Long weekend trips with credit card points

Adverts

If you’re frustrated with the sky-high travel prices this summer and beyond, you’re not alone. In fact, 69% of Americans are changing their travel plans due to inflation, according to a March 2022 Bankrate survey. As flights, hotels and even gas become more expensive, travelers travel less and travel shorter distances to save money.

But travel doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Dive into your points and miles to cut costs considerably. Points and miles are most valuable when cash rates are higher, giving travelers the flexibility to travel even on expensive and busy holiday weekends.

Using your credit card points on weekend getaways can save you money, especially during summer or when travel costs are higher on holiday weekends. Points can easily be used for activities such as flights, hotel stays and car rentals. This is the best way to extend your weekend trip with credit card points.

Counting credit card points

One of the benefits of inflation, if any, is that because you spend more, you also earn more points with each swipe. Check your credit card point balance for all cards in your wallet. You’ll be surprised how your points have slowly accumulated to a nice balance.

Make sure you review all your accounts so you know exactly what you’re using. It may also be helpful to find a transfer partner for the map at this stage, especially if you already have a destination.

After checking your points balance, you can choose a destination and learn how to best use your points to get there.

Adverts

Choose a destination

A weekend getaway usually only lasts a few days, so choose a destination that makes sense—one where you don’t have to stop or drive long. Choosing a good travel destination also depends on whether you are traveling alone, with family, as a couple or with friends. For example, you might want to go to a Las Vegas casino with friends, but prefer a theme park or national park vacation with your kids.

Ideal long weekend getaways include national or state parks, major or capital cities, historic sites, beaches, lakes, major landmarks/tourism attractions or theme parks.

The sky’s the limit when it comes to using your credit card points for a long weekend getaway. Those who can afford an extra day or two tend to go further or travel abroad, such as B. for a sunny vacation in Cancun, a trip to Bermuda or a city tour to Toronto. East Coast drivers may even want to consider a long weekend in Europe.

But those looking to stay inland should consider these popular destinations, perfect for a weekend getaway:

Northeast: New York City, Cape Cod, Acadia National Park, Martha’s Vineyard, Boston
Southeast: Disney World, Savannah, Florida Keys, Charleston, Gulf Shores
Midwest: Chicago, Branson, Milwaukee, Nashville, Hocking Hills State Park
South Central: New Orleans, San Antonio, South Padre Island, Hot Springs, Ozarks
Northwest: Bend, Sun Valley, Glacier National Park, Seattle, Napa Valley
Southwest: Sedona, Santa Fe, Moab, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara

The sections below on transferring points and credit card portals can also help you decide on a destination based on your points balance.

Adverts

Hotel

If you have a hotel credit card such as a World of Hyatt credit card, you may need to choose your destination based on the hotel you want to stay in. Hotel websites often list their accommodations by country, so check them out to see what makes sense and if you have enough points to get you through the weekend.

General travel cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, often also allow you to redeem points for hotel stays. Specifically, with this card, cardholders earn $50 per year in hotel night credits. To see what’s possible, log in to your credit card travel portal.

Flight

If your destination is far away, you can redeem your points for flights. For example, anyone with a Delta Skymiles® Gold American Express Card wants to find a nonstop destination in Delta.

Likewise, those with a generic travel credit card (a credit card not affiliated with any particular airline or hotel brand) have more flexibility.

Transfer point and booking via credit card travel portal

Transfer your points

If you have a credit card like American Express’ Platinum Card® or Capital One Venture X credit card, you’ll get a flexible point currency, unlike Delta Points, which can only be used with one brand.

Adverts

These flexible points allow you to book travel on a variety of brands. There are two ways to do this. The first is to transfer your points, which requires your credit card issuer to form a partnership with a specific hotel or airline brand. When you transfer points, they are debited from your credit card account and deposited into your hotel or airline loyalty account. You will then book your flight or accommodation through this loyalty account. This option sometimes produces more value per point.

Choosing your destination may depend on the best deal you can find for your particular credit card. For example, if you have Capital One points, the only hotel partners with Capital One are Wyndham and Choice Privileges. If you’re traveling to a destination that doesn’t have a Wyndham or Choice hotel, you won’t be able to transfer your Capital One points to these brands during your trip. Those with a large balance of Capital One points should instead choose a Wyndham or Choice hotel destination (and make sure the desired hotel has reward availability before rebooking) or use a travel portal instead of transferring points.

Check out our transfer partner guide for popular issuers to explore your options.

American Express Transfer Partners
Chase transfer partner
Chase transfer partner
Citi Transfer Partners

Book via credit card travel portal

Booking through a travel portal is more straightforward. To do so, log into your credit card account and book your flight or accommodation directly with the publisher – no points transfer required.

Chase, Amex and Capital One all have their own travel portals where you can use your points to book hotels and flights directly. Using points may not always be the cheapest way, but one benefit is that you can earn points on those stays or flights because you’re technically “paying” the credit card company with points. Sometimes the best way to use it means you can use your points when you need them – like a busy, expensive holiday weekend.

Another benefit of booking travel through a credit card travel portal is that you can use your points at hotels that are not credit card transfer partners or even part of a points program. This provides more flexibility for travelers to rural or obscure destinations that may not have major hotel programs/brands.

With high rental car prices, it also makes sense to use points and miles to rent a car, which can significantly reduce the price of travel. However, keep in mind that you will still have to pay for gas.

Cheap travel with PTO

Bank holiday weekends are popular and peak travel time, which means cash prices are often high, especially if you fly on a Friday night and return on Monday. If you only travel a day early or a day later, you can lower the price – not just the cash price. When you’re traveling during off-peak times, you can often save money when redeeming awards for hotels, flights, and car rentals.

Explore different departure and return dates to find the best fares (points and cash). Traveling before and after major holiday dates also means you’re likely to encounter less traffic and crowds, resulting in a more positive weekend holiday experience.

Final result

There are many clever ways to use your points to save money when you travel. Credit card points provide the flexibility to book flights, car rentals or hotels at huge discounts or even free, making dream weekend getaways an affordable reality – even when travel prices are high on peak days or bank holiday weekends.

Learn more:

Adverts