At PointsYeah, we’re always looking to spotlight resources that help travelers do more with less. That’s why we’re thrilled to feature Travel Freely: a free app built for everyday people who want to maximize their points, stay organized, and earn over $2,000 in free travel each year.
Whether you’re a complete beginner or someone who already has a stash of points, Travel Freely removes the guesswork, helping you make smarter decisions about which cards to get, when to use them, and how to manage it all effortlessly.
What is Travel Freely?
Travel Freely was created by Zac Hood, a former teacher and non-profit director who discovered the world of travel rewards after booking his proposal trip to Southern France entirely with points. From there, he developed a system to stay on top of card offers, deadlines, and upgrades—without spreadsheets or stress. That system became the Travel Freely app.
Now available on both web and mobile (iOS + Android), Travel Freely helps users:
Organize all your credit cards in one place
Track welcome bonuses, annual fees, bonus deadlines, and downgrades
Track your 5/24 number
Organize card strategies for individuals, couples, and even small businesses
And the best part? It’s 100% free. No upsells, no locked features—just great tools that help you travel better.
🏆 Travel Freely users average over $2,000 in free travel per year—and some go much further.
Why Travel Freely Works
What makes Travel Freely stand out is how it turns a complicated subject into something intuitive and approachable. You don’t need spreadsheets or advanced knowledge. The app does the heavy lifting so you can focus on enjoying the journey.
✅ Beginner-Friendly Onboarding
Step-by-step guidance helps you understand the landscape and start strong—even if you’ve never used a rewards card before.
🃏 CardGenie™ Personalized Recommendations
The app recommends the optimal cards for your situation, factoring in bank rules and your existing lineup.
📅 Smart Reminders for Bonuses & Fees
Get notified before annual fees hit or deadlines expire. Never miss a bonus or downgrade window again.
👥 Built for Couples & Businesses
Track credit cards for yourself, a partner, or your business—all in one place. Perfect for maximizing rewards as a team.
🔐 Security-First Design
Travel Freely doesn’t ask for sensitive logins or personal data. You simply input your card names and open dates, and the app handles the rest.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Over 2,000 4.9-star reviews on the App Store and features in outlets like Business Insider speak to how widely loved—and trusted—Travel Freely really is.
Who Is Travel Freely For?
New to rewards? Travel Freely will guide you from start to finish, helping you avoid common pitfalls while you earn your first free trips.
Already experienced? Say goodbye to spreadsheets. Use the built-in 5/24 tracker, deadline alerts, and personalized offers to stay on top of your strategy.
Couples & Families? Coordinate cards and double your earning power with shared tracking and timelines.
Why Travel Freely and PointsYeah Belong Together
Travel Freely and PointsYeah make a powerful pair for anyone serious about optimizing their travel.
Travel Freely helps you keep track of your rewards cards and stay organized to maximize your point-earning.
PointsYeah helps you redeem those rewards for maximum value—whether it’s a dream hotel or a last-minute flight deal.
From first steps to first class, this duo takes the complexity out of free travel and turns it into something simple and exciting.
Try Travel Freely Today
If you’re looking to simplify your travel rewards journey—or just want to earn more free travel on your regular spending—Travel Freely is a must-try.
At PointsYeah, we’re always building tools to make award travel easier and more personal. Our May 2025 updates help you search smarter, plan faster, and get more from your points.
Seat Alerts Are Here
Tired of checking back to see if the seat you want is available? Now you don’t have to.
With our new Seat Alerts feature, you can set a notification on any search result. We’ll alert you when the seat opens up—whether you’re avoiding the middle seat, trying to sit together as a family, or looking for a better row. It works quietly in the background so you can set it and forget it.
We launched PointsInsider, our new content hub built for travelers who want to go deeper. It’s your go-to space for strategies, tips, and insights—whether you’re just getting started or you’re already optimizing every point.
Expect posts on how to spot hidden value, navigate tricky programs, and stay updated on award trends. We believe smart travelers are informed travelers.
You can now heart airports to save them as favorites. When entering your departure or destination during a live search, your favorited airports will appear at the top of the dropdown. That means fewer clicks and faster decisions—especially helpful if you fly out of the same hubs regularly.
This small change can save real time, especially for frequent flyers juggling multiple searches.
flydubai Now Bookable with Emirates Skywards Miles
You can now search and book flydubai flights through the Emirates Skywards program. Emirates is the only major loyalty program that allows redemptions on flydubai—and now PointsYeah brings that access to your searches.
Why this matters:
flydubai serves over 120 destinations, many not easily reached otherwise
Several routes are monopoly markets, giving you unique redemption opportunities
Coverage includes the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and beyond
This adds serious value for anyone trying to reach cities that aren’t well-served by traditional carriers.
