Earning and Using Credit Card & Hotel Points

Interested in using your credit cards to rack up points, but not sure how to go about it? Have you already earned tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of points and want to learn the best ways to use them for their maximum value? Then this is the FAQ page for you. See posts written by our highly knowledgeable team of points industry veterans, selected specifically to help you learn how to earn and burn like a pro.

Just want to know...

... What points are worth and if purchasing them is worth it? See our updated Points Valuations
... The best airline & hotel transfer partners? See: 10 Most Valuable Transfer Partners for Flights & Hotels
... The best cards to earn points on travel purchases? See: The 7 Best Cards for Travel Purchases
... The best way to keep track of your points and miles? See: How To Keep Track of Your Points and Miles

[table-of-contents /]

American Express - Membership Rewards

See: all things Membership Rewards

Earning points: Want to earn Amex Membership Rewards points? Sign up and get a huge bonus. Already did that? See this post:

• Best Cards for Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points

Using Points: Want to use Amex Membership Rewards points? See these posts:

• Maximizing Membership Rewards Points
• 5 Great Ways to Use Your Membership Rewards Points

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For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see the transfer partners, below:

• For transferring to airlines see How Long It Takes for Amex Membership Rewards to Transfer.

Barclaycard - Arrival Miles

See: all things Barclaycard

Using Points: Want to use your Arrival Miles? See these posts:

• Maximizing Arrival Miles
• How the Arrival Plus Offers Great Travel Redemption Flexibility

Capital One - Venture Rewards

See: all things Capital One

Considering picking up a Capital One card? See some useful information, below

• Is the Capital One Venture Rewards Card Worth Getting?
• Why Capital One's Cards Aren't the Best for Award Travel

Chase - Ultimate Rewards

See: all things Ultimate Rewards

Earning points: Want to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points? Sign up and get a huge bonus. Already did that? See this post:

• Top Cards for Maximizing Ultimate Rewards Earning

Using Points: Want to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points? See these posts:

• Maximizing Ultimate Rewards Points
• Maximizing Chase Points for Domestic (USA) Travel
• Best Ways to Redeem Chase Points for Economy Tickets

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see the transfer partners, below.

• For transferring to another account, see How Long It Takes for Chase Ultimate Rewards to Transfer and How to Transfer Ultimate Rewards Points Between Accounts.
• For transferring to hotel brands, see how to transfer to IHG, Hyatt, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton.
• Not sure if you should transfer your points or book through the portal? See here.

Citi - ThankYou

See: all things ThankYou Points

Using Points: Want to use your Citi ThankYou points? See these posts:

• Maximizing ThankYou Points
• Maximizing ThakYou Points for Domestic Flights
• How to Redeem ThankYou Points for Flying Economy
• How to Use 100,000 Citi ThankYou Points

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see the transfer partners, below:

IHG - IHG Rewards

See: all things IHG Rewards

Using Points: Want to use your IHG Rewards? See these posts:

• Maximize IHG Rewards for Free Nights
• Maximizing IHG Rewards for Family Travel
• 7 Low-Level IHG Properties that Make for Awesome Awards
• Historic IHG Hotels You Can Book With Points

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see some related content, below.

• How to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to IHG

Hyatt - World of Hyatt

See: all things Hyatt & World of Hyatt

Earning points: Want to earn World of Hyatt points? See this post about which cards to have:

• The Best Credit Cards for Hyatt Guests

Using Points: Want to use your World of Hyatt points? See this post:

• Top Hotels for Redeeming Your 2 Free Nights

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see some related content, below.

• How transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Hyatt

Hilton - Hilton Honors

See: all things Hilton

• The Award Travelers Guide to Hilton Honors

Using Points: Want to use Honors points? See these posts:

• The Award Travelers Guide to Hilton Honors
• How to Maximize Double-Dipping with Hilton
• Maximizing Hilton Honors for Family Travel

Ritz-Carlton - Ritz-Carlton Rewards

See: all things Ritz-Carlton

Using Points: Want to use your Ritz-Carlton or Marriott Rewards? See this post:

• 9 Marriott (and Ritz-Carlton) Properties that Make Awesome Award Redemptions

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see some related content, below.

• How to Transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards to Ritz-Carlton

SPG/Marriott - Starpoints/Marriott Rewards

See: all things Starwood
See: all things Marriott

• The Award Travelers Guide to SPG

Using Points: Want to use your Starpoints or Marriott Rewards? See these posts:

• Maximizing Starpoints
• Maximizing Marriott Rewards Points
• 9 Marriott Properties that Make Awesome Award Redemption

For transferring your points to an airline or hotel, see SPG transfer partners, below:

Can't find what you're looking for? Check out our guides or travel resources page. Still nothing? Shoot us an email and we'll do our best to get back to you: info@thepointsguy.com. If you'd like to see something added to this FAQ, send us a Facebook message with what you think we're missing. If your request is popular with other readers we'll add it!