# How do you make the most out of your credit card points and what do you think is the best value?



## rickandcindy23 (Jun 4, 2018)

I know a lot of people feel that it is just a waste of time to manufacture spend...not worth the effort vs. the payback.  

We just transferred a small number of our points, just 40,000, from Starwood to Amtrak (40,000 points with the 25% bonus = 50,000 points).  We are going to have a bedroom with bathroom, and the cost is only 52,000 points vs. $1,521 in cash.  That makes the Starwood points pretty valuable for Amtrak.  

I don't see any way to do the same thing with Marriott Rewards.  I wonder whether this ability to transfer to airlines and Amtrak will change under the new system?  Does anyone know?


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 4, 2018)

So here is how I accumulated 250K SPG points:
I buy Simon Mall Visa Debit/Gift cards
I take the cards to the nearest Walmart and buy money orders with them

Cost:
$500 gift card, $3.95 X 2 = $7.90
$999.12 money order is .88 at WalMart

Multiple this method by 100 = $7.90 + $88 or $878.00 for 100K points

I was planning to transfer points to airlines for 1st or business class seats to Europe, Australia, etc., but I feel like my time is running out to transfer.  If anyone knows anything about the new system and how my points would work in the combined Marriott/Starwood system, let me know.


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## GetawaysRus (Jun 5, 2018)

The short answer is that (if I understand all this stuff) I believe you will be OK.  Now, for the long answer, keep reading.

When the new Marriott program was announced, there were a lot of detailed posts by internet travel bloggers.  It was a ton of information, and confusing, so I tried to organize it to digest it.  I can't give you the references (the actual URLs) for this information, but below is what I pulled in from a wide variety of sites under the topic of transfers to airline miles.  Remember that under SPG, 20K SPG points becomes 25K airline miles in many programs.  And remember that the SPG to Marriott Rewards transfer ratio was set at 1 SPG to 3 Marriott points.

Sorry if the following is a hodgepodge, since I just copied and pasted the info I found, but here goes...

*Converting hotel points into airline miles*

Starwood’s current mileage transfer option is here to stay. Going forward, you can convert Marriott Rewards points into airline miles at a 3:1 ratio, with a 15,000 point bonus for every 60,000 points transferred. This means that for all practical purposes, mileage transfer rates are staying the same (you used to be able to convert 20,000 Starpoints into 25,000 airline miles), which is fantastic news.

*Marriott Hotel + Air Packages* are also here to stay. However, I’m told that pricing on some of those packages may be changing in the near future, though the details of those changes haven’t yet been revealed.  The Marriott hotel + air package will be sticking around, but prices will change (no firm details yet).

They essentially have adopted the Starwood airline points transfer structure. They will have “more than 40 airlines” to transfer to, with some airlines that were unique to Starwood and some unique to Marriott surviving into the combined program.

What’s more they’re keeping points transfer bonuses. Today transferring Starpoints into 20,000 miles generates a bonus of 5000 miles. They’ve kept this, and simply adjusted the numbers of the new points currency, just multiplying by three.  You’ll be able to transfer your Marriott Rewards points into airline miles (like you currently can with Starwood Preferred Guest). For every three points you transfer you’ll receive one airline mile, you’ll also get a 5,000 mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer. This is the same as the current SPG program.

The only real change is that the credit card itself isn’t going to be as strong for earning as Starwood’s card is today, so it won’t be as lucrative as a credit card spend to airline miles program.

You can currently transfer Starwood points to 30+ airlines at a *ratio of 1:1*, with a bonus 5,000 miles for every increment of 20,000 Starwood points you transfer.  Folks were worried that this benefit would disappear, but it is *NOT*!  It’s actually getting better.

You can transfer Marriott points to airlines at a ratio of 3:1 (3 Marriott points = 1 airline mile).  And you’ll get a bonus 15,000 miles for every 60,000 points you transfer.  That’s a ratio equivalent to Starwood’s transfer rate and bonus, as 1 Starwood point = 3 Marriott points.

