Travel Rewards- which is right for you?

Airline Credit Cards

Airline credit cards are where you can really score big travel discounts! But it does take some investing on your end as well as loyalty to the one airline to really rack it up. I am giving you three examples of American Airlines credit cards, but almost every airline and hotel will have loyalty cards like this. Just read the fine print and compare always! COMPARE HERE

• AA Red Advantage Mastercard

  This was the first ever credit card I got back when I was 20. We were on a flight and they mentioned how you would get 60,000 bonus points after making $3K in purchases over the first three months of the card. That’s a round trip ticket to Europe! I was sold. I was a loyal AA customer for years but with the market changing and me being based out of Tampa instead of Charlotte, I’ve had to add to my airline loyalty list.

  Bottom Line:

  • $99 Annual Fee

  • 30-60k Bonus points after making a purchase in the first 90 days and pay the annual fee

  • 2x miles on AA purchases, 1x everything else

  • First bag checked free

  • Free companion ticket after you spend $20,000 in one year

  • No foreign Transaction fees

• AA Silver Mastercard

  For a step above the normal red advantage card, this one boosts your annual fee by $100, but also comes out with savings since they provide credit towards your Global Entry fee. I’ve been waiting 6 months for my global entry though so don’t let that be your deciding factor friends…

  Bottom Line:

  • $199 annual fee

  • 3x miles on AA purchases, 2x on hotels, and 1x everything else

  • First bag checked free

  • 2 companion tickets

  • Global Entry fee credit

  • No foreign Transaction fees

• Executive World Elite Mastercard

  This one comes with access to AA lounges worldwide, however it also comes with a hefty price tag with a $450 annual fee. But if you tried to get Admirals Club access alone it is $650, so that price now doesn’t seem so bad with the added bonus miles. Side note- you can only use the lounge IF you have a boarding pass for an AA flight that day.

  Bottom Line:

  • $450 annual fee

  • 50,000 Bonus Miles after purchase

  • Access to ALL Admirals Club Lounges

  • 2x miles on AA purchases, 2x restaurants and gas stations, 1x on everything else

  • First bag checked free

  • 2 companion tickets

  • Priority Boarding

  • Global Entry fee credit

  • No foreign Transaction fees

General Reward Credit Cards

These are credit cards that give you access to multiple hotels, airlines, car rentals etc.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred

  I just recently got this one, because you can use your points towards multiple platforms and The Points Guy ranked it as the best travel rewards credit card. The 60K Bonus Miles perk was another reason. You just have to spend $4,000 in the first three months. No transaction fees is also very important to me so I can use my card internationally on trips. The Chase Sapphire card also can give you cash back, but I would pocket those points since they give you 25% more money if used for travel rewards.

  Bottom Line:

  • $95 Annual Fee

  • 60K Bonus Miles after spending $4,000 in first 3 months

  • 2x Points on travel and dining wordwide

  • No foreign transaction fees

  • 1:1 Point transfer

Hotel Loyalty Points

Since traveling for work more, I have been booking all my hotels for either Hilton or Marriott because of their great reward programs and having international locations. Note, both these hotels also have rewards credit cards if you want to rack up more points.

• Hilton Honors

  I was able to get a night for free during my last London trip due to their rewards account. Each time you stay, you get 5 points for every dollar spent. Plus they have promotions where you can get bonus miles to entice you to book in certain hotels/cities. . Plus the free warm cookie and water upon arrival is a sweet touch. :)

  For reference: An average night will cost you around 25,000 but it can go up to 75,000

• Marriott Bonvoy

  Like the Hilton Honors program, Marriott operates by giving points per dollar spent, with opportunities for bonus points. Marriott gives 10 points for every dollar spent, giving it the number one ranking for getting you to that free night faster.

  For reference: A free night can cost anywhere from 7,500 to 85,000

Airline Loyalty Programs

• Southwest Rapid Rewards Program

  My company has be traveling a lot more, and their choice airline is Southwest. And who can blame them? Free checked bags, ability to change flights around, get your money back or credit, etc. For their rewards program, it’s based on a tier. Even better is that I can transfer points using my Chase Sapphire Card above. To redeem, about 40,000 points will get you a $650 wanna get away value ticket.

  • Business Select – 12 points per dollar

  • Anytime – 10 points per dollar

  • Wanna Get Away – 6 points per dollar

• United Airlines MileagePlus

  Another airline company I have randomly traveled with, their points system is pretty simple. Standard United MileagePlus members earn 5x the cost of their ticket. Elite members earn more, with the total miles equaling between 7x to 11x the cost of the ticket. To redeem your miles, an average domestic flight can cost you betwen 20,000 to 30,000 miles.

Moral of the story- if you aren’t using reward programs you need to get on it, STAT. You can start by finding a airline or hotel you want to be loyal to or start spending your money on a rewards credit card. In my case, I do both! I think it gives you the most bang for your buck especially if you are already using these companies in your travels.

This was just a general overview of rewards, let me know if you want me to dig deeper into this in the future! 

Sincerely,

Sarah

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