A Beginner’s Guide to Points and Miles

Points and miles can look complicated when you are first getting started. But, they really don’t have to be.

Years ago, I traveled regularly and still paid for almost everything with a debit card. I wasn’t thinking much about airline miles, hotel points, credit card rewards or how much value I was leaving on the table.

Fast forward to today, and points and miles have helped my family and me travel around the world. Many of those flights and hotel stays would have cost significantly more if we had paid cash.

We’ve used points and miles for experiences like Emirates First Class, Japan Airlines First Class, Qatar Airways Qsuites, including The Quad, United Polaris Business, luxury hotels and resorts, and even the Longest flight in the world.

But you do not need to start by memorizing airline alliances, transfer partners or award charts. You just need to understand a few basics. So if you are completely new to points and miles, this guide is for you.

What Are Points and Miles?

Think of points and miles as another type of travel currency. Instead of paying the full cash price for a flight or hotel, you may be able to redeem points or miles for some or all of the cost.

You can earn them in several ways, including:

• Credit card welcome offers
• Credit card spending
• Flights
• Hotel stays
• Shopping portals
• Dining programs
• Promotions and partnerships

One important thing to understand from the beginning is that not all points are the same. 100,000 points in one program may be much more useful than 100,000 points in another. That is why understanding what type of points you are earning and what they can be used for is more important than simply trying to collect the biggest number possible.

The Three Main Types of Travel Rewards

For beginners, I like to divide points and miles into three main categories:

• Airline miles
• Hotel points
• Transferable bank points

Each works a little differently, but they can all play an important role in how you travel.

Airline Miles

Airline miles are earned within an airline loyalty program. Some examples include:

• Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards
• American Airlines AAdvantage
• British Airways Club
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

You can usually redeem airline miles for flights operated by that airline and, depending on the program, flights operated by its partners. And this is where things start getting interesting.

You Do Not Always Use the Miles of the Airline You Fly

One of the biggest things beginners need to understand is that the airline operating your flight does not always have to be the airline whose points or miles you use. I have done this many times.

I have used Alaska miles to fly:

• American Airlines Flagship Business
• Fiji Airways Business Class
• British Airways Business Class
• Korean Air Business Class

You may be flying in Qatar Airways Business Class Airbus A350, while the points used to book the ticket came from another loyalty program entirely. That is one of the reasons airline partnerships are so useful.

Read More:
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Hotel Points

Hotel points work similarly, except they are tied to hotel loyalty programs. Popular programs include:

• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt
• Hilton Honors
• IHG One Rewards
• Wyndham Rewards

You can earn points through hotel stays, credit cards, promotions and other qualifying activity. You can then redeem those points for hotel nights. Over the years, points and elite benefits have also helped us stay at luxury hotels and resorts around the world while reducing the amount we would otherwise have paid in cash.

Depending on the program and your status, you may also receive benefits such as complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, late checkout or lounge access. It is also important to remember that points and elite status are not the same thing. You can have a large balance of hotel points without elite status, and you can have elite status without having a huge points balance.

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Transferable Points

Transferable bank points are among the most useful rewards to have because they are not immediately locked into one airline. Programs such as:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards
• American Express Membership Rewards
• Citi ThankYou Points
• Capital One Miles

allow you to transfer points to various airline and hotel partners. That flexibility is extremely valuable. Instead of deciding today that all your points must go to one airline, you can keep them in the bank program until you know exactly which airline or hotel you need. That gives you more options when it is time to book.

For example, depending on the trip, I have used different programs to get where I wanted to go. Different trips. Different programs. That is the flexibility you are trying to build.

How Do You Earn Points and Miles?

You do not have to fly constantly to build a useful points balance. In fact, many people earn a large portion of their points without stepping onto an airplane. Some of the most common ways include credit cards, everyday spending, shopping portals, dining programs and promotions.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are one of the most common ways to earn a significant number of points and miles. Many travel rewards cards offer welcome bonuses after you meet a required amount of spending within a certain period. Those offers change frequently, so I do not recommend choosing a card simply because the advertised number looks big. A large bonus is only useful if the points actually help you book the trip you want. That is why I prefer starting with a travel goal first.

