The Points Mom

Comparing Travel Redemption Options of the Major Banks

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In this post, I am going to talk about redeeming points for travel.   This post will not focus on transferring points, but rather on, using points to pay for travel.  Also, as you will see below, some of these cards offer a point discount/bonus when redeeming and others offer a point rebate.  You can learn about the difference here.  Lastly, I am going to focus on the cards that are linked to flexible travel programs versus cards that are linked to specific loyalty programs.  Specifically, I am going to focus on American Express Membership Rewards points, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi Thank you points, Capital One miles, and Barclaycard Arrival miles.

American Express Membership Rewards

American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards such as the Platinum card, Gold card, Everyday Preferred and Everyday card give you access to book travel through the Amex site and Pay With Points.  However, Amex has made things a bit complicated in that the number of points required depends on the type of travel you are booking.

Flights-When booking flights and paying with points on Amex Travel, one Membership Rewards point equals $0.01 incremental ticket value on travel. For example, 20,000 points can be redeemed for a $200 airline ticket.  However, if you have a American Express Business Platinum, you can get 35% Membership Rewards points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight with the airline “you select” or when you purchase a business or first class ticket. The selected airline will be “the qualifying airline” with respect to this 35% back benefit and the $200 Airline Fee Credit. Note, this rebate bonus used to be 50% and was reduced on June 1, 2017. Unknown

Hotels-When booking hotels and paying with points on Amex Travel, the value of your Membership Rewards points decreases?!?!?!  For hotels, one Membership Rewards point equals $0.007 incremental ticket value on travel. For example, 20,000 points can be redeemed for a $140 hotel stay. (Compare that with what 20K points got you for a flight above-you are much better off paying for flights with points).

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Learn About American Express Membership Rewards Here

How it Works-Book your travel through the American Express Travel site.  When asked for your payment information, select the option to Pay With Points, and then choose how many points you want to redeem.  The amount of your purchase will be charged to your Card account. Points will be automatically deducted from your Membership Rewards balance and a credit for a corresponding dollar amount will be applied to your Card account.  You must redeem at least 5,000 points to use Pay With Points.
If the points redeemed do not cover the entire amount of your purchase, the remaining balance will stay on your Card account.

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Chase Sapphire PreferredChase Ink Business Preferred-one Ultimate Rewards point equals $0.0125 incremental value on travel.  For example, a $250 airline ticket will cost you 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points.  You get this 20% off discount automatically when you redeem your points for travel.  With the Chase Sapphire Reserve-one Ultimate Rewards point equals $0.015 incremental value on travel. For example, a $250 airline ticket will cost you 16,666 Chase Ultimate Rewards points. You get this 33% off discount automatically when you redeem your points for travel.

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Learn More About Chase Ultimate Rewards Here

How it Works– Go to chase.com/ultimaterewards or call the Chase Travel Center toll-free at 1-866-951-6592 to book travel using points.  (A service fee of up to $20 per transaction may be charged for calling our travel center to book travel.  The phone rep will advise as to any service fee, if applicable, before you book.)  If you don’t have enough points to book your travel, you can pay the additional cost with your card.  Minimum point amounts may apply to some bookings.

Citi ThankYou Points

Citi ThankYou Prestige Card-Citi ThankYou Points -worth different amounts depending on what you are redeeming them for—for example…

Citi ThankYou Premier Card

Hotel Stays– one Citi ThankYou point equals $0.01 incremental value on travel. For example, a $500 hotel stay, will cost you 50,000 ThankYou points.

Flights on airlines-one Citi ThankYou point equals $0.0125 incremental value on travel. For example, a $625 flight will cost you 50,000 ThankYou points.

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Learn More About Citi Thank You Rewards Here

Citi ThankYou Prestige Card-one Citi ThankYou point equals $0.0125 incremental value on travel. For example, a $250 airline ticket will cost you 20,000 Citi ThankYou points.

Citi ThankYou Preferred Card-one Citi ThankYou point equals $0.01 incremental value on travel. For example, a $200 airline ticket will cost you 20,000 Citi ThankYou points.

How it Works– Go to the Citi Travel Center to book your travel.  Depending upon your cards, you will get the above redemption discounts when booking.  If you don’t have enough points to book your travel, you can pay the additional cost with your card.

Capital One Miles

Venture Rewards card or VentureOne Rewards card-one Capital One mile equals $0.01 incremental value on travel. For example, a $200 airline ticket will cost you 20,000 Capital One miles.

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Learn More About Capital One Venture Rewards Here

How it Works– There are 2 ways you can redeem you Capital One Miles for travel.

1.  Use your card to book travel.  Then redeem your miles online or by phone to get reimbursed for your purchase. After that, your account will be credited for the purchase, and you will see that credit on your statement.

2. Contact the Rewards Center to purchase your travel and redeem your miles

You can contact the Rewards Center toll free at 1-800-228-3001, Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to midnight ET, and Saturday-Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET to redeem miles for travel.

Barclays Miles

Barclays cards -one Barclays card mile equals $0.0105 incremental value on travel. For example, a $200 airline ticket will cost you 19,000 Barclaycard miles in that you get 5% of your miles back. (20,000 spent but 1,000 (5%) back).

Learn About BarclayCard MIles Here
Learn About Barclaycard Miles Here

How it Works-  Book the travel you want with your Barclaycard Arrival Plus card and then choose any travel purchase within the last 120 days and redeem your miles for a travel statement credit toward all or a portion of your travel purchases.  Redemptions start at 10,000 miles for $100, toward travel purchases made within the last 120 days. Once you redeem your miles for a travel statement credit, the credit will be posted to your Account within 5 to 7 business days.  Travel redemption 5% bonus miles are added to your account within one business day after your travel redemption is processed.