4 Types of Travel Reward Credit Cards • The Miles Genie

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There are differences between the types of credit cards and award currencies that I discuss on this blog. This is something that tends to be confusing for those who are new to award travel, so I hope this helps.

Most credit cards that earn points/miles that you can redeem for travel fall into one of 4 categories:

Airline co-branded cards
Hotel co-branded cards
Cards that earn bank points
Cash-back cards

First of all, always keep in mind that not all points and miles are equal! I wrote a whole post about this. You can read that here.

Hawaii on miles and points — *Sunset in Hawaii*

1. Airline co-branded cards

Examples of Airline co-branded credit cards

Barclay AAdvantage Aviator Red World Elite Mastercard
Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority

What do you earn from airline credit cards?

Airline miles for the airline with which the card is branded. For example, if you have a Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card, you will earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points.

Your credit card is linked to your frequent flyer account and the miles post to your airline account a few days after your statement closes each month. Although the credit card is issued by a bank (Chase in this case), the miles earned sit in your airline account, not with the bank.

Current offer: bonus_miles_full

How many points/miles do you earn per dollar?

It depends on the card, but usually you earn 1 point/mile per dollar on most purchases. Most airline cards give 2 or more points per dollar when you purchase airfare through that airline. Sometimes there are other bonus categories.

For example, the Southwest Rapid Rewards Priority card earns 3 points per dollar on Southwest flights. Also, 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare, 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone service, and select streaming. Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

Are miles transferable?

Generally, airline miles cannot be transferred to hotel programs (such as World of Hyatt), bank programs (such as Chase Ultimate Rewards), or other airlines.

Once you earn the miles, those miles stay in your frequent flyer account and are subject to the airline program’s rules when redeeming. So if you have a Delta co-branded credit card, you earn Delta miles. You cannot transfer those Delta miles to American Airlines. You also cannot transfer Delta miles to Delta partners. But you can redeem Delta Skymiles for flights on Delta partners.

Delta’s partners include airlines in the SkyTeam alliance and a few other non-alliance airline partners. So, you can redeem your Delta miles for flights on KLM/AirFrance, a SkyTeam partner. KLM/AirFrance may be operating the flight, but if you book it by redeeming Delta Skymiles, you are subject to the program rules and redemption rates of Delta Skymiles, not KLM/AirFrance’s loyalty program (FlyingBlue).

Do I lose the airline miles if I cancel the credit card?

I wrote about what happens when you cancel a card here, but usually airline miles earned from a credit card sit in your airline account, not with the bank that issues the credit card. As a result, airline miles earned from a co-branded credit card are yours to keep, even if you close the card.

Do miles earned from an airline credit card expire?

Yes, but usually this has nothing to do with your credit card. You are subject to the airline’s expiration policy. Every airline has their own policy and timeline. You can read more about that here.

Benefits of airline co-branded credit cards

The most compelling reason to open an airline credit card is to earn lots of miles from the welcome bonus. You can get a free flight to Europe just for opening one credit card! But there are perks that may make the card worth keeping open even after you’ve earned the welcome bonus. Benefits such as a free checked bag may be worth more than the annual fee!

**I do not suggest airline co-branded cards for beginners or for anyone under 5/24* unless Chase is the issuer**

*If you do not know what I am talking about, read this post about Chase’s 5/24 policy.

The main reason to avoid non-Chase airline co-branded cards if you’re just beginning is because of the Chase 5/24 rule. Once you’ve opened the Chase cards you want and you’re ready to open more, airline cards make it possible to earn a large amount of miles thanks to welcome bonuses.

I do not use airline or hotel credit cards for everyday spending, because I prefer transferrable bank points, but I do keep several co-branded cards open for the benefits.

travel credit card rewards, credit card miles, credit card points — I am not against applying for airline or hotel credit cards. In fact, you may be able to book a roundtrip economy ticket to Italy (or anywhere in Europe) with one welcome bonus. Who would argue with that kind of deal?! My point is, prioritize your applications appropriately! Don’t miss out on some of the Chase 5/24 cards.

Summary

Airline co-branded cards are great for welcome bonuses, especially if you’re over 5/24. They’re also good for the benefits they provide such as a free checked bag. But for everyday spending, I suggest using credit cards that earn transferrable points rather than cards that earn miles with just one airline.

