Points Red Flags 🚩

Tl;dr: Aspirational award travel is amazing—but it’s rarely as easy, cheap, or flexible as influencers claim. Look out for these red flags that can tip you off to hidden costs and complications behind the hype.

When you start to look into credit cards, you’ll immediately be struck by the focus on business and first class travel. Be prepared for lots of pictures of influencers showing off in first and business class seats, saying that it’s easy to do with points, and claim you’ll actually receive the most value by booking those seats as opposed to economy fares. 

Is it really that easy and are the deals really that good? It is possible to score great deals using points, but the reality is rarely as good as the social media brochure makes it out to be. Here are 10 red flags 🚩 to watch out for when you see a “great deal” online.

1. One-Way Award Pricing

"Only 9k points to Europe!" That’s great! How do you get back? Sometimes there truly can be exceptional award deals on one-way flights. But for the vast majority of us, these deals are only as good as the deal on the return flight will allow. Although it may be possible to work around these problems, for example by traveling to a different location for the trip home, this adds both hassle and cost. So even when you see a great flight deal posted online, it might not be a good trip deal.

2. Hidden Taxes and Fees

“This business class seat cost only 40,000 miles.” Some awards look cheap in points, but taxes, surcharges, and other carrier-imposed fees can add hundreds of dollars to your "free" flight. If someone is posting about an amazing flight that “only cost 40,000 miles” with no mention of the cash costs, there’s probably a reason for the omission.

3. Face Value Comps

“I spent 50,000 miles for this $5,000 flight.” These comparisons might be accurate, but they’re often misleading. If you could book a business class flight on another airline or on different dates for $2,000, the “value” of those points is probably somewhere in the middle.

4. Big City Bias

“Only 34,000 miles between JFK and Paris.” Flights are just cheaper from New York, whether in cash or points. I always say you can always fly to Europe for $500… but for flights out of NYC it’s closer to $300 (which really makes the idea of paying $300+ in taxes and fees for an award ticket sting). LA also has some fantastic fare availability, especially to Asia. If you're based in a smaller city, though, expect more layovers, fewer seats, and higher costs.

5. Unrealistic Timing and Flexibility

“I scored a last-minute first class flight for 70,000 miles.” Finding a redemption that looks good on paper is one thing. Most of us have to work, though. Finding one that works on the dates you need is another matter. If you’re not seeing the booking process and availability for a booking, there’s a good chance it’s not one where you can just search the website and find a weekend-to-weekend trip.

6. Unattainably High Costs

“This round-trip business class flight cost just 100k points and under $100 in cash.” In my experience, those deals are incredibly rare, but even if you find one, how are you getting those points? Sign-up bonuses help, but even a typical ‘elevated’ bonus might only net 75k points—and only if it’s the right card. You’ll need a new bonus for every flight, or you’re looking at tens of thousands of dollars in spending to fly like that regularly. And if you’re trying to fly with a companion? Eek.

7. Inflexible Refund or Change Policies

“I booked a flight for next summer for just 40,000 points.” Many great-value awards come with a catch: no changes, no refunds, or hefty fees. Often a great deal might not be a viable booking if a change in plans could cost you dearly down the road.

8. Niche Programs

“I transferred 50k miles to Qantas to book this flight.” Even if an awards program allows changes or refunds and the points never expire, will you ever be able to reuse those points? Once points are transferred to an airline you can’t get them back, so you’ll need to be confident there’s another viable way to use those points if you have to change your plans, or else you’ll have to either abandon them or double down.

9. Reliance on Transfer Bonuses

“This flight was only 30,000 points after a 25% Chase transfer bonus.” Transfer bonuses are great, but they are rarely offered to the types of airlines you might fly with regularly, so it makes little sense to transfer points without a specific booking plan. Even if you plan to redeem immediately, the points above still hold—you might be locking your points into a niche program with limited flexibility. That works for some people, but not for most.

10. Hidden Search Costs

“I used Seats.aero to find this seat for just 44,000 points.” Snagging these deals can be difficult with brute force searches. Paid services can make this a lot easier, whether it’s deal alert services like Thrifty Traveler and Going or search tools like Seats.aero or Roame. I actually like Thrifty Traveler and the search tools are useful, but they can eat into the value of your redemptions.

Lazy take 🦥

Points are powerful, but there are a lot of costs and complications that often get glossed over, especially when people are trying to sell you a credit card. Watch out for red flags—both to avoid wasting your time and to know when you see the real deal.

And hey, if you’ve got the points and the money and want to fly fancy, don’t let anyone stop you. Just know what you’re getting into. Aspirational travel is totally doable—it’s just not effortless, and it’s definitely not free. But if you know that going in? Enjoy the champagne. 🥂

Want to turn your rent and spending into free and easy international travel (maybe in coach 😱)?

• Get started travel hacking the lazy way with our beginner’s guide.

• Get a Bilt card for excellent points earning, transfer partners where you can easily find award space at solid value, or book any flight through their portal at 1.25¢ per point in value.