And there will be 10 additional transfer partners!  So you’ll be able to transfer your points to more airlines at a good rate than ever before.

·        From Marriott website:  You’ll be able to transfer points to more than 40 airlines, including new options, such as Virgin Australia, Aegean Airlines and Air New Zealand. The new ratio will be 3 points for one mile.  Plus, starting in August, we’ll add 15,000 points for every 60,000 points you transfer to airline miles, providing you with a total of 25,000 miles in the airline program of your choice.

Many people have long used SPG cards as the best way to earn airline miles.  In the old days, most options for earning airline miles for spend were one to one: one mile per dollar spent.  With SPG, though, 20,000 Starpoints gives you 25,000 miles.  So spend on SPG cards currently offers the equivalent of 1.25 miles per dollar as long as you always transfer Starpoints in 20K chunks.

When the programs merge in August, we’ll still be able to get the same value from our Starpoints.  Remember that they’ll have been converted 1 to 3, so 20,000 Starpoints will now be 60,000 points.  Accordingly, the transfer ratio to airlines will be 60,000 to 25,000.  That’s great. The value of our existing Starpoints will be preserved!


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## jehb2 (Jun 6, 2018)

I’m not sure if this answers your question but.  For years I was a loyal AA frequent flyer member.  I charged absolutely everything to my AA card.  My goal was always to earn economy tickets for RT to Hawaii. For years that worked.  Eventually it stopped working. 

This past year is the first full year I’ve had the Costco Visa card.  I use it for absolutely everything including utilities, kids music lesson, etc. I got back $1,100.  That includes my Costco executive membership rebate. 

I’m traveling to Hawaii on Alaska with the Alaska companion ticket.  So I translated that credit card rebate into 2 free Hawaii tickets.  Or my family of 4 traveled to Hawaii for $984+121 (taxes & fees for companion ticket) total. My husband and I each have an Alaska cc and get 2 companion tickets.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 7, 2018)

Thanks to GetawaysRus for the information on Marriott/ Starwood.  I have also been reading lots of articles about the changes on various websites.  I also got an email saying we would get a free night every year from Starwood for keeping our card.  That a nice perk.  I suppose they will send a new card?

I still wonder if Amtrak is going to be an option in the future because that is one of the best values I get for my SPG points.  We honestly don't use Amtrak except once every 3-4 years.  Train trips are fun, but only on occasion.  

The new Marriott card was a temptation for me, but we bought one of the Marriott packages in early 2017 to take advantage of the SW companion pass, and we have yet to use our five-night stay to go with it.  I don't know if those packages will be of any use to us, owning so many timeshares.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 7, 2018)

jehb2 said:


> I’m not sure if this answers your question but.  For years I was a loyal AA frequent flyer member.  I charged absolutely everything to my AA card.  My goal was always to earn economy tickets for RT to Hawaii. For years that worked.  Eventually it stopped working.
> 
> This past year is the first full year I’ve had the Costco Visa card.  I use it for absolutely everything including utilities, kids music lesson, etc. I got back $1,100.  That includes my Costco executive membership rebate.
> 
> I’m traveling to Hawaii on Alaska with the Alaska companion ticket.  So I translated that credit card rebate into 2 free Hawaii tickets.  Or my family of 4 traveled to Hawaii for $984+121 (taxes & fees for companion ticket) total. My husband and I each have an Alaska cc and get 2 companion tickets.



We have the Capital One Venture card, and it's maybe a good card for you to consider because you would get 2X cash back on everything.  Most of your purchases with that Costco credit card only get 1X.  We actually pay our income taxes with that card and make a tiny bit of money over the fees for paying via credit card.  

I know that having all of those credit cards doesn't appeal to most people, but that Venture card is a gem for cash back.  Groceries are about $500/ month for us, and we also buy restaurant and Amazon gift cards to get 4X fuel points when the grocery store offers the deal.  So a $500 gift card purchase saves us $70 in gas (it's a long explanation), and we also get $10 back from Capital One for that spend.  It adds up, as you know.  

