You Can Get Free Flights and Hotel Stays Easier Than You Think. Here’s How.

Unpacked by AFAR

The world of travel loyalty programs is . . . complicated. Last year, Delta made waves when it announced that it was making radical changes to its SkyMiles program. People very quickly—and this is the technical term—freaked the eff out. So, Delta swiftly (and wisely) backpedaled.

But as I learned from this week’s expert, Paul Rubio, this isn’t the only airline that has made less-than-positive changes. Delta just took the heat. Drama! It’s just the first of many (many) things related to travel loyalty programs that we'll learn about from Paul, a points and miles wizard. You may remember him from season two, when he shared his vast knowledge about the world of travel credit cards. And in today’s episode, he does the same for airline and hotel loyalty programs.

We start off exploring why it’s worth joining these programs—and it definitely is, and it definitely doesn’t have to take up your whole life—and which programs are best for both airline and hotel points. Then we dive deeper into how to maximize them, and how best to use them, including when you should buy points and when you should not.

It’s a pretty complex topic, but Paul has done all the legwork so that we don’t have to—as you can tell by the very long list of resources below.

Meet this week's guest: Paul Rubio, points and miles expert.

Resources

• The recent changes to American Airlines' reward program.
• The recent changes to Southwest's reward program.
• The recent changes to United's reward program.
• Delta's amended changes to its award program.
• Paul's Tumi and Rimowa suitcase reviews.
• Our guide to the World of Hyatt program.
• How and when to buy points for hotels.
• When to buy points for airlines.
• How to get VIP rewards for credit cards.
• How to use loyalty points for charitable donations.
• How to use Points.Me.

Be sure to subscribe to the show and to sign up for our podcast newsletter, Behind the Mic, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, Travel Tales, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us.