The arrival of a new year offers a fresh set of resolutions and an opportunity to refine my travel and loyalty objectives.
This year, in addition to securing my elite status aspirations and organizing exciting travel (I’ve already used British Airways Avios and Flying Blue miles to take my partner to Japan for his first visit this April), I’m considering how to effectively earn points and miles.
I possess multiple credit cards, some that accrue transferable currencies and others linked directly to an airline or hotel loyalty program. Therefore, I am constantly strategizing on how to optimize my points and miles accumulation in the dynamic landscape of travel loyalty.
I appreciate the flexibility that comes with transferable currencies, so here’s my points-earning strategy for 2025, along with tips to help you create your own plan.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points in 2025
Safeguarding Against Devaluations
Devaluations are a painful truth in the world of points and miles collection.
Already in early 2025, we have witnessed an uptick in the cost of Air France and KLM tickets to Europe and beyond via the Flying Blue program. To offset this, the program assures increased availability at the lowest Saver rates, which remain reasonable despite the hikes.
Accumulating transferable currencies is a smart approach to shielding yourself from devaluations, which often occur without advance notice. While I might be tempted to transfer all my transferable points to an airline or hotel program during a generous transfer offer, I recognize that these transfers are final. Thus, unless I have an immediate plan for the points, it’s more prudent to hold off on transferring—even during a promotional offer.
You can protect your points and miles from devaluation by storing them in your credit card account until you’re ready to use them. This way, you avoid putting all your resources into one program that could unexpectedly drop in value.
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Anticipating Enhanced Welcome Offers
I constantly seek out increased welcome bonuses, which frequently fluctuate. Currently, I’m mindful to stay under Chase’s 5/24 rule and have even downgraded my much-loved Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to prepare for the next elevated welcome offer. By doing so, I will become eligible to apply for the card again (having not received the welcome bonus for over 48 months) when a new offer emerges. So far, no new bonuses have been announced, but fingers crossed for a quick update.
I’ll also be keeping an eye on my credit score to enhance my chances of approval.
If you’ve been contemplating applying for a specific card, it’s beneficial to know what the standard welcome bonus is. That way, you’ll be ready if an increase in the bonus occurs or if new features are introduced that make a good card even more appealing.
Subscribing to Flying Frugal’s daily newsletter is an excellent way to stay updated on increased welcome offers throughout 2025.
Related: Discover the best credit card welcome bonuses
Understanding My Transfer Options
One advantage of having transferable points is their broad array of transfer partner options. While many programs frequently appear on various partner lists, transfer partner offerings can vary slightly from one program to the next.
For instance, World of Hyatt points rank among the most valuable hotel currencies available. However, only Chase Ultimate Rewards and Bilt Rewards points can be transferred to Hyatt. Therefore, if you’re keen on enhancing your Hyatt balance, focus on accumulating Chase and Bilt points.
While transfer partners can change, I’m glad major transferable points programs have retained their most valued partners. Still, I do have my preferences when it comes to programs.
When deciding which card to use for each purchase, it’s wise to have a general understanding of how you might want to redeem your earned points.
Wells Fargo Rewards introduced new transfer partners in 2024. However, with only seven partners in total (with three being Avios partners, allowing for easy Avios transfers between programs), it hasn’t yet captured my interest to direct my spending there in 2025.
You don’t need to memorize every transfer partner for each program (bookmark our cheatsheet instead). Still, it’s important not to focus solely on earning a transferable currency if you don’t value its partners or can’t easily redeem the points.
Identifying Complementary Cards
Despite the various earning rates and perks, you might think that the optimal way to maximize points is to have a card from each issuer deemed “the best.” However, that’s not always the case. There are superb card combinations offered within the same issuers. I might consider adding a new card from my current issuer or even snagging two fresh cards from a new issuer in 2025, as long as they complement each other well.
For instance, as previously mentioned, I plan to reapply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card since I should be eligible for the welcome bonus. I had initially downgraded my Sapphire Preferred to the no-annual-fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® card (which helped retain my credit line and history, as the Preferred was one of my oldest cards). I haven’t made much use of the Freedom Unlimited card since downgrading.