We do use our Costco card for Costco and for all gas purchases.  It's an okay card for those things.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 7, 2018)

My absolute favorite card is always the Chase Sapphire Reserve.  I love that card for our maintenance fees at 3X, and when we go to restaurants without a gift card, we get 3X points.  

If a person pays $20K in MF's per year, that's 60,000 points, which is worth 1.5X points.  The value of those points is $900.  That is a lot of value.  It was the best signup bonus of any card at 100K points and now it's 50,000 points.


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## GetawaysRus (Jun 7, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> My absolute favorite card is always the Chase Sapphire Reserve.



Agree.  It gets even better if you have other Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points and then transfer those points to the Sapphire Reserve.  Hopefully Chase won’t ever restrict that benefit.


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## stumahlin (Jun 9, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> We just transferred a small number of our points, just 40,000, from Starwood to Amtrak (40,000 points with the 25% bonus = 50,000 points).  ...  I don't see any way to do the same thing with Marriott Rewards.  I wonder whether this ability to transfer to airlines and Amtrak will change under the new system?  Does anyone know?



Check  here:  https://thepointsguy.com/

Also just type *how to convert airline points* into your favorite search engine and check the other links.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 9, 2018)

I did not know SPG points could be converted to Amtrak. Our go-to is Chase Sapphire rewards but they do not support Amtrak anymore.

I like UR travel portal because we can compare different airlines and pay with pts and cash and if u call, can sell fare class. Frequently less than transferring points to airline pts and counts as a paid ticket do can upgrade and get points.

Wonder how SPG points would have fared. We wanted to take train from NYC to DC but train was about double cost of flying and we could apply points to fly with Chase UR.

Also  able to buy a tour and Hyatt with UR pts.


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## gkreuscher (Jun 9, 2018)

Marriott has a fantastic opportunity if you acquire Marriott Points. Now as of August 1 you get 6 points for every dollar at Marriott and 2 points for all other purchases.  For various points one can get travel packages for different level hotels for different airlines. One example for 230K Marriott points you can get a class 1-5 Marriott (any of their 40 brands) for five nights and 135,000 united air miles.  For class 6, etc.  the Marriott points raise but not by much.  We have used this several times.  The rewards are good for one year, but can be renewed and the can be upgraded.  We are using two of these for a vacation at the Marriott Andaluza Resort near Marbella, Spain, next January.  You can use the airmiles independently.  These travel packages are really great.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 9, 2018)

We have gotten the 7 day Marriott travel package when it qualified for the SWA companion pass (not available anymore).  We thought it was good value but had a difficult time figuring out how to use the 7 day hotel even with upgrades. Problem is that we prefer shorter stays and when we needed a longer stay for Hawaii etc. we need a 2 bdrm which is not possible with the award. (This is where timeshares shine.)

Hope that Marriott will allow us lowly Vistana Owners to get the 5 day packages when the merger occurs.


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## JudyH (Jun 10, 2018)

For the foreseeable future our technique is to put everything except dining and travel on our BA credit cards, and dining and travel on the Chase Reserve card. The Reserve card lets us transfer points to Southwest Air which we fly a lot. We can also transfer points to the BA account. We stay with BA only to use the companion pass 2-4-1 that lets one of us fly for their version of free. Yes there are high fuel surcharges flying in and out of London but for basically an economy priced ticket we fly Business Class. That is the only perk that makes it worthwhile.


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## VacationForever (Jun 10, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> We have gotten the 7 day Marriott travel package when it qualified for the SWA companion pass (not available anymore).  We thought it was good value but had a difficult time figuring out how to use the 7 day hotel even with upgrades. Problem is that we prefer shorter stays and when we needed a longer stay for Hawaii etc. we need a 2 bdrm which is not possible with the award. (This is where timeshares shine.)
> 
> Hope that Marriott will allow us lowly Vistana Owners to get the 5 day packages when the merger occurs.