With Seat Alerts, flydubai access, smarter airport selection, and our new PointsInsider blog to guide you, there’s never been a better time to run a search.
It’s made of heavy metal and it’s gold-colored. It must be good, right?
The American Express® Business Gold Card is one of the best rewards cards for small businesses. It offers hundreds of dollars in statement credits each year; its return rate for common purchases is confusingly high; it’s got a substantial six-figure welcome bonus after meeting minimum spending requirements.
Let’s examine the Amex Business Gold Card to help you decide if it’s a good pickup for your situation.
How do American Express Membership Rewards points work?
How to earn American Express Membership Rewards points
The Amex Business Gold Card comes with 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards® points after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
That’s a big deal. Amex points are some of the most valuable travel rewards in existence. With 100,000 points, you can book a bucket list trip to just about anywhere for pennies on the dollar.
The card is also great at earning points on everyday business expenses. Most impressive is its 4 points per dollar on the top two eligible bonus categories in which you spend the most each billing cycle (for up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, then 1x). Eligible categories include:
U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
U.S. purchases at gas stations
Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)
U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software/cloud system providers
This is an above-average return to say the least. You’ll also earn:
3 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com
1 point per dollar for all other eligible purchases
How to use American Express Membership Rewards points
Amex Membership Rewards points are a potent and easy-to-use tool in your travel utility belt. Here are some popular ways to use them:
Transfer them to airline and hotel loyalty programs partnered with American Express (typically the best way to stretch your points the furthest).
Book airfare through Amex Travel at a rate of 1 cent each.
Book hotel stays through Amex Travel at a rate between 0.7 and 1 cent each.
Redeem for cash back at a rate of 0.6 cents each
As award travel enthusiasts, we always suggest that you transfer your points Amex travel partners. You can convert your Amex points into points and miles with the below programs (transfers are 1:1 unless otherwise specified).
Aer Lingus
Choice Hotels
Iberia
Aeromexico (1:1.6)
Delta
JetBlue (5:4)
Air Canada
Emirates
Marriott Bonvoy
ANA
Etihad
Qantas
Avianca
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
Qatar Airways
British Airways
Hawaiian Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Cathay Pacific
Hilton Honors (1:2)
Virgin Atlantic
PointsYeah will help you to quickly find reasonably priced flights FROM anywhere TO anywhere (try out our Daydream Explorer — it’s totally free).
You can even filter your results to exclusively show seats that you can book with American Express Membership Rewards.
With this card’s 100,000-point bonus, there’s virtually nowhere you can’t go. In fact, you can even go many places in a fancy lie-flat seat.
For example, I was able to book a business class flight on American Airlines between Charlotte (CLT) and Paris (CDG) for just 55,000 Amex points and $19 in fees by transferring points to Hawaiian Airlines* (and onto Alaska Airlines). *Transfer ends 6/30/2025
Is the Amex Business Gold Card worth a $375 annual fee?
The Amex Business Gold Card charges a $375 annual fee (rates and fees). But don’t let that scare you off. It’s astonishingly easy to recoup your money from its valuable perks.
If the below features are worth $375 or more to you, the card is an easy win.
Annual statement credits
The Amex Business Gold Card has a few easy-to-use statement credits that can save you hundreds each year:
Up to $240 in annual “Flexible Business Credit.” You’ll receive up to $20 in monthly statement credits toward eligible U.S. purchases made with FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores.*
Up to $155 in annual Walmart+ Credit. When you pay for a monthly Walmart+ subscription with your Amex Business Gold, you’ll get up to $12.95 (plus taxes) in credits each month to offset the cost (excludes Walmart’s “Plus Ups” subscription). Walmart+ comes with perks like exclusive discounts, free delivery from the store, and Paramount+.*
Amex Offers. Within your American Express online account are digital coupons that you can manually add to your card. These can save you money on purchases you already planned to make. American Express drops new offers all the time, so it’s worth checking back often.*
*Enrollment required for some benefits
Travel benefits
The Amex Business Gold Card isn’t overtly a travel card (though it earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which are most powerful when redeemed for travel). Still, the card has a couple noteworthy travel perks:
The Hotel Collection. American Express handpicks more than 1,000 upscale hotels that, when booked through Amex Travel, come with elite status-esque benefits like room upgrades (when available) and a $100 property credit per stay. You must book at least two consecutive nights to qualify for these perks.
Travel insurance benefits. When you pay for your travel with the Amex Business Gold Card, you’ll get trip delay insurance, rental car insurance, baggage insurance, and more.
0% intro APR offer
The card offers 0% intro APR on purchases for the first six months from account opening, then 18.49% – 27.49% variable (see rates). Handy for those who foresee some business expenses that’ll need floated for a few months.
Is the Amex Business Gold Card right for you?
The Amex Business Gold Card is easily worth its annual fee for many — but not all. If you answer yes to even one of the below questions, chances are it’s a good deal for your lifestyle.
