Why Flexible Rewards (Like Chase Ultimate Rewards Points) Are Essential If You Want to Take Advantage of Award Sales and Mistake Fares
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One of the most common questions I get from friends and family is regarding how to get in on many of the fantastic award sales and mistake fares we write about here.
If they’re new to the miles & points hobby, I usually start with a spiel about how important it is to have a strategy while considering your own travel goals and spending habits.
Next, I’ll recommend one of the best credit cards for travel and explain the importance of earning flexible travel rewards. Why? Because flexible rewards are key to making the most of many of the best travel deals.
Oftentimes, for example, award sales and mistake fares are only good for limited dates. But what’s most limiting is the fact that the vast majority of award sales and mistake fares are only available from major US airports, like Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New York.
That’s exactly where flexible rewards come into play. I’ll explain.
I recently took a trip to Thailand thanks to a mistake fare from Hong Kong Airlines. I was able to snag a round-trip lie-flat Business Class ticket for ~$635, which was incredible. But I did face a bit of a predicament when deciding whether to buy the tickets – I don’t live in Los Angeles. In fact, I live over 1,000 miles from Los Angeles in Missoula, Montana.
So what did I do?
Before booking the tickets from Los Angeles to Bangkok, I did a quick search on Google Flights to get an idea of the cash price of a ticket between my hometown of Missoula and Los Angeles. I found the average price of a ticket, at that point in time, was $200 to $250. That’s a decent price, especially out of Missoula. But even better, I knew I’d be able to use some of my flexible travel rewards to cover the cost of those positioning flights.
Earning flexible rewards points like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, AMEX Membership Rewards, and Capital One miles, can give you peace of mind. Flexible rewards can afford you the chance to take advantage of travel opportunities (like this one!) you might otherwise not be able to act on.
In this particular instance, I ended up using Chase Ultimate Rewards points for flights on Alaska Airlines. I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and with it, get 1.5 cents per point when booking travel through Chase’s travel portal. So I used 15,667 Chase Ultimate Rewards points per round-trip ticket between Missoula and Los Angeles.
I’d say even though I had to use points to get to Los Angeles, taking advantage of the mistake fare was still an excellent deal! The same Business Class tickets to Bangkok easily run $3,000+.
Moral of the story?
You’ll find it a lot easier to take advantage of award sales and mistake fares with a stash of flexible travel rewards points on hand. Especially if you don’t live in or near a big city.
Here are my top 5 card picks for earning flexible travel rewards:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Best card for beginners)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Best premium travel card)
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (Easiest rewards to redeem)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (Best Chase card for small business owners)
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Best American Express card for small business owners)
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Intro APR on purchases
N/A
Regular APR
16.24% – 23.24% Variable
Annual Fee
$95
Balance Transfer Fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Rates & Fees
Other
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