When navigating travel rewards, understanding points, miles, and Avios is key to maximizing your benefits. Points and miles specifically get thrown around almost interchangeably but there are some importantly differences. Points are flexible currencies typically earned through bank credit cards (Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards). They can be used for direct purchases like hotels and travel or transferred to airline and hotel partners for even more value. Miles are airline-specific and can be earned through frequent flyer programs. However, points can be transferred to specific airlines depending on the credit card program. Once they reach the airline they become miles. Once they reach the airline they cannot be turned back into points at the bank. Avios are a type of mile used by British Airways and its partners (like Iberia). They are the exact same as miles but the different name can be confusing. Bank vs. Transferred Points Points in your bank account can offer lower value when redeemed directly, but transferring them to airline partners often results in better redemption rates. For example, 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points could be worth more when transferred to United Airlines than used directly through Chase's portal.

One of the things about travel credit cards most people find intimidating is the value of points calculations. It is much simpler to understand 1% cash back but points can be so much more powerful than cash back. Let me explain: with cash back you get a fixed value but with points the value of your points depends on how you redeem them. The points valuation calculation is as follows: (cash price -unavoidable taxes and fees)/points needed to purchase= value per point. Let’s use a specific example to see how awesome some of these points redemptions can be. Take this flight from Washington DC to Madrid, Spain on Iberia for example. The cash price of a business class lie-flat seat of $4,109 is completely out of reach for 95% of people. However while booking with points it is 68,000 points roundtrip plus $272.61 in taxes and fees. The points calculation for this redemption would be as follows: ($4,109-272.61)/68,000 = 5.64 cents per point. This is amazing value compared to a 1% cash back or 1 cent per point. This deal gets even more ridiculously good when you factor in the current Chase transfer bonus to Iberia of 30%. This means that you only need 53,000 Chase points to transfer to Iberia to book the flight. If we change the denominator of the equation to 53,000 the value goes even higher to 7.42 cents per point. All this just goes to demonstrate the incredible power of points. With the current welcome offer of 60,000 points from Chase you would still have 7,000 points left over and a $300 travel credit. INSANE!!! If you have any questions or want to know more let me know in the comments below ⬇️

One of the daunting things about sign on bonuses is hitting the minimum spend requirement on some of the credit cards. $4,000 in 3 months is a lot of money so here are some of the best ways I have found to hit the minimum. 1) Use the card for everything you are already going to be spending money on. Simple enough step. 2) Prepay for known expenses. Example: I prepaid my car insurance policy to help hit a spend minimum because I knew I would be spending the money in future months anyway. 3) Ask your parents or dependable friends if they have any big expenses. You can then use the card for the purchase and just have them pay you back. We did this with my parents when we took advantage of the awesome offer the Chase Sapphire Preferred has currently. We used the card for an expense my parents were already going to have to pay for and then they just paid us directly!

Exciting news everyone, my favorite travel credit card just increased its welcome offer. Typically the offer is 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months but now they are adding a $300 travel credit on top of the points. The estimate value of this is $1,050! If you are considering getting a travel credit card this would be an excellent time to do it. I recently used my referral link to have my wife sign up. By doing so we are getting the increased offer on her card, and the 10,000 bonus on my card for referring her. So in total 70,000 points plus $300 bucks in travel credits. Limited-time offer – $300 Chase Travel℠ credit + 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred. I can be rewarded if you apply here and are approved for the card. https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19P/3B4GB8U9HW

Considered to be one of the hardest races in the world Tor des Géants (TDG) is 330k (205 miles) long and has 24,000 meters (78,000) feet of climbing. The race starts and finishes in Courmayeur, Italy and has a cutoff of 150 hours. The race costs $800 so saving money on travel is huge for this race. The closest airports are (TRN) and Milan (MXP & LIN) with Milan generally having the better deals. Train journeys between Milan and Courmayeur cost between $50-100 round trip. There are no major hotel brands in Courmayeur so flights are where the focus should be. Turkish Airlines has an excellent award program and often has award availability on Star Alliance partner flights (United Airlines being helpful for us in this situation). Transferring points is possible from capital one rewards at a 1:1 ratio. Usually a round trip ticket between Europe and the US will cost about 60,000 miles through Turkish and with the current Capital One Venture welcome bonus of 75,000 points the flights could be booked for FREE!