How to Book Lodging with Points
Cover Lodging with Flexible Rewards
There are three main ways you can use flexible rewards cards to earn free hotel nights.
Each credit card issuer will display these options a bit differently, but they should all be easy to find.
For example, if you go to redeem your miles in your Capital One portal, you'll see several options for how you want to redeem. The first three options are: “Book A Trip” (travel portal), “Convert Rewards” (transfer miles to a transfer partner), and “Cover Travel Purchases”.
Our transfer partner guide has screenshots of each bank and where they are.
Transfer to a hotel partner
Transfer partners are airlines and hotels that have partnered with a bank so that you can move your rewards into their loyalty program. Each bank has a different set of transfer partners.
Transferring rewards to transfer partners is pretty straightforward. When you earn rewards through credit card spend and bonuses, you will be able to log into your credit card account and choose to transfer your rewards to a transfer partner's loyalty program.
Hotel transfers are often instantaneous and then you can use those miles or points to book your free hotel night directly through the loyalty program.
For example, if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards and transfer those to World of Hyatt, you will now have World of Hyatt points that you will immediately be able to use to make an award booking.
Book free hotel nights through the bank's travel site
With flexible points, most banks offer the option of booking travel through their own portal. These portals operate like Expedia or Orbitz, essentially they are an online travel agent.
In order to use the bank's site to get a free hotel room, you simply log-in to your account and perform a hotel search. When you find the room you want, you could opt to pay with points.
Booking free hotels through the travel portal is an option if you prefer non-chain hotels or are traveling somewhere where chain hotels aren't available. If you are booking a chain hotel through a portal, be sure to also search the hotel directly through the hotel since it may be better value.
“Cover” hotel purchases to make any hotel night free
Most flexible points cards also offer the ability to “cover” travel or get cash back for your points. If you want to turn any hotel stay into a free hotel stay, you can charge the hotel to one of these cards.
I only recommend doing this if your card gives you this option at a rate of 1 cent per point.
Afterward, you will go into your account and find the pay yourself back/cover travel purchases/cash back option. You'll select the charge you want to cover and the points will be deducted from your account.
