130. Top 5 Reasons to Avoid Booking Travel Through Credit Card Travel Portals

Point Me To First Class

Devon Gimbel MD

Finances, Education, How To, Travel, Credit, Expenses, Card, Cards, Society & Culture, Professionals, Tips, Personal, Places & Travel, Business, Points, Rewards

5 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If there’s one thing nearly every points traveler has done at least once, it’s book a flight, hotel, or car rental directly through their credit card’s online travel portal. With promises of 5x, 8x, even 12x bonus points, it can feel like the obvious choice. But as I share in today’s episode, those tempting multipliers often come at a serious cost—and the reasons why may surprise you.

In this episode, I walk through the top five reasons you should avoid booking through credit card travel portals like Chase, Amex, Citi, and Capital One. From losing out on elite status perks and upgrades to paying more for the same flights or hotel rooms, I reveal the hidden downsides that don’t show up until it’s too late. You’ll also hear real-world stories from travelers who faced everything from missing reservations to costly rebookings—all because they used a portal instead of booking direct.

Even more importantly, I’ll explain how using your points through a portal can devalue them by 2–10x compared to transferring to partners. I share specific examples, including how I used Chase points with Hyatt for a $65,000+ stay that would have cost 3.6 million points through the portal. Whether you’re new to points or have been booking this way for years, this episode will help you avoid costly mistakes and make smarter choices with your rewards.

Turn your expenses into points and save tens of thousands of dollars a year on your wishlist travel. Don’t miss out! Click here http://www.pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy to know more about my comprehensive online program, Points Made Easy. Enrollment opens on September 20, 2025 to September 27, 2025.

Want to know what’s really possible with your points? Don’t just take it from me—hear from members who’ve used Points Made Easy to completely change the way they travel. From business class flights to dream vacations, their results speak for themselves. Watch their stories here - https://points.pointmetofirstclass.com/points-made-easy-success-stories

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world.
0:10.7	I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them.
0:17.8	Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Hello, everyone,
0:30.7	and welcome back to the podcast. If there's one thing, almost everyone in the points hobby has done,
0:36.9	it's book some element of travel
0:38.8	directly through their credit cards online travel portal at some point. And if there's one thing
0:43.7	that many educators in the points travel space advised against, it's to book travel directly
0:48.5	through a credit card's online travel portal. Even I routinely recommend against booking travel
0:53.4	through your credit card account. In fact,
0:56.1	I listed it as one of the top five mistakes points beginners make all the way back in the second
1:01.1	ever episode of this podcast. But why is this? Earning and redeeming points are all about traveling,
1:08.2	right? So why does booking travel directly through a credit card's travel
1:12.6	portal often rank at the top of lists of points mistakes not to make, especially when many
1:18.6	rewards credit cards offer tantalizing bonus points for booking travel directly through their
1:23.2	affiliated travel portals? We're talking five, eight, ten, up to 12 times points for using your
1:29.5	pricey credit card to book travel through your credit card account. In fact, questions like this
1:34.1	one that was recently posted in my community are common and completely understandable.
1:39.4	Tiffany posted, can someone explain to me the pros and cons of booking travel in the Chase Travel Portal
1:45.0	versus just directly with hotels or airlines? Asking because I just got the Chase-Sephy
1:50.6	Reserve Business Card, and it's eight times points if booked in the travel portal, but only four
1:55.6	times points if booked through hotels or airlines directly. What am I missing? Particularly when savvy award travels know
2:02.1	to look for opportunities to maximize points earning, booking travel through your credit cards travel
	...

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