How Do You Redeem Points and Miles?

When I tell people that I have booked flights to Europe for $5.60, they either don’t believe me, thought I said $560, or seem to think I was doing something illegal. The secret: points and miles.

While points and miles make sense as reward currencies offered by different companies, most people get scared by the idea of actually using the rewards. Although some programs make it easier than others to use these currencies, taking the step to use them can be very rewarding (especially to your bank account).

Here is how to redeem points and miles: 

Where Can I Use Them?

At the end of the day, the sky’s the limit for use of points and miles. But, since you can often redeem points and miles for airline tickets, the sky is really the limit.

You can use points and miles for flights in nearly any class of service, from the middle seat in the back of the plane to the most iconic first class experiences. While you can also use points and miles for everything from taco bell gift cards to microwaves, for the purpose of maximizing their value and helping individuals travel, I will discuss using them for travel. 

These currencies are very versatile. For example, just because you only have miles with one airline, does not mean that you have to fly that carrier. You can choose to book a flight on one of their partners instead. If you have United Airline miles but need to fly from Singapore to Bali, a route not even served by United, you could use the miles to fly its Star Alliance partner, Singapore Airlines. 

This means that having nearly any currency of airline points or miles can fly you anywhere on earth, in as much comfort as you want. 

For lodging while traveling, you can use your rewards for free hotel night stays. This ranges from limited service properties near the airport or highway, to five-star resorts with overwater bungalows in the Maldives or Bora Bora. 

Marriott has over 8,000 hotels worldwide, meaning that you have many, many options to choose from nearly anywhere on earth. Add in IHG, Hilton, Hyatt and other brands and you have tens of thousands of options for hotels.

Even if the hotel or airline you want to stay at or fly is not part of a chain or partnered with other airlines, you can still book these options. Some points and miles, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards can be used through Chase’s portal to book nearly any hotel or resort (or any hotel that you would otherwise be able to find on Expedia).

How Many Points or Miles Do I Need?

One realization I quickly learned in the world of points and miles is that not all points and miles are created equally. One hotel stay with Hilton may cost 80,000 points per night compared to a similar hotel nearby for 35,000 Hyatt points, but the Hilton hotel stay may be a better deal. 

Just like one dollar is not worth one euro, one point or mile is not worth a different program’s point or mile. This has to do with the rates of earning and burning the program’s points. Most Hyatt hotel stays will only earn 5 points per dollar spent compared to easily being able to earn 20 points per dollar spent at Hilton, which is reflected in the redemption rates. 

With this in mind, in addition to the total number of points or miles for a stay, you have to be aware of the currency that is being used.

There are too many different programs to be able to say how many points or miles it will cost for a hotel stay, so take this guidance loosely. Flights within the U.S. often cost 10-20k miles where trans-ocieantic flights generally cost 30-40k miles. If you want to fly business, roughly double those costs.

Hotels range in price as well, as mentioned in the example above. Simply looking into different hotels, you can find five-star hotels for 5,000 points per night or 150,000 points per night based on the program and the location (the Maldives will be more expensive than South East Asia).

Take all the numbers I have said with a grain of salt, but in order to understand how many points it will cost for your redemption, you will need to look at the specific program you want to book with and the individual hotel. You can do this by looking through a program’s award chart (if they have one) or use their website and make ‘dummy bookings’ to search for prices. 

Points and miles are not created equally, so you cannot treat them as such. While maximizing value should be kept in mind when booking stays or flights, making the most of of these rewards for your individual circumstances is the most important. 

Basics of booking with points and miles

When you want to book with points and miles, the only major difference is that you need to click the “Redeem Miles” or “Use Points” button when you are imputing your days and destinations. 

Rather than the price of your flight appearing in dollars (or your currency), the price will appear in the number of loyalty points required, as well as any paid copay required (think taxes and fees). A flight that shows up as $500 might appear as 30,000 American Airlines miles + $5.60, not a bad savings. 

After selecting the option that you want, you will be able to checkout as you normally would for paid stays or flights, giving them information such as name, address and payment information. 

While you may still have to pay the resort fee or some taxes on your hotel stay (cough cough Marriott), or taxes and fees on your flight, this means that your “free” flight is not really “free.” Points and miles will still be able to greatly reduce the cost of your travels and open opportunities that may have otherwise not been possible. 

Remember that not all hotel rooms or flights will be bookable with points or miles even if they are still selling paid stays or flights. This is because airlines and hotels are able to limit the number of award redemptions. So long as you are flexible with times, dates or airlines, you shouldn’t have any trouble redeeming your rewards for your travels. 

The Last Point

While the intricacies of using points or miles for very-reduced-cost travel can be complex, it does not need to be. There are enough partnerships, hotels, and points and miles programs that you can book everything from first class to the Maldives and overwater bungalows, economy with the family to grandma’s house, or hotels in far-off the grid destinations.

Although there are nonstop ways to redeem points and miles, as long as you are actually using your points and miles towards your individual goals, you are doing it right.