121. Top 3 Ways to Use Each Flexible Points Currency

Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad

Alex, Pam and Jess

Places & Travel, Education, Society & Culture, How To

4.9 • 734 Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Not sure how to maximize your points? In this episode, we break down the top three ways to use each of the four major flexible points currencies—our favorite points currency (IYKYK), American Express Membership Rewards®, Capital One Venture Miles, and Citi ThankYou® Points—so you can book travel smarter.

Our favorite points: Best for Hyatt & Flights

It's easy to see why our favorite kind of points are just that! They're a gold mine for Hyatt stays, which offer the best value per point. Transfers to United Airlines can be great for international flights, and Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) often has solid award deals to Europe.

✔️ Top 3 Uses:

Hyatt transfers – Best hotel value in points & miles
United Airlines – Easy redemptions for family travel
Flying Blue transfers – Discounted flights to Europe

Capital One Venture Miles: Airline Sweet Spots & Simple Redemptions

Capital One has grown into a top travel program. Air Canada Aeroplan and Turkish Airlines have some nice redemtpion sweet spots, and using Venture Miles to get a statement credit (often referred to as a "purchase eraser") for travel purchases gives you incredible flexibility.

✔️ Top 3 Uses:

Air Canada Aeroplan – Great for international flights
Turkish Airlines – Cheap flights to Hawaii & Europe
Purchase Eraser – Easiest way to redeem miles

American Express Membership Rewards®: Best for Bonuses & Luxury Travel

Amex regularly offers transfer bonuses, making points stretch further. British Airways is great for booking American Airlines flights, Flying Blue offers discounted business-class redemptions, and Hilton transfers shine for aspirational stays.

✔️ Top 3 Uses:

British Airways for AA/Iberia flights – Cheap awards to Europe
Flying Blue transfers – Business-class deals to Paris
Hilton transfers – High-end redemptions like Conrad Bora Bora

Citi ThankYou® Points: Hidden Gems & Future AA Transfers

Citi’s best partners include Turkish Airlines, Choice Hotels, and Avianca LifeMiles. American Airlines transfers coming in 2026 make Citi even more exciting!

✔️ Top 3 Uses:

Turkish Airlines – Best deal for United flights to Hawaii
Choice Hotels – 1:2 transfers for premium stays
Avianca LifeMiles – Cheap business-class tickets

Final Thoughts: Which Points Currency Is Best?

Each program has its strengths! One dominates for Hyatt, American Express is best for transfer bonuses, Capital One shines with easy redemptions, and Citi has exciting future potential. Not sure where to start? Hit play now for all the details and our best strategies!

Links:

Links For All Things Travel Mom Squad: stan.store/travelmomsquad
Transfer Partner Cheat Sheet: Transfer Partner & Airline Alliance Master List - https://travelmomsquad.ck.page/transfer-partners

Episode Minute By Minute:

00:30 – Why flexible points are so valuable
02:00 – Our favorite points: Best ways to redeem for hotels & flights
06:45 – Capital One: Airline sweet spots & easy redemptions
12:30 – American Express: Transfer bonuses & luxury redemptions
20:00 – Citi: Hidden gems & the future of AA transfers
26:00 – Final thoughts & which program fits your travel goals

Ready to make the most of your points? Listen to the full episode now and start booking smarter! 🚀✈️

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It's no secret that flexible point currencies are our favorite kind of points.
0:04.3	Listen in as we share our top three ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Miles,
0:09.0	Amex membership rewards, and City Thank You Rewards.
0:11.7	Welcome to Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad.
0:15.5	Hey, I'm Alex.
0:17.2	And I'm Pam, Alex's mom.
0:19.5	And I'm Jess. Let's Talk Points.
0:21.9	So we get a lot of questions asking us, what's the best way for me to redeem my
0:27.0	MX membership rewards points or what's the best way for me to redeem my city thank you
0:31.1	points?
0:31.5	How should I use them?
0:32.8	So today, we are tackling these questions and sharing our top three ways that we would use each of the four main bank's transferable currencies.
0:44.0	So we are going to kick it off with our favorite, which shocker is Chase.
0:48.3	And Pam is going to tell us, Pam's going to get us started on our favorite ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
0:55.5	Yeah, this is a real shock. We love Chase Ultimate Reward. The ways that we get these points,
1:01.4	we get these ultimate rewards, are through the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve Card,
1:06.2	the Inc. Business Preferred, the Inc. Business Unlimited, or the Inc. Business Cash. And then also the
1:12.2	Freedom Flex or the Freedom Unlimited. Without a doubt, we are in 100% agreement on this that the
1:20.4	number one way to use these points is for a Hyatt State. In fact, I would say that each of us probably 80% if not 90% of the time,
1:31.6	that's what we use them for. In fact, I used to get them and the minute I got them,
1:36.3	I transferred them right over to Hyatt, didn't even give it a thought. And just this year,
1:41.2	I thought, well, maybe I should leave 100K out just in case something comes up. And then it's
	...

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