The Cards Worth Putting Big Spend On in 2026

Welcome bonuses are great, but they're not the whole game. Sometimes you've already got the cards, you've already earned the bonuses, and you still have a big purchase sitting in front of you. So what do you do?

In this episode, Chris and Katie break down the spend thresholds and milestone rewards hiding inside cards you probably already have. We're talking free night certificates, elite status, companion passes, and lounge upgrades, all unlocked by hitting the right number on the right card.

Katie shares how she actually handled a big tax payment this year, what she'd do differently, and why she's eyeing the Hilton Surpass for next year. Chris makes the case for retention offers, strategic gift card buying, and chasing milestones over points.

Sometimes the best move is the card already in your wallet.

If you've got a big purchase coming and don't want to open another card, this one's for you.

• (00:00) - The Upgraded Points Podcast Episode 55
• (01:18) - First All-Inclusive Park Hyatt
• (02:56) - Big Spend Bonuses
• (04:04) - World of Hyatt Bonuses
• (05:00) - Hilton Honors Bonuses
• (06:12) - IHG One Rewards Bonuses
• (07:38) - Marriott Bonvoy Bonuses
• (09:43) - American Airlines AAdvantage Bonuses
• (11:43) - Alaska Airlines Atmos Bonuses
• (12:45) - Chase Sapphire Reserve and Reserve for Business Bonuses
• (13:31) - Capital One Venture X Bonus
• (14:08) - Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum Card Bonus
• (14:47) - Katie’s Tax Payment
• (19:02) - Retention Offers
• (23:06) - Listener Question About Hotels in Japan

First Park Hyatt All-Inclusive Resort Will Open in 2027:
https://upgradedpoints.com/news/park-hyatt-riviera-maya/

Best Credit Cards for High Spend and Big Purchases:
https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/best-credit-cards-for-high-spend-and-large-purchases/

Best Hotel Credit Cards for Free Night Certificates:
https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/best-hotel-credit-cards-for-free-night-certificate/

How To Get Retention Offers:
https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/credit-card-retention-offers/

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Creators and Guests

Host

Christopher Hassan

Host

Katie Corrigan Seemann

What is The Upgraded Points Podcast?

Want to travel more and spend less? Every week, Upgraded Points provides expert insights, travel hacks, and the latest industry news to help you maximize your points and miles like a pro. Hosted by Chris Hassan and Katie Corrigan Seemann, travel experts at Upgraded Points, this podcast breaks down the best strategies for booking luxury flights, scoring hotel upgrades, and making every trip unforgettable — all without breaking the bank.

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Subscribe now and Travel Different.

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:06:07
Chris
Welcome bonuses get all the attention. But there's a whole layer of value. Hiding inside the cards you already have.

00:00:06:09 - 00:00:16:06
Katie
Yeah. So this actually came up for me recently. I had a big tax payment coming, and I had already earned the bonuses on two new cards, so I had to figure out where to put the rest of the spend.

00:00:16:12 - 00:00:24:13
Chris
And that's what we're getting into today. Spend thresholds, milestone rewards, status unlocks, and a few tricks that most people never use.

00:00:24:15 - 00:00:37:21
Katie
Plus, I'll tell you what I actually ended up doing what I do differently and why Chris has me fully on the Hilton train now.

00:00:37:23 - 00:00:41:05
Chris
Hey, I'm Chris. Welcome to the Upgraded Points podcast, and.

00:00:41:05 - 00:01:04:14
Katie
I'm Katie and today we have a new Hyatt hotel to talk about. And then we're going to go into a topic that came up because of a situation I was in with a large payment that I needed to make, and I wanted some options that didn't necessarily include welcome bonuses. So we are going to talk all about that and what to do with those big spending opportunities that you may have.

00:01:04:16 - 00:01:18:07
Katie
Before we get to all of that, don't forget to like and subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you're watching or listening. Be sure to share us with a travel loving friend. So, Chris, why don't you tell us about this new Hyatt hotel that we have coming up?

00:01:18:09 - 00:01:27:03
Chris
Yes, the first ever all inclusive Park Hyatt property is coming to Mexico in 2027. Katie, I'm assuming you've seen this.

