The other night, I was having dinner with friends and helping them book a staycation at the New Orleans Marriott on Canal during Mardi Gras. As we searched for the best deal, we discussed the benefit of paying a bit more to book directly through the hotel (or a preferred partner travel agent) rather than using an online travel agency (OTA) like Expedia. Earning points and status through direct bookings can often be worth far more than any short-term savings—especially for frequent or goal-oriented travelers.

During our conversation, my friend and I opened our Marriott apps to check that our stays had loaded. She immediately exclaimed I had over a million Marriott points to her 2,500. Her husband pointed out that I travel all the time, but here’s the secret: many of my nights are spent in tents or mountain huts! The real key is stacking credit cards and benefits to rack up points without constant hotel stays. Over the years, I’ve fine-tuned strategies across multiple hotel and airline reward programs to maximize every dollar spent. This experience helps me guide friends and clients in choosing the best credit cards, earning elite statuses, and converting points into memorable travel experiences—often without needing to stay in hotels every week.

This turned into a perfect learning opportunity. If they wanted to stick to the “Expedia rate” for slight savings, they could still book that through me—often at the same or even lower price than they’d find on the Expedia app—while getting my oversight and help. If they preferred to book through Marriott directly, they’d pay the same rate as what’s listed in the Marriott app, plus get my guidance. And because our agency is a preferred partner with Marriott, we can also offer the exclusive Luminous program. Although Luminous might cost a few dollars more than Marriott’s standard rate, it includes perks like complimentary breakfast for two, early check-in, late check-out, potential suite upgrades, and even a personal note or gift from the general manager. These benefits often outweigh the small extra cost—especially at properties like the Marriott on Canal in New Orleans, where the breakfast is absolutely fantastic. I’ve had this conversation with so many friends and athletes as we plan race and adventure travel that I’m finally writing it all down.

Build the Base with American Express

The American Express (AMEX) Membership Rewards Program is often considered the gold standard in travel rewards. AMEX points can be worth up to 2.1 cents each when transferred to their airline partners. To help you find the best transfer value, AMEX includes a free membership to Points.me for cardholders. If you want to search across all your points programs (not just AMEX), you can opt for a paid Points.me membership as well.

Because of their versatility and high-value redemptions, I recommend starting with the AMEX Platinum Card or the Business AMEX Platinum Card—or both if you can maximize the benefits. Each card has a hefty annual fee of $695, but you can easily offset that cost through the included benefits.

AMEX Platinum Card

$200 Airline Fee Credit
- Transfer this money to United TravelBank and apply it towards flights.
- Great for sports equipment fees
$100 Sacks Fifth Avenue Credit
$200 Hotel Credits
$240 Digital Entertainment Credits
Free Walmart+ Membership (monthly credit)
$200 Uber Cash Credits
$199 Clear Plus Credit
5x Points on Flights & Prepaid Hotels
Gold Status with both Hilton & Marriott
Travel Insurance (Trip Delay, Interruption, and Cancellation)
Emergency Medical Transportation Coverage & Other Emergency Travel Benefits
Hotel Lounge Access with Priority Pass and AMEX Centurion Lounges ($500+ Value)
Plus More

Business AMEX Platinum Card

$200 Airline Fee Credit
- Transfer this money to United TravelBank and apply it towards flights.
- Great for sports equipment fees
$400 Dell Credits
- Dell sells multiple electronic consumer brands; check their website out
$200 Hilton Statement Credit
$150 Adobe Credits
$360 Indeed Credits
$120 Wireless Credits (cell phone bills)
$199 Clear Plus Credit
5x Points on Flights & Prepaid Hotels
- Remember, if the points are transferred to airline partners, you can get up to 2.1 cents per point, making this a 10.5% return on travel towards future travel.
Gold Status with both Hilton & Marriott
Travel Insurance (Trip Delay, Interruption, and Cancellation)
Emergency Medical Transportation Coverage & Other Emergency Travel Benefits
Hotel Lounge Access with Priority Pass and AMEX Centurion Lounges ($500+ Value)
Plus More

In our household, both Amanda and I carry the Business AMEX Platinum Card andthe AMEX Platinum Card. Although there’s significant overlap, the combined perks more than justify the annual fees. We especially value lounge access and travel insurance, which alone can save us hundreds per trip, per person.

