Several opportunities exist to earn a lot of credit card points. These credit card reward points can be redeemed for flight and hotel bookings. This Beginner’s Guide covers what you need to know to travel free using credit card reward points.
Firstly, do you really travel free of cost?
If you redeem your reward points for hotel bookings, you most likely won’t have to shell out any money for your stay except for the incidental consumptions. However, when it comes to flights, you may have to shell out on taxes and surcharges, popularly known as “fuel surcharge or YQ”. These surcharges vary across programs.
Combine flexibility with booking early since most award flights and hotel rooms open up before at least 300 days. Booking early would give you more options. However, few airlines, specifically European airlines, have opened more premium cabin awards near travel dates.
Get a Right Credit Card
Not all credit cards are worth it. You may get a credit card just because it is lifetime-free. However, credit cards should be selected based on their benefits to your spending and lifestyle. Ideally, a card should complement your spending and lifestyle rather than you changing for it.
Available Credit Card
A few credit cards issued by AMEX, Axis and HDFC work better for free travel. This is because you can transfer points to airlines for reward tickets.
In India following credit cards can transfer points to other Airlines:
- Best American Express Credit Card (Points Never Expires)
- Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card (Beginner Friendly)
- Platinum Travel Credit
- Gold Charge Credit Card
- Best Axis Bank Credit Card
- Axis Reserve
- Axis Atlas
- Best HDFC Bank Credit Card:
- Infinia
- Diners Black
- SBI Credit Cards:
Both Amex and Axis allow you to hold more than one credit card at a time, accelerating the earning of your points. Once you have your credit card, start accruing your points, and once you’re ready, transfer your credit card points to the airlines or hotels.
Accelerate Points Earning
You don’t have to overspend to accumulate points. Getting good points-earning or milestone credit cards is better. And there should be opportunities to earn more reward points.
So, instead of overspending, use the best option to accelerate your points earning.
| Cards | Accelerated Options |
| Amex | Reward Multiplier Milestones |
| HDFC | SmartBuy |
| Axis | Travel Edge GiftEdge Edge Rewards Milestones |
Also, having cards which run promotions for accelerated points earning is a good option. For example, Amex runs a 24x offer on a reward multiplier once or twice a year.
Also, cards which don’t give accelerated rewards but offer vouchers are good. However, the reward should be 2% or better.
Elite Status Helps
Being a Hotel Elite or an Airline elite status helps. You may be eligible for complimentary breakfast or seat upgrades.
This ensures you get more value out of your points and, at the same time, spend less.
Earning Hotel & Air Miles
Hotel Points
There are several ways to earn hotel points, including transfers from credit cards. Here are the guides on all hotel programs to earn their points:
- Accor Points Earning
- Marriott Bonvoy Points
- Hyatt Points Earning
- IHG Points Earning
Earn Air Miles:
There are five ways to earn Air miles:
- Flying and on Incidental Spending
- Transfer Points from Cards
- Airline Shopping Portals
- Buy miles during promotions.
- Convert Hotel Points to Air Miles:
Headsup with Promotions
All the hotel’s programs run promotions all year round. Some of these promotions are for earning more points or lower points redemptions. Keeping regular watch on these can get you to your favourite destination earlier:
At the same time, airlines run several promotions such as Air France Flying Blue Promo Rewards and Singapore Airlines Spontaneous Escapes.