2. Hotel co-branded cards

Examples

World of Hyatt Credit Card from Chase
Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase
Hilton Honors co-branded cards from American Express

You can find my favorite current bonuses on the ‘current offers’ tab at any given time!

What do you earn?

Hotel co-branded credit cards earn points with a certain hotel loyalty program. Like airline cards, your hotel credit card is linked to your hotel loyalty account and the points earned usually post to your hotel account a few days after your credit card statement closes each month.

How much do you earn?

Depends on the card, but many earn 1 point per dollar on most purchases. Usually, paid stays at the hotel is a bonus category, which means you earn more points. Some hotel cards also have additional bonus categories such as restaurants. For example, the World of Hyatt credit card from Chase earns 4 points per dollar on stays at Hyatt properties; 2 points per dollar on airfare, at restaurants, at car rental agencies, and on gym memberships; and 1 point per dollar on any other purchase.

Are hotel points transferrable?

Hotel points cannot be transferred to bank points such as Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.

Hotel points can sometimes be transferred to airlines, but it is usually a bad ratio. In other words, I generally do not suggest transferring hotel points to airlines. For example, Hyatt points transfer to several airlines but the ratio is 5,000 points for 2,000 airline miles or worse.

Marriott Big Island hotels — *The beach at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel is so beautiful! This property can be booked with Marriott points*

If I cancel a hotel credit card do I lose the points?

I wrote about what happens when you cancel a card here, but usually hotel points earned from a co-branded credit card are yours to keep, even if you close the card. Like airline miles, the points earned from a hotel co-branded card sit in your hotel loyalty account and usually have nothing to do with the bank that issues your card once they post to your hotel account.

Do points expire?

Yes, but again this usually has nothing to do with your card being open or not. You are subject to the hotel program’s expiration policy. You can read more about that here.

There are always exceptions, though. One exception that I’m aware of is Hyatt. Hyatt points usually expire after 24 months of inactivity, but if you have a World of Hyatt credit card from Chase, your points stay active as long as the card is open. Once the card is closed, the points are still yours, but they are subject to expire according to World of Hyatt’s policy.

Are there benefits/incentives to keep a hotel card open year after year?

Like airline cards, the first reason to open a hotel card would be to earn a welcome bonus. But there are other benefits that may make some worth keeping even after the first year.

Some hotel cards give you automatic loyalty status without having ever stayed a single night at the property. Usually the status is just mid-tier for which the card may not necessarily be worth keeping open. For example, the World of Hyatt card from Chase gives you automatic World of Hyatt Discoverist status. Some cards earn status but only after a specified amount of annual spend. I do not think status alone is a reason to keep a card open, but this is a personal preference. Some people value status more than others.

Some hotel cards give you an annual free night for certain categories. For example, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card from Chase gives an annual free night worth up to 35,000 points starting at a your first cardmember anniversary. Though the annual fee is $95, the annual free night can be valuable. We just booked the Tambo del Inka property (a Luxury Collection Resort) in Peru with our certificate and the rate on our dates was over $400 per night. Even if we get no other benefits out of having this card, think of it like this: we booked a $400 room for $95. Update: Tambo del Inka has moved to a higher category. Regardless, this certificate can be of similar value at several other properties worldwide.

Marriott convoy boundless chase credit card

Current offer: Earn 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months

The World of Hyatt card from Chase also comes with an annual free night at a category 1-4 World of Hyatt property. Despite an annual fee of $95, this benefit alone may make the card worth keeping.

Current offer: 30,000 Hyatt points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months, plus 2 bonus points per dollar on purchases that normally earn up to 1 point per dollar for the first 6 month on up to $15,000.

I do not suggest most hotel credit cards for beginners, but there are 2 exceptions:

I still suggest making a Chase Sapphire card (and/or a Southwest card, if you’re trying to earn the companion pass) your first move. After that, if you want hotel cards, the World of Hyatt Credit Card from Chase and the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card from Chase should be your first hotel cards. Both are 5/24 cards. This means that if you want either of these (or both) you will need to open them while you’re still under 5/24. But you should wait on hotel cards from other banks until after you’re over 5/24.

As I stated in the airline cards section, opening hotel cards for welcome bonuses makes sense once you’re over 5/24. Keeping a hotel card after you earn the bonus also makes sense if you find value in the benefits such as a free night. As with airline cards, I do not use hotel cards for everyday spending because I would rather earn flexible bank points.