3 Ways to Maximize the Value of Your Credit Card Points (+Seats.aero Walk-through)

Read time: 7 minutes

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How I saved 4 hours and got 10x on my credit card points.

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Imagine this. 💭

You have 60,000+ credit card points.

You are scrolling through the travel portal to plan your next vacation.

OMG!

Is that a $4,000 flight for 400,000 points? 😲

Wait… I don’t have 400,000 points.

But, you don’t need to.

So you start to research what else you can do.

The issue isn’t the “what.”

“Don’t use the travel portal.”

“Transfer them to a travel partner.”

“You can get more than $0.01 per point!”

The problem is the “how.”

When spending your credit card points for flights… there is a sliding scale between availability and redemption value.

In the best situation — you get both.

But that isn’t always the case.

Let’s go through the three main strategies that you can use for booking flights with credit card points… and simplify the entire process.

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Strategy 1: Credit Card Travel Portal

Most of your big bank credit cards are going to have this option.

Basically an online travel agency.

They have the most availability because they can search for almost any flight. Then they just convert the cost they find to points.

Usually this is at $1 = 100 points (or 1cpp)

If you don’t have enough points to cover the full cost… then they will use what you have and charge the rest in cash dollars ($).

When to use it:

• You don’t want the hassle of transferring points
• You don’t have enough points to cover the full cost
• Your travel isn’t flexible

The downside: The redemption value per point will be minimal (0.5 - 2 cents per point).

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Strategy 2: Transfer Partners

This can get you an amazing redemption value… but you will need to spend some time to search for it.

Why does it take longer?

Every airline has a limited number of tickets to be purchased with points. The point values can change based on demand. You’ll have to check with each individual airline if they fly to where you want to go.

So why even bring up this option?

If you take the time to do the search. Search 9-12 months in advance (or super last-minute).

You’ll find those business class gems that are basically a steal.

How to do it:

Step 1: Find the Transfer Partners

For Chase Ultimate Rewards:

• Login to your Chase Account
• Go to Ultimate Rewards
• Navigation Bar > Travel > Transfer Points to Partners

For AmEx:

• Login at the AmEx Transfer Partner page

Or you can quickly Google “Point Transfer Matrix” to pull a chart of most point programs.

Step 2: Search each individual airline partner website

You’ll have to be flexible on the days and times. Keep an eye out for those Super Saver fares where Business Class seats are on a “points” sale.

Because why sit in Economy if you can sit in Business?

Step 3: Confirm Availability

You found one! A flight that works for when you want to leave… and you have enough points.

But don’t transfer yet!

Sometimes that seat disappears or the points needed change. Call the airline or keep the booking page open while you transfer.

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Strategy 3: Using Seats.aero

A site that does all the searching across partners for you.

Can’t search every airline. But 80% of the work is done.

Saves hours searching and gets a fair redemption value (8+ cpp)… a pretty good option.

And it works for AmEx, Citi, Chase, Bilt, and Capital One.

How I use Seats.aero:

1. Explore Tab

Use the filtering table. Scroll to the bottom to see more filter areas for specific columns. It’s a good workaround since everything else is locked on the free option.

2. Search Tab (Traditional City & Dates View)

I use this one the most.

I’ll type in my origin location. And for destination I usually put the main one I want along with others that are close by.

For example: My upcoming Philippines trip… I checked Manila and Cebu since they are like 1 hour away from one another.

I usually scroll around on different days to see what is considered cheap or expensive for the flights.

3. Routes Tab

Honestly… I don’t use this one. 🤷

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Wrapping It Up

There you have it. The how to the what when you’re looking to book with credit card points.

• Travel portal: Good but convenience tax of not getting the most for your points
• Manually searching transfer partners: Takes a lot of time… just like long division math
• Seats.aero: Like bringing a beta version of a calculator to the test… not perfect, but it’ll get you 80% of the way there quickly

If you’re using Bilt or AmEx points — there is another tool that I actually prefer to use: Point.me.

Happy Travels Point Hacking Trailblazers! ✈️

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This article is for educational purposes and not financial advice.