Can you spend $15,000 within the next three months? To earn the card’s enormous 100,000-point bonus, you’ll have to spend $15,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. If you can achieve that with purchases you’d normally make, the bonus alone is motivation enough to give the card a test run. If you decide after a year that it’s not worth paying the annual fee, you can cancel or downgrade it in 12 months.
Do you spend a lot in the card’s 4x categories?
Earning 4 points per dollar is a nearly unprecedented return. If your business spends just a couple thousand bucks per month in categories like U.S. restaurants and U.S. gas stations, you could earn around 100,000 bonus points each year.
Will the card’s statement credits actually save you money?
The card’s up to $20 in monthly credit toward merchants like Grubhub and FedEx can be as good as cash to those who already make those types of purchases. Same goes for the monthly Walmart+ credits. If you already subscribe to Walmart+, it’s an effortless money saver.
Is the Amex Business Gold Card easy to get?
The Amex Business Gold is reasonably easy to get as long as your credit score is good (preferably 700+) and you’re a business owner.
If you’ve already got an American Express card, Amex will likely let you see if you’re approved for the card before you formally apply. That way you won’t incur a hard credit inquiry for nothing.
So yeah, that’s the deal
The Amex Business Gold Card currently comes with 100,000 bonus points after meeting minimum spending requirements. In the rewards credit card world, this bonus is far above average.
If you’re a business owner (whether you operate a coffee shop or you’re simply an Instacart delivery driver), the Amex Business Gold Card could be a fantastic addition to your wallet. It earns points quickly, and its ongoing benefits can save business owners serious money.
Award flights don’t last long. The best deals disappear quickly, and wasting time scrolling through options you wouldn’t book can mean missing out on the ones you would.
That’s why PointsYeah lets you personalize your entire search experience. With just a few quick settings, you’ll start seeing results that match your travel habits, your points, and your preferences.
Whether you’re a casual traveler or a points pro, a few smart tweaks can save you hours—and help you book the trips you actually want.
Here’s how to make PointsYeah work for you.
Set Your Home Airport
Most travelers fly from the same few airports again and again. If you live near a major hub like LAX or JFK, you might have dozens of good options. If you’re closer to a smaller airport, you want to avoid seeing results from places you’d never drive to.
By setting your home airport (or multiple home airports), you tell PointsYeah where to focus. Your results will prioritize departure cities that actually make sense for your travel plans. You’ll avoid irrelevant routes and stop wasting time on flights that are logistically impossible.
It’s one of the easiest ways to make your searches faster and more focused.
This setting is all about showing results you can use, not just deals that look good on paper.
If you mostly earn points through Chase, for example, it doesn’t help to see a long list of options that require Amex or Capital One transfers. You can go into your settings and choose only the bank programs you use. Once selected, PointsYeah will filter your results to show only the flights that can be booked with those points.
This is especially useful when you’re trying to book quickly or work within a limited balance. Every result you see is bookable with the points you already have.
Not every airline fits every traveler. Maybe you avoid airlines with high surcharges. Maybe you’ve had a bad experience. Or maybe your elite status is with a specific alliance and you prefer to stay within it.
Whatever the reason, you can remove unwanted airlines from your results entirely. Once excluded, you won’t see their flights in your live search results, keeping your options relevant and aligned with your preferences.
This is a great way to clean up your search results and avoid clutter that slows you down.
This is one of the most powerful features for Premium members.
Instead of using a fixed point value for everyone, you can assign your own custom values for each bank or airline program. This tells PointsYeah how you value your points, and we’ll sort and highlight results based on your personal valuations.
If you think Chase points are worth 1.7 cents and Avianca miles are only worth 1.2, we’ll factor that into your results. Flights that offer strong value based on your settings will rise to the top, and flights that aren’t worth it will move down the list.
It’s a smarter way to evaluate redemptions, especially when you’re comparing programs or trying to decide which points to spend.
The more you personalize, the more relevant your results become. Instead of wading through dozens of options, you’ll zero in on the ones that make sense for you.
You’ll book faster. You’ll make better use of your points. And you’ll avoid the frustration of missing a great deal because your screen was full of flights you wouldn’t take.
Try It for Yourself
It only takes a minute to update your settings, and the benefits are immediate.
If you’re already a Premium member, don’t forget to use advanced tools like custom point values and extra alerts. If you’re not Premium yet, this is one of the best reasons to try it.
Less clutter. Better results. Easier bookings. That’s what personalized travel planning looks like.
If you’ve been using American Express Membership Rewards points to build up your Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles, heads up: Starting June 30, 2025, you won’t be able to transfer Amex points to HawaiianMiles — which means no way to turn them into Alaska miles.
What’s Happening?
American Express will end transfers to HawaiianMiles on June 30, 2025.