00:01:27:04 - 00:01:35:12
Katie
I mean, of course, Park Hyatt Mexico, all inclusive, like three things I love and you can book with price.

00:01:35:13 - 00:02:07:04
Chris
I can't beat that. Yeah. So the Park Hyatt concept will debut in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico. So this is just south of Cancun. It's going to happen in 2027. World of Hyatt has a separate pricing chart for award stays at all inclusive properties. And Ryan wrote this article and he put his guests here that it's going to be an E or F category resort, which would put nights at 32 or starting prices at 35 or 42,000 points per night for two people.

00:02:07:08 - 00:02:22:19
Katie
Yeah, I think that's that's a great guest from Ryan. I would totally agree. It's going to be on the high end. I mean, this is their first Park Hyatt all inclusive. It's going to be on one of those top two tiers for sure. And it might really still be worth it. So we're going to have to see. But it looks it looks pretty fun.

00:02:22:19 - 00:02:42:09
Katie
Two people pretty. Yeah. Pretty amazing. And if if I'm recalling correctly, we talked about Hyatt all inclusive and how they're going all in on all Inclusives back in episode 50. So another one we hit kind of right. And this is a good one. The rest of the stuff we've gotten right has been really bad.

00:02:42:11 - 00:03:06:20
Chris
Yeah, and that's good. We got going to say you got to balance ourselves out here. Good job. Yeah, we did call this in episode 50. Hyatt is going all in on all inclusives. Let's move on to the main segment today. We always talk about big credit card. Credit card. Welcome offers. There's no doubt that that is the best and quickest way to earn a huge chunk of points.

00:03:06:20 - 00:03:12:22
Chris
Fast. But sometimes can make sense to put big spend on a card that you already have.

00:03:13:00 - 00:03:37:01
Katie
Yeah. So this came up for me recently. I had quite a hefty tax payment, and I actually ended up opening two cards to get their welcome bonuses. And I still had a lot of spend to do. And for a lot of reasons, I wasn't really interested in opening more cards. So I wanted to figure out a way to get the most benefit from putting that spend on cards that I already had.

00:03:37:03 - 00:03:57:10
Chris
Yeah, most people default to putting all of their spend on 1 or 2 cards without really thinking about thresholds. But there's a number of hotel and airline cards that are loaded with milestone rewards that only trigger when you hit a specific number, missed them even by a penny, and you're leaving real value on the table.

00:03:57:15 - 00:04:18:10
Katie
Yeah. So let's, go through these credit cards that are great opportunities when you have a big chunk of spend. So first off, I think is one of the better options. And these are the world of Hyatt cards. So the world of Hyatt credit card personal version. If you spend $15,000, you will get a category one through four free night certificate.

00:04:18:12 - 00:04:46:06
Katie
And the 15,000 is in a calendar year. And when you spend so you get to, late night credits for every 5000 spend. So you'll get that free night certificate as well as six elite night credits. On the business version, you get five elite nights for every 10,000 in spend, and then if you spend 50,000, you get 10% of your points back, that you redeem for the rest of the year, up to 200,000 points.

00:04:46:08 - 00:04:58:08
Katie
That little bit for me isn't quite as exciting. I actually really like the personal version for this. You know, if you have a $15,000 payment on something, that's a really nice return on spend for 15,000.

00:04:58:10 - 00:05:19:15
Chris
Over a with Hilton, you have the Hilton Surpass card and you spend 15,000, you'll get a free night reward. That is great deal. If you get up to 40,000 in a calendar year, you'll get diamond status. That's the top tier. Well, I guess there's a diamond reserve now, but then if you have the Hilton Honors business card, you spend 40,000 per year.

00:05:19:15 - 00:05:41:02
Chris
You'll also get diamond status. You have the Hilton Aspire card. You already get diamond status. But then those free night rewards are at 30,060 thousand spend. So this is already the most premium of the hotel card in the market. Comes essentially almost top tier, hotel status. But it's nice that at least it keeps rewarding you along the way.

00:05:41:03 - 00:05:52:15
Chris
You can get, you know, additional free nights. And those free night awards can be used at any hotel in the Hilton portfolio, as long as standard rooms are for sale. So you can really stretch the value out of those as well.

