Getting the best out of travel rewards programs, and when to use them

As airline prices continue to skyrocket, experts in the travel industry say to take as much of an advantage of different rewards programs as you can.

The travel rewards site Point.me compiled a list of what it calls some of the best airline rewards programs that are the most consumer friendly.

The list of at least 10 rewards programs includes budget airlines like Spirit, and international carriers like Air Canada.

Air Canada stands out at number one on the list with United towards the top in the second spot.

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The ranking list is designed for frequent buyers, not just frequent fliers. Those are people who use cards to buy other items apart from just airline travel to earn rewards points.

Gilbert Ott, the director of partnerships at Point.me, said if you have a “credit card that earns what we call transferable currency … these currencies can be converted into those airline miles.”

His organization uses search to help customers figure out which rewards to use, and when.

Ott said, “What we love about these various programs — I’ll shout out United for example … they allow mileage pooling — so if you’re a family and you all have a few points, but not quite enough for that one flight for the one person, you can actually pool your points together and really benefit and take advantage of something you wouldn’t have otherwise known what to do with on your own.”