Free flights and hotel stays with credit card points? Here’s how to get more from your rewards

According to fresh market updates, Thousands of credit card reward points may be sitting in your account without you paying much attention to them. Used well, those points could pay for part of a flight, a hotel stay or, in some cases, almost an entire booking.

But simply having a large points balance does not mean you have a valuable one.

The same 20,000 points could be worth very different amounts depending on how you use them. Redeeming them for merchandise or vouchers may give you one value, booking through your card issuer's travel portal another, and transferring them to an airline or hotel loyalty programme something completely different.

Before redeeming anything, work out what each point is actually giving you.

If a flight costs Rs 20,000 in cash and requires 20,000 points, you are getting roughly Re 1 of value for each point, before taking any additional taxes or charges into account. If another redemption uses the same 20,000 points for something worth only Rs 5,000, the value falls to 25 paise per point.

For frequent travellers, transferring credit card points to airline or hotel loyalty programmes can sometimes produce better value, particularly for expensive international flights, premium cabins or elevated-end hotel stays.

But don't transfer points simply because the option is available.

First check whether the airline has reward seats on the dates you want or whether the hotel has rooms available for points. Transfers to loyalty programmes are generally irreversible. If you move a large number of points and then discover that your preferred flight is unavailable, those points may be stuck with that programme.

Additionally check the transfer ratio. One credit card point does not necessarily become one airline mile or hotel point. Ratios vary between cards and loyalty partners and can change.

This has become particularly important as credit card reward programmes have been changing frequently. During 2026, several Indian card issuers have altered earning rates, spending thresholds and transfer partnerships. A redemption strategy that worked well a year ago may not offer the same value today.

Don't assume using points is always better than paying cash either.

Imagine a domestic flight is available for Rs 4,000 during a sale but requires a relatively large number of airline miles. Paying cash and saving the miles for a more expensive trip could make more sense.

Taxes and surcharges matter too. An airline reward ticket may require fewer miles than you anticipated but still come with taxes or other charges. Compare the total cash-plus-points cost with the normal ticket price before booking.

Hotels work in much the same way. A points redemption can be attractive when room rates are unusually high, but less useful when the same room is heavily discounted for cash.

It is additionally worth keeping track of expiry dates. Credit card points and airline or hotel loyalty points can have different validity rules. Don't build up a large balance for years without checking whether some of it is approaching expiry.

At the same time, don't start spending more simply to collect points.

A Rs 5,000 purchase you didn't need is not a good deal because it earned you a few hundred reward points. And if you carry an unpaid credit card balance and start paying interest, the cost can quickly wipe out whatever you earned in travel rewards.

The best approach is much simpler: earn points on spending you would have done anyway, pay your credit card bill in full and redeem the points where they give you useful value.

Before your next holiday, check your reward balance before paying for flights and hotels. Compare the cash price, points required, transfer ratio and additional charges. You may find that some of your travel has already been paid for by spending you made months ago.