Travel Portals: How Each Bank’s Portal Stacks Up

All information about the American Express® Green Card, the Business Green Rewards Card,  The Amex EveryDay® Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card and the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by 10xTravel.

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Booking travel, such as flights, hotels or rental cars, through a travel portal operated by a credit-card issuer is similar to booking through an online travel agency (OTA).

The major benefit of booking through these portals is that depending on the cards you have in your wallet, you can earn rewards at higher rates than on purchases made with the same cards in the general travel category, redeem rewards for the various travel components and apply cash credits that are issued with select credit cards to lower the cost of flights or hotels.

The biggest competitors in the industry of travel credit cards are American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi. Let’s compare travel portals run by these companies to see which one fits your needs best.

How This Comparison Was Made

• Point redemption value: Users may earn and redeem points or miles for flights, accommodation, auto rentals and other services through portals, and the value you get for your points varies, depending on the travel portal, the card(s) you hold and the travel component you’re booking.
• Value for money: Whether paying for the trip with cash or rewards, you want to ensure that the costs are justified or at least in line with the budget you prepared for your trip. You don’t want to book a more expensive flight or a pricier hotel through the portal, so shop around to make sure you get the best deal.
• User-friendliness: Getting ready for a trip might be one of the most stressful things you can do. A decent portal should have a user-friendly interface, making it easy and efficient to plan your journey.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the four travel portals with these benchmarks in mind.

American Express Travel®

American Express Travel® allows eligible American Express cardholders to book flights, accommodations, rental cars, cruises and vacation packages.

Cards That Offer Access to the Travel Portal

Holding the cards below gives you access to the Amex Travel portal.

• American Express® Gold Card (see rates and fees)
• American Express® Green Card
• The Amex EveryDay® Card (not available to new applicants)
• The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Card (not available to new applicants)
• The Centurion Card (exclusively available by invitation)
• American Express Platinum Card^® (see rates and fees)

And, if you’re a business owner, these cards will give you access:

• American Express® Business Gold Card (see rates and fees)
• Business Green Rewards Card from American Express
• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (see rates and fees)
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates and fees)

Earning Rates on Portal Spending

Depending on the card you hold and the kind of travel purchase you make, you’ll earn between 1X and 5X on American Express travel purchases.

Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

American Express Membership Rewards points redemption values vary and depend on what you’re booking in the portal: flights, hotels or vacation packages. It doesn’t matter which card you use to accumulate them—the points are worth what they’re worth. Exceptions are made for Amex Business Platinum Card members (more on this below).

As you can see, flights, flight upgrades and hotels that participate in the Fine Hotels + Resorts program can be booked with American Express points at a value of 1 cent each. All other redemptions have a poor value of 0.7 cent per point and aren’t recommended.

Based on the values above, you’ll need 10,000 Amex points to cover $100 worth of flights, upgrades or rooms at the Fine Resorts + Hotels and 14,285 Amex points to cover $100 worth of other prepaid hotels, cruises and vacation packages.

How to Increase the Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

American Express offers the Amex Business Platinum Card holders a useful perk. Any time you use the Pay with Points feature to book a business- or a first-class flight on your selected airline through the Amex Travel portal, you receive 35% of your points back in your Membership Rewards account, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year

The benefit also applies to economy flights operated by the airline of choice—the same one that you select every year for the incidental fee credit. The rebate is limited to 1,000,000 Membership Rewards points per calendar year.

When you take advantage of the airline bonus rebate, you can increase the value of your points to 1.54 cents apiece.

Keep in mind that the total number of points required for a reservation must be available in your account upfront, and the rebate will go back in your account within a day or two after the reservation is processed.

User Notes

For better or for worse, when searching for flights through American Express Travel, the results don’t display basic-economy fares. There’s no option to include (and therefore book) these flights using Membership Rewards points through the portal.

Another quirk of the search function is, Delta Air Lines flights are always displayed first (even if they’re not the least expensive option) because it’s a partner airline of American Express. However, you can fix this inconvenience quickly and sort your results by lowest price if that’s the most important factor.

