Hi! If you're here because you follow me on Instagram (@justcallmehaha), then you know I've been talking about credit card points for travel a lot recently, but what you may not know is how truly obsessed I really am. Ben (and his annoyance) can attest to that. Ha! We've taken dozens of flights (international and domestics) as well as dozens of nights of hotels free (15 in 2025), including a trip to Maui and Kauai for 2024 Holidays valued over $17K all for almost free because of points... and for that, he goes along with my craziness.
If you're not from social media, then a little about me - I've been amateurly earning and traveling with points since about 2014. We have traveled to Europe several times using our points to cover the cost of flights (as a couple, as a family of three, and as a family of four); we did a babymoon in Iceland with flights and hotels completely covered by points, we've flown to Mexico (more than once) via points; and in 2024, we took three trips, as a family of four, that we used points to cover the cost of flights and hotels, as well as stayed 15 nights hotels (local and destination), all covered on points.
I wrote this post in 2018 about some of my experience, methods of earning, and redemptions. While it all still applies, its time to dive into more detail.
I'm going to do a series of posts about credit card points - how to earn, why to earn them, how to use them, and also travel to cover all of the nuisances in between. Once I get through the fundamentals, I'll then share a post with my recommendations, that if I were starting this "game" right now, which cards I would start with and why. I apologize in advance, because I know some of this gets pretty meticulous. Feel free to reach out via IG (@justcallmehaha) or email (justcallmehaha@gmail.com) for questions and clarification.
While this has become a passion of mine and I love talking points, it does take a lot of time and energy. I'm happy to help education, but I would also appreciate in advance if you would kindly considering using one of my referral links (or more) if I help you in anyway. I'll put referral links in the bottom of my posts. Note, if you open this page via social media, please make sure to click the top right corner and open the referral link in an external browser, which helps me get the credit (and also helps you, because you're not applying for a credit card and sharing personal important information with social media).
Points 101
The goal of points traveling for most is to minimize your out of pocket costs, by utilizing credit card points for travel instead of cash. The quickest and most cost effective way to earn points is often through credit card sign up bonuses. Now, before you rolls your eyes, saying you don't want a million credit cards, and close out of this web browser, hear me out.
First and foremost - this "game" is for people who have a steady income and who are able to pay off their credit card statement(s) monthly. The point of this is not to bring you into debt, or farther into debt, it's to take money that you're already spending for every day life (home utility bills, groceries, car insurance, internet, streaming, childcare (if you're lucky), etc) and spend it more strategically on a credit card in order to earn points that you can them redeem for travel.
The basic jist of points travel is to use your normal shopping and spending habits to strategically open credit cards and hit the minimum spend when opening to earn a sign up bonus (SUB). Hit a sign up bonus, then either refer another adult in your household to the same card for them to work on that SUB (and you get referral points) or if it's been 30+ since you got approved for a new, apply for a new one. Rinse and repeat.
Credit Scores
We pay off all of our credit cards every month. Side note about credit scores, as I shared this recently on IG and only learned myself about two years ago when I started to get really into this aggressively, both Ben and I's credit scores have actually INCREASED over the past two years, even though we've both opened 10+ cards each in that time period.
Every time one of us opens a new card, I enroll the card in autopayment. I used to be the kind of person who HATED seeing any balance on a credit card. Whenever I logged into our bank account, often several time a week, if I saw a balance, I would immediately pay it off. However, what I learned with this method is that when your monthly statement closes, if your card is constantly paid off, then you report a $0 balance to the credit bureaus. Sure, this is great and feels good, but at the same time, then the credit bureaus don't actually see you utilizing credit. By letting your statement close with a balance, and then paying off that balance, you're proving to the credit bureaus that not only are you utilizing credit, but you're also responsible to pay it off. With this, Ben and I have both seen an increase to our credit scores over the past 2 years and both have scores above 800.
What happens to your score when you apply for or close a card?
This is a question I've been asked a lot recently, and with understandable concern. When applying for a new card, when there is a hard credit pull, I do see a drop in credit score, usually 5-8 points. However, within a few weeks it jumps back up. I rarely see a drop in credit score when I close a card, maybe 1-2 points, and again it jumps back up.