Transfer Partners
Here are the transfer partners in India to which you directly transfer your credit card points:
Hotel Transfer Partners
| Hotel Chain | Amex | Axis | HDFC | SBI |
| Accor | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Club ITC | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Marriott | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Hilton | Yes | No | No | No |
| IHG | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hyatt | No | No | No | No |
| Orchid | No | No | No | Yes |
| Shangri-La | No | No | No | Yes |
| Wyndham Rewards | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Airline Transfer Partners
Here is the list of airlines to which you transfer points in India, along with the relevant credit card issuer:
| Airline | Alliance | Amex | Axis | HDFC | SBI |
| Air Asia | NA | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Air Canada | Star Alliance | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Air India | Star Alliance | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Air France-KLM | SkyTeam | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Avianca | Star Alliance | No | No | Yes | No |
| British Airways | OneWorld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cathay Pacific | OneWorld | Yes | No | No | No |
| Emirates | NA | Yes | No | No | No |
| Ethiopian Airlines | Star Alliance | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Etihad Airways | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Finnair | OneWorld | No | No | Yes | No |
| Hainan Airlines | NA | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Japan Airlines | OneWorld | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Qatar Airways | OneWorld | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Qantas | OneWorld | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Singapore Airlines | Star Alliance | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Spicejet | NA | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Thai Airways | Star Alliance | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Turkish Airlines | Star Alliance | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| United Airlines | Star Alliance | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vietnam Airlines | SkyTeam | No | No | Yes | No |
| Virgin Atlantic | SkyTeam | Yes | No | No | No |
| Vistara Airlines | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Indirect Airline Transfer Partners
Some airline partners are not direct transfer partners for transferring credit card points. However, Marriott and Accor are two good options for transferring to several airlines, in some cases at a good transfer ratio. Hyatt is also a decent option if you can earn many Hyatt Points.
You can get more details here:
Avios Airlines
Avios is a flexible miles currency that can be transferred between airlines. Presently, you can earn and use Avios on:
- Air Lingus
- British Airways
- Iberia
- Qatar
- Finnair [Transfers not active]
You would assume that having the same miles currency means the miles redemption will be the same. That is not the case. Not all routes have similar mile requirements, and each airline’s cancellation policy can be different.
Airline Partners
Unlike hotels, airlines allow the booking of award flights for both their flights and their partners. This is possible due to the Airline Alliance and Codeshare agreements. So, you may be able to book several airline flights by transferring to one airline program.
Airline Alliances
There are three main Airline Alliances in the world:
Let’s say you want to book an Air India flight, then you can book it with most Star Alliance members, for example, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, United, etc. However, an airline may not open or give award flights to all or some airlines. For Example, Lufthansa does open its award flights to partners, but more premium cabins are usually available near the travel date.
Codeshare Arrangements
Apart from Airline Alliances, Airlines also have Codeshare agreements with non-alliance airlines.
For Example, Japan Airlines and Vistara have a Codeshare agreement. This may allow you to use JAL Mileage on Vistara Airlines or Vistara CV Points on Japan Airlines. The bigger the airline, the better the points-to-flight value you can get.
Even Emirates, which is not part of any alliance, has several Codeshare arrangements. Two of these are JAL Mileage and Qantas. Both are Accor and Axis Bank Transfer Partners.
Airlines with Number of Airline Partners
Some of the airlines that have good airline partners out of the alliance they belong to are:
- Air Canada
- Air France-KLM
- Alaska Airlines
- Emirates
- Japan Airlines
- Qantas
- Virgin Atlantic
For Vistara Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Air Canada are good partners.
How Good Airline Partners Save You Miles?
Using Airline Miles is like sailing in the sea. You could have a great time travelling in that sea or feel bad because not all Airline flights require the same miles. That is where opportunity emerges.
For Example, it will take 120000 Club Vistara Points to travel in Vistara Business Class from Delhi to Frankfurt. At the same time, Japan Airlines JAL Mileage can get you the same thing in 42000 miles. Even Avianca is a good option for booking flights for Star Alliance members.
Hotel Points and Air Miles Expiry
Just like Credit Cards, hotel points and miles expire. However, there are ways to prevent their expiration, such as earning more points or staying at a hotel.
It is better to know when your hotel or air miles expire, just in case you don’t want to use them soon.
Air miles & Hotel points redemption is different
Hotel Points are easier to redeem as there is no issue with the phantom award space, like in flights. Redeeming miles for flights is a bit complex. This guide focuses more on navigating this complexity.
Finding Hotel Best Award Redemption
It is possible to find the best or cheapest award redemption rates on the below hotels program:
With this, you will be able to save your hotel points.
Airline Phantom Awards
Phantom Awards are the awards that you can see while searching for the award flight, but in reality, those awards don’t exist. So, always check at least two airlines regarding the availability of award flights.
Dynamic Awards & Fixed Awards
Even though you can transfer your points in a 1:1 ratio to a program, it doesn’t mean you will get a better value there. The award flight mileage or hotel points requirement can be fixed or dynamic based on different factors.
