Issuer guides
How to redeem rewards from 11 credit card issuers
Find your bank, identify the rewards your card earns and choose a redemption that fits the way you travel.
By Jason Reza · Published · 6 min read
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Which rewards do you have?
Start with the rewards name on your statement. Membership Rewards points, airline miles, hotel points and cash back have different booking options. Even cards issued by the same bank can work differently.
Here are the 11 issuers featured in Reward CoPilot’s catalog. The spending examples assume eligible purchases paid in full and exclude welcome offers and other promotions.
American Express: check the program
An Amex card may earn Membership Rewards points, cash back, or a partner’s airline miles or hotel points. Start with the program name on your statement. Eligible Membership Rewards accounts can transfer points to participating travel programs; a cash-back or co-branded card follows its own rules.
For Membership Rewards, compare the booking options in your account with the partner award you want. For a Delta or Hilton card, work from that loyalty program’s balance and booking options. Do not apply a Membership Rewards valuation to every Amex card.
Chase: calculate the transfer cost
Eligible Chase cards offer travel-partner transfers, while other cards may be more useful for cash back. The existing Alex hotel example shows how a Sapphire Preferred holder can compare a cash redemption, a portal quote, and a hotel award using the same bank-point balance.
Read the conversion ratio for the specific card and partner. Sapphire Preferred’s currently listed Hyatt ratio is 4:3, so a 36,000-Hyatt-point award needs 48,000 Chase points. An appealing hotel-point price is only useful after that conversion.
Capital One: start with travel-credit value
Venture earns 2 miles per dollar on ordinary purchases. At $2,000 a month, that is 48,000 miles over a year. Using the 1-cent-per-mile travel value shown by Capital One, the balance represents $480 toward eligible travel before the $95 annual fee.
Compare covering an eligible recent travel purchase with a partner award. A transfer should beat the cost and convenience of the travel credit for the trip you actually want. Savor cash rewards and Venture miles are different starting points; do not assume every Capital One card earns transferable miles.
Citi: check transfer access
Double Cash earns ThankYou Points with 1% when you buy and another 1% as you pay. Paying for $24,000 of ordinary eligible purchases produces the equivalent of $480 cash back. That is a useful trip fund even without using an airline partner.
For a transfer strategy, check the exact ThankYou account, eligible partners, and conversion ratios available with your cards. A ThankYou label alone does not establish identical options across every Citi card. Keep the cash redemption available to you as the comparison point.
Wells Fargo: compare your account’s options
Autograph’s rewards terms include cash, travel, and points-transfer options. Start by checking which options appear in your rewards account and the amount each would save on your trip. Compare partner pricing with the cash alternative before moving points.
Treat Active Cash, Autograph, and a co-branded card as separate products with their own earning and redemption rules. If you hold multiple Wells Fargo cards, verify any combination or transfer feature in the account rather than assuming all rewards move the same way.
Bank of America: check your rewards tier
Unlimited Cash Rewards has a standard 1.5% base rate. A $2,000 monthly budget therefore earns $30 a month, or $360 a year, before any eligible relationship boost or introductory offer. Use the bank’s rewards calculator to identify the rate that actually applies to you.
With a cash-back card, putting the rewards toward a hotel bill can be the entire strategy. Travel Rewards and Premium Rewards have different redemption features. Compare the final dollar value and account requirements rather than treating a points balance as an airline-transfer balance.
Discover: turn miles into a travel budget
Discover it Miles earns 1.5 miles per dollar, with 100 miles worth $1 for cash or travel credit. A $2,000 monthly budget earns 36,000 miles a year, or $360. This regular-earning example does not count the separate first-year match.
Compare the cash and travel-credit options rather than searching for a transferable airline award. If the value is the same for the redemption you want, choose the more convenient route. Discover cash-back products have different earning rules, so a rotating-category card needs its own calculation.
Barclays: follow the airline or hotel program
Many Barclays cards in the catalog earn a partner currency. JetBlue Plus, for example, currently earns 6 points per dollar on eligible JetBlue-related purchases, 2 at eligible restaurants and grocery stores, and 1 on other purchases. Those are TrueBlue points, not a generic Barclays travel currency.
For a fictional monthly mix of $100 in eligible JetBlue purchases, $900 in eligible dining and groceries, and $1,000 elsewhere, the card earns 3,400 points a month or 40,800 a year from purchases. Compare actual flight quotes and benefits with the $99 annual fee; that total excludes anniversary points, rebates, and welcome offers. Wyndham and Emirates cards need their own program-specific comparison.
U.S. Bank: watch the category caps
Altitude Go currently earns 4 points per dollar on the first $2,000 of dining each quarter. At $500 of eligible dining a month, the $1,500 quarterly total stays within that cap and earns 6,000 dining points per quarter, or 24,000 over four identical quarters. This is only the dining portion of the budget.
Then compare the dollar value of redemption choices in the account. A deposit, travel booking, and other rewards need not be interchangeable. Other Altitude products have different rules; do not apply a premium travel card’s benefits to Altitude Go.
Citizens Bank: use the cash-back categories
Citizens Summit currently earns 3% cash back on dining and groceries and 1.5% elsewhere. With $500 monthly dining, $400 groceries, and $1,100 other eligible purchases, the monthly rewards are $15 + $12 + $16.50 = $43.50. Over a year that is $522 before any other offers.
That cash can help fund whichever trip you choose, without an airline award search. Check your actual Citizens product: Amp, Spring, Summit, and Summit Reserve are not the same card. Citizens Bank is also distinct from First Citizens Bank.
First Citizens Bank: identify the product
First Citizens Cash Rewards advertises 1.5% cash back on purchases. A $2,000 monthly budget earns $30 a month or $360 over a year. Review the available redemption methods and any minimums, then direct the rewards toward an expense you already planned.
First Citizens also offers points-based cards, including Travel Rewards, with their own earning tiers and redemption rules. Start with the exact product and account terms, not the similarly named Citizens Bank program.
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