Pros and Cons of Booking through a Bank Travel Portal

Travel portal? In the points and miles world, travel portals aren’t always talked about that much. This type of redemption isn’t as glamorous as an overwater bungalow in Tahiti, or lay-flat business class seats to the Maldives so it doesn’t get as much attention.

But for most “normal people” travel portals can be a good option for using your points to offset travel expenses. Plus, if you’re planning to pay with cash, booking through a travel portal can help you earn the most possible points on the purchase. 

In this article, I’ll walk you through some pros and cons of booking through a bank travel portal, and show you some things to watch out for.

How Travel Portals Work

Travel portals are essentially a travel agency through the bank. The travel portal is typically run by a third party that makes reservations on your behalf, just like an online travel agent would.

All of the major banks have their own travel portals, including American Express Travel, Capital One Travel, Chase Travel℠, and Citi Travel. These are all online sites that work similarly to other booking sites like Expedia or booking.com.

With the travel portals, you can search and book hotels, airlines, car rentals, activities, and more. If you prefer to talk to an actual person rather than booking online, you can also call the travel portal and make your booking over the phone.

Pay with Points or Cash

When booking reservations in a travel portal, you can use points to pay OR pay with cash and earn points while you book. 

In most cases, your points are worth 1 cent per point when redeemed in a bank travel portal. So 50,000 points are worth $500 in travel.

Chase Travel has something called “Points Boost” where your points are worth up to 2 cents per point at certain properties. 

Special Deals

Different travel portals often have special deals for booking with them, just like any other travel agency might offer. These change regularly and are sometimes targeted. Here are some examples of  promotions that have been offered by Capital One Travel: 

   

Why People Don’t Talk More about Travel Portals

Because points have a fixed value in the travel portal, people will often say that it’s not a good deal to book that way. 

It’s true that if you want to book high end, luxury travel like business class seats, you’ll almost always get better value by transferring your points to a travel partner to book. Though this isn’t always the case — especially if you find a great fare sale. 

But for most “normal people” getting the highest cents per point is not the best way to decide how to book. 

And if your goal is to save money on everyday travel expenses like visiting grandparents, going to Disney, or even flying to Europe in economy, booking in the travel portal can be an excellent way to cover the travel you want to do. 

Why You Shouldn’t Worry Too Much About Cents Per Point

Here’s an example of why getting the highest cents per point doesn’t always make sense: 

Option A: A nice hotel that costs $750 per night. The hotel room sleeps a maximum of 2 people. You can transfer points to the hotel chain to reserve a room for 25,000 points per night, giving you a value of 3 cents per point.

Option B: A one-bedroom vacation club rental that costs $200 per night. The space comfortably sleeps 5 people and has a full kitchen where you can prepare meals. You can reserve a room for 20,000 points per night in the bank travel portal, giving you a value of 1 cent per point.

It’s silly to say that option A is a “good deal” but option B is a “bad deal” because you don’t get as many cents per point.

If that hotel room doesn’t make sense for your family, it’s not a good deal! If the vacation club rental meets your needs better, then that’s the better deal, even if it means you “only” get 1 cent per point.

Pros of Booking through a Travel Portal

Booking through a bank travel portal has quite a few benefits. Here are some reasons why you might want to book this way.

Make Use of Credits

Some credit cards have travel credits that can only be used in the bank travel portal. One example of this is the $300 annual travel credit that comes with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. 

To use the credit, you must reserve travel through Capital One Travel, and the credit is applied like a coupon during checkout.

Another example is the $50 hotel credit that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. To use this credit, you must make a qualifying hotel reservation in Chase Travel. You then receive $50 as a statement credit.

Earn More Points 

Most of the major banks have elevated earning opportunities for booking through their travel portal.

For example, if you have the Capital One Venture X, you can earn 10x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® earns 5x points on all purchases in Chase Travel (except for the $50 annual hotel credit).

Hot Tip: If you want to redeem your points to cover your travel, you can still do that. Charge the purchase to your credit card first, then redeem points for a statement credit in the amount of the purchase.

Book Independent Hotels

Travel portals are a great way to use your points to pay for smaller chains and boutique hotels. 

You can transfer points to major hotel chains like Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, but there isn’t a way to transfer points to book most independent hotels. Through the travel portal, you can find and book unique hotels that you wouldn’t be able to book with points otherwise.

This is especially great in places like Europe — where most chain hotels only sleep 2 people. If you can book an aparthotel in Europe, it usually sleeps more people and you might use fewer points overall. 

Book Budget Airlines

The same is true for low-cost carriers like Spirit and Allegiant. You can’t transfer points to book these carriers, but you can often use points in a travel portal to book them.

Note: When booking budget carriers, be sure to check what is included. Things like seat selection, checked luggage, and a carry-on bag are typically extra charges.  

Taxes and Fees are Included

When you book a flight through a bank travel portal and pay with points, your taxes and fees are already built into that price. 

When you transfer points to an airline and then book, you’ll always have at least some additional taxes and fees to pay. For flights in the US, that’s usually $5.60 each way. For international flights, the fees could be much higher, possibly several hundred dollars for a round trip.

Good for Flight Sales

When airlines have flight sales, you can often book for fewer points in the travel portal than you would be able to book by transferring your points. 

This is especially true for Europe. Flights from the United States to Europe are often in the $400-$500s round-trip if you wait for a flight sale. And flight sales are very regularly found. 

In most travel portals, you could book a $450 flight for 45,000 points.