This means no more converting Amex points to Alaska miles through this method.
HawaiianMiles will also end partnerships with other airlines and shopping partners on the same date.
Why This Matters
For a while, this HawaiianMiles path gave Amex cardholders a simple way to move points into Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, even though Amex doesn’t transfer to Alaska directly.
By going Amex → HawaiianMiles → Alaska, travelers could top up their Alaska balances for some of the best award deals out there. But with Amex transfers to Hawaiian ending June 30th, 2025, this backdoor option is about to disappear for good.
How to Transfer Membership Rewards to Hawaiian (and Alaska)
Log in to your American Express account and go to the “Rewards & Benefits” page.
Transfer Membership Rewards points to HawaiianMiles. (You can transfer up to 999,000 points per day.)
Once in your HawaiianMiles account, use the transfer tool to move them to your Alaska Mileage Plan account.
Pro Tip: Alaska Mileage Plan miles don’t expire as long as you keep your account active. That means you can transfer them now and save them for a future trip.
You know all the makings of a premium travel credit card: It’s made of shiny metal; it comes with fancy perks like airport lounge access; it offers hundreds of dollars in travel-related statement credits per year; it’s got an eye-watering annual fee.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card fits the bill as an unquestionable premium travel rewards card — but with an annual fee that’s considerably lower than its competitors. In fact, because of its effortlessly valuable yearly benefits, the card’s fee is effectively zero.
Even better, the card earns super valuable (and super easy-to-use) rewards. This makes it a great option for anyone who travels even semi-regularly, whether you’re an award travel veteran or you’re just entering the world of miles and points.
How do Capital One miles work?
How to earn Capital One miles
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with an intro offer of 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
The card also has a high earning rate for everyday purchases:
10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
5 miles per dollar on airfare and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases
2 miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases
Up to 10X miles is beyond impressive. But the star of the show is its base 2X return rate. No matter how unusual your spending habits, you’re guaranteed to get a good return for your swipes.
When it comes to travel credit cards, this earning structure is as straightforward as it gets.
How to use Capital One miles
Capital One gives you a few basic ways to redeem your rewards. You can:
“Erase” travel purchases you make with your card up to 90 days later at a rate of 1 cent each. You can redeem your miles for transactions like flights, hotels, public transit, even campgrounds.
We’re a bit biased (and correct) when we say that converting your miles into airline and hotel rewards is hands-down the best way to use your points. It gives you the potential to book exponentially more travel than those other two options.
For example, if you were to purchase the below $161 United flight from Eugene (EUG) to Phoenix (PHX), you’d spend 16,100 Capital One miles to “erase” the transaction. But by transferring Capital One miles to Avianca, the flight would cost just 7,500 miles and $5.60 in fees.
Here’s a chart of the airline and hotel programs that partner with Capital One. All transfers are 1:1 unless otherwise specified.
Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
Emirates
Singapore Airlines
Aeromexico
Etihad
TAP Portugal
Air Canada Aeroplan
EVA Air (2:1.5)
Turkish Airlines
Avianca
Finnair
Virgin Red
British Airways
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
Wyndham Rewards
Cathay Pacific
JetBlue (5:3)
Choice Privileges
Qantas
No matter where you want to go, a Capital One partner can get you there — and PointsYeah can help you to quickly find a suitable award seat. Enter your origin and destination into the PointsYeah search bar and filter results to only show Capital One partners. We’ll take care of the rest.
Or, if you aren’t exactly sure where you want to go, you can use the Daydream Explorer tool to enter countries or continents (or even all of Earth) as your destination and see what jumps out at you.
Is the Capital One Venture X worth a $395 annual fee?
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card charges a $395 membership fee — but again,travelers may consider this card to be no-annual-fee. If you travel even once per year, the card can pay for itself without breaking a sweat. Here’s why.
Yearly bonuses
The Capital One Venture X comes with two incredibly useful annual rewards that post to your account after each cardmember anniversary, which make your annual fee effectively to zero:
Up to $300 in travel credit to be redeemed through Capital One Travel for flights, hotel stays, rental cars, etc. (you’ll also get this credit upon account opening)
10,000 bonus Capital One miles (beginning on your first account anniversary)
These perks alone can offset the $395 annual fee for even the intermittent traveler. The 10,000 bonus miles alone can be enough for a round-trip flight to lots of fun destinations (read our guide to where you can go with 5,000 miles or less).
Access to airport lounges
You’ve probably seen fancy airport lounges dotted throughout the concourse during your travels. But you may not know how easy they are to get into.
With the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you can enter over 1,300 airport lounges around the world. Airport lounges often come with free food and alcohol, fast Wi-Fi, tons of electrical outlets, and sometimes even showers and children’s play areas.
