Thanks to credit cards, paying for goods and services has become as simple as a tap of a card or phone. This convenience offers benefits like cash back and rewards for users who picked the right card. Before I begin though, I recommend not jumping into the points game if you do not have the resources to pay the cards off. Most of these point benefit credit cards come with high interest rates. The only time I suggest playing the point game is if you are already charging things to a card that you pay off each month. If this is the case, why not switch to a card that earns you travel points?
Some key tips in playing the “points game”:
1. Pay off your balance in full and on time every month: This is not negotiable. If you aren’t doing this, you probably need to wait on the points game.
2. Open a credit card early and keep it long-term: Length of credit history significantly impacts your credit score. Keeping your oldest credit card open, even if you use it sparingly, helps maintain a strong credit history, despite any new cards you might consider opening. If it has an annual fee, when the renewal comes up, you can ask the credit card company to downgrade you to one of their free cards. (Credit scores do not see this as canceling a card.) If you do cancel a card, you do NOT want to cancel a card before 12 months. You also do NOT want to cancel a card if you have any points on it as you will lose them.
3. Seek cards with exceptional rewards: I always start with consideration to cards that do not have annual fees. Then I look at the card’s current Sign Up Bonus (for example: Spend $6,000 in 6 months and receive a 75,000 point bonus). If I’m not in the middle of earning a Sign Up Bonus, I feel I’m not getting the best reward for my charges. (When you start playing the point game, you’ll understand this more.)
Okay, the responsible part of this post is done and now we can move into some details.
Some people make New Year’s resolutions, I made a 2024 Challenge not to pay for travel. I haven’t been able to make that work with our AirBNB trips, but I have for our hotel trips. Hyatt is one of the best in the market for using points and miles. I can maximize my points by booking Hyatt stays with credit card rewards! For my first free redemption ever, I used points to stay at a Hyatt all-inclusive property.
TravelMan and I stayed at Secrets Puerto Los Cabos Golf & Spa Resort. There is no tax on a Hyatt property when you pay with points. This all-inclusive room was ocean view, preferred club, king bed, balcony, plus all of our food and drinks for 39,000 points per night. Please note, that due to Hurricane Beryl we made a last-minute switch from Cancun to Cabo. So, the points could have been less with a little more notice. If we had paid cash, this room would have been $2368 PLUS tax! I did all of this by earning points with my Chase card. My first Chase card did have an annual fee of $95. Therefore, instead of saying we traveled to this resort for free, I say we paid $95. When I signed up for this card, it was giving a 60,000 point sign up bonus for spending $4,000 in three months. (Note: There are better offers from time to time, but I was ready to get started and this was the offer available at the time.) Once I hit that sign up bonus, I got a second card. The second card had no annual fee and a sign-up bonus of 75,000. (Message me if you want to know about business cards and no annual fees. But I still believe this card is the best way to get started in the points game.) On both cards, I added a second user with TravelMan’s name, so we could each have the card in our wallet to meet the spend minimums.
I’m going to focus for a moment on Hyatt properties as they give such a great value. First, you need to understand how to transfer points to travel partners. Essentially, it means converting your points to a partner's loyalty program currency.
With Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Hyatt, The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is beginner-friendly, and Hyatt offers exceptional value as a Chase transfer partner. This is the card that has the $95 annual fee.
You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt. This involves:
moving points to your Hyatt account,
booking your stay directly through Hyatt's website.
IT’S EASY!
When planning travel, I check Hyatt's website to see the points needed for my stay. Suppose, I need 50,000 points for a Hyatt hotel booking, I transfer exactly that amount from my Chase account to Hyatt. Two things to note:
Once transferred, points cannot be moved back to Chase, so only transfer when ready to book. This keeps your points flexible and not tied to any specific hotel chain.
You have to transfer in increments of 1000 points at a time.
Initially, the idea of point transfers might seem complex; reality is that it is simple. This is where savvy travelers find the best deals!
So, why is Hyatt such a great deal? Look at the trip I just took to Cabo, Mexico: For the four nights, I needed 156,000 points, which I earned from a few credit card sign up bonuses. All the cards had zero annual fees, except one. I paid $95 in an annual fee for that one card. If I had booked with cash, the trip would have been over $2,400 after taxes.
· Four nights -156,000 points, no taxes, no money due to the hotel
· One $95 annual fee to Chase for the Chase Preferred Card
OR
· Spend over $2,400 to the resort for the same 4-night stay
Seems like a no brainer to me!
Points needed as shown on Hyatt's Award Redemption Page:
If we had paid cash, this would be the cost BEFORE tax for the Ocean View King Suite and all-inclusive cost for 2 guests:
Again, seems like a no brainer to me! If you click this link, you will be taken to the Chase Preferred. Please note there are two choices on this page. One is for a Chase Reserved, that card comes with a hefty annual fee and to be discussed at a later time. For now, focus on the Chase Preferred at the $95 annual fee, click here: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19o/CFWBYVP482.
Note: The links used for the credit cards are referral links. This is another way for me to earn points at no cost to you. When you get the card, you will have a referral link as well to share with your friends. It is a simple win-win.
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