Credits You Can Use Toward a Purchase

Those who hold the consumer or the business versions of the Platinum Card receive up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually for up to a total of $600 in statement credits per calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection1 bookings through American Express Travel.

It’s worth noting that a two-night minimum is required for booking a property in The Hotel Collection, but one night at a Fine Hotels + Resorts property is enough to trigger the Platinum hotel credit.

Capital Ones Travel

Capital One offers its credit card holders access to its travel booking sites where one can book flights, hotels and car rentals.

Cards That Offer Access to the Travel Portal

Capital One Travel is available to all holders of a U.S.-issued personal Capital One credit card, including some of the following popular credit cards:

• Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

And, if you’re a business owner, you have access to Capital One Business Travel. Here are some of the cards that offer access to this:

• Capital One Spark Cash Plus
• Capital One Spark Cash
• Capital One Venture X Business

Earning Rates on Portal Spending

Depending on the Capital One card you have, you’ll earn between 5X and 10X (or 5% and 10% back with cashback cards) on purchases made through Capital One’s travel booking site.

Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

When you book flights, hotels or rental cars through Capital One’s travel booking site, all rewards are worth a penny apiece, meaning a $100 charge will require 10,000 Capital One Miles.

How to Increase the Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

Unfortunately, all Capital One cards offer the same value for points redeemed through its travel booking site. All rewards are worth 1 cent each, no matter what you book.

User Notes

Capital One’s travel booking site is powered by Hopper, which comes with a set of some unique benefits, including a price prediction tool and a price drop guarantee. When you shop for a flight, the site tells you whether it’s the right time to buy now or whether you should wait for a better deal. If you book a flight when the site recommends you to and the price drops within 10 days, you’ll receive up to a $50 travel credit.

Additionally, Capital One offers a price-match guarantee. If you find the same flight for less on another booking platform within 24 hours, you’ll be eligible for a refund of the difference as long as you submit your claim within 24 hours.

Another useful feature is the calendar view that helps you determine when the flights or hotel nights are the least expensive. The lowest rates are marked in green; the mid-range rates are marked in orange; and the highest rates are marked in red. If your travel dates are flexible, the calendar helps you narrow down your search and focus on saving money on your travels.

These features aren’t available with any other travel portal mentioned in this article.

Credits You Can Use Toward a Purchase

Those who hold either the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Business have $300 to redeem for any purchase made through Capital One’s travel booking site. The credit is available each year you renew membership and pay the annual fee on either card.

Chase Travel℠

Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great program for points and miles enthusiasts looking to earn and redeem flexible points whether by transferring to partner programs or redeeming for flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, or tours and activities through its travel portal.

Cards That Offer Access to the Travel Portal

Chase cards that provide access to Chase Travel℠:

• Chase Freedom Flex®
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve®

And, if you’re a business owner, these cards will give you access:

• Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
• Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
• Sapphire Reserve for Business℠

Earning Rates on Portal Spending

Depending on the card you hold and the travel component you buy, you’ll earn 1X to 10X on Chase Travel℠ purchases.

Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

Chase Ultimate Rewards points redemption values vary based on which card you hold and what you’re booking. Chase replaced their previous set redemption values with Points Boost, where only select flights and hotels get boosted value while other bookings price out at 1 cents per point.

Here’s how much your Chase points are worth when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.

User Notes

Chase Travel℠ is powered by Expedia, and all the common filters you’d expect from an online travel agency are there and intuitive to use.

Chase Travel℠ does include basic-economy tickets in its search results, but it’s easy to ignore them when making a flight selection as all cabin options are presented at once.