00:05:52:15 - 00:06:02:08
Katie
Yeah. Those are those are fantastic. I would say more than the the Hyatt ones because those are limited to category one through four. So get that those Hilton free nights are high tonight.

00:06:02:10 - 00:06:26:09
Chris
The Hyatt one is nice because it's the lower threshold. But yeah, if you're just comparing just the two certificates that the Hilton definitely wins for IHG, there's a three options. The IHG one Rewards Premier credit card. When you spend 20,000 in a calendar year, you'll get a $100 statement credit and 10,000 bonus points. If you spend 40,000 in a calendar year, you'll get diamond status.

00:06:26:11 - 00:06:52:23
Chris
If you have the HD one rewards traveler card, and you spend 10,000 in the calendar year, you will get 10,000 points. You spend 20,000 in a calendar year, you will get gold status. Now moving over to the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Card, you spend $20,000 in a calendar year. You'll get $100 statement credit and 10,000 points if you spend 40,000 in the calendar calendar year, you'll get diamond status.

00:06:53:01 - 00:07:18:07
Chris
And if you keep spending, if you spend $60,000 on your IHG one Rewards Premier Business Card, you'll get a free certificate worth 40,000. So get all those. They'll keep stacking up every 20,000 that you spent. So while maybe that not may not be the most compelling offer, if you are already close to one of those milestones and you have some big spend, it may not be the worst idea to really spend on that card just to hit those milestones.

00:07:18:08 - 00:07:38:12
Katie
Yeah, absolutely. And actually the the 10,000 points on 10,000 spend for that travel card is kind of interesting because that's the no annual fee card. So that essentially if you hit that 10,000 right on the money, you're getting an extra point per dollar. So if you're, you know, if you're after some points, that could be an interesting threshold to hit.

00:07:38:13 - 00:07:59:02
Katie
Okay. Let's talk about Marriott next, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card. You can earn an elite credit towards status for every $5,000 you spend. So one elite night for every 5000. And then if you hit 35,000 in a calendar year, you will get gold status. Probably wouldn't do that. There are easier ways to get gold status, but hey, you never know.

00:07:59:06 - 00:08:24:10
Katie
Marriott Bonvoy bevy. If you spend 15,000 in a calendar year, you get a free night award that is valuable for up to 50,000 points per night. So that's kind of more along the lines with the Hilton and Hyatt ones. That's a nice, nice award for 15 15,000 and spend. And then the Marriott Bonvoy business card. If you spend 60,000 in a calendar year, you get a 35 K free night award.

00:08:24:10 - 00:08:36:10
Katie
I don't quite understand why you only get 35 K for 60,000 and spend, but yeah, that's how it is. So that that bomb boy bevy is kind of the sweet spot in the Marriott cards for free nights.

00:08:36:10 - 00:08:42:01
Chris
Definitely sweet spot there. 50,000 points that can get you depending on where you are. You get your really nice property.

00:08:42:01 - 00:08:44:03
Katie
Absolutely. Yeah.

00:08:44:05 - 00:08:57:01
Chris
All right. Let's take a quick break. And when we come back, we are going to dive into the airline and transferable currency cards that you probably already have in your wallet.

00:08:57:03 - 00:09:07:07
Chris
You. Hey, real quick, before we jump back in, if you're listening to this podcast, you're exactly the kind of person we build our free newsletter for.

00:09:07:09 - 00:09:17:11
Katie
We break down the best credit card offers, transfer bonuses, award alerts, and travel news that actually matters. No fluff, no spam. Just the stuff we'd text a friend if something big dropped.

00:09:17:13 - 00:09:22:10
Chris
A lot of the deals we talk about on the show don't last long. The newsletter is where we fly those fast.

00:09:22:12 - 00:09:31:04
Katie
It's totally free, and you can sign up at upgraded points.com/newsletter.

00:09:31:06 - 00:10:00:03
Katie
You. Okay. Welcome back. Let's jump into some airline credit cards and great spend thresholds. And you have a lot to spend starting with American Airlines. The City Advantage Platinum card. If you spend $20,000, you will get a whopping $125 American Airlines flight discount. And that is during the membership year. But it's one of those. If you're close, it might be worth it.

