Yes, even if you rarely travel, the miles game could still be for you !
When picking a credit card, one dilemma often pops up at some point:
“Should I go with a simple cash back card? Or venture into the miles game?”
Because let’s be honest. In this increasingly complex world of digital payments, cash back is indeed great for being dead simple (no redemption steps and annoying T&Cs to stress about) while giving you instant reward, instant satisfaction. Just shop, pay, and receive automatic free money back in your wallet every single time. Sounds perfect right?
For those who rarely travel, perhaps. But what if you’re someone who:
- Likes to travel;
- Likes the idea of cheaper flights and hotel nights, and;
- Are willing to increase the potential value of your rewards with just a little bit of planning?
If that sounds like you, then the miles game becomes a much more interesting proposition. Read on to find out why!
Benefits of Earning Miles
1. Higher Value Potential
One of our new team members from Hong Kong - David B. - is an expert flyer, and has redeemed many free flights and hotel stays in the past few years alone thanks to miles and points. His most recent trip? Hong Kong to Maldives including a 5-night stay at St. Regis hotel …
ALL FOR FREE thanks to the help of miles and points !
Earning miles is a lot more beneficial if you frequently travel and can effectively utilize the perks offered by travel rewards programs. While cash back offers a straightforward, fixed value for your spending, miles can potentially provide a higher value when redeemed for flights and hotels, especially if you can take advantage of premium cabin redemptions or transfer to the right airline or hotel partners.
2. Travel Perks and Luxury Experiences
Miles can unlock opportunities for premium cabin flights and luxurious hotel stays that might be otherwise far costlier. Many miles-based credit cards also tend to offer additional travel benefits like airport lounge access, priority boarding, free checked bags, buggy services and more, ensuring a stress-free travel experience.
Of course you can always pay for these services directly but we suggest not if you can help it, as pricing is almost always worse in comparison.
3. Earn Every Time You Fly!
Of course other than through credit card spend, you can also earn a significant portion of your miles through flying. Sure you may or may not get to fly that many times a year, but if you’re flying long-haul for example, you can choose a slightly longer route to your destination and actually earn more miles for the same price, maybe even less!
If you’re flying economy and can never fall asleep on a flight, or if you have very limited travel time, then maybe this tactic is not for you. But if you’re comfortable enough in your seat, or if you just love flying and don’t mind an extra layover, this is a very viable travel hack to maximize your miles-earn. Just make sure to move around and stretch out your body every once in a while.
Downsides of Most Miles Programs
There are indeed usually some downsides to earning miles …
1. Redeeming miles can be more complex
With potential blackout dates, limited availability, and varying redemption values to consider, Many miles programs may also have expiration dates, requiring you to use your miles within a specific timeframe. And the last thing you’d want is to watch your hard-earned miles disappear just because you find something to redeem in time.
2. Poor planning = wasted miles
If you hardly travel or don't plan your redemptions carefully, you likely won't maximize the value of your miles, thus negating much of its advantages. For example, redeeming for gadgets and travel items on airline redemption portals with miles almost always incurs a hefty premium compared to just paying in cash elsewhere and is just not worth it, so please don’t.
Why HeyMax and Max Miles?
At HeyMax our mission is to make travel aspirations accessible to everyone, which is why we have created a platform that lets travelers like you conveniently earn miles through every day interactions, bringing you ever closer to your next adventure.
With Max Miles, HeyMax users (or as we affectionately call them, Maxers) get to earn every time they spend at any of our 500+ partnered brands, on top of any credit card perks they already enjoy!
Once you’re ready to use your Max Miles, HeyMax also removes much of the hassles and inconveniences that typical miles redemption programs suffer from. So what exactly makes HeyMax a stress-free redemption experience?
- Max Miles never expire, so you don’t ever have to worry about wasted miles again. No time to travel much this year? Save up for next year’s big trip!
- You can use Max Miles to redeem 1:1 for 29 partnered airline and hotel loyalty programs such as Qatar, AirAsia, Aeroplan, Avios and many more!
- Even redeeming for flights by non-partner airlines is possible with our FlyAnywhere service, letting travelers enjoy ultimate redemption flexibility and ensuring no miles are left behind.
This makes HeyMax one of the most flexible miles programs on the planet, helping you earn miles every day while making it super easy to redeem for any destination and airline. All in one convenient mobile app.
Ready to supercharge your miles game? Download HeyMax now!
Verdict: Earn Max Miles for Maximum Gain
In a nutshell, miles is the obvious choice for frequent travelers, but can be more hassle than cashback especially when it comes to redemption terms and conditions.
Cashback is great if you want instant gratification and zero hassle. But with little effort, you can potentially unlock awesome travel perks at much better value with miles instead.
To help you reap the maximum benefits of your hard-earned miles, use the HeyMax app to help keep track of the best credit cards and when to use them, earn Max Miles that never expire, and redeem for incredible travel deals with major partners or even non-partners, ensuring max redemption flexibility so that no miles are left unused.
This is the way.
We would love to hear your feedback!
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