The card confers access to Capital One Lounges, a collection of upscale lounges, as well as Capital One’s new restaurant-first concept — Capital One Landing. You’ll also get to use lounges within the ubiquitous Priority Pass lounge network. And you can bring two guests for free.
And get this: Even Venture X authorized users will get their own airport lounge access. You can add up to four authorized users for free.
Expedited airport security experience
Every four years, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card gives you up to $120 in credit to reimburse you for the application fee to “trusted traveler” programs TSA PreCheck and Global Entry.
TSA PreCheck costs $78 for a five-year membership. It gives you the ability to (practically) sprint through the domestic airport security checkpoints without having to remove your shoes or belt — or even take your laptop out of your bag. Plus, you’ll go through an exclusive security lane that processes much faster.
Global Entry costs $120 for a five-year membership. It helps you to skip the immigration line when entering the U.S. from overseas. Instead of getting grilled by an immigration officer, just find a dedicated kiosk and it’ll quickly confirm your identity. Global Entry also comes with TSA PreCheck privileges.
Excellent travel insurance
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is an all-time great when it comes to protecting your travel purchases. Its insurance will automatically activate when you pay for your travel with the card.
Here’s what you’ll get:
Primary rental car insurance. When renting a car, the card covers up to $75,000 against theft or damage. You don’t even have to tell your personal insurance provider about the accident — so your premiums won’t be affected at all.
Trip delay reimbursement. When your trip is delayed by at least six hours or requires an overnight stay, you’ll get up to $500 per ticket toward “reasonable” expenses. This can include a hotel room, meals at a restaurant, a phone charger, and more.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance. Whether you’ve got to cut your trip short or cancel it before it begins, you can be reimbursed up to $2,000 per person for nonrefundable prepaid travel. Eligible reasons include injury or death of an immediate family member or if the carrier on which you’re traveling goes bankrupt.
Lost luggage reimbursement. Get up to $3,000 when the common carrier (airline, cruise ship, ferry, bus, etc.) loses your luggage.
Travel accident insurance. You’ll receive up to $1 million in coverage against accidental loss of life, limbs, sight, speech, or hearing if the tragedy is the common carrier’s fault.
Trust me, these perks are better than what the vast majority of travel credit cards offer. If you travel regularly, you’ll get good use from these (but fingers crossed that you miraculously never need to use them!).
Cell phone protection
When you pay your monthly cell phone bill with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, your phone is covered for up to $800 against damage or theft(max two claims and $1,600 in coverage per 12-month period).
Top-tier Hertz elite status
Hertz’s highest level of status is called President’s Circle — and it’s complimentary with the Capital One Venture X (though you’ve got to enroll your card). Without the card, you’d have to either complete 15 rentals or spend $3,000 with Hertz in a calendar year.
President’s Circle comes with perks like:
50% bonus points on paid rentals
Guaranteed upgrades
A dedicated customer service line
Get special access to restaurants and events
Capital One caters heavily to dining and entertainment. It partners with some restaurants to help you land a reservation even when the joint is fully booked. Its Capital One Dining platform also hosts special experiences like cooking classes with prominent chefs.
And through Capital One Entertainment, you can book super popular music and sporting events and experiences through presale opportunities — so you can be one of the first to buy.
Is the Capital One Venture X right for you?
A $395 annual fee isn’t exactly a pittance. To decide if the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is worth the price point, ask yourself these simple questions.
Do you fly a couple times each year? With its myriad air travel-related protections and its airport lounge access, the Capital One Venture X is especially valuable for flyers. You’re neglecting a lot of value if you don’t find yourself in an airport at least once or twice per year.
Do you book travel through online travel agencies? When you book airfare, hotel stays, or rental cars, do you use a website like Expedia or Priceline? If so, you’ll make good use of the card’s up to $300 in annual travel credit — since it can only be redeemed through Capital One Travel. Plus, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns tons of bonus miles when you pay for travel through this platform.
Do you like road-tripping? The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is one of the best credit cards to use for renting a car thanks to its top-notch travel insurance and its 10X return rate for car rentals through Capital One Travel. It even offers the highest level of Hertz elite status (though you typically won’t get rental car elite status perks when booking via Capital One Travel — you’ll have to book directly with Hertz).
Maintain a good credit score. We recommend that you not apply for this card unless your credit score is at least 720. While there may be anecdotal evidence of folks being approved with a lower score, a 720+ score gives you the best chance.
48-month rule. If you’ve earned the welcome bonus on a Capital One Venture X within the past 48 months, you won’t be eligible to earn it again.
1/6 rule. Capital One usually won’t approve you for more than one credit card application within a six-month period.
So yeah, that’s the deal
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium credit card with a more accessible annual fee. And because the fee can so easily be offset with perks like airport lounge access, $300 in annual travel credit, and 10,000 yearly bonus miles, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is an easy win for just about every traveler.