00:10:00:05 - 00:10:21:21
Katie
And now this can be a little bit confusing, because right now American Airlines is getting ready to transition over from Barclays to Citi. So if you have that aviator red card which will in April, I think they're going to be transitioning over maybe a few weeks period. But if you have that aviator card, it will transition to a Citi Advantage Platinum card.

00:10:21:23 - 00:10:47:06
Katie
You will still for in a limited amount of time that they have not yet, announced. But for a while, you will have that legacy companion certificate at $20,000 in spend. And that's good for one guest. You spend $99 and the taxes and fees. It works out to like 120 something. Maybe once you spend it $20,000. So you do not have that if you just have the platinum card.

00:10:47:08 - 00:11:08:09
Katie
But if you have the aviator Red that's turning into the City Advantage Platinum card, you still have that on your card. Also, for the Aviator Silver card, which is going to be transitioning to the globe card, you will have some of the legacy benefits available for a while. Who knows how long, but for a while, I'm guessing probably the rest of this year.

00:11:08:09 - 00:11:40:08
Katie
But who knows? And this one's even a little bit better if you spend 20,000, you get two companion certificates and you get 5000 loyalty points. After spending $20,000. Okay, that's not bad. Had I had this card, I probably would have done this. Yeah. I missed my opportunity to upgrade my my aviator red. Mistakes were made. But if you still have that card, that could be a really interesting one to put some spend on moving along to Alaska Airlines.

00:11:40:08 - 00:12:05:15
Katie
If you have the Atmel Summit card, which is the higher end of those cards, this one's really interesting. If you spent $60,000 in a card anniversary year. So that is not, calendar year. It's the anniversary year of your card. You will get a 100,000 point global Companion award. And these work just like the 25,000 Point Companion award that you get just for having the card.

00:12:05:17 - 00:12:16:21
Katie
You have to use it in one chunk. It's for award flight, so it's great if you're looking really expensive award flights or round trip, it can be really, really valuable.

00:12:16:23 - 00:12:20:05
Chris
Wow, that is cool. You have do you have a card?

00:12:20:05 - 00:12:37:06
Katie
I do, I love that card. Okay. I did not end up putting my spend on this card for that. I thought about it. But I looked ahead at sort of my next year or so of travel, and I wasn't confident that I would be able to use that because I already have some stuff booked. So I opted not to.

00:12:37:06 - 00:12:41:04
Katie
But I think for, for some people that one would really make sense.

00:12:41:06 - 00:13:14:17
Chris
That's really cool. All right, let's move on. I'm going to head over to Chase with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. And this is a nice one. After you spend $75,000 in a calendar year, you will get a long list of benefits, including Hyatt Explorer status, IHG diamond status, southwest A-list status. Plus, you'll get a $500 Southwest Airlines credit that you can use for Chase travel and a $250, credit for Shoppes at Chase.

00:13:14:19 - 00:13:27:18
Chris
And that is great. But if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve for business, the minimum spend is 120,000 to get all those same benefits. So not as good as as a consumer version, but still pretty solid list.

00:13:27:18 - 00:13:29:11
Katie
Of benefits for that amount of spending.

00:13:29:11 - 00:13:57:06
Chris
And yeah, if you have a Capital One venture X in your wallet, you spend 75,000 on that card per calendar year. You can bring two complimentary guests to Capital One lounges and one capital one complimentary guest into Capital One landings. So, I mean, bummer that the Capital One card's lost the free guest earlier this year, but here is, way to get them in if you're going to be spending that money anyways.

00:13:57:07 - 00:14:16:05
Katie
Yeah, I think had I been close to that 75 K threshold, naturally I might have spent up to that. I did not choose that one. But I do think for some people that one really makes sense. Amex also has some high spend thresholds. The platinum card in the business platinum card, very similar to the Capital One Venture X.

00:14:16:05 - 00:14:43:06
Katie
If you spend $75,000 in a calendar year, you will get two guests at Centurion Lounges as well as unlimited Delta Sky club access. So depending on your situation, that could actually be worth it. It's a nice, nice, you know, benefit. The Centurion lounges, you know, can be you can't bring guests into anymore. So if you can get two guests and then also if you're flying Delta, you get that unlimited, Sky club access.

