It’s a new year, and with that brings a group of newbies ready to start using miles and points from credit card rewards to book free travel. If this is you, welcome to the hobby! To get started, see my post Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Free Travel with Miles and Points.
In recent weeks, I’ve seen quite a few posts from newbies in online social media groups. And admittedly, some of the posts make me cringe because of suboptimal decisions. Here are the 5 biggest mistakes I’ve seen newbies make in this miles and points hobby.
Transferring Points Without Checking Award Availability First
I just read a post from a newbie who said he transferred all of his Chase points to Air Canada Aeroplan last month during a transfer bonus, but now he can’t find the award flights he needs. Ouch! It’s almost never a good idea to transfer flexible points (like Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt) to a fixed airline or hotel program unless you see the award availability today. Once you transfer points to an airline or hotel partner, you can’t transfer them back.
Not Transferring Points At All
On the other hand, I see some newbies who have never transferred points to any hotel or airline partners and use them only for statement credits or travel portal bookings. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in some cases, those are great uses of points. But, many times, you can get more value from points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners.
Putting All Eggs in One Basket
We all have our favorite hotel and airline brands. But, it’s not a good idea to collect just one currency. Just like with investing, it’s best to own multiple points currencies to maximize your chances of booking awards and minimize the risk from point devaluations.
Not Planning Far Ahead
It never fails: Every year around this time, I get the question, “How can I collect miles quickly to book a spring break trip in 2 months?” This hobby requires planning ahead. It takes time to apply for a new credit card, complete the required spending to get the welcome bonus and see the miles in your account. And, during peak times, hotel and award flights are best booked well in advance (like 11-12 months ahead of time).
Dismissing Cards with High Annual Fees
I understand that not everyone wants to own a credit card with an annual fee, let alone an annual fee that is several hundred dollars. But if you’re dismissing cards with annual fees, you are missing out on a lot of lucrative welcome bonuses. Many cards have benefits and statement credits that make up for the annual fee. Plus, you don’t have to keep a high-fee card forever. You can always cancel it or downgrade to a no-fee card after the first year if you find the benefits aren’t worth the fee.
Readers, what mistakes do you advise newbies to avoid in this miles and points hobby?
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