The Ultimate Guide to Points and Miles For Beginners

So you’ve heard of travel hacking and people using points and miles to fly for (almost) free and now you’re like wait…I want to do that too but how the hell do I start? Well you’re in the right place. 

I have spent years learning the ins and outs of points and miles and I have gotten over $100K worth of flights by using them. I’m not kidding when I tell you that this has absolutely changed my life and I’m confident it can change yours.

I’m going to cover the basics for points and miles for beginners, a high level overview of how to earn and use them, and then direct you to the next step so you can keep learning.

Are Points and Miles Worth Learning? Here’s Why I Say 100% Yes.

Before we even get into what points and miles and travel hacking even are, let’s address this question because I’m sure you’ve thought it before.

Maybe you’ve felt that it’s overwhelming to do the research and figure out how you’re supposed to do it all or you feel like you don’t have the time or you feel like there are so many resources that you don’t know what’s good or not. Or maybe, you’re thinking traveling is supposed to be fun and this makes it feel not so fun.

I get it.

And I’m here to tell you that learning how to use your points and miles for flights is 100% worth it. As I mentioned above, it’s changed my life.

Here’s how:

1. I no longer pay for flights which means I can travel more often because my travel budget can stretch that much further
2. I use my points and miles to fly business class flights. These are flights I never would have paid for out of pocket so every single time I do this I feel incredibly grateful and so excited. It also really adds to the experience for me because who doesn’t love sipping champagne 30,000 feet in the air?
3. It’s a hobby that I truly love and it really adds to my overall happiness and just stimulates the nerdy part of my brain

So yes, it’s 100% worth it. Will it take you some time to learn? Sure. Just like anything you do need to put in some time and effort but the more you practice earning and using your points, the easier and more exciting it will become. 

And the first time you take that flight that you only paid $5.60 for? Priceless.

Why I’m the Right Person to Teach You Points and Miles

If you’re asking yourself, “Wait, why should I trust this person?” Don’t worry. I’m not offended. It’s the question I would ask too if I was about to start learning something new from a stranger.

I know the internet is full of points and miles advice but I do things a little differently here. I want to make points and miles as simple as possible for you. I focus on the 20% of effort that gets you 80% of the results. 

What does that mean? Instead of going through every single scenario and all the nitty gritty details of the rare 1% of flights you probably aren’t going to take, we are going to keep things straightforward and simple so you feel confident getting all of your flights for free.

I don’t want you spending hours and hours searching for a flight nor do I want you to read a blog post and feel discouraged because it sounds too complicated. 

If you’re nodding your head going “YESSS” then stick around. 

And the last reason you should trust me? I haven’t paid for a flight in years, have gotten over $100K in (almost) free flights, and I live and breathe this stuff because I truly love it so rest assured, I know what I’m talking about.

What is Travel Hacking?

I’ll be honest, I don’t love the phrase “travel hacking”. It almost makes it sound like a trick or something sneaky and in reality, all it is is being really strategic and smart with learning how to earn points and use them in the best way possible.

But in essence, it is using points and miles to pay for flights and hotels and you usually just have to cover taxes and fees. We’ll talk about how to earn points and miles in just a moment. 

Here’s an example 

Let’s say you were looking to fly from DTW (Detroit) to CDG (Paris) in business class on October 21st.

If you were to pay cash for the flight it would be $6,066 for a one way ticket.

That same flight is available for just 60,000 points and $244.50 in taxes and fees

That is the power of points and miles.

Is Travel Really Free with Points and Miles? Let’s Talk Costs

It’s not fully free but it’s an insane amount of savings. Usually when you use your points and miles, you’re only paying the taxes and fees on the flights. This cost can range from $5 all the way up to $1000+. 

The flights we’ll focus on together are going to only have taxes and fees in the $5-$300 range. Considering these are flights that are thousands of dollars, this is a huge savings.

The other cost components are the annual fee on your credit card (which is usually easily justifiable) and the money you spend to get the points and miles. That being said, we are just going to focus on optimizing what you already spend so this shouldn’t really be a factor.

Points vs. Miles: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

At this point you may be like you keep saying “points and miles” are those the same thing?

They sort of are and I don’t want you to get too hung up on the distinction but really quick to satisfy your curiosity.

Points are generally the more flexible of the two and you earn these from banks such as Chase, American Express, Citi, etc. You can usually transfer them to different airlines so you have lots of options to use them which makes them more flexible. 

Miles on the other hand are the type of reward currency you earn from flying an airline (e.g. American Airlines miles). You can also earn miles with a co branded credit (e.g. a credit card that earns you American Airlines miles). These are a bit more restrictive because you are limited to the airline that you earned them through (e.g. American Airlines). 

One semi confusing thing I want to call out here is that Capital One calls its rewards “Capital One miles” but they are really points because they are transferable.

Again, no need to get too caught up in the distinction. No one is going to care if you call points “miles” or vice versa. Well, some of the more pompous points and miles experts might but this is a safe space.

As a beginner, we are going to focus on earning transferable points because that gives you the most options for using them. 

How Much Are Points and Miles Worth? (More Than You Think)

If you read any points blog, they’ll usually tell you that points are worth “1–2 cents each.” But here’s the truth: if you know how to use them efficiently, and I’ll show you how,  they can be worth way more than that.

When I first started, I only wanted to use my points for economy flights. Free is free, right? But my dad, the OG points and miles pro in our family, kept telling me to save them for business or first class. I didn’t get it… until I flew Singapore First Class.