00:14:43:11 - 00:14:46:16
Katie
That one could be interesting for a lot of a lot of people.

00:14:46:18 - 00:14:51:02
Chris
Well, Katie, you're going to tell us what did you end up doing for your big spend?

00:14:51:05 - 00:15:09:20
Katie
Sure. So, as I said earlier, these were tax payments. So in my particular situation, I really needed to consider the fee when deciding if it's worth it to put on it a credit card. So this, you know, if if you don't have a fee. These become a lot easier when you are paying a tax payment. You do have to pay a fee.

00:15:09:22 - 00:15:31:08
Katie
If you're earning a big bonus, it's 99% of the time always worth it. And a lot of the times for these types of threshold bonuses that we've been talking about, it is worth it as well. I think for personal cards, it's like 1.75%. And then, business cards, if you do them through PayPal is like 1.85%.

00:15:31:10 - 00:16:04:23
Katie
So actually really reasonable fees. So what I ended up doing, I did get to business cards. I got an Amex Business Platinum with no lifetime language and an annex business gold. So I wiped out those welcome bonuses. And then I got to the point where I was like, okay, I'm not getting any new cards right now. So what I ended up doing, I paid up, on my Hyatt card to that $15,000 threshold to get the six elite night credits and the free Night certificate category one through four.

00:16:05:03 - 00:16:06:02
Chris

00:16:06:04 - 00:16:35:01
Katie
And then the next thing I did is probably actually not a good idea, and I'm not necessarily recommending this. I put the rest of it on my American Airlines executive card to earn loyalty points. Okay, probably not the best solution, but the way I looked at it is I. Okay, I'm spending 1.75%. I always get at least 1.5 points per dollar on my American Airlines miles.

00:16:35:03 - 00:16:56:18
Katie
So, and a lot of times I get much higher than that. So I kind of looked at that as sort of like it kind of washes, you know, sort of buying those points at cost. And then I also earn those loyalty points. And American Airlines status is very important to me. So I need those loyalty points. I, I will always at least one of the lower levels.

00:16:56:19 - 00:17:27:10
Katie
You know, I generally hit those naturally. But like this last year some of my travel was on Delta and some of that was on United. So I like to get as many of those loyalty points through other means. As much as I can. So maybe not the best solution, but it works for me. So what I decided is I'm going to be much more methodical about this next year, and I really want to hit those, $15,000 minimums on the Hilton Surpass cards.

00:17:27:12 - 00:17:52:04
Katie
So my plan is I used to have one of these cards and I downgraded it to the free one. So I think next year I might upgrade my free one and get one for my husband at the same time. Spend the 15,000 on both. So we each hit that at the same time. So we had the two free night certificates because Chris, after you've you've been talking up like the Conrad ever more in Orlando and all those Hilton properties in Japan.

00:17:52:04 - 00:18:14:02
Katie
So much that I started looking at Hilton a lot more recently. And like those free night certificates are really valuable. So I think that's going to be my plan for next year, and that will work into hopefully my Japan trip. Hopefully they can make that happen next year. And if not, then we'll do that. The next year and I'll find some other amazing uses for those.

00:18:14:02 - 00:18:19:14
Katie
So so that's what I ended up doing. What what what would you do Chris.

00:18:19:16 - 00:18:29:14
Chris
If I had to do it without I mean, I think what you did was fine. First of all, especially with American Airlines, I love I mean, I think loyalty points are super valuable.

00:18:29:16 - 00:18:45:03
Katie
It was frustrating that I didn't have the Aviator Red in my name or the Aviator Silver, because then I could have also gotten the companion certificate. It was a little annoying, but it was just one of those situations. You know what? I'm just going to do it. It's fine.

00:18:45:05 - 00:19:06:10
Chris
I think lining you, handles it pretty well. You walked away a couple nice bones in there and some a pretty nice certificate if you had to. If I had to give listeners some alternatives, that they wanted to get some, some chunks without opening up a new card. I think one of the underrated options is asking for a retention offer before you go and spend on these cards.

