Can you use your points to book Airbnb? The short answer is “Yes, sorta”.
Most people think of “Airbnb” as synonymous with vacation rentals.
Airbnb happens to be the most well-known vacation rental site, but in reality, there are plenty of reputable sites you can use to reserve vacation rentals, and yes even with points and miles.
I’ve been earning and redeeming points and miles for travel since 2015.
Although it’s possible to use them to book vacation rentals, should you?
Using your points to book vacation rentals can be a great way to save money on travel, but if you do it the right way.
In this post, we’ll talk about why you may or may not want to use your points to book vacation rentals, the types of points you can use to redeem, and how to do it.
Best Credit Card Programs for Vacation Rentals
Before diving into how to use your points and miles for vacation rentals (yes, even Airbnb), it’s important to figure out which points you should be earning.
Because you can’t redeem points that you don’t have!
Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points: Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® allow you to transfer to travel partners or get a statement credit to cover the cost. You may even find vacation rentals on Chase Travel℠.
American Express Membership Rewards: The American Express® Gold Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express, give you the option to book travel through the Amex Travel or offset the cost with a statement credit.
Capital One Miles: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card also offer great flexibility for redemptions.
You can transfer points to travel partners or redeem miles to reimburse eligible travel purchases on your credit card statement.
Citi ThankYou® Points: The Citi Strata Premier Card allows you to book travel, including vacation rentals, through the Citi TravelSM portal, transfer to travel partners, or offset travel expenses on your statement.
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How to Redeem Points for Vacation Rentals
Technically, there’s no way to go onto the Airbnb website and redeem points for a stay. They don’t have a loyalty program. But there are still ways to save money with points.
But don’t pigeonhole yourself into Airbnb.
It’s just a website to find vacation rentals, but it’s definitely not the only legit option out there.
Transferring Points
Some big hotel chains are starting to get into the vacation rental game and I’m here for it!
One of the main reasons I like flexible points with travel rewards credit cards is the option to transfer and convert into many other types of points and miles currency.
So if I have Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points, I can use those points in a variety of different programs by transferring the points to one of many transfer partners available.
Transferring points is usually how I can get the best value for my points.
But when it comes to vacation rentals, that may not be the case.
So if getting the best redemption value is important to you, I’d recommend doing the math and deciding whether it’s worth it.
Remember there’s no such thing as a bad redemption. The goal is to never pay full price.
Marriott Homes and Villas
Marriott Homes and Villas is a great option for vacation rentals if you’re a Marriott loyalist. You can earn and redeem Marriott points and there are options available around the world.
If you have a lot of Marriott points and you’re itching to get rid of them, this could be a good option for you.
Keep in mind that even though you’re booking through Marriott, you’re still dealing with a host or property management company.
Transfer Partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points and American Express Membership Rewards.
Vacasa with Wyndham
Vacasa has a network of over a thousand vacation rentals in the Americas. Lucky for us, they also have a partnership with Wyndham.
Even luckier for us, you can use Capital One Venture Miles and Citi ThankYou Points to transfer to Wyndham and book rentals with Vacasa.
Important note: You can’t use Wyndham points directly with Vacasa. You’ll need to check for availability online and then call Wyndham at 800-441-1034.
I would recommend holding off before transferring any points to Wyndham until you have confirmed availability on the phone with Wyndham.
Transfer Partners: Capital One Venture Miles and Citi ThankYou Points.
Hyatt points with Hyatt Homes & Hideaways
If you’ve been around for a while, you know that I’m a huge fan of Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points. One of the things I love the most about their points is the partnership with Hyatt.
When I transfer my points to Hyatt, I’m usually guaranteed great value.
So, when I learned that Hyatt also has a site for vacation rentals I was pretty excited!
Important Note: However, it is important to note that you will not get the same redemption value for Hyatt Homes and Hideaways as you would with transferring your points for Hyatt Hotel stays.
So for me, I’d rather reserve those redemptions for hotel stays. But if you have a nice stash of points and you don’t have another way to use them, go for it!
Transfer Partners: Chase Ultimate Rewards® Points.
Bluegreen Vacations
Choice Privileges has a partnership with Bluegreen Vacations through their Ascend Collection. If you’ve never heard of Choice Hotels, think Radisson or Comfort Inn.
You can redeem Choice Privileges points for these properties directly on the website.
Transfer Partners: American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Venture Miles, and Citi ThankYou Points.