However, if I were to be approved for the Sapphire Preferred again and keep my Freedom Unlimited card, it would form a powerful duo. With an active Sapphire card, I’d earn 3% cash back on dining and drugstore purchases, plus 1.5% on all other charges made to the Freedom Unlimited, which would convert into Ultimate Rewards points. These points could then be transferred to various Sapphire partners, including the exceptional World of Hyatt.
For smaller transactions, I might also consider combining the Citi Rewards+® Card (see rates and fees) with my Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees). While the Strata Premier generates numerous ThankYou® Rewards points for larger purchases (as I’ll detail later), small purchases on the Citi Rewards+ Card automatically round up to the nearest 10. This means a $1 transaction earns 10 points—significantly more than what I would earn with the Strata Premier.
If you’re considering a new card application in 2025, check out our guide to the best credit card combinations. Pairing a new card with one you already rely on could be a clever way to maximize your earnings on every purchase.
Renewing My Membership Rewards Journey
Prior to the pandemic, I was a dedicated member of the American Express Membership Rewards community, reaping the rewards of The Platinum Card® from American Express and its extensive travel benefits. However, after having only held two Amex cards previously (the other being a Delta SkyMiles card), I’ve been consistently informed by Amex’s welcome bonus tool that I’m no longer eligible for any welcome bonuses due to my prior applications.
This has led me to favor cards from other issuers, where I can still secure welcome bonuses. That said, I miss the opportunity to earn substantial multipliers on my everyday purchases, such as earning four points per dollar at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar) with the American Express® Gold Card and five points per dollar for flights with the Amex Platinum (up to $500,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar).
I hesitate to apply for an Amex card with a high annual fee without a welcome bonus. Instead, my plan is to apply for a card with a smaller (or no) welcome bonus and make regular purchases through it this year. This will allow me to accrue some Membership Rewards points, demonstrating to Amex that I’m a legitimate customer worthy of a welcome bonus in the future.
If you’ve encountered an unwelcome notification from Amex while applying for a new card, you may want to consider this approach as well.
Related: The 11 best American Express credit cards
Focusing on Capital One Miles Over Citi ThankYou Points
I’m a big fan of my Citi Strata Premier Card for its ability to earn 10 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through the CitiTravel portal. It also generates 3 points per dollar on other travel, dining, supermarkets, gas, and EV charging stations. With various bonus categories, I generally earn at least three points per dollar on most expenses.
Coupled with a generous welcome bonus of 75,000 ThankYou points after spending $4,000 within the first three months of opening, I managed to accumulate over 200,000 ThankYou points last year merely by charging my everyday purchases to the card.
Occasionally, I gather more points than I can utilize, which is a nice predicament to have.
Though Citi’s ThankYou Rewards program offers an acceptable range of transfer partners, there’s one critical gap: Aeroplan, my preferred Star Alliance loyalty program, isn’t a Citi transfer partner. I hope to see this change before long.
In the meantime, as I plan to redeem a significant number of Aeroplan points this year, I’ve decided to minimize using my Strata Premier card for everyday purchases. Instead, I’ve shifted that spending to my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which rewards me with two points per dollar on every transaction and allows me to transfer those miles to Aeroplan. The Venture X also earns 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals through the same portal.
While the Venture X’s $395 annual fee (see rates and fees) is higher than the Strata Premier’s $95 annual fee, Venture X cardholders benefit from a $300 annual credit for Capital One Travel and 10,000 anniversary miles, which considerably offsets the higher fee.
In general, I may not accumulate as many points with my Venture X as I would with my Strata Premier. However, if you have a preference for the transfer partners associated with a specific currency over another, you might find it worthwhile to sacrifice some points earning to access those partners.
Conclusion
The landscape of points and miles is constantly shifting, filled with a cycle of favorable and unfavorable developments. New transfer partners emerge, sweet spots vanish, and elevated welcome offers arise.
There’s no single card, transferable points currency, or transfer partner that perfectly aligns with my spending and travel preferences. Thus, I choose to diversify my points and miles strategy to safeguard against devaluations and enhance flexibility. Since points and miles aren’t a reliable long-term investment, I aim to redeem most of what I earn by year’s end.
By crafting your own transferable points plan, you can optimize the accumulation of points and miles and redeem them for the most rewarding experiences possible.
