Marriott Bonvoy has the highest number of guest rooms of any hotel portfolio globally—more than 1.5 million rooms across 141 countries. That means the chances you’ve stayed at one of the 30 different Marriott brands is high.

If you’re a frequent or even occasional guest at Marriott properties, there are a myriad of ways that you can earn points as well as elite status.

The world of points and miles-funded travel can be as overwhelming as it is exciting. With such a wide range of travel rewards credit cards on the market, determining which one is best suited to your individual goals can be challenging. After all, nobody wants to miss out on the opportunity to snag first-class tickets across the world or an award stay at an overwater-bungalow in Maldives.

However, determining where to start in the points and miles hobby begins with understanding the basics.

The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates & fees) comes with a not-so-small annual fee of $695. But it also comes with a litany of valuable benefits that can help you offset the annual fee.

However, many of these benefits are not automatic.

There are many ways to earn travel miles and points, but none is as easy, quick, and cheap as opening up travel rewards cards. In particular, earning welcome bonuses on travel rewards cards is the number one way to rack up points and miles.

In this article, we’re covering the basics of travel rewards credit cards.

The world of credit card rewards programs can be confusing and intimidating. It may be daunting at first, but once you understand how these programs work, you will see just how valuable they are.

This article is intended to give you the basic tools you need to use one of the most powerful and versatile rewards programs out there: Chase Ultimate Rewards.

What Are Chase Ultimate Rewards Points?

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a transferable loyalty currency that can be redeemed for cash back, flights, hotel stays, shopping and even exclusive experiences.

Earning points and miles can seem like an uphill struggle.

The world of points and miles can be massively rewarding. With the right strategy, you can land yourself free hotel stays, mile-funded flights, cabin upgrades, and much more.

As hobbies go, earning points and miles is one of the most lucrative ones. However, it’s not without complications. Whether you’re an experienced points and miles collector or just starting out, it’s only a matter of time before rewards chasing gets the better of you.

Let’s take a look at the top 12 mistakes to avoid when collecting points and miles.

1.

If you are new to the points and miles hobby and want to learn how you too can travel for free, you’ve come to the right place. To paraphrase the famous saying, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single credit card. 

You might be wondering why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best credit card for newbies.

We (definitely) do not know what we are going to get. For air travel, it is already in the cards and new evidence piles into the box every day.

Forrest Gump is right on the mark when it comes to air travel, too

Truth be told, no one knows the extent to which this pandemic will affect the industry.

Whether you’re wining and dining up front, or whining and dining in the back, seat selection is of the utmost importance. And there can be big differences between seats, even among aircraft within the same airline.

You may be thinking – if I see a row of two seats, and all the other rows have three seats, of course I should take the row of two! Not so fast. That row of two may be the worst place to sit on the entire plane.