At PointsYeah, we’re constantly improving the site to help you get the most out of your points. Our latest update brings four powerful new features that make finding the perfect flight or trip even faster and more flexible.
Miles & More Group Now Available
We’ve expanded our search capabilities to include the Miles & More Group (MMG), featuring award availability from Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and over 30 partner airlines worldwide. This means you can now see more options and book through the Miles & More program directly, giving you even greater access to top European carriers.
Premium-Only: Drag-and-Drop Filters
For our Premium members, we’ve introduced a new Drag-and-Drop Filter Customization feature. This allows you to personalize how your search results are displayed. Want to prioritize nonstop flights, lowest points, or shortest travel time? Simply drag and drop the filter you value most.
Once set on desktop, your filter preferences carry over to mobile, making it easier to find the perfect flight wherever you are.
Smarter Region Mapping
Our new U.S. Region Mapping feature lets you search across multiple airports without the clutter of a nationwide search. We’ve introduced five new sub-regions for more targeted searches:
United States Northeast – JFK, LGA, EWR, BOS, PHL
United States Midwest – ORD, DTW, MSP, CLE
United States South – DFW, IAH, BNA, AUS
United States Southeast – ATL, MIA, CLT, TPA
United States West – LAX, SFO, SEA, SAN, DEN
This approach balances flexibility with focus, making it easier to explore flights across your chosen region without seeing irrelevant results.
Exclude Airlines for a More Personalized Search
You can now choose to exclude specific airlines from your search results, giving you more control over the options presented. Whether you want to skip certain carriers or focus on your preferred ones, just set it once and it will apply to all future searches.
How to Make the Most of These New Features
MMG Availability: Use the Miles & More filter in your search to see flights across their wide network of European and global partners.
Region Mapping: Start a search and select your preferred region to explore multiple airports at once.
Drag-and-Drop Filters: Premium members can rearrange filters to instantly customize search results.
Exclude Airlines: Set your airline preferences to skip results you don’t want to see.
These updates are all about making PointsYeah faster, smarter, and more user-friendly, giving you the tools to find the best flights with your points. Ready to try them out?
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are PointsYeah’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. Some links on this website will earn an affiliate commission.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a lower version of The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and one of the most user-friendly travel credit cards on the market. It’s excellent if you’re new to the points and miles world.
But don’t misunderstand: It’s not some entry-level rewards card that you’ll graduate from when you become a travel rewards “expert.” I’ve had this card for many years — and I’ve got no intention to ever cancel it. That’s because it:
Earns rewards at a high rate
Makes redeeming your miles effectively foolproof (you’ll see why in a minute)
Gives you access to helpful programs like Capital One Travel and Capital One Entertainment
You can earn one of the highest bonuses we’ve ever seen from the card: 75,000 bonus miles(redeemable through Capital One Travel) after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
Here’s a quick Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review. You’ll know if the card is right for you by the time you’re finished.
5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals, and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel
2 miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases
When it comes to travel credit cards, this is as straightforward as it gets. A 2x base earning rate for your spending means you’re guaranteed to get a solid return on everything.
How to use Capital One miles
When redeeming miles for travel, you’ve got a couple options. Both are virtually effortless — especially if you’re a PointsYeah user:
You can transfer your miles to airline and hotel partners.
You can simply swipe your card to pay for a travel purchase (airfare, cruises, Uber, hotel stays, even many on-site hotel restaurants). You’ve then got 90 days to offset your eligible purchase with miles at a rate of 1 cent each.
You can use miles to book flights, accommodation, or rental cars through Capital One Travel at a rate of 1 cent each.
Transferring miles to airlines and hotels is typically the way you’ll squeeze the most travel from your rewards. Here’s a look at all the loyalty programs that partner with Capital One (1:1 transfer ratio unless otherwise noted).
Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
Emirates
Singapore Airlines
Aeromexico
Etihad
TAP Portugal
Air Canada Aeroplan
EVA Air (2:1.5)
Turkish Airlines
Avianca
Finnair
Virgin Red
British Airways
Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
Wyndham Rewards
Cathay Pacific
JetBlue (5:3)
Choice Privileges
Qantas
As you can see, Capital One has a great list of airline partners that can help you to get nearly anywhere on the planet. If you’re not sure how to use them, defer to the PointsYeah search engine.
PointsYeah lets you filter your award search by bank program. This makes it simple to quickly find flights and hotels you can book with Capital One miles.
PointsYeah helped me to find a United Airlines business class seat to Germany by transferring 70,000 Capital One miles to Avianca LifeMiles. That’s a steal for a Polaris seat!
Is the Capital One Venture worth a $95 annual fee?
The Capital One Venture charges a $95 fee upon account opening and after each cardmember anniversary. If you make good use of its perks, that price tag may easily be worth it.