Start With a Travel Goal

This is one of the biggest lessons I would give anyone starting out. Do not collect points without knowing why you are collecting them. Maybe your goal is:

• Business Class to Europe
• A family trip to Asia
• A luxury resort stay
• Visiting relatives while reducing your cash cost

Once you know the goal, you can work backward. That approach is much better than collecting random points and figuring out what to do with them later.

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Everyday Spending

Once a welcome bonus is achieved, you can continue earning points through normal everyday spending. Depending on the card, you may earn additional points for categories such as:

• Travel
• Dining
• Groceries
• Gas
• Online shopping

You do not necessarily need a wallet full of cards. Even understanding how to use one or two good rewards cards effectively can be a strong starting point.

Shopping Portals

Shopping portals are another simple way to earn additional points or miles. Instead of going directly to a retailer’s website, you first visit a shopping portal and click through to the retailer. You then complete your purchase as normal. The portal may award additional airline miles, bank points or cash back on top of whatever rewards your credit card already earns. That means one purchase may earn rewards in more than one place. Rakuten is one of the popular shopping portals I use all the time.

Dining Programs

Some airline and hotel programs also offer dining rewards. You register an eligible credit card with the dining program and may earn additional rewards when you use that card at participating restaurants.These smaller earning opportunities may not seem like much individually, but over time they can add up.

Do Not Transfer Points Until You Are Ready to Book

This is one of the most important rules in points and miles. Transfers from bank programs to airlines are generally one-way. Once those points leave the bank program, you usually cannot move them back.

So before transferring:

1. Find the flight you want.
2. Confirm the award seat is available.
3. Confirm how many miles are required.
4. Check the taxes and fees.
5. Transfer the points.
6. Book the ticket.

Award availability can disappear quickly. The goal is to keep your points flexible for as long as possible.

Not Every Award Ticket Is Free

Award tickets often still come with taxes and fees. Sometimes those fees are small. Sometimes they are not. British Airways is a good example.

I have used Alaska miles to book British Airways Business Class, including our trip from Lagos to London and onward to Newark, but British Airways-operated awards can also carry significant taxes and carrier-imposed fees.

That does not automatically make the redemption bad. It simply means you should look at the full cost. How many miles are required? How much cash is required? Those are the questions that matter.

Not Every Redemption Has to Be First Class

A lot of the trips you will see on Travel With Kayode involve premium cabins. Emirates First Class, JAL First Class, Qatar Airways Qsuites, and many others. But that doesn’t mean every redemption needs to be luxurious. Maybe using your points for Economy Class allows your entire family to take a trip you otherwise would not have taken. That can still be a great use of points. The best redemption is the one that works for your travel goals.

Common Beginner Mistakes

A few mistakes are especially common when getting started:

• Applying for cards without having a travel goal
• Chasing the biggest bonus without understanding the program
• Carrying credit card debt just to earn rewards
• Transferring points before confirming award availability
• Ignoring taxes and carrier-imposed fees
• Assuming all points have the same value
• Assuming the airline you are flying is always the airline whose miles you should use
• Spending more than you normally would just to earn points

You do not need to know everything from day one. You just need enough understanding to avoid the expensive mistakes.

Pay Your Credit Card in Full

Points and miles only make sense if the rewards are worth more than what they cost you. If you are paying high credit card interest every month, the value of the points can disappear very quickly. Use rewards cards for purchases you would normally make anyway and, whenever possible, pay the balance in full. The goal is to make your normal spending work harder for you.

Points Are Meant to Be Used

One of the best habits in points and miles is to earn and burn. Loyalty programs can change award prices, devalue their currencies, or adjust redemption rules at any time. Holding a large balance for years can mean getting less value from those points later.

That does not mean spending points carelessly. The goal is to earn with a purpose and use them when they help you book the travel you actually want.

Start Simple

You do not need to learn every airline program, hotel program, transfer partner, and award chart at once. Start with one or two programs that fit your travel goals and learn how those work first.

Once you understand how to earn points, search for award space, transfer points, and complete a booking, everything else becomes much easier to build on.

Final Thoughts

Points and miles have completely changed the way I travel. They have made it possible for my family and me to experience flights, hotels and destinations around the world for far less than we would have paid in cash.

But this hobby is not about collecting the biggest balance possible. It is about learning how to earn the right points, use them wisely, and turn them into trips you actually want to take.

You do not need to know everything on day one. Start with a goal, learn the basics, and build from there. Once you make your first great redemption, the whole thing starts to make a lot more sense.