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6 Pro Tips for Maximizing Rewards Points This Summer

By U.S. News & World Report

With summer around the corner, chances are you’re wondering how to leverage your hard-earned hotel points and frequent flyer miles to book the ultimate vacation. Maybe you’ve collected miles while crisscrossing the globe for work. Perhaps you’ve stockpiled thousands of points with an affiliated credit card. Or maybe you racked up loyalty points by staying in brand-backed chains across the country on family trips.

But even if you have a surplus of points, there’s a catch: As a rising number of rewards programs have consolidated and devalued points in the last two years, getting the most out of loyalty currencies has become increasingly challenging. Still, there are clever ways for you to leverage points to reap lucrative rewards and perks. That’s why U.S. News tapped industry experts to deliver simple tricks for optimizing miles and points during the peak travel season.

[See: 7 Smart Travel Credit Card Hacks You’ve Never Heard Of.]

Choose a Generous Credit Card

Picking the right credit card is an easy way to fast-track your points collection. George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, suggests looking for cards that offer lucrative sign-up bonuses and using credit cards that award 2 or 3 miles per dollar spent on travel-related purchases.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, for example, offers a 50,000 points bonus after spending $4,000 in the first three months after opening an account. Emily Jablon, co-founder of the advice site Million Mile Secrets, also suggests selecting a flexible credit card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card to “easily transfer points to several airline and hotel partners.” Partners include Southwest Airlines, Hyatt hotels and United Airlines. You can also cash in points for free stays and award flights using Chase’s online travel portal, she adds. Many credit cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, also waive foreign transaction fees, making them especially valuable if you’re looking to dodge unnecessary fees abroad.

“I recommend coming up with a redemption strategy before signing up for credit cards and working to build up your balance of points and miles,” says Zach Honig, editor-in-chief of The Points Guy. He recommends enrolling in a card that enables you to transfer points with a variety of programs. Aside from the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, Citi’s ThankYou Premier Card enables you to take advantage of a 30,000 sign-up bonus and transfer points to affiliated partners. With Citi’s ThankYou program, cardholders can transfer every 1,000 points to 500 JetBlue points and every 1,000 points to 1,5000 Hilton Honors points.

Get Rewarded Online Shopping

An outside-the-box option for accumulating points quickly this summer is making purchases through a shopping portal, Jablon says. With Chase’s shopping portal, you can make purchases from retailers such as Target, Home Depot and Apple, while earning multiple points per dollar spent, she explains. Airlines also offer their own shopping portals to help you rack up points for making everyday purchases. For example, United’s MileagePlus Shopping portal allows members to earn miles with more than 850 retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s and J. Crew. If you’re a newcomer to the rewards network game, tools like Evreward.com, a shopping portal aggregator, can direct you to earning opportunities based on stores you’re interested in.

[See: The 2016-17 Best Airline Rewards Programs.]

Collect Points for Dining Out

“You are more likely to eat at restaurants when traveling, so consider signing up for an airline dining program to further maximize your points,” Jabon says. The Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express enables cardholders to earn 2 points for every dollar spent at qualifying U.S. restaurants. Frequent flier and hotel loyalty programs also enable you to rack up bonus points for dining at participating restaurants. With the Delta SkyMiles program, you can collect 500 extra miles for spending a minimum of $30 at an affiliated restaurant, and with the Hilton Honors program, you can accumulate 8 loyalty points per dollar spent if you dine at affiliated eateries at least 11 times per year.

Stay Flexible in Your Search

“When booking flights on points, try varying your departure and arrival dates, if possible, to extract the most value of your points,” Jablon says. By planning to depart a day earlier at a less in-demand travel time, you can retain tens of thousands of points, she adds. Jablon also suggests searching for award flights in alternative hubs near your desired departure and arrival destination to secure the greatest values. “I recently booked a trip to Paris and found great availability flying out of Chicago, rather than in my home city,” she says.

Honig also suggests checking for award availability frequently to scout out discounted rates for your desired route. He also recommends comparing the pricing for paid tickets. “I always begin my search on Google Flights, even if I’m ultimately intending to redeem miles for a trip,” he explains. He also suggests comparing the flight price versus the miles required to secure the best values. “It’s not uncommon to see round-trip transcontinental flights that are going for 50,000 miles priced at just $300 if you’re paying cash,” he explains.

Go Where the Discounts Are, and Consider All Fare Categories

For the greatest award availability, “go where everyone isn’t going,” says Daraius Dubash, co-founder of Million Mile Secrets. While it may be difficult to secure economy award tickets during the prime travel season, business- and first-class award seats are easier to come by when business travel tends to lull on international routes, Honig says. “Consider redeeming your miles for business class instead of coach. In some cases, you may even redeem fewer miles to travel in a premium cabin on the same flight, depending on availability,” he adds.

Play the Field

If you’re not partial to one hotel or airline loyalty program, it can be advantageous to collect points in a variety of programs, Jablon says. “For domestic trips, I love Southwest’s Rapid Rewards frequent flyer program,” she says, noting that it’s easy to book award flights and attain membership perks rapidly. Plus, Chase points can be transferred to Southwest at a desirable 1-to-1 rate, she explains. Conversely, on international trips, Jablon collects points with American Airlines and United Airlines’ affiliated frequent flyer programs in addition to collecting points with Chase, which can be transferred to the United MileagePlus program at a 1-to-1 ratio, she adds.

[See: 10 Frequent Flier Secrets Every Traveler Should Know.]

If you want to book award travel for international flights, also make sure to make the most out of extensive airline alliances — SkyTeam, oneworld and Star Alliance — to net the greatest redemption values for award tickets. For example, if you fly United often, you can earn and redeem miles with partners within the Star Alliance network, including Lufthansa, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines.

More from U.S. News

How to Leverage Travel Rewards in 2017

How to Maximize Travel Rewards Points and Perks for Your Family

5 Loyalty Program Trends to Watch

6 Pro Tips for Maximizing Rewards Points This Summer originally appeared on usnews.com

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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