If there is availability you can top it with points to get a 2BR, I think it is another 5K per day per increased room size.  Going to 2BR I think it is 10K per day, so for a week it will be 70K more.  I have not done this before but this is often posted here on TUG.


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## CalGalTraveler (Jun 10, 2018)

Thanks @VacationForever for the tip. I believe that only works if you are a Marriott owner? Does it also only work with MVC resorts? (I had difficulty finding reservations for those as well.)

I did notice that you could upgrade with cash and points at RC and Marriott Wailea, however it came to about $120 - $180 a day ($840/week plus parking fee/day) which defeats the purpose of a "free" stay.  Perhaps there is a better way to do this?


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## VacationForever (Jun 10, 2018)

CalGalTraveler said:


> Thanks @VacationForever for the tip. I believe that only works if you are a Marriott owner? Does it also only work with MVC resorts? (I had difficulty finding reservations for those as well.)
> 
> I did notice that you could upgrade with cash and points at RC and Marriott Wailea, however it came to about $120 - $180 a day ($840/week plus parking fee/day) which defeats the purpose of a "free" stay.  Perhaps there is a better way to do this?


You don't need to be a Marriott owner, you just need enough points and that the 1BR or 2BR units are available.


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## x3 skier (Jun 10, 2018)

Lately I’ve been charging just about everything to my AA Card. I then go to my bank account and pay the same amount on the card via direct transfer.  It’s an extra step but allows me to 1) add miles which I use for Biz Class tickets to Europe, 2) avoid any finance changes on the AA Card and 3) offers credit card protection against fraudulent charges vs using a debit card directly.

Cheers


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 10, 2018)

JudyH said:


> For the foreseeable future our technique is to put everything except dining and travel on our BA credit cards, and dining and travel on the Chase Reserve card. The Reserve card lets us transfer points to Southwest Air which we fly a lot. We can also transfer points to the BA account. We stay with BA only to use the companion pass 2-4-1 that lets one of us fly for their version of free. Yes there are high fuel surcharges flying in and out of London but for basically an economy priced ticket we fly Business Class. That is the only perk that makes it worthwhile.


There was a class-action lawsuit against BA, and you may be able to get some of the fuel surcharges refunded.  I just read about the lawsuit a few days ago on Million Mile Secrets. Here is the link to the story: https://millionmilesecrets.com/2018...c078e7c52&utm_source=email&utm_term=Read More


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## JudyH (Jun 10, 2018)

rickandcindy23 said:


> There was a class-action lawsuit against BA, and you may be able to get some of the fuel surcharges refunded.  I just read about the lawsuit a few days ago on Million Mile Secrets. Here is the link to the story: https://millionmilesecrets.com/2018/06/05/nationwide-southwest-sale-starting-at-44-one-way-and-british-airways-might-owe-you-money/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Protect Yourself and Earn Miles Points or Cash Back With the Best Credit Cards for Car Rentals 20180606&utm_content=Protect Yourself and Earn Miles Points or Cash Back With the Best Credit Cards for Car Rentals 20180606+Version+A+CID_1466b0e9e3ed4f95b3b7671c078e7c52&utm_source=email&utm_term=Read More


See my post in Travel. So far we get $577 back.


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## Panina (Jun 10, 2018)

I have a Bank of America Amtrak card.  I charge everything on it. There is an annual fee but I have gotten many round Amtrak trips with room and meals for free that it is worth it.   Many ways to earn points with bonus multipliers.  They offer other options to spend your points but I haven’t used them so don’t know if they are worth taking.


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## rickandcindy23 (Jun 10, 2018)

JudyH said:


> See my post in Travel. So far we get $577 back.


That's great!  Nice little piece of change to get back.  Our daughter will be thrilled with her refund.


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