Daisy Hernandez was the editor of credit cards in Guy points from 2023, but he accepted joy Givify credit card awards much longer. Like many of her colleagues, she spreads his expenses into many cards maximize prizes such as aviation miles, hotel points and cash return.
In January 2024, she opened the Chase Sapphire reserve card and soon scored 60,000 premiere points for issuing at least USD 4,000 in the first three months. When she was still collecting points, Hernandez began to talk to her mother about restoring her previous mother's journey Iceland.
When her grandmother, then 79, entered the conversation, Hernandez knew that she wanted to use several points.
“She had stars in her eyes. She was like:” It's amazing. It sounds amazing, “says Hernandez. “I thought,” Let me see what I can do. “
In May, she collected over 100,000 points, which she put on a trip for all three. According to Guy's estimates, at points, each Chase Ultimate Rewards point is worth about 2.05 cents, thanks to which its cache is worth just over $ 2,000.
All in all, she was able to cover the accommodation, a rented car and her own flight. Thanks to these savings, she could afford to pay out of her own pocket for the other two flights.
“For my grandmother it was a journey once in my life,” says Hernandez.
Here's how she did it.
She chose the card strategically
Hernandez wanted Premium travel cards and narrowed things to the two main options. To choose between them, she looked at, among others, prize points and transfer partners.
It turned out that the Chase card worked with its “favorite hotel network”. So she realized: “It's a bit without thinking.” Especially since the first card stopped consumers with accessories at the airport salon that would not be available to her at her local airport.
For holders of ready -made cards to pay an annual fee, several travel cards offer excellent advantages and generous introductory bonus offers. By sliding most of the expenses to a new pursuit card, Hernandez was able to overshadow a three-month expenditure threshold worth $ 4,000 to get a 60,000-point card bonus.
She was smart with prizes
The Hernandez card offers an output one point for each dollar spent on pre -paid and three points for travel and restaurant, as well as increased purchases made by the Chase travel portal. Within about five months, she was able to collect just over 100,000 points.
Importantly, Hernandez was responsible for her expenses and is aware of the risk of opening a new card. She and other experts would tell you not to open the card unless you can use it responsibly and avoid it Entering debts to realize prizes.
Hernandez used about 23,000 points – about USD 470 according to TPG estimates – rent a car for four days. She used more or less the same amount to book her flight, which was a nominal value of about USD 450. The rest was carried out in three nights for three guests spread out on two properties, which she reserved via the Chase travel portal.
Her 100,000 points did not cover everything. She still paid about $ 900 for mother and grandmother's flights, and she spent anything on meals and classes when she was there.
“I still have the value of a killer from a trip for three people,” says Hernandez.
She did not allow you to perfectly be the enemy of the good
The credit card point obsessively that he is, Hernandez says that she could get even more bang for her zloty if she was more opportunistic with her points.
“If I worked hard to maximize with transfer bonuses, if they were available, which were not when I booked us, I could probably even get more value from these points,” he says.
Partner Credit Cards rewards programs periodically offer incentives to transfer points. If Hernandez waited for the hotel network to offer a 50% bonus for transfer, for example, to convert, say, 50,000 credit card points at 75,000 hotel points.
But obtaining maximum value from your points requires effort and flexibility. Transfer bonuses appear only from time to time. And even if you can find a lucrative, you can't say if good offers will be available when you want to travel.
“In the peak of the season it will be more expensive, regardless of whether it will be cash or points. So you are at the grace when you decide to travel and where you are going,” says Hernandez.
In addition, if you let your points sit down, waiting to find the perfect offer, they can lose part of their value. “Devals occur all the time. (Hotel network) could say:” Instead of our points, they are worth 0.8 centers per point, now there are 0.65 “, warns Hernandez.
Which means that Hernandez does not regret using his points when she did it.
“We are from Central America. My grandmother has never been near the Scandinavian country.” She said: “Never, in my wildest dreams, I would not imagine that I saw a place like Iceland,” says Hernandez. “It was a cherry at the top to be able to experience it with her and my mother.”
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