00:19:06:15 - 00:19:29:07
Chris
So say, for example, that your annual fee hit recently in your card. You can chat or call in to your bank and they may just offer you a mini welcome bonus right there. Spend $1,000 in the next, you know, a couple months. And here's whatever those the all the big banks, offer something like this. And the offers vary depending on a million different things.

00:19:29:09 - 00:19:31:12
Chris
But that's a really nice option that people overlook.

00:19:31:14 - 00:19:37:10
Katie
That's a great idea. Second, I wish I had thought about that. We should have talked about this like two weeks ago.

00:19:37:12 - 00:19:58:03
Chris
Yeah, I guess maybe your American Airlines could have offered you a retention offer. You could have got some bonus miles on a test next. But that's something that I just haven't done. I I'm guilty of this as well. I just don't do it very often because the past few times that I've done it, they've said no. And it's whenever I have to call like a city, like I'll do American Express.

00:19:58:04 - 00:20:03:21
Chris
It's easy because it's chat can't do it. I will never have to call city. I just get the shivers. So I it's it's not worth it.

00:20:03:21 - 00:20:05:22
Katie
You're right.

00:20:06:00 - 00:20:24:04
Chris
But yeah, if you have the time and patience, it's. It really can't hurt to ask. The other one is just just like what you did. Katie, I would go look at what milestones I'm close to. Hitting the higher card. 15,000. If you're already, you know, spent 10,000 or whatever in another five, you get a free nice certificate.

00:20:24:06 - 00:20:43:00
Chris
That can make a lot of sense. The Hilton one's 15,000. You get another certificate. It's there's just a lot that you can do with the cards that are already in your wallet. And then, yeah, just chase the thresholds. Not necessarily the points unless they're loyalty points. And here's the third one. This is going to be a little a little bit more legwork.

00:20:43:00 - 00:21:02:01
Chris
It's not something that I do. But a lot of people can go buy gift cards if they have a card that offers a category bonus somewhere. Maybe it's a visa gift card, I don't know, but there's ways to, to spend on your credit card. Earning elevated, points bonuses that, you know, could add up fast for a big purchase.

00:21:02:03 - 00:21:23:05
Katie
Yeah. And I think what you said about knowing the thresholds on your current cards is really important. Making those cards that are already in your wallet work for you. Because while we all love a new welcome bonus, sometimes it doesn't make sense. It can't happen for many reasons, and it's good to know what you have in your wallet and make those cards work for you.

00:21:23:07 - 00:21:47:01
Katie
Most airline and hotel cards, at least some of the cards in the portfolio, will have some kind of a threshold or milestone benefit that you can look at. I think you just universally, some of the ones we talked about today, the Hilton surpass 15,000 and spend and you get a free night certificate at any Hilton like that I think is universally pretty, pretty amazing.

00:21:47:03 - 00:22:05:21
Katie
The Hyatt card also at 15,000, because you're also going to earn those elite night credits plus the category one through four certificate. And there are a lot of hotels that you can use as category one through four certificates where you're going to get a ton of value. So I think at 15,000, those are probably my top two picks for just all around good value.

00:22:05:23 - 00:22:38:07
Katie
And then if you have a lot of spend, the Chase Sapphire Reserve at 75,000, well, I didn't do this and I'm not planning on doing it. I think it does offer a lot of value at that level of spend, and there are plenty of people who can put all of that spend on a credit card. And so if you're, you know, in the neighborhood of that 75,000, that is one that I would consider putting some extra spend on to hit to get those multiple elite statuses and, and credits for Chase travel and whatever the shops buy by Chase.

00:22:38:07 - 00:22:57:11
Katie
So. Tax payments are no fun. But they are a good opportunity. And there's other you know if you're buying something big for the house we just put in new countertops and they took credit cards with no fee. So that was fun I know. So anytime you have a big purchase like that it's always nice to kind of know what's in your wallet.

00:22:57:12 - 00:23:17:19
Katie
A lot of times, too, these things come up and you don't have time to get a new welcome bonus. So no, it's in your wallet. So you're ready to go when you have a big purchase. So that's going to wrap it up for that. We do actually have one question. And Chris this one is for you. It is another one that relates to your chase or not sorry not your chase, your Japan, trip.

