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How I'm planning my transferable points strategy this year and how you can, too
Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
January 17, 2025 • 11 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
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Quick summary
The article outlines a strategy for maximizing points and miles in 2025, emphasizing the flexibility of transferable currencies and the importance of diversification.
It discusses the impact of loyalty program devaluations and recommends retaining points in transferable accounts until ready to redeem.
The author highlights the value of monitoring elevated welcome offers and understanding transfer partner options for each points program.
Pairing cards from the same issuer and prioritizing programs with preferred transfer partners are suggested tactics for optimizing rewards.
What to consider
Some offers mentioned in the article are no longer available.
Transfer bonuses are only advantageous if you have an immediate redemption plan, as transfers are irreversible.
Eligibility for welcome bonuses may be restricted based on previous account history and specific issuer rules.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed guidance on building a personalized points-earning plan and specific strategies for pairing cards and selecting transfer partners.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
The new year brings new resolutions and the chance to plan my travel and loyalty goals.
In addition to locking in my elite status goals and planning some fun travel (I've already redeemed British Airways Avios and Flying Blue miles to take my partner to Japan for his first time this April), I'm thinking about how I will earn points and miles this year.
I hold several different credit cards, some of which earn transferable currencies and some of which earn directly with an airline or hotel loyalty program. So, I'm always thinking about the best ways to maximize my points and miles earnings in the ever-changing world of travel loyalty.
Devaluations are an unfortunate reality of collecting points and miles.
Just weeks into 2025, we have already seen an increase in the cost of Air France and KLM seats to Europe and beyond through the Flying Blue program. To compensate for this, the program promises additional availability at the lowest Saver rates, and the increased Saver rates are still reasonable.
Earning transferable currencies is an easy way to protect yourself from devaluations, which often happen without notice to members. While I'm often tempted to transfer all of my transferable points to an airline or hotel program during a lucrative transfer bonus, these transfers are irreversible. As a result, transferring points — even during a transfer bonus — isn't wise unless I have a fairly immediate use for the points.
You can protect yourself from devaluations by "warehousing" your points and miles in your credit card account until you're ready to redeem them. This way, you don't have all your eggs in one basket if an airline or hotel program devalues its miles overnight.
Preparing for elevated welcome offers
ARTMARTIE/GETTY IMAGES
I always look for increased welcome bonuses, which regularly come and go. I make sure I'm below Chase's 5/24 rule and have even downgraded my beloved Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card in preparation for the next increased welcome offer. In doing this, I can apply for the card again (having not received the welcome bonus in well over 48 months) when an increased offer is available. A new bonus has not been announced, but I hope it will be sooner rather than later.
Suppose you've been pondering applying for a particular card. In that case, it's worth knowing what the regular welcome bonus is. Then, you're ready if the bonus increases or if new perks or benefits are announced that can make a good card even more tempting.
Subscribing to TPG's daily newsletter is a great way to be informed of increased welcome offers in 2025.
One great thing about transferable points is their wide range of transfer partner options. While you may see some of the same programs featured on almost every transfer partner list, transfer partners differ slightly from one transferable currency to another.
For example, World of Hyatt points are among the most valuable hotel currencies you can earn. However, only Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to Hyatt. Therefore, if you're set on building up your Hyatt balance, focus on earning Chase and Bilt points.
Transfer partners can change over time, but thankfully, none of the major transferable points programs have lost big enough partners to make me lose interest in them. Still, I certainly have my favorite programs.
As I select which card to use for each purchase, it's sensible to have at least a vague idea of how I might use the points I earn.
The Wells Fargo Rewards program added a handful of new transfer partners in 2024. However, with only seven partners in total (three of which are Avios partners, so I can easily transfer Avios between the different programs that use it), it doesn't yet excite me enough to focus my spending on their cards in 2025.
You don't need to have a photographic memory of every transfer partner for every program (bookmark our cheatsheet here instead). Still, it's a good idea to not focus too much on earning a transferable currency if you don't value its transfer partners and won't easily be able to redeem the points.
Knowing which cards pair well together
Given the different earning rates and other perks, you might assume that the best way to maximize points earning is to have one of "the best" cards from each issuer. This isn't necessarily true, though. There are excellent card combinations available from the same issuers. I might consider adding a new card from an issuer I already use, or I could acquire two new cards from a new issuer in 2025, provided they work well together.
