Embedded Files
Author: Matthew
May 21, 2025
We're always talking about transferring points out to partners - and for good reason - because it's the best value when redeeming your points. Yet, so many people redeem their points through a credit card's travel portal because it's easy, shiny, and feels "rewarding." There are flashy 50% bonuses and 35% rebates that make it seem even more lucrative, but behind all of that is a tradeoff that for most people, is not worth it.
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The Truth About Travel Portals
The Truth About Travel Portals
Here’s why the banks love these portals so much:
They’re low cost to them, which means low value for you.
When you redeem points through a portal, you’re typically getting a fixed rate—usually 1 to 1.5 cents per point (cpp). That might feel fair until you realize you could be getting 2–5x the value by transferring those same points to airline and hotel partners.
Yes, it takes more effort. But that effort is often worth thousands of dollars in travel value.
4 Reasons I Avoid Travel Portals (and You Probably Should Too)
4 Reasons I Avoid Travel Portals (and You Probably Should Too)
1. Poor Redemption Value
1. Poor Redemption Value
Transferring points to travel partners can unlock outsized value, especially for international business class flights or high-end hotel stays. Portal bookings? You're locked into the bank’s fixed rate.
2. Third-Party Booking = Third-Party Headaches
2. Third-Party Booking = Third-Party Headaches
If something goes wrong - delays, cancellations, missing tickets - you’ll find yourself in a blame game between the portal and the airline or hotel. Neither wants to take ownership.
3. Lack of Flexibility
3. Lack of Flexibility
Many airline mileage programs allow you to cancel award bookings and get your points back quickly, often for free. With portals, it’s harder to make changes or recover your points.
4. No Elite Status Recognition
4. No Elite Status Recognition
This one stings. When you book hotels through a portal, you’re usually excluded from perks like upgrades, late checkout, or free breakfast—even if you have status. You're not treated as a direct customer, and the hotel has no incentive to honor your benefits.
The (Rare) Exceptions
The (Rare) Exceptions
Like most rules, this one has a few exceptions.
There are moments when booking through the travel portal actually makes sense:
You have more points than time or energy. Stretching value isn’t worth the hassle.
There’s no award inventory available. You’ve checked all transfer partners and nothing is open.
You’re avoiding a cash charge. Sometimes using points is the only way to keep your budget intact.
You’re using a travel credit. Certain cards require you to use the portal to apply their travel credits.
And if you’re going to go that route, protect yourself:
Confirm you have a ticket number, not just a confirmation number.
Add your frequent flyer number to the reservation.
Download the airline’s app to make sure the reservation actually shows up under your account.
My Portal Confession
My Portal Confession
I’ll be honest. I recently booked through the Amex Travel Portal myself.
I’m flying to Korea this fall for a wedding, and with a baby in tow, comfort matters. I wanted business class seats on the only nonstop route from DC to Seoul on Korean Air.
I knew I could potentially transfer points to Virgin Atlantic and book Korean Air business class for a solid deal. I tracked availability months before the seats were going to open.
Then my dates opened up.
And there was zero award space.
So I did what I had to do.
I redeemed 954,050 points through Amex Travel to secure the flights. Not great value. But thanks to the 35% rebate on the Amex Business Platinum, I got 333,918 points back. Net cost: 620,132 points. Final value: ~1.538 cents per point.
Not ideal. But it made sense for this trip, at this time, for my family.
What About Hotels and Rental Cars?
What About Hotels and Rental Cars?
In general, these are slightly safer to book through a travel portal—but they’re not without risk.
Pros:
Easier to confirm by calling the specific location
Simpler for using travel credits (e.g. Capital One’s $300 travel credit works well for rental cars)
Cons:
You might lose elite status benefits
You’re more likely to get bumped if inventory is tight
Occasionally, the reservation just never makes it into the hotel or rental system
Personally, I’ll use my Capital One credit to book rental cars through the portal—but I always double-check the reservation shows up in my account.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
If you’re sitting on points and feel overwhelmed by how to use them best - I can help. I work on a performance basis: I take a commission of the value I save you.
So if you’re thinking about redeeming through a portal just because it’s easy, submit an award travel request here instead.
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