Most partner hotels now have dynamic awards, whereas many airlines still have fixed awards. However, airline award charts are a bit complex for beginners. Beginners may start with programs that have fixed redemptions and, at the same time, know more about dynamic programs.
Hotels Fixed & Dynamic Awards
| Hotel Chain | Award Type |
| Accor | Dynamic+Fixed Value |
| Club ITC | Dynamic+Fixed Value |
| GHA Discovery | Dynamic+Fixed Value |
| Marriott | Dynamic |
| Hilton | Dynamic |
| IHG | Dynamic |
| Hyatt | Fixed [Season Based] |
Airlines Fixed & Dynamic Awards
You may do more research on airline award charts to know the number of miles needed. Here is how airline award charts are:
| Airlines | Award Type | Based on |
| Air Canada | Fixed | Region+Distance |
| Air France-KLM | Dynamic | Region |
| Air India | Partial Fixed | Region [International] |
| Alaska | Partial Fixed | Distance |
| American Airlines | Partner: Fixed Own: Dynamic | Region |
| Avianca Lifemiles | Fixed | Region |
| British Airways | Fixed | Distance+Season |
| Copa Airlines | Fixed | Region |
| Cathay Pacific | Fixed | Distance |
| Etihad | Dynamic | Distance |
| Emirates | Fixed | Distance |
| Finnair | Fixed | Region |
| Hainan Airlines | Fixed | Distance |
| Iberia | Fixed | Distance+Season |
| Japan Airlines | Fixed | Distance |
| Korean Air | Fixed | Distance |
| Qantas | Fixed | Distance |
| Qatar | Partial Fixed | Distance |
| Singapore | Fixed | Region |
| TAP Portugal | Fixed | Region |
| Thai Airways | Fixed | Region |
| Turkish | Fixed | Region |
| United | Partial Fixed | Region |
| Virgin Atlantic | Fixed | Own: Region+Season Partner: Distance |
| Virgin Australia | Fixed | Distance |
| Vistara | Fixed | Region [International] |
Book Early
Combine flexibility with booking early since most award flights and hotel rooms open up before at least 300 days. Booking early would give you more options. However, few airlines, specifically European airlines, have opened more premium cabin awards near travel dates.
Here is a simple table showing when it is better to redeem points:
| Season | Timeline |
| Peak Season | 4-6 Months |
| Off Season | 2 Months |
| Mid Season | 2-4 Months |
These timelines aren’t perfect, but they can give you a heads-up.
Flexibility is the Key
Another thing to consider while using reward points is that flexibility is the key. Since you won’t be shelling a lot from your pocket, it is better to be flexible. This is because the room or flight you want to book may not be available.
Cancellation Charges
You will usually not pay any cancellation charges for hotel award bookings if they have been cancelled at least 24 hours before check-in. However, in the case of Accor or ITC, it will depend on the non-cancellable or flexible rates you booked.
Whereas almost all airlines have cancellation charges ranging from medium to high. For Example, United has no cancellation charges until departure except for a no-show. The good thing is that most airlines allow miles to be refunded even after a show for charges.
Fuel Surcharge
Fuel Surcharges are additional charges you pay on award flights. Depending on the airline miles you are using and the airline you are booking, your fuel surcharge will vary. Some airlines don’t transfer fuel surcharges, and some don’t charge them on their flights. Not all airlines are equal on this.
Read: Ultimate Guide to Airline Fuel Surcharge on Award Tickets
Stopovers
Not all airlines offer stopovers. And any airline program that offers stopovers across the world is good.
Air Canada, Air France, Alaska, Japan Airlines, United and many other airlines offer worldwide stopovers. This means you get more value or save miles without spending more.
Value of Your Points
Everyone values points differently. Some may value them higher if they redeem them for Business or First Class, while others will value them depending on their regular travel. It all depends on what these points are worth in non-monetary terms. For you, it may be an experience of travelling in Business Class, and for your friends, it may be low-cost.
At the same time, knowing the usual value of points is always better.
Get Better
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Bottomline
There’s nothing like free travel. However, you can always reduce the cost of your travel by using your card points to book hotels and flights. This guide covers where to start for free travel and where to look to improve your skills at it.
