My 2026 Points, Miles, and Credit Card Resolutions

For the new year, I’m determined to make the most of my credit cards, points, and miles to ensure I fully maximize my loyalty programs, award redemptions, and cardholher perks. The loyalty program and credit card landscape is constantly changing, so the way I utilize these programs needs to change as well.

In 2025, I adjusted my strategy slightly to obtain low-level elite status with multiple hotel credit cards across various hotel brands, rather than focusing solely on a single brand. I ditched the idea of earning airline status completely — I’d rather use my flexible credit card rewards for high-value transfers and redemptions on any airline.

When it comes to credit cards, I have more of them going into 2026, so there’s more to keep track of. In 2025, I made a few rookie mistakes because I had so many credit cards that I mixed up some perks, and I won’t let that happen again. I plan to refine my strategies to adapt to the evolving landscape of loyalty.

These are my points, miles, and credit card New Year’s resolutions for 2026. Cheers!

1. I’ll Use Every Single Credit Card Perk Correctly

I currently hold 11 credit cards, but I’m also a working mom. Keeping track of credit card benefits and perks feels like a third full-time job, and my spreadsheet for tracking perks wasn’t cutting it.

I made a rookie mistake in 2025, using my Citi Strata Elite℠ Card to pay for a $300 flight in Citi Travel, thinking I would get a $300 statement credit. It turns out that I had misunderstood the $300 statement credit perk, thinking it was for a flight purchase in Citi Travel, when in reality, it’s a credit toward prepaid hotel purchases in Citi Travel. Oops. Lesson learned for 2026.

In 2026, I’m setting aside time every 2 months to review the perks and benefits of each of my cards and set calendar alerts for any that might expire. During my first meeting with my cards (and myself), I made a list of where each of the card’s benefits could work for me — for example, using a Hyatt free night certificate that comes with The World of Hyatt Credit Card in Chicago for a trip I have planned to see an NBA game, or using my Blacklane credit on my Citi Strata Elite card for airport transfers in Madrid.

2. I Won’t Let My Points and Miles Expire

Many loyalty programs offer points and miles that don’t expire, and I commend all those programs. Some programs, however, do have expiration dates on points and miles.

For example, Frontier Miles expire after just 12 months. The same goes for IHG One Rewards, but if you hold elite status or the IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card, they never expire.

However, there are workarounds to be aware of. Many airlines extend the expiration dates of miles with qualifying activity, but that activity doesn’t necessarily need to be flying. It can be shopping via the airline’s shopping portal or buying miles.

Luckily, none of my points or miles expired in 2025. However, for 2026, I will review my stash of points and miles, noting both expiration dates and ways to keep my points active. For example, I don’t have a Marriott stay on the books, but a purchase on a co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit card will keep my Marriott points active for another 24 months.

3. I’ll Utilize Technology and Tools To Maximize Awards

2025 was when I began using tools to refine my award searches further and help me determine how to utilize my points and miles. And 2026 will be the year I take these tools to the next level.

I have already mentioned using CardPointers+ to help me maximize my credit card perks and rewards, but I also want to utilize award search tools to find better redemptions.

I already love using Points Path, a browser extension that pulls award options into Google Flights searches, and Point.me, which helps me find personalized award options availability based on my own balances of points and miles. But I’d like to make using these tools my norm when I begin award searches.

It’s often a habit for me to go straight to Iberia Avios and search for award availability, as I frequently fly on the nonstop routes between Madrid and the U.S. However, perhaps searching on Point.me first is an even better plan, as they even consider active transfer bonus promotions.

Perhaps, instead of transferring 20,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Iberia Avios for a one-way ticket between the U.S. and Europe, I could transfer 12,000 Chase points over to Air France-KLM Flying Blue using a transfer bonus or a sale.

I’d also like to explore other tools, such as Seats.aero, to help me refine my searches and find the best options for flying with my points. It takes time to learn how to use these tools best (and decide which ones I’d like to pay for pro versions of), but in the end, it’ll save me time, educate me on lesser-known points and miles programs, and help me find the best award tickets for the fewest amount of points and miles.

4. I’ll Use My Points — And Enjoy Every Second of It!

Last summer, Iberia suddenly devalued its loyalty currency without any prior notice. I just woke up one morning, and my points were suddenly worth much less.

Sadly, this is a fairly common occurrence in the loyalty world. But this is why sitting on a massive points balance is never a good choice: They can be devalued at a moment’s notice.

And if something happens to me, I certainly don’t want to be that person with 1 million points who never went on vacation!

That’s why, in 2025, I finally used up a large balance of Qatar Airways Avios. I also spent a solid portion of my Citi ThankYou Points by transferring them to American Airlines AAdvantage for partner redemptions (and a small number of them to I Prefer for a Preferred Hotels Redemption).

In 2026, I want to use my points to take memorable vacations. I have a lot of Capital One Miles and a solid balance of Chase Ultimate Rewards points and American Express Membership Rewards points — and I’m already strategizing about the most valuable ways to use them.

Nothing in life is a guarantee, and I want to use my points and miles before they inevitably become less valuable.

5. I’ll Experiment With Different Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners

In an ever-changing world of points and miles, there’s still plenty I don’t know. I’m savvy with Oneworld, but my knowledge of Star Alliance is weaker. I’m also not very familiar with the best ways to maximize lesser-known points currencies, such as Avianca Lifemiles or Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

In 2026, I want to become more familiar with different kinds of transfer partners, which will offer me additional flexibility. In 2025, for example, I branched out from almost always using Iberia to transferring miles to also using TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go and Flying Blue.

In 2025, I started doing this with hotels, too. I stepped away from some of the more traditional hotel loyalty programs and obtained an amazing I Prefer redemption thanks to the Citi Strata Elite card’s 1:4 lucrative transfer ratio.

But before that, I had never even heard of I Prefer. In 2026, I aim to familiarize myself with ALL – Accor Live Limitless and Wyndham Rewards and continue to explore the I Prefer program. The more I know, the more choice I have, so stepping outside of my points and miles comfort zone is a must.

6. I’ll Make Double- and Triple-Dipping a Priority

I’ve always been a fan of shopping portals, but thanks to new ways to earn flexible reward points — think systems like Rove Miles or Rakuten, with which you can send points to Bilt Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards, or things like Amex Offers — I can now double- or even triple-dip on flexible rewards, not just hotel points or airline miles.

I recently triple-dipped on Travel Tuesday, earning nearly 20,000 Amex points by clicking through to IHG using Rakuten (there was a massive 15x offer) and approximately 14,000 IHG One Rewards points (10x) by paying with my IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card. And once I complete my stay, I’ll earn a significant amount more of IHG One Rewards points just for staying.

I’m channeling more of these triple-dipping, or at least double-dipping, scenarios in 2026. I won’t buy a single thing without thinking about how and where I can earn the most.

Final Thoughts

With strategizing for elite status and points earnings, taking advantage of every single credit card perk, using my points as much as possible, and making sure I never miss an opportunity to triple-dip on rewards, I’ve got my work cut out for me in 2026. But when I’m flying high across international borders in my business class suite or admiring the views from the hotel suite I stayed in for free, it’ll all be worth it.

Happy New Year!