Not only was it one of the most incredible travel experiences I’ve ever had, but I finally understood what he meant: some redemptions are just worth so much more.

Here’s a quick example:
You can get a business class flight to Europe for 60,000 points and the cash value of the flight is $3,000. In which case you’re getting 5 cents per point. 

But forget about the valuation part and let that sink in. You’re getting a $3 K flight for basically free….that means your points are worth A LOT. Much more than using them on a gift card. 

You don’t need to memorize valuations and how many cents you’re getting per point. What matters most is this: should you pay in points or cash for any given flight?
For example, using 40,000 points on a $500 flight isn’t a great deal because you can usually stretch your points a lot further. You’ll get used to gut checking yourself on if it’s a great deal or not after you’ve practiced searching for flights. 

In the interim, if you want to use your points and aren’t sure if you should or not, I like this calculator from The Points Guy that helps you break down the value. 

How to Earn Points and Miles (Even If You Don’t Travel Often)

So in order to get started, you need to earn points and miles.

There are three key ways to do so:

Credit Cards

This is the #1 way to earn points quickly because you can take advantage of sign up bonuses, category bonuses for your every day spend, and referral bonuses (points you get when someone uses your link to sign up for a card)

This is how I earn hundreds of thousands of points every single year.

And if this makes you nervous, don’t worry. You are not going to be opening up 10+ cards or opening and closing cards constantly. It’s possible to earn these points with just 1-2 credit cards.

Also the best part? You don’t have to spend more money than you’re already spending and you can earn points and miles without traveling. 

Traveling

You can earn miles by putting in your frequent flyer number when you fly with airlines or your loyalty number when you stay at hotels. This is a slower way to accumulate miles unless you’re traveling all the time.  

The other downside is that your miles can only be used on the airline that they are earned on so if you have a bunch of American Airlines miles you can’t use them on United, for example. 

Also, these miles do have an expiration date so you have to keep an eye on them versus if you’re earning points through a credit card they typically don’t expire.

Shopping portals

This is a great stacking opportunity where you can earn even more points just by being smart about your spending. Shopping portals like Rakuten allow you to earn cash back in the form of points. 

Using Your Points for Travel: How to Actually Book Flights

So now that you know how to earn points, you now need to know how to use them.

Transfer to partners

The best use of your points is to transfer them to the travel partners instead of using them in the travel portal. You will typically find that it is less points if you go directly with the airline itself vs the portal.

If you aren’t sure, check in both places.

The reason we want to focus on earning transferable points, such as the points you earn from the Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card, is because you can then use them on all the partners that Capital One has.

So for example, if you want to fly Turkish Airlines, you can take your Capital One points and then transfer them to the Turkish Airlines rewards program which is called Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. 

The points will show up in your Miles&Smiles account as if you earned them with Turkish Airlines.

You can then book your flight on the Turkish Airlines website directly.

Learn about alliances

The reason why points and miles are so valuable is that it’s not just the airline’s flights itself that you can book but it’s also flights from other airlines in the alliance.

For example, let’s say you really want to fly Lufthansa business class or even Lufthansa first class but none of the credit cards offer Lufthansa as a partner. 

Are you SOL? Nope. Lufthansa is part of Star Alliance which means you can actually book a Lufthansa flight on United, Air Canada, and Avianca which are all transfer partners of either American Express, Capital One, or Chase.

You don’t need to memorize which airline is in what alliance but you do need to understand that alliances are powerful and allow you to unlock even more flight opportunities so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with:

• Star Alliance (e.g. United, Air Canada, Avianca, etc)
• OneWorld (e.g. American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, etc)
• SkyTeam (Delta, Air France, Virgin Atlantic, etc)

The reason it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with these is because if you really want to fly on Air France then you need to make sure you have a credit card that allows you to earn points or miles that you can then use on a SkyTeam airline.

Beginner’s Game Plan: How to Start  Using Points and Miles Today

If you are excited to get started, here are some of the steps I recommend

1. Pick a travel goal

Especially if you’re just starting out, it’s a good idea to have a goal in mind. Do you want to fly to Japan in business class? Take the family in economy to Paris? 

Knowing what you’re working towards will help you know how many points you need and which credit card it makes sense to prioritize.

2. Decide on the right travel credit card for you

Once you know your goal, it’s time to pick which credit card is right for you.

Let’s take one of the examples from above. If you want to fly the family in economy to Paris, which airline(s) could you fly? Then double check that the credit card you’re about to open has that airline (or another airline in that alliance) as a travel partner. 

You’ll also want to consider things like annual fee, lounge access, etc

3. Create Loyalty Accounts for Transfer Partners

Make sure you create loyalty accounts for the transfer partners you’re going to use. It’s free and easy to sign up. You do it the same way you’d do if you were flying the airline and wanted to earn frequent flyer miles.

That way you’ll already have your account ready to go for when you transfer points

4. Book Your First Flight 

Even if it’s a short flight this will help you build your confidence. You’ll get more and more comfortable with earning and using your points. 

It doesn’t need to be perfect, just good enough for you to learn.

You do not want to hoard your points because the whole purpose of this is to use them to travel more! You can always earn more points.

Next Step: Learn Exactly How to Earn Your First 100,000 Points

I hope you’re feeling excited. I know I am. I always get jazzed up just writing about points and miles (I told you that I’m a nerd).

Now that you know the basics and have an understanding of how this all works and how valuable this can be, let’s dive deep on how to earn points and miles so you can earn enough for your first flight.