In my last blog, I started talking about the benefits to getting credit cards that offer rewards and points whenever you use them.
I explained what each reward option was before getting into the many different opportunities you have when using airline rewards (or airline miles).
Let’s continue looking at more reward and point offers, starting with hotel perks.
How to Use Hotel Points
Hotel reward points can offer more than just a percentage off a hotel room. Some credit cards actually come with what is called ‘hotel status’.
Hotel status means that a particular credit card company, such as American Express, has partnered with a particular hotel chain in order to offer members perks.
These perks can be everything from:
Room upgrades
Complimentary breakfasts
Late checkouts
Free internet
Bonus points for hotel stays
Status upgrades on credit cards
Even if you aren’t traveling far or as often, getting hotel points can be a fantastic way of exploring and enjoying amenities that are usually an extra cost or come with a certain hotel status level.
When choosing a business credit card for their travel or hotel points, choose one that matches your preferred hotel.
So for instance, if you enjoy staying at Hilton branded hotels, then AMEX cards are the best for that chain; if you prefer Hyatt, then you’d want to apply for Discovery cards.
Other cards that give complimentary hotel status:
AMEX Platinum & Business Platinum
Hilton Aspire
AMEX Marriott Gold Elite
World of Hyatt Credit Card
IHG Rewards Club Premier Credit Card
Delta SkyMiles Reserve
A good strategy is combining these types of rewards with other aspects of travel. I’ll talk about strategies a bit later, but for now, let’s look at a reward you may not even know about:
Rental cars.
How to Use Rental Car Status
Rental car status is fantastic because it means you avoid standing in long lines; you immediately get to walk down to the lot, saving not only time but money.
The best way to get to the top-tier with rental car companies is to status match. This means asking the rental car company to match the status of a level you have with a partnered car.
The best companies for this are:
Sixt
National
Hertz
Getting the appropriate status match is actually fairly simple, depending on the company:
Sixt Diamond Status
You’re open to an invitation if you have a membership with Lufthansa HON Circle, Emirate Platinum, or American Express Centurion Titan cards.
Send an email to sixtcards@sixt.com and request a match from BW Diamond Select.
National Executive Elite Status
Be a member of National’s Emerald Club
Go to their website https://status.emeraldclub.com and do a status match for Executive Elite
Hertz President’s Club
Be a member of National’s Executive Elite
Email hertzstatusmatch@hertz.com your Executive Elite status and request them to match it with their President’s Club status. Be sure to include your Hertz number.
To make even better use of these rewards, be sure to reserve your car and pay for it on the company’s website to get more benefits.
Credit Card Strategies for More Rewards & Points
As you’ve discovered in this guide, the opportunities and benefits of using those credit card rewards and points can save you a ton of time and money.
However, none of these will actually benefit you if you don’t have a good strategy in place before you start using them.
I’m going to outline some of the best strategies to use on some of the best credit cards that offer terrific rewards and how you can grow them to 10X their value.
For all of these cards, your strategy lies in combining these redemption points and rewards with the rewards you receive with purchase points.
Chase Credit Cards for Ultimate Rewards
The strategy for Chase cards, especially using the Chase Sapphire Reserve card where you can receive a 50% pay yourself back bonus, is to combine your points together.
Again, combining these points gives you the 50% bonus on the Reserve; this is one of the reasons why this card is a priority when you start stacking credit cards.
Combining Chase points is not reserved for the Sapphire Reserve card; you can combine points on any of your Chase cards as long as they are on the same account.
American Express Member Rewards
AMEX cards have a ton of great member rewards, however it’s important that you’re using the cards in the right way.
So for instance, here are the things you should avoid using your AMEX cards for:
Shopping/merchandise
Statement credit
Hotels
These things only give a small amount of cash per point, which is a complete waste of the value of these cards.
Decent value includes anything that is a 1:1 ratio (1 cent per point), as that at least helps to grow your points for every cent you spend.
The most value-added AMEX cards are those that offer 1.25 cents or more per point. These include:
AMEX Platinum Charles Schwab (1.25 cents per point) (you will need to have a Charles Schwab account)
AMEX Platinum (1.50 cents per point) (best for travel when booked through AMEX)
AMEX Business Platinum (same as AMEX Platinum)
Other cards to maximize your reward points:
Wells Fargo
US Bank Point
And there you go, guys!
Credit card rewards and benefits are incredible perks, not just for travel, but car rentals, hotels, purchase protection, and more.
If you want to learn more about the different rewards and points on your card or which card is the best for rewards, then come and join us and get started!