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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Why I'm changing up my points and miles strategy for the rest of 2024
Jordan Waller is a managing editor at TPG. He focuses on travel features and trending news, regularly writing and editing content for the site.
April 26, 2024 • 10 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 author describes a shift from focusing on a single airline loyalty program to prioritizing flexible points that can be transferred to multiple travel partners.
Accumulating a large balance in one airline currency led to a desire for more redemption options, including hotels and non-alliance airlines.
Flexible points are highlighted as offering greater versatility, enabling transfers to both airline and hotel programs for broader travel opportunities.
The piece provides insights for beginners on evolving a points and miles strategy to maximize long-term value.
What to consider
Some offers discussed in the article are no longer available, so current details may differ.
Flexible points can be transferred to a variety of airline and hotel loyalty programs, but transfer ratios and partner availability can change over time.
Redemptions for hotels or certain airlines may not always provide optimal value compared to flights, depending on the loyalty program.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed personal journey illustrating how and why to transition from a single-currency focus to a more flexible points strategy for travel rewards.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Before joining TPG in 2021, I was a newbie to the world of points and miles. Despite traveling frequently throughout the previous decade, I was oblivious to the benefits of loyalty programs or how straightforward it could be to earn points or miles for airfare and hotel stays.
For the last few years, I’ve immersed myself in points and miles, keen to understand every facet and maximize the value I get from every trip I take or penny I spend. Fast forward three years and I’ve accrued a healthy stash of Avios and, until very recently, was also sitting pretty with British Airways Executive Club Silver status.
At this point, however, I’ve hit something of a points and miles crossroads, and I’m now adjusting my earning and redemption strategies to eke out as much value from my points as possible.
Here’s how and why I’m changing up my points and miles strategy for 2024 to no longer focus my energy on earning Avios to redeem for flights.
I don’t need any more Avios
I won’t divulge the total number of Avios I currently have in my British Airways Executive Club account, but let’s just say it’s more than enough to book a few luxury flights across the globe.
Until now, my strategy was simple: Earn as many Avios as possible and redeem them on as many great flight experiences as possible. I did this through a variety of methods, initially starting out without a credit card by using British Airways' online shopping portal for as much of my regular spending as possible.
SHOPPING.BA.COM
While it wasn’t getting me the most Avios imaginable, it was a great gateway to understanding points and miles accrual, and I was frequently able to earn double and triple Avios or higher on retail purchases and subscriptions that I’d buy anyway.
After this, I briefly flirted with British Airways’ now-defunct prepay travel card, which would earn 1 Avios per British pound ($1.25) spent. It wasn’t quite the earning rate I could have had with a points credit card, but at least I was earning something — and at that point, I was still approaching points and miles with some trepidation.
I quickly graduated from the debit travel card to taking the plunge and getting myself a British Airways Avios-earning credit card offering 1.5 Avios per pound spent. This was a turning point, and on top of the card's generous welcome bonus, combined with stacking the card’s regular earnings with shopping portals, I very quickly saw my Avios account bloom. I also managed to earn a British Airways upgrade voucher after I hit a certain spending threshold.
As my Avios stash has grown, I’ve taken advantage of British Airways’ Reward Flight Saver redemptions on short-haul economy and Club Europe (the carrier’s European business-class cabin) fares to destinations such as Sicily, Italy; Athens, Greece; Dublin; and Porto, Portugal. Thus far, I've kept these redemptions low in terms of Avios expense to help me save for some bigger Club World redemptions I hope to make this year for myself and my partner.
Hiking Mount Etna in Sicily. JORDAN WALLER/THE POINTS GUY
I have now reached what I consider to be a healthy Avios threshold.
Simply put, I have no real need for more (although some of my TPG colleagues would probably disagree). For my current personal needs and plans, the Avios I’ve accrued in this period are enough to keep me flying for the rest of the year and (possibly) beyond, depending on how extravagant my redemptions are.