How to Earn
As I mentioned above, there are numerous ways to earn points: every day spend on your card, spending strategically on cards with higher earn rates for categories (such as Chase Freedom with it's 5% quarterly bonus categories), referrals, shopping portals, etc... but truly if you want get the most bang for your buck, then credit card sign up bonuses are where it's at.
A credit card sign up bonus is an offer extended when you sign up for a new card and hit a minimum spend in a defined point of time. Once you hit this spend, anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000+. in a given time period, often 3 months but sometimes up to 6 months; you then receive a hefty amount of points deposited into your account.
For now, I'm going to focus on sign up bonuses (often referred to as SUBs); but refer back to my 2018 points, linked at the top for shopping portals and I'll work to refresh that as well.
Before signing up for a new card, make sure you can hit the Minimum Spend to get the Sign Up Bonus. Go through your budget and figure out a rough idea of how much you spend on a credit card for an average month; then also think about what other unique expenses you have come up: do you have birthdays or holidays? Taxes? Summer camp? <Thinking about these expenses can help you figure out the best time to sign up for a new card and how high of a minimum spend you can hit to determine which card is right for you.
Referrals are also a great way to earn points! If you have a significant other, friend, or family member who's interested in a card you already have, you can refer them - not only will they get the sign up bonus if they hit the minimum spend requirement, but you'll get referral bonus points if they get approved for the card.
Why Points?
Let's talk about Cash Back vs Travel for your Points.
This really comes down to your needs and priorities. For years we would cash out our Chase points and get a nice boost added to our savings accounts (and this is great! It certainly is nice!) but as we started to want to travel more, we found the value it utilizing points for travel.
Cash value of points really varies, especially depending on the card benefits; but let’s just say you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card (although this applies to others like Capitol One). You can use your points for “cash” on the Chase Travel Portal. This can give you an “exchange rate” of 1.25 cent per point (cpp) with the Sapphire Preferred. Some cards also offer trade in of points for a credit card statement credit (ie cash back). Which hey! Getting 1.25 cent per point is a 25% increase for your use of your points, and thats’ great, right? But what if you could do better!
If you can get a $1,000 credit on your Capitol One statement by trading in 100,000 points; then your exchange rate is $1,000 / 100,000pts = $0.01/pt also known as 1 cpp.
In contrast, if you want to use points for travel, you can often find that transferring points to travel partners will help stretch those points and earn you a higher cpp. (more on transferring in another post. View Fundamentals Post for which Chase cards you need in order to be able to transfer points).
Ie you can often (not always) get more bang for your buck by transferring points, instead of booking in the Chase Travel Portal, or trading points in for cash back.
Points Transfer Example:
I booked a 5 night stay hotel in Maui for 175,000pts by transferring my Chase points to Hyatt and booking my hotel room directly with Hyatt. The cash price would have cost $5,934.
$5,934 / 175,000pts = 3.4cpp; which means my same amount of Chase points is getting me 3.4x’s the value as they could have it I had cashed out.
This is a huge benefit when travel hacking! But it does take time to learn who and how to search! I know, it’s super overwhelming at first. But hang with me...
Cash Back Example:
Now, I get that some of you may be skeptical. You’ll say, but Hannah, I use my cash-back card for everything and earn a couple hundred bucks back every year! Again, that’s great, and if that works for you, keep doing it, But what if I told you instead of a couple hundred buckets back - you could take a free vacation, even a bucket list vacation, yearly?
Remember above how I said we took a 10-night vacation to Hawaii this winter, with a price tag of over $17K had we paid with cash? I had a friend ask… “how much did you have to spend to get that many points? I put everything on my Costco card, which gets me back 3% cash”
Compare the differences:
Because our trip was over the holidays, the hotel and the flights cost (points or cash) were pretty high. We flew Southwest with our companion passes (buy one flight (on points or cash) and get one free).The points and companion pass were earned with getting a personal and business SW card (which took 2 months, $4K minimum spend).
The hotel points were likely earned with Chase Ink cards and referral back and forth with my husband when they had the high bonus and referral; about 3-4 cards which I think had $6k minimum spend each?