And remember, taxes and fees are already included when booking in the travel portal! 

Example: — in 2019, Katie and her family booked round trip flights from Chicago to Manila for 40,000 points each. That’s because they found a flight sale for $600 round trip and they booked via Chase Travel using a Chase Sapphire Reserve® when you could redeem points in the portal for 1.5 cents per point.

There is no option for using 40,000 points per person to fly to the Philippines by transferring any airline miles! So this was a great deal. 

It’s Simple

Booking in the travel portal can be easier than transferring points, especially for a beginner. If transfer partners make your head spin but you want to use your points to cover travel expenses, booking in the travel portal is a simple and straightforward option. 

Cons of Booking Through a Travel Portal

There are a lot of pros to booking travel through a bank travel portal, but there are also some cons to consider. Here are some things to think about before you book.

Status Usually Doesn’t Apply for Hotels

Typically, you need to book directly with the hotel chain in order to get perks from the hotel’s loyalty program. If you book through a third party like a bank travel portal, your status won’t apply. 

Note: Hotels will sometimes allow you to add your loyalty number to the booking so it’s worth asking, but most of the time you won’t be able to.

You Won’t Earn Hotel Loyalty Points

Since you usually can’t add your loyalty number to the booking, that means you typically, won’t be able to earn hotel loyalty points either. 

Note: This doesn’t apply to flights booked in a travel portal. You typically can earn loyalty points and use your airline status for flights booked in the travel portal.

It Can be Harder to Choose Seats

When you book award travel directly with an airline, seat selection is often included. This isn’t always the case when you book through a travel portal. You may have to pay extra to choose seats.

You may also have to take an extra step and use the confirmation number from the travel portal to log in to the airline website to select seats. 

Policies vary by airline, so check the details before you book.

You can Sometimes Get Better Value by Transferring Points

This isn’t always the case, but it’s something to consider.

Here’s an example: Say you want to stay in a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland. You could book the Hyatt House in Anaheim for 73,286 points + $139 taxes and fees in the Chase Travel Portal, OR you could transfer points to Hyatt and book the same room for only 12,000 points and $0 taxes and fees. 

 

This is an extreme example, but the point is, it’s worth comparing prices before booking in the travel portal to make sure you’re getting a good value for your points. 

Things to Watch Out for When Using a Travel Portal

Cancellation Policies

One of the nice things about booking flights with airline or hotel points is that there are often generous cancellation policies. The same is not true when you book through a travel portal. Check the cancellation policy carefully to make sure it works for your plans. 

For hotels booked through a travel portal, cancellation policies vary widely. You may be able to cancel for free up to a certain point before your hotel stay, or you may not be able to cancel at all.

Always check the cancellation policies before booking. 

Bookings in the travel portal should still be covered by your card’s trip cancellation and interruption policies, but it’s always good to understand your cancellation policies. 

Seat Selection Issues

Sometimes when you choose seats through the travel portal, they don’t appear correctly on your airline booking. Check with the airline to make sure they see the seats you selected.

Pricing Might Be Inflated

Bank travel portals sometimes have inflated pricing. You may get a better deal by booking directly with the merchant or even sometimes via sites like Costco Travel or Priceline. It’s a good idea to compare prices before booking to make sure you’re getting the best deal.

Note: It could be worth paying a little bit more to book in the travel portal if it means you can use your travel credit, so keep that in mind.

Pro Tip: Capital One Travel offers price match protection. If you find a lower price elsewhere, you can get the difference in the form of a travel credit.

Who to Call About Issues

If you have any issues, you’ll usually have to call the customer service of the travel portal you booked through, not the hotel or airline you booked.

This includes things like if the airline changes your flight, you need to change dates, you want to add or remove people from the reservation, etc.

It can be a hassle dealing with a third party like a bank travel portal, but it really isn’t any different than booking award flights through a partner airline. You have to deal with a third party in that case too.

Note: If your flight is delayed or canceled on the day of travel, you should be able to talk directly to the airline you’re flying with.

Refunds Not Showing Up

If the airline refunds your flight but you don’t see it on your account, you may have to call the travel portal you booked through. Sometimes refunds need to be issued manually.

Remember not every flight booked through the travel portal will have free refunds, but if you’re due for a refund, make sure you get it!

Best Practices When Booking with a Travel Portal

If you decide to book with the travel portal, here are some best practices to keep in mind to help the process go as smoothly as possible!

Make Sure the Merchant has Your Booking

After booking a hotel room or flight, check with the merchant to make sure they can see the booking.

In most cases, you should get two confirmation numbers from the travel portal. One confirmation number for the travel portal itself, and a separate confirmation number for the merchant. You can use the merchant confirmation number to check online for your reservation with that specific hotel or airline.

If you can’t find your reservation using the merchant confirmation number, you may need to call the hotel or airline to confirm the reservation is there. It’s a good idea to do this soon after booking, that way if there are any issues, you can get it taken care of well in advance of your trip.

Only Book Flights You Know You’ll Take

Because cancellation policies with airlines are usually less generous in the travel portal, it’s better for trips you know you’ll take.

If you’re not sure about the flight, it’s probably better to book with points directly with the airline because it’s usually easier to get your miles back if you decide to cancel.

We Want to Hear From You

Have you booked travel through a bank portal before? Share your experiences, both good and bad, in the comments below! We’d also love to hear any questions you have about using travel portals.

Just starting to learn about points and miles? Read here about three mindset shifts for booking with points.