Stacking the Value

We like to see the tangible savings. With each card, we stack the following benefits (per card):

$400 in United TravelBank (by using the $200 airline fee credit twice if you have both Business & Personal)
$200 Hotel Credit
$200 Hilton Credit
$199 Clear Plus Credit
$400 Dell Credit (used for Sony cameras, Garmin watches, and other non-Dell electronics)
$200 Uber Credit
$120 Wireless Credit
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit
$100 Saks Fifth Avenue Credit
- We usually buy Saks gift cards in person and save them for bigger purchases.
$155 Walmart+ Membership
- Great for free grocery delivery 1–2 times a week, plus $0.10 off per gallon of gas.

Even before factoring in what we save on grocery deliveries, hotel status perks, travel insurance, and lounge access, this setup yields $2,214 in value from two Platinum cards—for $1,390 in annual fees. That’s a net gain of over $800, and it doesn’t include the considerable added value from AMEX’s insurance and status benefits.

Build Status with Travel Partners

Once you’ve developed a strong points strategy with your general daily travel card, I recommend starting by focusing on hotel loyalty rather than trying to chase airline status. Why hotels first? Because the American Express Platinum cards already gives you 5x points on airline tickets booked directly with the carrier, so you’re already maximizing flight earnings without needing to commit to a single airline. You can use the AMEX points at a redemption rate upwards of 2.1 cents giving you a 10.5% return on your flight cost towards future flights. Moreover, we generally don’t advise using AMEX points to purchase airfare through AMEX itself; it’s often better to transfer those points to airline partners (using tools like Point.me to find optimal redemptions) rather than locking yourself into one carrier’s program.

I recommend picking a hotel brand that resonates with you. For maximum flexibility, Hilton or Marriott are both solid choices. Personally, I lean toward Marriott because they offer a huge variety of properties, from 2-star budget stays to ultra-luxurious 5-star resorts and homes. With Marriott points:

Base Value: Roughly $0.006 per point (0.6 cents).
Premium Redemptions: Can climb to 2.5 cents or more at luxury brands like St. Regis or Ritz-Carlton.
Average Value: 0.9 cents; always aim to redeem at or above this rate

One of the biggest reasons I personally prefer Marriott over Hilton is how quickly you can climb the status ladder and reap the benefits. By stacking Marriott Bonvoy credit cards (which grant elite night credits just for holding them), you can reach Platinum status with as little as 10 actual nights in a year. Once you’re Platinum, you’ll earn a 50% points bonus on Marriott stays or a 75% points bonus for Titanium, plus perks like free breakfast, lounge access, room upgrades, and late checkout. Combine that with Marriott’s wide range of properties (from budget to ultra-luxury), and you’ve got a loyalty program that’s both easy to maximize and highly rewarding—especially for travelers who don’t want to spend half their year in hotels just to qualify for elite status.

Loyalty Pays

Although it’s tempting to save 10% through an Online Travel Agency (OTA) like Expedia, keep in mind you could earn an effective 23% or more return in future travel by booking directly with hotels like Marriott and taking advantage of elite status and points. I also like to bank my points for luxury stays, where you can hit that 2.5-cent redemption value. Plus, Marriott’s “stay 5, pay for 4” perk on award bookings can stretch your points even further.

Hotels

Marriott & Our Fast Track to Status

You get automatic Silver Status with the Chase Bonvoy Card or automatic Gold Status with any AMEX Marriott card, the AMEX Platinum, or the Business AMEX Platinum. Gold Status is fine, but the real benefits kick in at Platinum (and beyond). For instance, Platinum & Titanium members receive:

Lounge Access with free breakfast at certain brands
Point Bonus: +50% for Platinum and +75% for Titanium
Up to 21 points per dollar for Platinum when paying with a Marriott card
Up to 23.5 points per dollar for Titanium
Guaranteed Late Check-Out (4 p.m. at most properties)
Space-Available Upgrades (including potential suites)
Welcome Amenity (points or food/beverage credit)
United Silver Status (Titanium)
Hertz Five Star Status (Titanium)
Suite Night Awards and Complimentary Night Awards
Stay 5, Pay for 4 when using points

I personally target Platinum status every year. The perks—complimentary breakfast, lounge access, suite night awards, and suite upgrades—are hard to beat.

How to Fast Track to Platinum or Titanium Status

If you’re looking for a quick way to build Marriott elite credits, consider adding two Marriott credit cards to your wallet.

