Collect more rewards: How to make better use of your points and miles in 2025

At TPG, we try to cross a few destinations off our travel bucket list every year. However, finding the cheapest way to get there and back is a challenge. Although many TPG readers and contributors use credit card rewards for flight bookings, you may be unsure whether your rewards are getting you the best deal.

To address this issue, we’ve made it our New Year’s resolution to show our readers how to maximize their points and miles. You can minimize your travel costs and explore more places by using your rewards more efficiently.

Here are five simple tips to maximize your travel rewards in 2025.

Related: How to Choose Your Best Credit Card Strategy

Redeem Chase points for Hyatt stays

There are many ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for hotels, experiences and sporting events to reduce the cost of your vacation.

For example, you can use Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book a Hyatt stay by transferring them to World of Hyatt. You can also transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to IHG One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, but Hyatt points are worth significantly more in the December 2024 TPG ratings.

For example, 21,000 World of Hyatt points are enough for a standard free night on an off-peak day at a Category 6 hotel like the Great Scotland Yard Hotel or Park Hyatt Chicago. Redeeming these points could get you into a room that would otherwise cost more than $500 per night on most dates. World of Hyatt offers all members a resort fee waiver on award stays, which can add to the savings.

Related: The Best Hyatt Hotels in the World

Here are some of the best cards to earn Ultimate Rewards points:

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• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Ink Business Cash® credit card: Earn $350 when you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first three months your account is open; Plus, you’ll earn an additional $400 if you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.
• Ink Business Unlimited® credit card: Earn a $750 cash back bonus after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Freedom Flex®: Earn a $200 bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®: Earn an additional 1.5% on everything you purchase (up to $20,000 spent in the first year). This is worth up to $300 cashback.

The first three cards earn fully transferable Ultimate Rewards points, while the remaining four are technically cashback credit cards.

However, if you also have an Ultimate Rewards points earning card, you can convert your Chase cash back rewards into Ultimate Rewards points. For this reason, it may make sense to have more than one Chase card in the family to maximize your earning and redemption potential.

Learn how to transfer credit card rewards

You might consider using your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book travel directly in the Chase Travel℠ portal, but let’s look at what that means for a one-way flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Heathrow Airport (LHR ) means next summer.

I selected a nonstop sample flight from United Airlines that would cost $1,128 in regular economy class if I booked it through Chase Travel.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points for travel for 1.5 cents each through the portal. So this flight would require 75,200 Ultimate Rewards points if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and redeem them for this flight through Chase’s travel portal. If you had Chase Sapphire Preferred, your Ultimate Rewards points are worth a slightly less 1.25 cents each when redeemed through Chase Travel, so you’ll need 90,240 Ultimate Rewards points.

Alternatively, you can book this flight in regular economy class for 40,000 MileagePlus miles and just $5.60 in taxes and fees. Remember, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to United MileagePlus 1:1.

When you transfer credit card rewards to a loyalty program, you typically don’t earn frequent flyer miles on your ticket (which you would normally earn if you booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal). However, you’ll likely come out ahead if you save tens of thousands of credit card points by transferring them to a partner airline program rather than redeeming them through a credit card travel portal.

Check award rates with transfer partners before redeeming awards through your credit card issuer’s travel portal. Transferring awards to booking award flights or stays can make sense if the prices paid are high (e.g. on peak summer travel days) or award prices are low.

Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable points

Track your points and miles

It’s difficult to use your points and miles properly if you don’t track them closely. Luckily, there are many ways to track your points and miles.

Many of us used to track our rewards manually in a Word or Excel document, but keeping them updated was time-consuming and cumbersome. So you might want to use an automated tool. One option is the TPG app, which manages all your credits in one place, automatically calculating their value and letting you know when they expire.

The TPG app gives you an overview of your current situation and can support you in your travel planning. When you log in, you’ll see where the accounts you sync have the most rewards (and the value based on TPG’s monthly points and miles ratings).

Related: How to keep your points and miles from expiring

Sign up for all loyalty programs

Many people don’t sign up for any loyalty program because they think they’ll never actually fly on JetBlue or stay in a Hilton. But this attitude has cost travelers millions of points and miles.

Even if you’re not loyal to an airline or hotel chain, enrolling in the program on your flight or stay means you’ll add more rewards to your balance each time you use the program again. You may even receive additional perks, such as: B. Free WiFi during your hotel stay just for being a member.

While you may not want to join every program now, consider providing a loyalty number on every flight you take. This will help you accumulate rewards in various programs that can ultimately get you a free trip.

Related: These flight and hotel programs offer free points when you sign up

Use online shopping portals to collect reward points

Using a shopping portal, you can earn more rewards on purchases for yourself or your loved ones this holiday season. These portals are essentially online shopping malls that work with thousands of merchants. By starting at the portal rather than going directly to the retailer’s website, you can earn bonus points or miles on thousands of items.

For example, let’s say you want to book a transfer or tour through Viator. If you go directly to the Viator website, you will only receive rewards on your credit card purchases. If you instead click through the AAdvantage shopping portal before making a purchase, you can secure additional rewards.

If you prefer to earn cashback instead of points and miles, you can explore online shopping portals like Rakuten and TopCashback. We recommend using a shopping portal aggregator every time you shop online to find the program that offers the best return for your merchant.

Related: The Beginner’s Guide to Airline Shopping Portals

Conclusion

With the start of a new year, there are plenty of opportunities to change your points and miles earning and redemption strategy.

Following a simple strategy, e.g. For example, making sure you assign a frequent flyer number to every flight you take can reward you significantly.

We’re already dreaming about our next points and miles adventure.