The offer mentioned below for the Capital One Venture X Business Credit Card is no longer available.
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When it comes to travel rewards, planning ahead is the best way to maximize your value.
Deals come and go, and if you aren't paying attention or don't already have the points in your account, you'll be stuck sitting on the sidelines watching someone else fly in luxury to a tropical locale.
There's no crystal ball for when the best offers will pop up or where they'll be heading to, but with a little preparation, you can be ready to pounce on the 2026 flight and hotel deals that fit your travel goals.
How to prepare for 2026 travel deals
Collect transferable rewards
Flexibility is your greatest asset. If you don't have a fixed location or travel dates, a world of possibilities is open to you.
One of the easiest ways to build that flexibility is by earning transferable points or miles through travel credit cards. This type of card lets you earn rewards in a single account, which you can then transfer to loyalty programs with partner airlines and hotels when the right deal comes along.
The exact partners and transfer rates vary from one rewards program to the next, but having options means you aren't stuck waiting for a single airline or hotel chain to run a promotion. Instead, you'll be ready to shift your hard-earned points to a dozen or more programs.
Popular transferable rewards programs include:
- American Express Membership Rewards® (20 partner programs)
- Bilt (23 partner programs)
- Capital One Miles (22 partner programs)
- Chase Ultimate Rewards® (13 partner programs)
- Citi ThankYou® Rewards (20 partner programs)
- Wells Fargo Rewards (8 partner programs)
What's great about these programs is that you can quickly amass large balances by opening a credit card and earning its new cardmember welcome bonus. The most valuable welcome bonuses are worth 75,000 miles (or more), including cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® (see rates and fees) and Citi Strata Elite℠ Card.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections, flexible rewards and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- Annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation and more
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for 12 months when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Citi Strata Elite℠ Card offers luxury travel benefits and heightened rewards on travel and restaurant purchases — while still earning 1.5X points on all other purchases.
- Exceptional rewards rate on travel booked through cititravel.com
- Earns flexible points that transfer to popular airline and hotel partners, like American Airlines
- Features roughly $1,500 in value through statement credits, airport lounge access and more
- High $595 annual fee
- $75 annual fee for each authorized user
- Limited rewards categories
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus Points after spending $6,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- Earn 12 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on cititravel.com and 6 Points per $1 spent on Air Travel booked on cititravel.com
- Earn 6 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants including Restaurant Delivery Services on CitiNights℠ purchases, every Friday and Saturday from 6 PM to 6 AM ET. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent any other time
- Earn 1.5 Points per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
- Up to $300 Annual Hotel Benefit: Each calendar year, enjoy up to $300 off a hotel stay of two nights or more when booked through cititravel.com.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
Balance transfer fee
Balance transfer fee applies with this offer 5% of each balance transfer; $5 minimum.
If you have a side hustle, freelance gig or small business, you can double up with a consumer and business credit card. The welcome offers associated with business cards can be downright outrageous, often topping 200,000 points or miles for cards like The Business Platinum® Card from American Express and the Capital One Venture X Business Credit Card.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express is a premium business card loaded with statement credit offers for business services and travel that help justify its steep annual fee.
- Access to 1,550 airport lounges, including Priority Pass (Enrollment required) and Amex Centurion lounges
- Hotel and rental car elite status perks
- Earns flexible rewards you can transfer to 20+ airline and hotel loyalty programs (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned; Benefits may be subject to auto-renewal)
- High annual fee
- Limited bonus spending categories
- Some statement credit offers are earned in small increments or only apply to purchases from a single brand
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- As High As 300,000 points. Find Out Your Offer. You may be eligible for as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Learn more.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,550 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card company on the market as of 01/2026.
- See how you can unlock over $4,000 in business and travel value annually after meeting qualifying spend thresholds on the Business Platinum Card. Terms apply.
- Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually for up to a total of $600 in statement credits per calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using the Business Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- No Preset Spending Limit: The spending limit on the Business Platinum Card is flexible, so unlike a traditional credit card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment and credit history.
- Make the Business Platinum Card® work even harder for you. Hilton for Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Gift cards are not an eligible purchase. Benefit enrollment required.
- Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
- Use the Business Platinum Card and get up to $219 back per calendar year on your CLEAR+ Membership (subject to auto-renewal).
- Maximize your time away with Fine Hotels + Resorts through Amex Travel™.
- Enroll and get up to $150 in statement credits on U.S purchases directly with Dell Technologies on the Business Platinum Card and an additional $1,000 statement credit after you spend $5,000 or more on that same Card per calendar year.
- Enroll and get up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year on U.S. purchases of ChatGPT Business* on the Business Platinum Card. *Subject to auto-renewal.
- Enroll and get a $250 statement credit after you spend $600 or more on U.S. purchases directly with Adobe per calendar year on the Business Platinum Card.
- Get up to $90 in statement credits quarterly for purchases with Indeed on the Business Platinum Card. That's up to $360 back per year. Enrollment required.
- Get up to $10 in statement credits per month for wireless telephone service purchases made directly with a wireless provider in the U.S. on the Business Platinum Card. That's up to $120 back per year. Enrollment required.
- 2X points on purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com
- 1X points on other eligible purchases
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Pay attention to past deals
Past opportunities don't guarantee future offers, but they can give you a good idea of what to look out for, especially since many deals tend to repeat. With travel rewards, pay attention to:
- Award sales: These sales offer discounts on the number of points or miles it takes to book certain award flights. Some airlines run recurring sales, such as the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards sale for Air France and KLM flights and the Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Spontaneous Escapes sale, which is also a monthly promotion.
- Transfer bonuses: Flexible travel rewards programs regularly offer bonuses when you transfer rewards to a specific travel program. With a good transfer bonus, you can instantly boost the number of points or miles you have by 15% to 50% or more.
Depending on the timing, you may be able to stack a transfer bonus with an award sale to access deeply discounted prices. For example, in the past, Capital One, American Express, Chase, Bilt and Citi have all offered transfer bonuses to Flying Blue. With the monthly Flying Blue Promo Rewards, you can book discount economy flights from North America to Europe for 18,750 points. With a reasonable 25% transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 15,000 points to book the same flight.
This is where earning a variety of rewards pays off: You never know which program will offer a transfer bonus, and many airlines have award sales you can't plan ahead for.
Earn overlapping rewards
Travel rewards have incremental value; if you have 28,000 points but need 30,000 to book the flight you want, your points may be worth less until you earn another 2,000. This is especially true if you're interested in booking international business- and first-class flights, which often offer significantly more value per point than less expensive flights.
To minimize the risk of missing out on a deal, earn rewards across multiple programs and look for overlapping transfer partners. For example, all of the previously mentioned transferable travel rewards programs transfer at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue (with the right credit card), which is the loyalty program for Air France and Dutch carrier KLM. Similarly, all of the major credit card travel rewards programs partner with at least one airline in the Avios loyalty program. Avios includes several airlines, including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Finnair and Qatar Airways, and you can freely transfer Avios points between all of them.
Other valuable airline programs, like Air Canada Aeroplan and Avianca LifeMiles, partner with at least four credit card rewards programs — including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Bilt and Citi ThankYou® Rewards (the latter transfers to Avianca LifeMiles). With these airlines, you'll typically pay 60,000 to 80,000 points each way for Star Alliance business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe.
While it can be hard to find these flights during peak seasons or on popular routes, large swaths of valuable business-class award flights are available from time to time. By accumulating rewards across different programs and having the ability to combine them into a single loyalty program, you can quickly amass the rewards you need to book multiple premium cabin seats.
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For rates and fees of The Business Platinum® Card from American Express, click here.