In other words: If you’d pay $95 for the below card benefits, the Capital One Venture is a good deal.
Speed through airport security checkpoints
The Capital One Venture comes with up to $120 in credit to reimburse you for the application fee of either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
TSA PreCheck grants you the humanity of keeping your shoes, belt, and light jacket on when going through most domestic security checkpoints. You can also keep your laptop and TSA-approved toiletries in your bag (instead of pushing dozens of gray bins through the x-ray machine). You won’t even have to raise your arms in that invasive phone booth scanner thing — you’ll walk through a friendlier metal detector.
Global Entry lets you skip the immigration line when returning to the U.S. from another country. You can walk up to a self-serve kiosk, let it take a quick glance at your face, and head out the door. You’ll walk through a short checkpoint where an officer may ask you a question or two, but that’s it.
Global Entry comes with TSA PreCheck privileges — so it’s the better one to apply for.
Membership with both of these programs lasts for five years. And because the Capital One Venture’s $120 credit renews every four years, you’ll never have to pay out-of-pocket for these programs.
Access to Capital OneTravel
Those with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card can access Capital One’s online travel booking agency — Capital One Travel. This is one of the better online travel agencies because of perks like:
Price drop protection. Get up to $50 in travel credits if your flight price decreases within 10 days of booking.
Price freeze. Hold the current price of your itinerary for up to 14 days for a small fee.
Cancel For Any Reason coverage. Change or cancel your travel details for any reason (even Basic Economy fares) and get up to 90% of your money back for a small fee.
You can also book hotels through the Capital One Lifestyle Collection, which gives you elite-like benefits (think room upgrades, late checkout, and a $50 experience credit) during your stay.
No foreign transaction fees
Several credit cards charge an arbitrary fee (often around 3%) when you buy something outside of the U.S. That makes any travel purchases, shopping, etc. during your international trip notably more expensive.
The Capital One Venture eats this fee, making it a good spending option for traveling overseas.
Reserve fancier rental cars for less
With a few clicks through your Capital One Venture online account, you can enroll in Hertz Five Star elite status. This status otherwise requires 10 rentals or $2,000 in Hertz spending. Benefits include 25% bonus points on paid rentals, upgrades when available, and more.
Decent travel insurance
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card comes with travel insurance that, while not stellar (the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s travel insurance is considerably better), are sufficient for a mid-tier travel credit card. Coverage is automatic as long as you make your travel purchases with the card.
You’ll get:
Rental car insurance. You are covered for theft or collision damage up to the actual cash value of most cars. Coverage is secondary when renting domestically, meaning the card will only reimburse what your personal insurance won’t cover. You’ll get primary coverage when renting outside the U.S.
Lost luggage reimbursement. Capital One will give you up to $3,000 when the airline, cruise ship, etc. loses your luggage.
Travel accident insurance. Get up to $250,000 in compensation against loss of life, limbs, sight, speech, or hearing when the common carrier (like an airline) is at fault.
The card’s also got helpful benefits like Roadside Dispatch (similar to AAA) and Travel and Emergency Assistance Services. These aren’t “insurance,” but they can work to get you out of a bind when you’re away from home.
Book events and restaurants that others can’t
Capital One routinely gives its cardholders early and/or exclusive access to reserve popular events such as concert tickets, sports, culinary experiences, etc. Some restaurants even save tables for Capital One Venture cardholders in case they decide to book a last-minute reservation.
Can you make $4,000 in purchases within the next three months? The card’s current bonus is really good. But to earn the 75,000 bonus miles, you’ll have to spend $4,000 on purchases within three months.
This bonus is incentive enough to at least kick the tires on the card for a year to see if it complements your travel style.
Do you hate mentally juggling bonus spending categories? The card’s got a flat return rate of 2 miles per dollar for most purchases — which is excellent. You don’t have to stress about when to use the card and when not to. It’s great for all purchases.
Is the Capital One Venture easy to get?
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card isn’t hard to get. It comes with many of the same standards as other similar rewards credit cards — though Capital One enforces some unique rules of its own:
Credit score. You should apply for this card if your credit score is 670 or above (considered “good” by FICO). If your credit score is lower, it may be tougher to get approved.
48-month rule. If you’ve received a Capital One Venture welcome bonus within the past 48 months, you won’t be eligible for another.
1/6 rule. Your results may vary with this one, but generally Capital One won’t approve you for more than one credit card application every six months.
So yeah, that’s the deal
For good reason, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a super popular travel credit card. It’s got a huge welcome bonus — 75,000 bonus miles to use through Capital One Travel after meeting minimum spending requirements.
The card also has a high-octane earning rate that’ll help you to replenish your miles long after that bonus is spent.