Marriott Credit Cards to Consider

Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless ($95 annual fee)
- Comes with Silver Elite status automatically.
- Earns a 35k Point Free Night Award each year (worth about $315 on average).
AMEX Marriott Corporate Card($125 annual fee)
- Comes with Gold Elite status automatically.
- Also earns a 35k Point Free Night Award each year (worth about $315 on average).

Both cards offer:

15 Complimentary Elite Status Qualifying Nights (applied toward Marriott elite tiers).
1 Free Night Award each year (redeemable for up to 35,000 points per night or ~$315); offsets annual fee.
Earn 6 bonus points per dollar at Marriott properties for a total of up to 23.5 points per dollar:
- Silver (17.5), Gold (18.5), Platinum (21), or Titanium (23.5) points earned per dollar spent at Marriott properties thanks to elite status bonus and credit card bonus.
Additional Perks vary by card.

Marriott allows stacking the qualifying nights from one personal card and one business card, which gives you 30 elite nights just by holding both. Combine that with stays throughout the year, and you can reach Platinum (50 nights) or Titanium (75 nights) faster. Why I recommend the Chase Marriot Bonvoy Boundless over the other personal Marriot Cards, the other cards either have no annual fee and thus do not reward free night credits or elite status nights or they have a much higher fee and only award the free night award after significant spending.

You might be thinking that would take 20 nights of stays and it said 10 above. Each spring, Marriott traditionally offers a double rewards window for stays in February, March, and April. If you complete 10 nights during this window they will count for 20 nights! Perfect reason to grab a spring race at Galveston or Oceanside if you are a triathlete or head to Mardi Gras in New Orleans if you are a partier. Heck, if you do a race and Mardi Gras you are now Platinum status!

Airlines

Why Not Chase Airline Status?

While hotel loyalty programs can offer significant bang for your buck, airline status usually benefits corporate flyers traveling the same routes week after week. Unless you’re in that situation, the time and money you invest in chasing status may not pay off. I’ve held status with United and American Airlines in the past, and while the extra miles and preferred seating were helpful, I rarely received First or Business Class upgrades. It also locked me into specific airlines and schedules which could get expensive if I was going on vacation and on one of their more expensive routes. For most travelers, having a few airline loyalty accounts and transferring points to whichever partner offers the best redemption is a more cost-effective strategy especially since credit card points do not expire and transfer to numerous partners. Airline miles are often locked to the carrier they were earned with and carry an expiration date.

Bottom line: Build strong hotel loyalty for easier status achievement and better point redemption, and use AMEX’s 5x flights benefit plus strategic transfers to airline programs—rather than chasing airline status—to maximize your travel rewards overall. If you fly routinely for work, than it is time to look at an airline strategy.

Rakuten – Free Money on Top of Cards Earnings

Referral Link

I can’t stress this enough: using Rakuten is essentially getting free money when you shop online. Rakuten partners with countless brands and offers cash back on your purchases—think of it like a digital coupon. Install the browser extension (I use Safari), shop as you normally would, and earn cash back (or points!) on everyday purchases. Just be mindful not to buy things you don’t need just because you see “shiny” extra cash back deals.

And yes, they do track your purchases using cookies or similar technologies for verification and marketing—much like almost every other online retailer. So, if your data is going to be collected anyway, you might as well get something in return!

I personally supercharge my earnings by opting to receive Amex Membership Rewards points instead of standard cash back. Since Amex points can be worth around 2¢ each when transferred to travel partners, it’s often more lucrative than a simple rebate.

Here’s how it’s worked out for me so far:

78,641 Amex Membership Rewards points received
9,642 Amex points pending

At a 2¢ per point valuation, that’s $1,765+ in travel value (if transferring to partners) or a guaranteed $1,324.25 if booking flights through Amex Travel compared to a check for $881.03. If you’re going to shop online anyway, you might as well earn something back for it. It adds up fast!

Final Thoughts

Travel rewards can seem complicated at first, but if you strategize—especially by booking directly with hotels or through a preferred travel partner and stacking credit cards—you can unlock enormous value. Building a base with AMEX Membership Rewards for airline flexibility and Marriott Bonvoy for hotel perks is a great one-two punch. Whether you’re an occasional traveler looking for perks or a frequent traveler aiming to maximize every point, these tips can help you rack up points and enjoy elevated status on your next adventure. Watch for future updates as I share my preferred card for those pesky situations when someone doesn’t accept AMEX.

Ready to plan your next race or trip? Reach out to Dave Mudek to explore your travel options. Happy traveling—and happy stacking!

The information for the credit cards have been collected independently by Dave Mudek. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.