How to save money on flights with points?

We have written a very detailed post on the best travel hacking techniques to find cheap flights. Here, as part of this strategy, we are only interested in programs that offer travel points that can be applied directly to your airline ticket purchases.

So you want more freedom than the one you could have with Aeroplan or AIR MILES. You should always hold a credit card with travel points: it will offer you some flexibility!

Sometimes, we use credit cards with hotel points to get free hotel nights, while on other occasions, we redeem travel points to pay for a flight!

With the Membership Rewards program, you can apply points to any flight purchase charged to one of the six Membership Rewards Cards.

You can apply 1,000 points for a $10 credit or 10,000 points = $100. Below, an Air Transat flight booked with an American Express Card:

For some flights, American Express has assigned a fixed chart: you will be able to use a predetermined number of points based on the cost of your flight.

Scotia Rewards Points can be applied directly to the purchase of your airfare on one of the cards in the program.

You will be able to use 5,000 points for a credit of $50 or 10,000 points = $100.

BMO Rewards program works differently: you must use BMO’s travel booking portal to redeem points earned with one of the three credit cards that are part of the program.

The exchange rate will always be the same when using points for travel, in this case here to save on airfares: 10,000 points = $71

With the goal and programs set, we can now look at credit cards that earn points to save money on airfares.

Here are the 7 Cards of the American Express Membership Rewards Program and whose points can save you money on your flights.

The American Express Cobalt™ Card is the best American Express Credit Card.

With the American Express Cobalt™ Card, you earn between 1 and 5 points per dollar:

Here are the 3 best credit cards in the Scotia Rewards program.

There are 2 cards that are part of the BMO Rewards program:

The BMO^® Rewards^® Mastercard^®* is one of the best no-annual-fee credit cards in Canada.

For a limited time, you can get a welcome bonus of 15,000 points.

And you can also get a 1.99% introductory interest rate on Balance Transfers for 9 months.

“His big sister,” the BMO^® World Elite^®* Mastercard^®* is one of the most-known travel point cards. Its insurance package is excellent and it offers 4 free access to VIP airport lounges every year.