My company lets me collect reward points and someone suggested using the National app for rental cars to get Emerald status for easier access and benefits.
I’m flexible with my travel preferences. My company is open to my lodging and travel choices as long as the costs are reasonable.
I’m based in Florida and most of my travel will be within the southeast U.S. I’m not looking for a credit card right now, just want to set up some rewards accounts.
What rewards programs should I focus on to help with my travel plans?
@EthanMartinez
Absolutely go with either Hilton or Marriott and try to book all your stays with one brand. Downloading the related app can help you track your points.
Do a quick Google search for Hilton or Marriott deals to possibly earn points at a better rate.
I’ve been traveling for work for over a year now, about 30% of the time, and mainly stay at Hilton hotels. Their app makes it super easy to book. I’ve managed to collect over 200,000 reward points for free personal travel.
Find out which airlines frequently fly to your destinations and stick with that option. Or check if your local airport is a hub for a specific airline.
What size is your company? Do they have a travel department that uses a booking portal? That might shape your choices since you’ll need to stick with their preferred vendors.
If you work for a smaller company and have control over your choices, you can pick based on what fits within their guidelines, like avoiding high-end hotels.
Look into which car rental companies operate at the airports you frequent.
For example, if you often fly to ATL and CLT, check the reviews for National at those locations. Avoid reviews from March 2020 to April 2022, as the pandemic impacted many rental companies. Focus on the latest three years.
If you see a lot of negative reviews for National in the cities you fly to, research other options like Enterprise. If they have issues too, try Hertz or Budget.
Service can differ by location, so even if Hertz isn’t highly rated overall, check reviews specifically for the airports you’ll be using to see if it’s a better choice there.
Car rental services can vary greatly not just by company but also by specific locations. Some offices are not professional and can ruin your travel experience.
Once you know your travel destinations, you can decide on the loyalty programs to join.
You can also look for bonus challenges from airlines, hotels, or rental companies where they give you status for booking a certain number of stays or trips within a set timeframe. This can help you gain benefits faster. Good luck with this!
My husband flies American Airlines for work and stays at either Marriott or Holiday Inns based on his work destinations. Both offer points. Using credit cards can really help too. I have one that gives an initial bonus of 50,000 American Airlines points or even more. I manage to travel overseas a couple of times a year using AA points. We even have lounge access, which helps us save on breakfast and sometimes dinner. Getting Emerald status is usually a good idea as it makes things more convenient.
I don’t live in the U.S. so I can’t give specific tips, but I’ll mention that if you’re not traveling regularly, it might not be worth the effort. If you’re making a few domestic trips each year, accumulating rewards may not lead to significant benefits, so don’t stress too much about gathering points if your travel volume isn’t high.