How do you actually book flights with CC points?

If you’ve ever felt like everyone magically knows how to fly business class for 20,000 points and you missed the memo, you're not alone.

I used to feel the same way. I had no idea where to start. So here’s an easy breakdown of how this actually works and how you can start too.

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Don't have time for the whole thing? Here's a quick summary🔥

1️⃣: Understand what kind of points you have

Not all points are equal.

• Cashback cards: usually just 1 cent per point. Easy, but boring and not the best for award travel
• Travel portal points: can be redeemed through the bank’s site or transferred to airline partners for more value. Every airline has different partners
• Travel partners: these are the real MVPs for flying business class. You can send them to partner airlines, and that’s where the magic happens

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2️⃣: You need to know the different ways to book flights with points

There are two main ways to use your credit card points to book flights:

✈️ The credit card’s travel portal [example: you log into the banjk's travel site and book a flight the same way you would on Expedia].

• Easy to use
• Great for domestic flights or when cash prices are low
• Not usually the best value for premium cabins

✈️ Transferring points to an airline partner [this is the secret sauce and how people book business or first class seats for cheap]

• Requires a bit more work, but this is where the deals are
• You transfer points from your card to partner airline
• Then book directly through the airline's site using miles

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3️⃣: Find the right airline & sweet spot

This is the trickiest - and most time-consuming part.  Here’s what to look for:

• Use a tool like Point.me or Seats.aero to see which airlines offer good deals on certain routes
• Look for transfer bonuses [sometimes 50,000 points from one airline credit card can turn into 65,000 points from another airline credit card]

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✈️Bonus resources

Award travel isn’t just for frequent flyers or the rich. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that most people flying first class are not paying full price.  Credit cards, when used responsibly, are a smart way to stretch your money and make travel more accessible. Once you understand how it works, it’s hard to go back.

Here are a few quick videos showing my own real-life examples:

• Intro to credit card points + miles
• Japan Airline Business Class for $323
• US to Korea with points/miles
• Japan Airlines First Class without spending $20,000
• Booking Air France/Flights to Europe

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If you have any questions, DM me or drop a comment on this IG video, and I’d love to help! Happy travels ✈️

Leona