Book Direct and Redeem for Statement Credit
If you really need to book your rental directly on the Airbnb website or other sites like VRBO. I’ve got a solution for you!
Capital One Venture Miles has a feature that makes covering your travel purchases with points pretty simple.
You can redeem miles and reimburse eligible travel purchases on your credit card statement.
However, you must do it within 90 days of the purchase.
Again, the value is likely not as great as transferring your points to a transfer partner, but if you can’t find any other vacation rental options then do what you gotta do!
Booking through a Travel Portal
This is one of the options that I like the least. When booking through a bank travel portal, you’re always redeeming at a fixed value.
That’s not so different from the other options, but what I really don’t like is that you won’t find many options within the portal as you would with other sites.
You’ll find this option with all the major travel rewards credit card companies:
- Chase Travel℠
- Amex Travel
- Citi Travel
- Capital One Travel
Keep in mind that you won’t find the same availability through a travel portal that you can on a site like Airbnb. But it is an option if you need to use your points.
Gift Cards
Ok, this is my least favorite option. Many of the travel rewards credit cards I’ve mentioned also have the option to redeem your points for gift cards and Airbnb is usually one of them.
I don’t like this option because if you’re going to redeem points for gift cards don’t waste your time applying for travel rewards credit cards like the ones I mentioned in this post.
Most rewards credit cards these days give you the option to redeem points for gift cards. You don’t need to apply for travel rewards credit cards that have annual fees for that option.
Why Vacation Rentals?
It’s no secret that the more well-known way to redeem points and miles is to do it for airfare and hotels.
But even if you use cash, there are some unique advantages to booking a vacation rental versus a traditional hotel.
Comfort of Home: Hotels can feel corporate or stale. Sometimes you want to vacation with the same comfort of home with amenities like a full kitchen, living room, pool, etc.
Yeah, you can get that sometimes with a hotel, but it’s just not the same.
More Space for Larger Groups: If you’re traveling with a large group or family it can feel disconnected to book several rooms at a hotel and also pretty expensive.
Sometimes it’s nice to have everyone under one roof and in most cases, it’s much more cost-effective and convenient.
Unique and Diverse Properties: One major perk to vacation rentals is the unique types of accommodations that you can find.
Whether you want to stay at a house on the beach, a cozy cabin in the woods or a historic home downtown, vacation rentals can provide a more unique experience.
Living Like a Local: Vacation rentals can also offer a more authentic experience, especially if you’re in a neighborhood rather than a tourist-centric area.
Privacy and Space: Vacation rentals can also feel more private and intimate than hotels.
Long-Term Stays: Hotels are great for stays from just a few nights to a week, but can get pretty expensive if you stay longer-term. Vacation rentals can a more affordable option.
Cons to booking Vacation Rentals
While vacation rentals are great, there are cons to everything.
Consistency and Standards: There’s a sense of consistency with hotels vs. vacation rentals.
If you stay with a specific hotel chain there’s a level of service and standards that you expect. Vacation rentals can be a bit of a crap shoot.
Services and Amenities: Hotels come with certain amenities that vacation rentals don’t like housekeeping, dining and room service, concierge services, etc.
I also don’t like how most vacation rentals make you pay a cleaning fee and then ask you to take out the trash, start the laundry, and run the dishwasher.
Location: While vacation rentals can be located in unique or residential areas that offer a local experience, if you’re looking to stay more central or in touristy areas you may have a hard time.
Cancellation Policies: I highly value flexibility and I find that vacation rentals can be more strict with cancellation policies. They sometimes require expensive cash deposits and I don’t like to deal with that.
Hidden Costs: Another reason that I don’t like vacation rentals is the hidden fees that you don’t see until you’re ready to book.
Sure, the rate per night could be cheap, but once they tack on service or cleaning fees you may as well stay in a hotel.
Support and Problem Resolution: This varies greatly. I’ve had hosts be very responsive with issues and some that are just rude or don’t respond.
At least with a hotel, there’s staff on hand to handle anything that could come up.
Should you use your Points for Vacation Rentals?
Here’s the thing, do I think that your points are better spent elsewhere?
Yes.
Does it matter what I think?
Not really.
I just want to give you all of the information so that you can make an informed decision that works best for you and your travel goals.
Personally, I would use booking a vacation rental as an opportunity to earn points rather than burn them. This way, I can then use those points for more lucrative redemptions in the future.
But, I also fully believe that there is no such thing as a “bad redemption” because as long as you are saving money on travel you are always winning!
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