Alexis Berger

By Alexis Berger

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Many premium credit cards offer bonus points for specific types of purchases, like dining, gas and—quite often—travel. But don’t expect to get triple the points on the travel-size shampoo and packing cubes you buy at Target because you qualify them to be travel-related purchases. Rather, you need to know how your credit card issuer qualifies the purchase.

To determine bonus point eligibility, credit card companies typically use four-digit merchant category codes (MCCs), which specify the type of purchase, whether airline, retail outlet, car rental or otherwise.

Depending on the credit card, two different transactions for the same product may have different MCCs. For example, directly booking a hotel likely counts as travel, while making the reservation on a third-party platform isn’t a slam dunk.

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Learn how popular credit card issuers determine travel bonus points, plus common mistakes people make that get in the way of big rewards.

What Counts as a Travel Purchase for Bonus Points?

While each credit card will have its own guidelines about what constitutes a travel purchase, common accepted categories include the following:

However, the way you make the purchase may matter.

For example, Chase Sapphire Reserve offers eight times the points on hotels, flights, cruises and rental cars booked through the Chase Travel portal, but only four times the points on flights and hotels booked direct. Also, its lower level card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred, offers three times the points on vacation rentals from Airbnb and Vrbo while the Reserve does not.

Differences abound between credit cards, so make sure to read the fine print on what qualifies and what doesn’t before you assume you’re banking those bonuses.

Here’s a breakdown of common travel purchases and how common it is for credit cards to qualify them as travel-related purchases eligible for points bonuses.

Can a Travel Agent Book a Trip Using My Credit Card Points?

The short answer? In some cases. The longer answer is that while many traditional travel agents have no use for your points, some will, if you know where to look.

That is, travel agents typically can’t book a trip using points, unless the agent specializes in awards travel, Jason Steele, a journalist and expert on credit cards and travel rewards, tells Newsweek. For example, JetBetter specializes in maximizing points redemption for premium travel.

However, most travel agencies require their fee be paid with money. There are caveats, though. For example, BNT Travel has a relationship with American Express that lets you pay with membership rewards, but the relationship may depend on the card and type or reservation.

For the most part, traditional travel agents require cash or credit to pay their fee and also typically cannot log onto your travel portal to use your points for you for security reasons.

How to Make Sure a Purchase Earns Travel Rewards

Each credit card will have its own stipulations for what constitutes travel in terms of how you accumulate points and are able to use them.

The best way to make the most of your card’s travel rewards is to understand the terms it sets out and then work within them. Save your receipts so that you have recourse if you don’t believe points posted correctly, and then verify rewards after the transaction settles.

Then all that’s left to do is cash in those rewards.

Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Catherine Clark.

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