So in total, say we spent $25k to earn the points (on normal every day life spend we do anyways; not going above and beyond) and in return we got a $17k vacation… compared to the Costco Card 3% back; $25K * 3%, you’d get back $750 cash. I think it’s obvious to see points and transfer trump cash back here (if travel is your goal!)
Knowing how to calculate the cents per points value of a redemption (CPP) is can be critical to deciding on a “good” redemption if you’re looking to move beyond free travel and gain more value out of your points; but at the same time - any free travel is still free travel, so do you works for you and meets your needs.
Fundamentals
Let’s end this post with some basic rules and terminology. Here are a few resources that could help those of you who know little to none about travel hacking to get you started with fundamentals.
Travel hacking definition: the practice of accumulating and utilizing loyalty points, rewards miles, and other incentives to reduce travel costs. It involves strategic use of credit cards, airline programs, hotel reward programs to maximize reward points while reducing cost of trips
Common Acronyms and Terms
CUR/UR: Chase Ultimate Rewards (the points earned with Chase credits cards. These are awesome because Chase has so many travel partners (airlines, airline alliances, and hotel operators) that you can transfer your points to to book directly (see premium cards below). Transferring CURs to travel partners most often will help your points go farther than booking in Chase Portal. Chase Portal may get you extra points, but it may also cost you more than travel partners and it’s truly a third party, similar to booking with Orbitz or Expedia)
SUB: sign up bonus
MS: minimum spend
A sign up bonus is often a credit card offer to receive extra points for opening a card, when you spend a minimum about in given amount of time opening card.
For example: right now Chase Sapphire Preferred has a SUB of 60,000 points with an $4,000 MS within 3 months of opening the card
(PS- the entire reason for opening a card is to hit a SUB. If you can’t hit the MS, you may want to wait to open until you can. <THIS is the primary method to quickly churn and earn points!! Not daily spend on the right card (although this is the next best option if you’re unable to hit an MS)
Chase Premium Cards
- CSP: Chase Sapphire Preferred
- CSR: Chase Sapphire Reserve
- CIP or CIBP: Chase Ink Preferred or Chase Ink Business Preferred (a business card)
In order to maximize point value; you’ll want to transfer Chase points to travel partners. You’ll need one of 3 premium cards above in order to have this option
5/24 Rule **I'm highlighting this in red because it is critical to know and understand*
Chase requires that a person not have more than 5 cards opened within the past 24mo months in order to be approved for a new credit card from Chase. Cards can be issued from any institution, bank, vendor, or store; so even a Nordstrom card can count against your 5/24.
Note: business cards do not count against your 5/24, but, you have to be under 5/24 to apply
Player Mode
AU: authorized user
P1/P2: Player1 / Player2. In tracking hacking, it is often advised that there is no “we”. Each individual signs up for their own cards. This is because listing someone as an AU will take up one of their 5/24 spots and the goal of the game is to get as many cards (as you can afford) to benefit from each cards sign up bonus.
A huge benefit to 2-player mode is that you can go back and forth in referring one another to new cards; that way not only do you get a SUB, but your P2 also gets referral points.
P1 and P2 can combine points via calling Chase.
Misc others:
- AF: annual fee
- CFF: Chase Freedom Flex (card)
- SW/SWA/SW CP: southwest, Southwest Airlines, southwest companion pass
- Chase Sapphire Preferred <you can use this link to apply for Preferred or Reserve
- Chase Ink Business <you can use this link to apply for any of the Chase Ink Business cards
- Chase Southwest <you can use this link to apply for Southwest Personal or Business cards; but if you're interested in earning Southwest Companion Pass, you need to apply strategically. Future post on this :)
- Chase United <you can use this link to apply to Personal or Business card
- Amex Gold Personal
- Amex Platinum Personal
- Capital One Venture X
- Points Cost and Transfers: What do things like flights and hotels cost in terms of points? and how to do you actually transfer points to partners to book?
- Business Cards: Can you qualify for a business card and how to apply
- Where to Start? Cards Newbie: If I were starting now, this is which cards I'd start with
- HaHa's Hand: Which cards I'm holding and why
- Example Points Trips: Trips on my list and how much they cost for your inspiration
- Southwest Companion Pass: how to earn buy one, get one flights for less, with sign up bonuses; not flying over 100 flights of spending over $100K
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