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If you feel like your points and miles are getting harder to maximize, you’re not alone — 34% of respondents said they think their travel points and miles are less valuable than they were two years ago, according to a TPG/YouGov survey in July 2025. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still get tremendous value from your rewards in 2026. You just need the right strategy and tools.
This is one of the overarching travel trends we’ve noticed heading into 2026: the importance of flexibility (in more ways than one) and taking advantage of deals and tools to bolster your points and miles.
Flexibility is key
It’s no secret that the more flexible you can be, the easier it is to find deals on travel. For instance, a great business-class award may be available on only a handful of dates. And the best flight deals are often only available on select routes.
Flexibility will become even more important in 2026 — not just with airlines, dates and routes, but also with the transferable currencies you collect. Only 21% of U.S. adults we surveyed prefer transferable rewards, but these travelers have a leg up when booking award travel.
Earning miles with your preferred airline is handy, but you never know when a carrier might cut its presence at your home airport or end its relationship with your favorite airline partner. Even worse, if an airline changes its award chart (or nixes it completely), you may find yourself sitting on a big stack of miles that are suddenly worth much less than before.
Even for the same flight, we’re increasingly seeing award rates differ significantly depending on the program you use to book. We’re also seeing some airlines limit award space to select partners.
In 2026, transferable rewards will be more important than ever in weathering changes and devaluations. After all, you can transfer rewards such as Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Amex Membership Rewards points to multiple partners and use them to book a wide variety of awards.
Related: Credit card transfer partners: Guide to transferring points and miles to airlines and hotels
But, even if you’re already earning transferable rewards, you’ll want to put more thought into which transferable currencies you choose to earn in 2026. Some currencies have more partners than others, giving you greater choice — but that’s only useful if those partners offer flights and hotels in destinations you want to visit.
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For instance, TPG travel writer Rachel Craft finds Chase Ultimate Rewards to be her most useful currency because she can transfer them to her two most-used airlines — United and Southwest — as well as her favorite hotel program, World of Hyatt. Director of points, miles and credit card content Carly Helfand says, “Bilt Points are my most flexible, cost me nothing to earn and post to my account instantly. I don’t know how you top that.” And senior writer Ben Smithson recently started leaning heavily on Citi ThankYou Rewards due to its new partnership with AAdvantage.
As you can see, the most valuable transferable currency for you depends on your unique scenario, and it may evolve over time.
Often, a single currency isn’t the answer — many TPGers prefer to diversify their rewards strategies to open even more redemption possibilities. To this point, lead writer Katie Genter likes having access to five transferable currencies and using several hotel loyalty programs, as this gives her access to book awards through many different loyalty programs.
The same guidelines apply to certain credit card benefits. Hotel and airline cobranded cards may offer valuable perks like free nights and flight credits. But even if you enjoy keeping these cards for their benefits, you may want to spend most of your money on cards that earn transferable rewards on a broader range of purchases.
Deals still exist; they’re just gone quicker
In recent years, many programs have increased award rates or ditched their award charts for dynamic pricing. Unfortunately, these devaluations have eliminated many of our favorite points and miles sweet spots.
While knowing the ins and outs of award charts was once key to maximizing your rewards, now it’s more critical to understand how to search each program’s award rates (more on that later).
Great deals are still out there, but you’ll often face significant competition. This competition means “unicorn” awards often feel scarcer and harder to book, with only 10% of U.S. adults we surveyed having booked one of these high-value awards.
So, speed and flexibility have become more crucial than ever. Booking the most aspirational award flights and nights will often require having transferable rewards on hand and being ready to snap up a deal as soon as you lay eyes on it.
Related: The award redemptions that forever changed how we travel
Points aren’t the only currency where you may still be able to nab a great deal; we’ve also been seeing an uptick in deals booked with cash. For instance, in the U.S., declining confidence in the economy and job market has led to a drop in discretionary purchases like travel. Some places that rely on tourism, like Las Vegas, have responded with big sales in an attempt to coax tourists back.
Transborder and transatlantic flights are also increasingly featuring low rates in economy class due to decreased demand in these regions to visit the U.S. But just because you see a fare today doesn’t mean it will be there tomorrow — so you’ll want to book compelling fares when you see them.
But how can you find those deals (without making travel searching your full-time job)?
Award alerts and tools are now essential
Experienced award travelers might know which program to use to book travel to specific destinations on routes that consistently have good availability. But even so, award alerts and tools have become necessary to overcome limited award availability and the fact that many airlines don’t share award space with all their partners.
TPG staffers frequently use Seats.aero, Rooms.aero, Expert Flyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures), Point.me and other tools to find award space and set award alerts. You can get some value from these tools without paying anything, but a paid membership with the platforms that offer it can certainly be worth the cost.
Something else we find worth the cost is a subscription to one or more flight deal services. Some, such as Going or Thrifty Traveler Premium, even include some award deals. If you have flexibility in your travel dates and destinations, you’ll certainly find a deal that works for you once you subscribe. But, as these lists contain many subscribers, it’s important to snag award space quickly once an alert is sent out.
Bottom line
More than one-third of the U.S. adults TPG surveyed believe points and miles are less valuable now compared to two years ago. And it can certainly feel this way with loyalty programs increasing award rates and heightened competition for some “unicorn” awards.
But you can still get outsized value. Focus on earning transferable rewards and then use tools to find high-value redemption options for trips you want to take. Just remember: be flexible and book quickly when you see an appealing deal or award space.
