Summer is officially here and that means many people are probably already
planning for some much-needed vacation time.
But did you know
the airlines’ frequent flyer credit cards are not always the best way to land
free plane tickets?
Turn to Tara has
some tips on how to maximize reward programs.
Cindy Greenstein,
The Points Mom, has been addicted to earning points and miles.
Since the 90s, the
Chappaqua mom of three, has turned her expertise with rewards programs into a
career, helping vacation-craving families snag five-figure trips all across the
globe - simply by using the right credit cards to pay for household expenses.
Greenstein says Capitol One's
newest credit card debuted with a 100,000-mile bonus, and offers two miles for
every dollar you spend, so she uses it on everything except her dining and
grocery expenses.
The American Express Gold Card
offers four times Amex points on restaurants and grocery stores.
And YES parents - Greenstein
says to go ahead and get your children involved. Give them credit cards so they
can contribute to the family of points in miles.
So you've earned the points -
now what?
Common errors that people can
make when using points miles is they may not compare redeeming points versus
the websites royalty program versus transferring miles or points.
Here's an example:
A $500 ticket on Delta might
cost 50,000 American Express points, but on Delta's rewards site it may cost
40,000 miles. So instead of redeeming the points on American Express,
Greenstein says to just transfer 40,000 of those points to the Delta rewards
program.
Greenstein also says it's a
mistake to redeem points on Amazon. And when it comes to new cards, be sure to
hit the minimum charge amount within the given time period, or you risk
canceling your sign-up.