Key Takeaways for European Flight & Hotel Redemptions
Low-cost redemptions beat budget airlines: Some European routes cost as little as 4,000-7,500 miles plus minimal taxes
Orphaned miles find perfect use: Stranded airline miles and hotel points are an excellent use for short European stays
Business class flights offer exceptional value: Premium cabin flights can cost much less using points vs. paying cash
Transfer bonuses maximize value: Strategic transfers from credit card programs can slash redemption costs
Flexible routing creates adventures: Use search tools to discover unexpected destinations at low mileage rates
Hotel program perks: Know specific hotel loyalty program discounts, like getting a fifth night free when you book with Marriott Bonvoy points.
Ryanair, easyJet, and other low-cost carriers abound in Europe, setting low prices for intra-European flights. While you can typically only redeem miles for flights on more full-service airlines like Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa, that may seem like a waste of points in comparison to the cash cost. However, there are many cases and reasons why using points for flights and hotel stays within Europe may actually be the wise decision.
When Points Beat Budget Airlines on European Routes
Let’s examine a flight from Bologna to Paris. This flight costs 4,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles and $21 in taxes—an extremely low cost, even compared to the cash price of $114. Because this is such a low-cost point redemption, it makes perfect sense to use points here rather than cash.
Summer Olympics in Paris
Orphaned Airline Miles
Use Air Canada Aeroplan to fly nonstop intra-Europe
This flight from Krakow to Istanbul costs 7,500 Air Canada Aeroplan miles and $44 in taxes, compared to $138 in cash. Whether you should pay cash or use points becomes less clear-cut here. Though you come out slightly ahead when you use points, the cash cost may be low enough that you prefer saving your points for higher-value redemptions. Make sure you consider the cost of cancelling or changing the flight as well, since that is typically easy to do with an award flight, but much more costly with a cash ticket.
This scenario perfectly illustrates when you might want to use “orphaned” miles—those stranded in your airline or hotel loyalty account that cannot be transferred back to credit card programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards. These orphaned points remain in your account until they expire or are used, making intra-European flights an excellent redemption opportunity since they often cost fewer points. In short, if you have orphaned miles, or plans that may change, using points for your ticket will be more cost effective. If not, spending cash may be the smarter option if you have the money.
Maximizing Business Class Value on European Routes
Within Europe, business class journeys offer good award redemptions with much more convenience and flexibility. Take this example from Milan to Paris, which costs 8,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles and $28 in taxes, compared to $413 in cash for business class one-way.
Flying business class for your journey will help ease travel stress, especially when you’re not paying much cash. Keep in mind that European business class typically won’t include wider seats, though you will receive increased baggage allowance, plus a more premium check-in and airport experience. For example, on an economy ticket, Air France lets you take one bag up to 50 lbs, and the ticket costs $111 in cash. But for the above business class ticket, you can take two bags at up to 71 lbs each, for just 8k points + $28 in taxes. If you’re on a longer trip and are carrying more luggage, this can be a great way to alleviate travel worries, and save time and cash.
Building Flexible European Adventures with Miles
Use Daydream Explorer to help you find these hidden gems
If you’re planning a European vacation, consider building your trip around cheap flight redemptions. Daydream Explorer serves as the best flight search tool when you have date and destination flexibility. Searching from Eastern to Northern Europe over the next couple months reveals opportunities like a nonstop flight from Warsaw, Poland to Riga, Latvia for just 6,000 United MileagePlus miles and $25 in taxes—compared to $150 cash. This highlights a super low-cost way to build an adventure while making your points and miles work efficiently for your travels.
Strategic Hotel Point Redemptions
Complement your flight strategy by leveraging points for European hotel stays to create an almost entirely free vacation. Transferring Citi ThankYou points to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 transfer ratio delivers exceptional value—4,000 Citi points becomes 8,000 Choice points for a free night in Paris. Even when cash rates are relatively low, using only 4,000 points for accommodations in a major European city is difficult to beat.
Transfer bonuses apply to hotel programs just like airline loyalty programs. Through August 15, 2025, Chase is offering a 50% transfer bonus to Marriott, enabling luxury stays in Belgrade, Serbia, for 37,000 points per night at a St. Regis property. While substantial, you can optimize this redemption by combining it with Marriott’s “Fifth Night Free” benefit—stay five nights for the cost of four when booking with points. This strategy stretches your point balance while potentially accessing luxury properties that might otherwise exceed your budget.
Bottom Line: European Points & Miles Strategy
When searching for flights and hotels within Europe, follow these essential strategies: always compare cash rates against points redemptions, prioritize using orphaned points from your loyalty accounts, take advantage of credit card transfer bonuses, evaluate business class rates, maintain flexibility with both destinations and travel dates, and utilize hotel program perks like getting an extra free night.
These optimization tips help you save cash for on-the-ground adventures throughout Europe. After all, it’s a lot harder to use points and miles for your crepes and concerts than for your flights and hotels!
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