Why You Should Use Your Issuer’s Travel Portal

Within your card issuer portal, you’ll find information and resources to help you use your card rewards, benefits and perks in the best way possible, including the ways you can redeem your rewards. These options usually include shopping, gift cards, statement credits and more. You may also gain access to exclusive experiences, event tickets or other premium services and products offered through your card issuer.

You should also see a place to book travel, which is where the real redemption value lies. You can use this portal to transfer your credit card rewards to travel partners or book travel accommodations directly in the portal.

Here’s what else to know about scoring flexible pricing and availability by booking travel through your card issuer portal.

Why you should book travel through your issuer portal

Here are a few reasons why using your issuer portal is often a good idea.

You want to get more value from your earned rewards

Issuers like Chase and American Express offer boosted rewards for redeeming points through their travel portals. For instance, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 25 percent more points on travel redemptions through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

Eligible American Express cards operate similarly when you book travel through American Express Travel. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express provides 35 percent of your points back when using Amex points to book qualifying airfare through American Express Travel (maximum of up to 1 million points back per calendar year).

You want to earn more rewards on travel bookings

Some of the best travel cards also grant boosted rewards when you book travel accommodations directly through issuer travel portals. For instance, with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can earn 5X points when you book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards versus 2X points for all other travel spending. And for a higher $550 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 5X points on air travel through the Ultimate Rewards portal and 10X points on hotel stays and car rentals booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal. If you don’t book through the portal, you’ll only earn 3X points on travel purchases.

You want to pool credit card rewards for better redemption value

A card combination strategy typically involves pairing a more premium travel credit card with one or more everyday spending credit cards to optimize both earning and redeeming rewards.

Many higher-end travel cards feature more specialized reward categories rather than everyday categories like groceries or gas. But these cards typically offer greater redemption options for travel-related purchases. If you have an everyday spending card from the same issuer, you can often use it to earn more rewards on more common purchases (like groceries or gas) and pool your rewards earnings together into one account.

Issuers like Chase, Capital One and Citi all allow you to pool the rewards you earn from your various cards to redeem them all through one card. This lets you redeem using the card that offers the most value on those points.

You want to compare pricing for your travel accommodations

Not only can you use your issuer’s travel portal to redeem rewards for travel, but you can use it to compare prices. The portals offer customizable search across eligible hotel, airline and rental car brands — similar to how booking sites like Expedia or Travelocity work. Even better, you might find a special price on the issuer portal that isn’t available on other sites.

For example, Amex Travel offers special Insider Fares. These fares are available at a reduced price to Amex cardholders who pay with points for an entire fare through American Express Travel.

Which credit cards allow you to book through the card issuer’s portal?

Most major card issuers — like Chase, American Express, Citi, Capital One and Bank of America — offer select credit cards that allow you to redeem rewards for travel through their rewards portals. As long as you use an eligible card that earns the issuer’s rewards currency, you’re good to go.

Just make sure you understand which cards allow you to earn rewards that can be redeemed in the portal. You’ll need to read the fine print for your particular credit card, as rewards structures can vary — even across cards from the same issuer.

For example, Amex rewards cards can earn points or cash back, but not all rewards can be redeemed for travel. For instance, The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card* comes with a $95 annual fee and rewards in the form of Amex Membership Rewards points, which you can redeem for travel through AmexTravel.com. 

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, however, also comes with a $95 annual fee, but it offers rewards in the form of cash back instead of points, which you can’t redeem for travel.

Why you might not want to book through your card issuer’s portal

There are a few reasons you might want to shop around before booking through your card travel portal: 

• There may be cheaper options. Your issuer’s travel portal doesn’t always provide the best travel prices. Even if you’ve got enough rewards and cash to book travel with your card issuer portal, you still may not get the best deal for your travel plans. In the portal, there could be both inflated pricing and limited availability for the travel accommodations you’re looking to book.
• More complicated to manage. If you book travel through your card’s portal, changes to your booking—including flight cancellations—may require you to return to the portal for a refund and rebook rather than reschedule directly with the airline.
• Loyalty program inconsistencies. Elite status membership perks may not work through your issuer portal. For example, hotel programs like Marriott Bonvoy or World of Hyatt might not offer the room upgrades, late checkout or complimentary meals you’re accustomed to if you book through a third-party site.
• Your preferred travel option isn’t available. Some of the top airline cards, for example, may only service a handful of airlines through their portal.

Read the terms and conditions of your issuer portal closely and compare travel portal prices against other travel sites. If you end up spending more than you would elsewhere or sacrificing luxury perks, you might be better off bypassing your card’s platform.

The bottom line

Booking your travel accommodations through your card issuer’s portal has plenty of benefits, and it can be a great tool when you’re ready to book your next big trip. But the best way to use your issuer’s portal is to make it part of your overall travel card strategy to get discounts, upgrades, and exclusive travel deals.

*All information about The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card and Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.