Credits You Can Use Toward a Purchase

The Chase Sapphire Preferred members get $50 to use toward a hotel booked through Chase Travel℠ every year they hold the card. It’s issued as a statement credit after a reservation is made, so it’s like a discount on any hotel booking made through the portal. Keep in mind that you won’t earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points on that $50 used toward a hotel booking, but you can’t win them all.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, it comes with a $300 travel credit that can be used for any travel purchase, and if that travel purchase is made through the portal, you’ll receive a $300 statement credit on that purchase the same way as you would with any other travel provider.

Citi Travel

Citi cardmembers can book hotels, flights, cars and attractions through Citi Travel.

Cards That Offer Access to the Travel Portal

If you hold any of the credit cards below, you’re able to access Citi Travel:

• Citi Custom Cash® Card
• Citi Double Cash® Card
• Citi Strata℠ Card
• Citi Strata Premier® Card

Earning Rates on Portal Spending

Depending on the Citi ThankYou card you hold, you can earn between 5X and 10X on travel purchases made through Citi Travel.

Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

When you book travel through the Citi Travel portal, all points are worth 1 cent each, meaning a $100 charge will require 10,000 Citi ThankYou Points.

How to Increase the Rewards Value for Portal Bookings

Unfortunately, there aren’t any cards in Citi’s portfolio that offer a redemption bonus in its travel portal. All points are worth the same 1 cent apiece, and there isn’t an option to increase that value for portal bookings.

User Notes

One of the least user-friendly features of the Citi Travel portal is the fact that you can’t see the total hotel price right away. You have to click through a bunch of screens to see how much the taxes and fees add to the rate.

Citi Travel is powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda, meaning you can find some really good deals on hotels. As always, we recommend comparing portal rates with the hotel’s published rates before making a booking.

Credits You Can Use Toward a Purchase

The Citi Strata Premier Card offers a $100 annual hotel credit that can be applied toward a $500 booking made through Citi Travel. To get the credit, your hotel reservation must total at least $500 before taxes and fees, and you must use your Citi Strata Premier Card to pay for the reservation. The discount is applied once per calendar year at the time of booking, so you don’t have to wait for a rebate later.

Another hotel benefit offered to Citi credit card members is the fourth night free perk that comes with the Citi Prestige Card. Whenever you book a four-night stay through the Citi Travel portal, you’ll receive a fourth night free (based on the average cost of four nights). The benefit can be used twice per year, meaning you can save some cash if you have expensive hotel stays in your future.

Are Travel Portals More Expensive Than Direct Bookings?

Because travel portals are OTAs, they may or may not provide the same pricing as airlines or hotels. So, let’s take a look at a few examples of whether travel portals are more expensive than direct bookings.

Let’s pick several flights (domestic and international) and hotels (in the United States and abroad) and compare the rates across all portals as well as their direct pricing.

The rates below were searched for the same travel date at the same property at the lowest available rate. Some portals offered rooms that would be assigned at check-in, so we went with the lowest possible rate at a given property, meaning the room type wasn’t always the same. The lowest rates are marked in bold letters.

In the random search examples above, none of the direct booking rates were the lowest rates. Capital One’s travel booking site had the best rates in two instances, and so did Citi Travel. In one instance, Chase Travel℠ offered the lowest rate, and Amex Travel was never the most affordable.

Having said that, as proven by the limited examples, if you have access to multiple travel portals, it’s important to compare all rates with the direct rate and pick the best one.

Now, let’s perform a similar experiment with flights. All the flights compared were round-trip tickets, and the options we went with excluded basic-economy fares. The lowest prices are marked in bold letters.

In the case of domestic flights or international flights that originate in the United States, all portals offered the same flights at the same prices. The dollar difference in the first example represents a margin of error when a fare is rounded up or down in each portal.

However, when it comes to international flights between (or within) other countries, the portals were all over the place in terms of pricing, and some didn’t even display the fares at all. Capital One’s travel booking site was the only site that was able to locate all flights in our hypothetical examples. The others were inconsistent in terms of finding the needed airlines and/or itineraries, and if the flights were available, the fares were more expensive than those booked directly with airlines.

Which Travel Portal Provides the Most Value?

The answer is always the same—it depends.

