8 Strategies To Maximize Your Credit Card Rewards

Although large welcome bonuses can be enticing, they aren’t the only regular source of miles and points for people looking to save money on travel. Don’t make the mistake of leaving miles and points on the table from your everyday spending: Consider strategies to help you maximize your credit card rewards. Small wins add up and allow you to travel more for less.

Start With an End in Mind

One of the most important things to do—and something people often forget—is to set a travel goal. It cannot be emphasized enough: If you know where you want to go, you can tailor a plan for your points. The miles and points you need to earn to take a cross-country trip aren’t necessarily the same currencies as what you would use to get to Europe.

After you set a travel goal, research which miles and points can help you reach it. Flexible currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards® and American Express Membership Rewards can give you options to help you meet your goals. The important thing is to figure out which miles and points you’ll need to make it happen. The last thing you want is a large stash of miles and points you can’t make work with your plans.

Learn the Loyalty Programs Relevant to Your Goal

Once you’ve determined which loyalty programs will help you achieve your goal, it’s important to familiarize yourself with those programs. Each program is different and will have quirks that might benefit or harm your trip.

Figuring out the answers to these questions will help you understand how many miles and points you will need to make it to your travel goal. It’s not easy work, but the rewards are worth the hassle. Once you know how many miles and points you need, you can get to earning as efficiently as possible.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some questions you can research to get to know the loyalty programs you need better.

Questions for Airline Loyalty Programs

How much will the flight I want to take cost in miles?
Does the flight cost fluctuate depending on the time of year I’m flying?
Which airlines partner with this loyalty program?
Does the program offer earning boosts via spending or flights taken?

Questions for Hotel Loyalty Programs

Does the hotel chain have peak and off-peak pricing?
Can I use free night certificates toward my trip or will variable pricing mean they aren’t valid?
Does the program offer free nights on bookings of a specific length?
Does the program waive resort fees on award bookings?
Are points and cash bookings an option?
Does a credit card I hold give me status with the program and does that status confer benefits such as breakfast, upgrades or late checkout?

Questions for Transferable Points Programs

What value can I get for my points if I use them to pay for flights?
What transfer partners can I use to help get me to my destination?
What bonus categories does my card offer to help boost my earnings?

Use Credit Cards To Help You Reach Your Travel Goal

Once you’ve identified the loyalty programs that will help you reach your travel goal, you can apply for credit cards to help you meet those goals. Whether it’s The New United Quest℠ Card card, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card (Terms apply) card or a flexible card like Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, knowing what miles and points you need should help you choose the cards that will let you get there. The welcome bonuses for these new credit cards should give you a solid head start.

Don’t fall into the trap of wasting money and time on miles and points you don’t need, instead focus on your travel goal and earn the welcome bonuses that will get you there.

Tip: Make a spreadsheet tracking how much you need to spend on a credit card to earn the welcome bonus and the deadline for making that amount so you don’t miss out on a bonus.

Maximize Credit Card Category Bonuses in Your Everyday Spending

Outside of welcome bonuses, one of the easiest ways to earn miles and points is to maximize your credit card category bonuses. Most credit cards offer double, triple or even quintuple points in certain spending categories. For example, the American Express® Gold Card offers 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), 4 Membership Rewards® points per dollar at US supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar), 3 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on American Express Travel, 2 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases (Terms apply, see rates & fees). If you hold the card, maximize the category bonuses by using the card for all your dining and supermarket purchases.

Some credit cards, like the Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card, allow you to choose a bonus category. That card lets you earn 6% cash back for the first year in the eligible category of your choice, 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs (up to $2,500 in combined choice category/grocery store/wholesale club quarterly purchases), and unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. After the first year from account opening, earn 3% cash back on purchases in your choice category and 2% cash back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs up to the quarterly maximum. Cards with that kind of flexibility allow you to choose your own bonus categories, which can make your points earning even more efficient.

Make sure you know what bonus categories each of your credit cards have and try to earn bonus points whenever possible to reach your travel goal even faster. You could even use stickers to help you remember which card to use at which venue.

Remember To Activate and Maximize Quarterly Bonus Categories

Certain credit cards, like the Chase Freedom Flex®*, offer rotating bonus categories. This requires some bookkeeping for you. You need to remember to activate these bonus categories every quarter. After you activate the bonus category, you also need to maximize the category for the quarter—without going over any limits. The Freedom Flex allows you to earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 spent in the bonus category each quarter. Stay organized so you don’t leave any miles and points on the table.

Tip: Set calendar reminders for yourself to remember to activate quarterly bonus categories.

Strategically Time Your Large Purchases

A corollary to maximizing bonus categories is strategically timing your large purchases. If you have some big-ticket items coming up, like moving to a new house or buying gifts for the holidays, you can time your purchases to help maximize your points. If you know you will be spending thousands of dollars on new furniture in a few months, you might want to wait until then to apply for a new credit card. That way, those dollars can be spent toward earning a welcome bonus (or two).

You can also strategically time your purchases to coincide with quarterly bonus categories. Let’s take the Chase Freedom Flex®* as an example. Home improvement stores are often included in the 5% bonus category. If you are in the market for a new washer and dryer, try to wait until a quarter when this category is bonused to purchase that item. Once again, staying organized and knowing what bonus categories apply to which credit cards at what times can really help you maximize your miles and points earnings

Shop Through Portals To Earn Extra Miles

Another way to earn bonus miles and points is to utilize online shopping portals. Most airline and bank rewards programs feature shopping portals. You create an account and then click through to the website where you want to make an online purchase. The shopping portal keeps a record of your purchase via cookies, and you earn bonus miles or points from the purchase. The trick is finding a shopping portal that offers you the most bonus points for the miles and points you want. Every bonus point counts, so avoid going directly to a retailer’s website—go through a shopping portal whenever you can.

Tip: Use Cashback Monitor to find the best shopping portal bonus.

Use a Dining Portal To Earn Bonus Miles When Dining

Many airline programs have dining portals that allow you to earn bonus miles when dining at certain restaurants. You generally can only sign up for one of these dining portals at a time, but since you’re focused on a travel goal, you should be able to sign up for a dining portal that will best help you reach that goal.

After linking a credit card to the dining portal, whenever you dine at a participating restaurant, you will earn bonus points. You can either look up restaurants on the portal every time you want to go out to eat or just use the card linked to the portal every time you dine out. That way, if a restaurant is on the portal, you’ll get the bonus points without thinking about it. While you won’t earn many miles and points this way, it’s still a nice way to top off your account.

Tip: Using a dining portal is an easy way to make sure your miles don’t expire—remember that some programs require you to have activity every so often to avoid expiration.

Bottom Line

Having a clear travel goal for your miles and points will help you maximize your miles and points earning. With efficiency and organization, you should be able to earn welcome bonuses and bonus points in the loyalty programs that will help you meet your travel goal. Stay focused and you will be putting your hard-earned miles and points to work in no time.

To view rates and fees for American Express® Gold Card please visit this page.