How “Two-Player Mode” Can Supercharge Your Travel

Tl;dr: Traveling with a companion unlocks extra ways to earn points, share perks, and stretch rewards further.

Do you regularly travel with a companion? If so, there are a ton of ways to stretch your rewards further—and even earn extra—by working closely with your travel partners. In this post, I’m collecting my favorite ways to travel a little better with others.

Match bonuses

A few years ago, my wife and I took our first Japan trip together. At the time, we didn’t have enough points to get there on our own, and no single bonus was enough to cover two tickets, so we each got an AA Aviator card and transferred some Bilt points to get the 70k AAdvantage miles the trip required. (Both those methods have since been axed, but there are plenty of new ones.) 

Although I collect enough points from welcome bonuses and everyday spending to mostly keep us flying together on my own points, there are still some redemptions (especially business class) that would really only be possible if we each got a huge welcome offer together. So when you’re looking for a specific trip, getting a bonus at the same time can make sense (if, of course, the credit implications make sense for everyone involved).

Which brings us to…

Referral ping-pong 🏓

You can potentially get more points by not just applying for the same card, but staggering applications slightly so that one partner can get a bonus by referring the other.

Be careful with this. Different cards have different rules about who can get a referral bonus (e.g. some offer bonuses for referring someone to a new card, while others only reward referrals for entirely new customers). And referral bonuses can differ from public bonuses. It used to be that Amex referral bonuses were often way higher than the public offer on the Gold card while being way lower on the Platinum. Chase referral offers sometimes lag the public offer. The referral bonus might not be worth it if you get fewer points than the public offer. 

And as always, remember that welcome offers fluctuate all the time. We highlight the latest and greatest offers in our weekly newsletter:

Speaking of timing…

Navigate application rules

Credit card issuers all have their own application restrictions. As an example, Chase has the famous 5/24 rule: they won’t issue a new credit card if you have opened 5 or more credit cards in the past 24 months. 

By working with a partner, you might be able to add important cards to your portfolio or earn a unique welcome bonus even if one of you is locked out by the application rules, as long as the other is eligible. You might even intentionally take turns holding certain cards, as many cards offer the ability to earn a new bonus after a certain period of time (often 24-48 months).

And that becomes especially powerful if you can share the points…

Pool points

Not this kind of pool

It’s often easier to combine points in a single place to make sure you have enough for a given redemption. Several different programs allow you to do this, and I’ve written about it before.

A few credit card programs allow you to share points on the front end: Capital One, Wells Fargo, and Chase will allow you to combine points with another cardholder (must be in the same household for Chase). Even when you can’t do that, it may be possible to transfer points to a program like United Airlines or Air Canada that lets you combine points within the loyalty program. Some, like Atmos Rewards, offer the option if you have a qualifying credit card. 

Combining points in a single account can also be helpful to…

Earn and use status

Companions traveling with a status holder can often take advantage of elite perks even if they don’t have them themselves. For example, with my Atmos Gold status, my travel companions get complimentary checked bags and preferred seats when flying with the airline, while the Oneworld Sapphire status that comes with it allows me to bring a guest into business-class lounges when flying with Oneworld. The same goes for hotel status—we can both enjoy elite perks thanks to status from cards like the Hilton Aspire. Even without full status, if one of you has the right credit card, you could benefit together from perks like free checked baggage, priority boarding, lounge access, or even a companion ticket. 

If you want status, though, you can team up to earn it faster. Many credit cards allow you to earn toward status through spending, so charging expenses to the status-chaser’s card can accelerate the path to status. The best example of this is the Atmos Summit. The Summit offers free authorized user cards, so you and a partner could each have your own card while earning status on a single account. (For an advanced version of this with the Bilt card lineup, check out this post from Frequent Miler.)

Speaking of the Atmos Summit…

Combine for spending bonuses

Some cards offer extra perks after hitting certain spending minimums. For example, the Atmos Summit offers a 100k-point companion award discount after spending $60,000. These spending thresholds might not be attainable for you on your own, but they might be viable if working with a companion—especially the Summit bonus, thanks to the ability to earn rewards on rent. 

And even if you earn things in separate accounts, it can sometimes be possible to…

Stack awards

Just because you and your travel companion(s) have points or certificates in different accounts doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t redeem them together. Often, it’s simply a matter of contacting customer service to ask that reservations be combined.

For example, on our last trip to Japan, my wife booked half of one of our hotel stays with her Venture X travel credit, while I used Choice points. But we simply emailed the hotel asking to combine the reservation, and we were able to both get all of the nights into one uninterrupted block (no mid-stay checkout and check-in) and take advantage of my Choice status perks. I have also had luck asking airlines to merge our reservations when we each book with our own points. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it’s worth a try, and I’ve had good success so far.

Lazy Take 🦥

You don’t need to do anything special to travel effectively on points with a companion, but if you have a trusted travel buddy there are definitely ways to take your award travel even further.