I no longer need to worry about earning Avios in the same way, and while I could focus my energy on a different airline, I’d much rather earn points and miles for travel expenses beyond flights.
I want more flexibility
While I’ve enjoyed being able to earn Avios with everyday spending, one of my biggest concerns with primarily using a credit card tied to a very specific currency has been the lack of flexibility with redemptions.
Sure, Avios aren’t restricted to just British Airways flights and can also be used across the carrier's Oneworld partners (and Aer Lingus), but I want even more flexibility. Avios can be used across a varied selection of airlines, but they don’t cover everything. For example, they can’t be redeemed with Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa or Air France, among other airlines that are convenient for me as a United Kingdom resident.
On top of this, I feel like I’m missing out on the opportunity to redeem my points on hotel stays unless you’re counting British Airways Holidays redemptions, which offer far less bang for your buck than a standard flight redemption.
Thus, I’ve decided it’s time to diversify the way I earn, which has led me to apply for a new points-earning card, specifically the American Express® Gold Card.
Theoretically, I could have diversified by taking out a cobranded hotel card such as the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express Card, but I would have once again found myself tied to one specific loyalty currency. With the Amex Gold, I am unlocking a new world of earning and redeeming potential courtesy of Amex Membership Rewards points.
While I’ve retained my original Avios-earning card simply to keep the embers alive, it’s no longer my primary earning card, and I’m now accruing a much more valuable currency that I will later be able to transfer and redeem, broadly speaking, anywhereI like — including with hotel loyalty programs such as Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors.
To me, this is a much more sensible approach to earning loyalty points, as you’re provided with much greater opportunities to maximize their end-use. I can still earn Avios through my old credit card, should I wish, or by spending on shopping portals with my new one. But now I can also earn points to transfer to other airline and hotel loyalty programs.
The power of my points will now be much stronger.
I want to be more strategic about how I earn
When I was limited to earning only Avios with my daily spending, it meant that I also focused all of my energy there by using certain offers or shopping portals to boost my earnings. It made little sense to step out beyond the Avios bubble, as the returns elsewhere would be marginal, with slow growth compared to the impact on my Executive Club balance.
This isn’t to say I haven’t earned points with other loyalty programs at all over the last few years. I have, but only in small amounts with little options to boost them further.
With my shiny new Amex, I can now stack points (including Avios) through various shopping portals to top up my other loyalty accounts when I want to redeem points.
No longer am I glued to British Airways and Oneworld routes and cabins. The world has become a deliciously rotund points oyster.
Best points credit cards for beginners
If this is new to you and you're just getting started with points-earning credit cards, we recommend checking out some of the following articles:
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): One of our favorite starter cards, this Chase option earns 3 points per dollar spent on dining, select streaming services and online grocery orders (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), plus 2 points per dollar spent on travel and 1 point per dollar spent on most other charges. These points are transferable to lots of travel partners, including World of Hyatt, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways and Marriott Bonvoy.
American Express Gold Card: This card has great earning rates on dining and grocery purchases, plus monthly statement credits, including up to a $120 annual dining credit (up to $10 per month; enrollment required), up to a $120 annual Uber Cash for U.S. purchases (up to $10 per month; must add card to the Uber account as a payment method and redeem with any Amex card) and $100 hotel credit (two-night stay required through Amex's The Hotel Collection*; experience credits vary by property). You'll earn 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com, 2 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com and 1 point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. You'll be able to transfer your points to a number of travel partners, including Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, British Airways Executive Club, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors. The card carries a $325 annual fee (see rates and fees).
*Eligible charges vary by property.
Bottom line
Since starting as a beginner in the points and miles world, I’ve managed to earn a decent number of Avios.
I’ve now decided that I want more flexibility with earning and redeeming my points. This has led me to apply for a second credit card to earn much more valuable Amex Membership Rewards points, which will now be the main focus of my points-earning for the foreseeable future.
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.
