Sharing my tips on how to use credit card points for travel. Check out all of the details here!
There are some things in my life that I regret. That one time I moved to Tucson and was having a crisis and got bangs. Quitting my MBA program when I was more than halfway finished. Aaaaand not signing up for reward credit cards sooner.
We often heard our friends talking about credit card points, but since we had debt in the past, it was something we avoided. We kept hearing about free flights and lounge access, so about 10 years ago, we decided to go for it. It’s been a total gamechanger. Since then, we have traveled multiple times for free, enjoyed hotel upgrades, lounge access, and have been rewarded for everyday spending through points.
How to use credit card points for travel
How to Use Credit Card Points for Travel: Maximize Rewards for Flights, Hotels, and Lounge Access
In this post, I’m going to share some tips on how to maximize your credit card rewards for travel and share my experience with the American Express Platinum Card, including its pros and cons. I’ll also share my favorite tips for getting the best airfare deals!
Ways to Use Credit Card Points for Travel
1. Free Hotel Stays & Upgrades
Many travel credit cards allow you to redeem points for free hotel nights at major chains like Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt. Some cards also offer automatic elite status, which can lead to room upgrades, late checkout, and free breakfast. When I book through the Amex travel portal, we’re able to see which rewards we’ll receive, whether it’s late checkout, early check-in, a resort credit, or a room upgrade when available. You also get $200 credit each year for their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection.
(Free room service at our upgraded Venetian suite in Vegas. Our flight was also free)
Tip: Look for transfer partners where your points stretch further. For example, American Express Membership Rewards points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Hilton Honors but often have promotions offering extra value. Sometimes you can get 2 for 1 points so it’s worth it!! You can do this directly through the American Express website.
2. Booking Flights & Scoring Airfare Deals
One of the best ways to use credit card points is to book flights. You can redeem points directly through your card’s travel portal or transfer them to airline partners for even better value.
Best ways to find airfare deals:
Use Google Explore:
Sharing some of the food highlights from our trip to Spain. If you have any recs to share, please shout them out in the comments! My last Spain recap is here.
Hi friends! Happy Monday! I hope that your week is off to a great start. We had a lovely weekend over here. We celebrated my nana’s birthday – I’ll share some pics in Friday Faves – enjoyed the Tucson monsoons (SO good), and got ready for a little adventure. I post a lot more over on IG stories if you’d like to follow along there!
For today’s post, I wanted to share some eats from Spain! You guyyyyyyssss. The food was incredible. Everything was fresh and delicious – even the fried options felt light and less greasy than their US counterparts – and I’ve already tried to replicate some of our favorite dishes here at home. While we went out to eat a LOT and tried so much incredible places, I’m sharing our top picks from Sevilla below.
A funny note before we get started: we like to eat. Like, a lot. We’re all foodies, we all enjoy it, and we like the try ALL the things. Also, when we travel, we tend to have one giant meal each day and then snack and grab smaller bites the rest of the day. (You can see an example of this when we went to Mykonos here.) At least three times during the trip, the server asked us to stop ordering. “Ok, that’s enough food.” LOL. Let it be known that we ordered a lot – you know, in the name of research – and we crushed it. Maybe they’re used to tourists ordering a lot of food and wasting it? Welp, that wasn’t us.
Sevilla Food Recommendations and recap!
Hi friends! Happy Friday! How was the week? I hope you’ve had a great one. Ours went by quickly — part of it was spent in Arkansas and then we flew back home to Tucson.
We had a wonderful time with family and enjoyed so many fun adventures.
Some highlights:
the alligator farm was a HUGE hit
a beautiful hike,
strolling around and shopping in Hot Springs,
Read more
Win a Trip to Hawaii
Summer Shape Up 2023 Grand Prize Giveaway
Summer Shape Up starts July 10th! Not only are we bringing the heat with our workouts, but the grand prize is HOT! This summer you could win a trip to Hawaii for a FREE 3 night stay for you and a friend at the beautiful Prince Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu!
Win a trip to Hawaii!
We’re talking free free– airfare, hotel, meals, & a poolside cabana! I think we can push it for 6 weeks for a chance to relax! Not to mention, you will also receive some LSF Nutrition goodies to help you continue to stay on track even after the challenge!
Waikiki Beach, HonoluluAnd of course we want to make sure you all feel good throughout the 6 weeks so each week we’ll be giving away other amazing prizes to #teamlsf girls who are absolutely crushing it with their workouts, nutrition, and accountability groups!
How to Win
The more you participate in the challenge, the better results you’ll see AND the higher your chances of winning weekly prizes and the grand prize trip to Hawaii!
Below are just a few ways to make sure you stand out:
- Post your “I’m In” graphic on Instagram & tag @lovesweatfitness & @teamlsf
- Take your before photos (you can share them or save them for later!)
- Post your #sweatyselfies & #rollscalls daily! Tag @teamlsf & hashtag #LSFsummershapeup
- Comment on other #TeamLSF babes posts (everyone needs encouragement!)
- Jump in on chats in the private SSU Facebook Group
- Join an Accountability Group
- Join our weekly Instagram Lives over on @lovesweatfitness
At the end of the 6 weeks we will ask you to share your before and after photos and your personal story for a chance to win the GRAND PRIZE trip to Hawaii!
We can’t wait to start this challenge with you!
The MOVE app is designed to give you the absolute BEST results when you stick to my pro