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Maximizing Points Basics

Availability:

Typically for hotels (notably Hyatt) effective availability is easier to come by than planes since hotels often are still in award charts or dynamic pricing within a certain range.

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Points to Use When $ Costs For Flights Are Already Low:

When $ costs are low, those airlines that are not in a standard award chart can be even better, such as Jet Blue and SouthWest, although in many cases it would be better to use $ for those flights so that you can get more value out of other points when prices are high as long as you don't have SouthWest & JetBlue points available that need burning.

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Maximizing a Transfer:

In order to maximize transfers, it's often best when receiving miles from a donor who has a transferable points currency like Capital One Miles, Brex, Citi Thank You Rewards, or Amex Membership Rewards (excluding Marriott & most transferable hotel points) to get more miles or points than you would otherwise by a transfer during a transfer promo period. When considering a promo transfer, it's not always a good idea, as you can see from the valuation of the miles with the transfer promo. 

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In addition to transfer promos, there are sometimes promotions for the miles type itself. Avianca Lifemiles & Flying Blue miles routinely run promotions where miles can go further. Keep in mind though that sometimes these promos carry heavier restrictions and offer no cancellations.

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There are also some cases when buying miles/points makes sense during promo periods. First make sure that the promo is one where the value exceeds the Points Guy Valuations (many miles/points are available, though some aren't) then as a ministry, check to see if you could get outsized value for that purchase.

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