00:23:17:21 - 00:23:37:20
Katie
So we recorded that, a couple months ago, and it's been a really, really popular episode. We've gotten so much feedback and so many questions related to that episode. A lot of people are interested in going to Japan, myself included. So I'm going to, read this. I'm going to paraphrase. We got this email from Amy, and, it was kind of a long email.

00:23:37:20 - 00:24:00:00
Katie
So I'm just going to paraphrase and give you the bullet points and see what you think. So Amy is going to Japan in October. She's used all of her chase points for flights to Japan, and has since opened up a Capital One venture card and needs to book hotels there. Too expensive, to pay cash for the Hyatt hotels that Chris mentioned.

00:24:00:00 - 00:24:13:10
Katie
The very high end ones. And so Amy asked, should I stay at lower tier Hyatt IHG hotels? What can I do to minimize the cost if I don't have any more points? But I need to book hotels ASAP.

00:24:13:12 - 00:24:45:21
Chris
Okay, ASAP. So I'm assuming that you want to do that before your Capital One bonus arrives. If not, head back. One episode, episode 54. We just talked about a core, choice, and I prefer. And those are all transfer bonus transfer partners from Capital One as well as Wyndham. So there are some really nice deals in Japan there where you wouldn't have to, you know, pay cash and then and erase the charge so you could transfer, and book something there.

00:24:45:21 - 00:25:06:06
Chris
Choice I saw during my trip really attractive hotels for five, 10,000 points per night. I couldn't book them because I was traveling with a family of four, and we wouldn't fit in a room. But if just you and your sister and you guys are sharing a room, that is a great way to save. You would also mention those Hyatt properties.

00:25:06:06 - 00:25:16:20
Chris
The I paid cash for that Hyatt place in Kyoto, so if that's something that's attractive to you, it was like $75 a night. We paid for a rate with breakfast included.

00:25:16:22 - 00:25:19:05
Katie
A deal that's really affordable.

00:25:19:07 - 00:25:40:20
Chris
But again, I would just start searching through any, you know, travel portal, see what's out there, because rates can really vary, especially in Tokyo. It's such a big city. There are some really expensive hotels, like the Park Hyatt that I stayed in. That was a bucket list day for me. But there are so many small hotels that will give you such great value.

00:25:40:20 - 00:26:04:14
Chris
Because I mentioned this before, the level of hospitality in Japan is just so much higher than what many of us are used to in the US or, and I'm in Brazil. It can really just stay at a basic hotel. You may actually think you're at a 3 or 4 star hotel based on the service. So I would just start looking, see if you find anything in cash that could be, you know, that fits in your budget.

00:26:04:16 - 00:26:18:07
Chris
If you can wait until those bonus points, hit start taking a look at choice Hotels. Wyndham hotels have a fixed, fix award chart, so there are some really nice sweet spots out there. But if you're in Kyoto, I would highly recommend that Hyatt Place.

00:26:18:09 - 00:26:20:17
Katie
Not your son's favorite hotel.

00:26:20:19 - 00:26:29:20
Chris
Yeah it was. We stayed in the nicest hotels in the country, and his was the $75 and a hotel didn't even have a pool. They had a view of a wall. It was so nice.

00:26:30:01 - 00:26:48:13
Katie
I love it. And the last thing I'm going to add, if you're booking in cash, don't forget to whatever credit card you're using. Look for Chase offers capital one offers any kind of extra discount. Go through a shopping portal, go to You know, you can go to save wise. I think it's get CBS.com type in your, you know, IHG or whatever.

00:26:48:13 - 00:27:09:00
Katie
And you can see if any portals are offering extra bonus points or cash back. So that's always a good way when you're paying cash just to, either earn extra points or get some cash back on your purchase. So thank you so much, Amy, for that question. If you'd like to submit a question to us, to answer on the air, you can email that to podcast at Upgraded points.com.

00:27:09:02 - 00:27:25:14
Katie
We always love hearing from you. And don't forget to like and subscribe and give us a thumbs up. Leave some feedback, give us a smiley face, whatever you want and two on YouTube, Spotify, Apple podcast, wherever you're watching or listening, we love to hear from you. That's going to do it for us this week. We will see you next week.