Episode 12: The Benefits of Joining Travel Loyalty Programs
In this episode we are going to talk about brand loyalty, how it helps you in your travel journeys and even our thoughts on when you should use reward points in your travel vs paying for your hotel or flight directly. If you aren't an experienced traveler you may be tempted to always shop based purely on price or location without giving a second thought about how you get there or where you stay. We'll share some of our stories and perhaps this will help you as you think about your upcoming trips. Don't worry, even if you aren't an avid traveler, we'll include some stories from our trips. So pack your bags and join us as we share our thoughts on brand loyalty and using rewards in your travel.
Brand Loyalty Tips:
1. Focus on 1-2 Brands in each Category such Airlines, Hotels, and Rental Cars to earn points and status and the benefits that status offers (such as free checked bags, priority boarding, free upgrades, etc)
2. Choose brands that make the most sense for your geographic location and travel habits. We regularly use Marriott, Delta, National Car Rental but choose the ones that make the most sense for you.
3. If you have to book flights outside of your main brand, try to book with a partner airline of your main brand if those points/miles can be earned/used with your preferred brand.
4. When booking rewards (hotel nights and flights) using points/miles, research and compare the rewards required vs the cash price to decide when to pay for flight or hotel vs when to redeem points for it. All rewards are not created equal. Airline mile redemptions can vary widely depending on the time of day but the cash price may be relatively the same. We've also found when booking a hotel that a 3 star hotel night may "cost" the same more points than a 4 star hotel night when the cash price is widely different. Using those points for the 4 start hotel night is a better use of them.
Here's an flight example:
Round trip Flight to Europe Atlanta to Lisbon was 120,000 miles through Madrid on the way and Charles de Galle on the way back. Instead I found that I could do the same trip for 70,000 miles by booking a multi city flight Atlanta to Madrid with the return Amsterdam to Atlanta and purchase the Madrid to Lisbon and Lisbon to Amsterdam flight for around $129 saving a lot of miles for another trip
Here's a hotel example:
One night at a Springhill Suites was 50,000 points or $229 and one night at an Autograph Collection Hotel was also 50,000 points but $389. Using the points at the Autograph Collection Hotel was the better value.
5. Get a credit card that gives you travel rewards and earns you reward points on your everyday purchases. Most of them have a great sign on bonus that will get you to a free flight or hotel nights. Use credit cards wisely and don't spend more than you normally would or pay interest on balances but earn points on your spending rather than using cash or a debit card. Look for one without foreign transaction fees and that provides travel rewards benefits that you will use such as free checked bags, free hotel nights, free airport lounge access. Don't overlook a card that has an annual fee if the benefits that you get from it more than outweigh that annual fee.
We like the Delta Skymiles American Express Reserve Card for access to the Delta Sky Club, one domestic companion certificate each calendar year, a free checked bag, priority boarding, and you earn miles through purchases and milestones to redeem for free flights. Here's our referral link for this one. If you apply and are approved for it, we both get a nice bonus. See our affiliate disclaimer here.
We like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa Card for the Sign on Bonus, Airport Lounge Access where there isn't a Delta Sky Club, the points you earn for purchases that can be redeemed on multiple airlines and through Marriott, and the other benefits such as free Instacart and Lyft Pink memberships. Here's our referral link for this one. If you apply and are approved for it, we both get a nice bonus.
We like the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Business Card that gives you a free night, status, and you earn points toward free nights through purchases. Here's our referral link for this one.If you apply and are approved for it, we both get a nice bonus.
6. If you have travel reward points that can be redeemed on with multiple airlines, when redeeming points/miles for flights compare the redemption of those on several airlines that operate that same flight. For example a Delta flight from Atlanta to London may be also operated by a partner such a Virgin Atlantic or Air France. Check the rewards redemption on all the airlines that operate that flight and see which one is the best value. Then transfer those points to your account with that airline and book the flight. There is sometimes a huge difference between the number of reward points/miles required.
7. If a brand you usually use is not available for a trip/destination, see if another brand you need to use status matches your other brand. For example, you usually rent from National and are an Emerald Executive and you need to rent from a place where National is not available but Enterprise is. See if you can match your status to Enterprise or another brand that is available. The same is true for airlines. Research to see who will status match. You may not be using that brand more than once but for that particular trip, it is nice to get your status matched.
8. Always, Always, Always sign up for the travel rewards program with a hotel, rental car, and airline even if you don't use that one all the time. Try to stick to the 1-2 in each category to get the most benefit but if you have to use another, sign up for their program anyway.
Travel Rewards Guru websites we have learned a lot from that will help you elevate your points/miles game:
Read more about this and other travel tips on our BLOG
Follow our travels on Facebook
Follow our travels on Instagram here and here
Save our travel ideas on Pinterest
See our travel videos on You Tube
Music Credit
Music by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/oystudio-24430395/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=128250">OYStudio</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=128250">Pixabay</a>