In terms of redemption value, Chase Travel℠ is going to be your best as long as you hold one of the credit cards whose points offer a redemption bonus, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Ink Business Preferred, and if the property or flight you’re booking qualifies for Points Boost.

If you’re paying cash for a hotel, Citi Travel and Capital One’s travel booking site offer the lowest rates on hotel rooms, meaning you might have a lot of luck finding a deal there.

In terms of flight availability and interface user-friendliness, Capital One’s travel booking site is probably the best portal. Additionally, the price prediction tool and the price drop protection are useful features that can save you money on flights.

Amex Travel yields the least value in terms of both redemption value and overall cost, unless you hold the Amex Business Platinum Card, earn a lot of points on business expenses and fly in a premium cabin multiple times per year.

If you (or your household) hold credit cards from various banks and have access to multiple travel portals, we recommend comparing all the options available to you before clicking “book now.”

Reasons to Avoid Booking Through a Travel Portal

Even though credit card issuers try to entice their members to book various travel components through their portals by offering credits or elevated earning rates on their cards, it might not always be the best idea to use these travel portals at all.

Let’s take a look at a few reasons you might not want to book your vacation through a travel portal.

Your Hotel Elite Status Won’t Be Recognized

As we’ve mentioned a couple of times already, travel portals are really just OTAs in disguise, meaning flight and hotel reservations are treated as third-party bookings. This isn’t much of a concern for air tickets, but hotel rooms booked through third-party sites don’t earn elite nights and don’t get upgraded even if you’re a current elite member of that specific hotel loyalty program.

If you’re working toward status qualification or requalification with a specific chain, remember that portal bookings hinder your progress. So, if hotel status matters to you, it’s best to make a reservation through an official hotel channel.

Your Reservation Might Get Lost

Let’s say elite status isn’t important to you because you don’t stay enough nights anywhere, or perhaps you booked a boutique hotel that isn’t part of a rewards program. Still, this might be a risky move because OTA bookings can fall through the cracks. The worst that could happen is you show up at a hotel and not have a confirmed reservation.

This is also a potential risk for flight tickets. You see, when you book a flight through a third-party service, your ticket isn’t issued until the travel provider transfers the funds to the airline, which sometimes doesn’t happen for whatever reason. So, you might show up at the airport without a confirmed flight. It’s a small risk, but a risk nonetheless.

You Can’t Make Any Changes to Your Booking Yourself

Let’s say you book a flight that can be changed or canceled for a flight credit. Unfortunately, because it’s a third-party booking, all changes and cancellations have to go through a travel portal’s customer service department. This means that if your plans change, instead of clicking a few buttons on the airline’s website or app, you’ll need to call and speak to someone to make a change to your itinerary.

The same applies to itineraries changed by the airline itself. Say there’s been a schedule or connection change, and you need to get rebooked. Instead of dealing directly with the airline, you have to call a travel portal’s customer service to request a change. The potential headache might not be worth the extra couple of points for booking through a portal.

Final Thoughts

Travel portals can be useful in many situations. You can redeem points for travel, earn a higher number of points per dollar spent on travel with the right credit card and even save money by finding lower hotel rates than what’s available to the public directly through hotels.

However, booking through a third-party travel booking site comes with its own set of drawbacks you need to consider before finalizing your purchase.

Still, if you want to redeem rewards for a flight, Chase Travel℠ in combination with the Chase Sapphire Reserve isn’t a bad way to go, especially when the flight price is low.

For travelers looking to use a credit for a hotel, Citi Travel in conjunction with the Citi Prestige or the Citi Strata Premier cards are a decent combo.

For those not sure what to do with the $300 credit that comes with the Venture X or the Venture X Business, Capital One’s travel booking site isn’t a bad place to find a good deal on a hotel.

And finally, if you’re a small-business owner and hold the American Express Business Platinum Card, you can get some great value from business-class flight bookings through Amex Travel using the Pay with Points feature and getting a 35% rebate.