For example, I previously mentioned that I'd like to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card again, as I should be eligible for the welcome bonus. I had previously downgraded my Chase Sapphire Preferred to the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® card (though this was to retain my credit line and history as my Preferred was one of my oldest cards). I haven't used the Chase Freedom Unlimited card much since downgrading to it.
However, this would be a powerful combination if I were approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred again (and kept my Chase Freedom Unlimited card). With an active Sapphire card, the 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5% back earned on all other purchases charged to the Chase Freedom Unlimited can convert into Ultimate Rewards points. I can then transfer these points to the Sapphire transfer partners, including the fantastic World of Hyatt option.
For small purchases, I could also consider pairing the Citi Rewards+® Card with my Citi Strata Premier® Card (see ). While the Strata Premier earns plenty of ThankYou® Rewards points for large purchases (as I'll explain below), small purchases on the Citi Rewards+ Card automatically round up to the nearest 10. This means a $1 purchase earns 10 points — much more than I earn with the Strata Premier.
If you're considering applying for a new card in 2025, check out our guide to the best credit card combinations. Pairing a new card from your existing go-to card's issuer could be a savvy way to maximize earnings on every purchase.
The information for the Citi Rewards+ has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Restarting my Membership Rewards journey
MARRIOTT
Before the coronavirus pandemic, I was an active American Express Membership Rewards member, enjoying the benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express and its long list of travel perks. However, despite only having two Amex cards in the past (the other being a Delta SkyMiles card), Amex's welcome bonus tool continually delivers the unfortunate news that I am no longer eligible to earn a welcome bonus on any of the cards I've applied for.
This has led me to favor cards from other issuers that consistently approve me for welcome bonuses. However, I miss the opportunity to earn great multipliers on my regular purchases. For example, I could earn four points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) with the American Express® Gold Card and five points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel® with the Amex Platinum (up to $500,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar).
I hesitate to apply for an Amex card with a substantial annual fee if I don't receive an introductory bonus. Instead, I'm planning to apply for a card with no welcome bonus (or a smaller bonus) and make regular purchases through that card this year. This will let me earn some Membership Rewards and hopefully show Amex that I am a genuine customer worthy of a welcome bonus in the future.
If you have received the unwelcome pop-up from Amex when applying for a new card, you may wish to try this strategy, too.
Prioritizing Capital One miles over Citi ThankYou points
BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY
I'm a big fan of my Citi Strata Premier Card, primarily because it earns 10 points per dollar spent on hotels, car rentals and attractions booked on CitiTravel portal; it also earns 3 points per $1 spent on other travel, restaurants, supermarkets, gas and EV charging stations. With many bonus categories included here, I earn at least three points per dollar on most purchases.
Combined with its generous welcome bonus of 60,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening, I earned over 200,000 ThankYou points on the card last year. I did so simply charging most of my everyday purchases to the card.
Some months, I earn more points than I can spend, which is a nice problem to have.
Citi's ThankYou Rewards program transfer partner list is acceptable. However, there's one notable exception that I've been struggling with lately: Aeroplan is my favorite Star Alliance loyalty program, if not my favorite airline loyalty program altogether. Unfortunately, Aeroplan is not a Citi transfer partner. I hope that changes soon, though.
Until then, given how many points I redeemed with Aeroplan last year and plan to redeem again this year, I stopped using my Strata Premier card for most of my everyday spending. Instead, I've moved that spending to my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. This is because I earn a generous two miles per dollar on every purchase and because Capital One miles transfer to Aeroplan. Plus, the card earns 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through said portal.
While the Venture X's $395 annual fee is higher than the the Strata Premier's $95 annual fee, Venture X cardholders receive a $300 annual credit to redeem through the Capital One Travel portal and 10,000-anniversary miles. I would argue this compensates for most, if not all, of the Venture X's high annual fee.
Overall, I won't earn as many transferable miles with my Venture X as I would with my Strata Premier. Still, if you strongly prefer the transfer partners of one currency over another, you may be willing to take a minor hit on your earning to access your preferred partners.
Bottom line
The world of points and miles is ever-changing, with a regular cycle of good and bad news. New transfer partners are added, sweet spots come and go, and elevated welcome offers pop up.
There is no card, transferable points currency or transfer partner that's a perfect fit for my spending and travel habits. As a result, I like to diversify my points and miles to protect myself from devaluations and increase flexibility. And since points and miles aren't a great long-term investment, I'll try to redeem most of the points I earn this year by the end of the year.
Implementing your own transferable points plan can help you earn more points and miles and redeem them for the best possible rewards.
