Two Kinds of Lazy Points
Tl;dr: Of the six big transferable points programs, Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo offer super-easy fixed-value redemptions that let you book travel normally and then offset the purchase with points. Amex, Bilt, and Citi don’t offer that same combination of simplicity and flexibility—but they make up for it with much better transfer opportunities.
The most common complaint I hear about points is “I don’t know what to do with these.” Personally, I like to take the easy route. Or maybe “routes.” Because there are two main lazy ways to redeem points, in my mind: using points to simply wipe away purchases, and transferring points to partner loyalty programs that offer outstanding value with minimum effort.
And I’ve noticed that, for now, the big six transferable points programs (Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Wells Fargo) are neatly divided along those lines. Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo offer super-easy fixed-value redemptions, but no high-upside, low-effort option for long-haul international travel. Amex, Bilt, and Citi, by contrast, lack the same easy post-purchase fixed-value redemptions, but offer outstanding transfer value.
Understanding this dichotomy can help you choose the right card and redemption strategy for you.
Note: In this post I’m focusing on long-haul economy redemptions. The dynamics are slightly different for business-class redemptions and domestic flights.
The Tradeoff
Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo make it easy to get decent value: book the travel you want and redeem points to offset the purchase at roughly 1¢ per point. The exact mechanism and value varies by card and purchase, but each issuer makes it fairly straightforward to get this value on travel. Each of these issuers has various transfer partners that can theoretically offer better value—but I have personally found it exasperatingly difficult to do so in practice.
Guides: How to erase travel purchases with Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo.
Amex, Bilt, and Citi make it easier to get good or great value. While the other programs’ transfer partnerships can deliver the odd deal here or there, Amex partner Delta, Bilt partner Alaska, and Citi partner American consistently deliver great award deals. But if you don’t want to learn the nuances of those programs, Amex, Bilt, and Citi lack the same ability to simply book travel normally and then erase the purchase at around 1¢ per point.
Note: I think Amex and Delta have the best bargains… but can be the most complicated.
The first approach is simple: the value is predictable, there’s little to learn, and there’s almost no risk of making a bad redemption. The downside is that the upside is capped. With the second approach, you’ll have to understand some of the transfer-program nuances to get the best deals—not every redemption will be an automatic winner. But the upside can be much higher.
My Experience
For example, as I was writing this post I searched for flights from San Francisco to Europe anytime in the next 6 months. The cheapest option was a flight to Dublin for $541. I could buy that ticket and then cover the cost with 54,100 Capital One, Chase, or Wells Fargo points.
With some digging on Seats.aero and Roame, I found a few viable round-trip alternatives:
London via Virgin for 18k points and about $500 in fees (all three)
London via United for 56k points and about $225 in fees (Chase only)
Zurich or Barcelona via United for 69k points and about $55 in fees (Chase only)
Amsterdam or Paris via Flying Blue for 50k points and about $400 in fees (all three)
I also found (very limited) flights via JetBlue (1:1 transfers from Chase and Citi) for around 50-70k miles and $150 or less in fees from some airports.
Some of those options might offer a better experience than the basic economy British Airways flight to Dublin (a low bar to clear in my BA experience), but they’re harder to find and not any cheaper.
By contrast, I was able to quickly find various AAdvantage round-trips to Europe for about 44,000 miles and under $50 in fees (with the benefit of a checked bag and refundability). Alaska Atmos pricing isn’t as strong from the West Coast, but I’ve still had multiple opportunities recently to get to Europe and back for 50,000 miles or less through Global Getaways sales. Earlier this month, Delta had a flash sale on award flights to Spain for just 39,000 SkyMiles in basic economy (33k for qualifying Delta credit cardholders).
If I didn’t want to deal with the transfers, though, I could still book the flight via the Amex, Bilt, or Citi travel portals. Amex and Citi points are worth 1¢ each in the portal, while Bilt’s are worth 1.25¢ each (making that Dublin flight bookable for under 44k points if the portal matched the fare I found on Google Flights). I don’t love doing this because the price can differ from what you find on Google and it can be inconvenient to deal with a middleman. But basic economy tickets aren’t going to be convenient anyway, so these points can still offer similar value, even if they aren’t quite as flexible or easy to use as the competition.
Although this is just one example from one place at one point in time, it’s pretty representative of my experience over the past few years.
Lazy Take 🦥
If you want points that behave almost like cash, Capital One, Chase, and Wells Fargo make that easy. Amex and Citi offer comparable value—Bilt offers even better value—if you’re willing to sacrifice a little convenience and book flights through their travel portals, while you may unlock much cheaper international flights if you’re willing to learn a few transfer partnerships.
I know the site is called LazyPoints, but, personally, I can’t resist the upside.