towards travel purchases, we would value them as worth between .8 and .9 cents.

  • A few programs have some trickier rules for getting maximum value from your points. Sometimes you can only use your points for the full value of a purchase. If you don't have enough, you can't use your points. When you do have enough to make a purchase, you are likely to have leftover points that will be hard to use on other purchases. Sometimes you need to use a block of points to make a purchase of "up to" a dollar amount, such as for a ticket purchase of up to $400. If the purchase is less than that, you aren't getting the full theoretical value from your points.
  • You often also have the option of using fixed-value points for other things (such as gift cards or merchandise), but you'll get the best value per point on travel purchases.

"Transferable" credit card points

Each of the three biggest credit card companies operate their own reward program. Amex’s is called “Membership Rewards”, Chase’s is called “Ultimate Rewards”, and Citibank’s is called “ThankYou Rewards”.

The points you earn from these programs can be transferred to any of a bunch of different airline and hotel loyalty programs where they can be redeemed for free airplane tickets and hotel rooms. In addition, you can use these points (like cash) to pay for most hotels, airline tickets, and other travel.

The points that you earn with the Marriott hotel program can also be transferred (at favorable rates) to airlines partners. Even though they are technically hotel points, they act enough like transferable credit card points to be part of the same discussion.

In addition, Diners Club, Capital One, and HSBC operate similar, but smaller, transferable rewards programs.

  • Transferable credit card points are almost always more valuable than frequent flyer miles. Instead of being locked into a single program, you can transfer your points to several different frequent flyer programs. This lets you redeem award tickets for almost any airline and take advantage of whichever partner program offers the lowest priced redemptions for your trip.
    • TransferPrograms.png

    Ultimate Rewards, Membership Rewards, Thank You points, and Diner's Club points transfer to airlines on a 1:1 basis. The value you can get from these points is about the same as you can get from miles in a good frequent flyer program, but since you can redeem your points on almost any airline, you’ll find opportunities to get those values much more frequently. And since you can take advantage of a cheaper-than-normal option for each trip, your typical award ticket might, on average, cost 20% fewer miles.

    Marriott points transfer to Airline miles at a rate of 3 points to 1 mile, but you'll receive 25,000 miles for every block of 60,000 points you transfer. Capital One points transfer at a rate of 4 points to 3 miles (or 4 points for 2 miles for Singapore or Emirates). So, these points are worth less than an airline mile (but you'll earn at least 2 points per dollar).

  • For most people, Ultimate Rewards points are generally more valuable than Membership Rewards points, which are more valuable than ThankYou points. Ultimate Rewards has easy-to-use redemption options, like booking award rooms through Hyatt, purchasing travel at 1.5 cents per point, or booking flights on Southwest Airline, which don't depend on finding good value award space for frequent flyer tickets. Membership Rewards is generally the best option for frequent flyer tickets. Introduction to 'Transferable' Reward Points.
  • If you know you can get good value from your points with frequent flyer tickets or you are focusing on premium cabin award tickets, Membership Rewards points are the most valuable. ThankYou Rewards is probably next, but Ultimate Rewards points are close.
  • If you have the Amex Business Platinum card, you can redeem your Membership Rewards points for 1.54 cents each when you use them to buy airfare—placing a floor on the value that points are worth. However, to make this approach work, you need to be eligible for a business card, pay an additional annual fee of $595 (which can be partially offset by some credits and benefits), and maintain a large balance of points.
  • Marriott points are the most flexible. You can get good values per point when you redeem them for Marriott hotel rooms, they have the widest set of airline partners, and you’ll get 25,000 miles every time you redeem 60,000 points. But because of their long transfer times, there is some risk that any award space will disappear while you are waiting for your points to transfer.
  • If you highly value business and first-class award tickets and are willing and able to build up large amounts of points, the value of transferable credit card points are over 4 cents each. They will be far more valuable than any other type of reward points.
  • If you don’t really want to mess around with frequent flyer miles, the value of transferable points depends on their other redemption options. Ultimate Rewards, Marriott and Capital One points deliver a lot of relative value even if you never redeem them for typical award tickets. ThankYou and Membership Rewards points don’t (unless you have the Business Platinum Card).
Ultimate Rewards Membership Rewards ThankYou Rewards Marriott Capital One
If you highly value business and first-class tickets At least 3 - 4 cents per point, sometimes much more 1 - 1.5 or more 2 - 3 or more
If you are patient and take advantage of coach tickets 1.5 – 2 cents or more .5 - .8 or more 1 - 1.5 or more
Quality of their airline partners Good Very Good Good The Best (but slow) Less Good
Value of easier-to-redeem redemption options 1.5 - 1.75 1 1 .7 1
Value from using points to pay for travel 1.5

(w/ Sapphire Reserve)

1

(1.54 w/ Business Platinum)

1 - 1
The “base value” we use for our calculations 1.7 1.5 1.5 .7 1.5

An example

If you are evaluating your options for a general purpose reward card, you might have the choice of a card that earns 1.5x Ultimate Rewards points, a card that earns 1.5x Membership Rewards points, and a card that earns 2.5% cash-back.

  • The math on the 2.5% cash-back card is simple. It earns $250 back for every $10,000 you spend.
  • If you highly value premium-cabin award tickets, the Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards cards will each earn points worth at least $450-600 per $10,000 you spend and could earn rewards as high as $1,000 per $10,000. This is much better than the $250 from the cashback card.
  • If you are patient and plan to redeem for economy-class frequent flyer tickets, spending $10,000 with the Ultimate Rewards and Membership Rewards cards will typically earn between $225 and $300 in award travel and might earn as much as $450. This is usually better than the cashback card but requires more time and effort. You would more strongly prefer the Ultimate Rewards card over the Membership Rewards card, because you would also have the option of redeeming at good value for Hyatt hotel rooms or other easy redemption options
  • If you want to earn rewards more easily and more often, the Ultimate Rewards card should offer at least $255 in value when you redeem for Hyatt hotel. This is slightly better than the cashback card, plus there is additional upside to get even more value on particularly good redemptions. However, the Membership Rewards card doesn’t have any good options other than cashing-out at 1 cent per point, which would only give you $150 in value. So, in this scenario, 1.5x Ultimate Rewards > 2.5% cash-back >> 1.5x Membership Rewards.
  • However, if you have the Amex Business Platinum card, you can cash-out at 1.54 cents per point (on your favorite airline), and see at least $230 from your Membership Rewards points, which probably tips the balance versus the cashback card (due to the possibility of redeeming for much more). 



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Credit Cards 101
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Introduction to 'Transferable' Reward Points
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Get a Great General Purpose Reward Card and Use It for All of Your Spending
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