The world of credit card rewards can seem daunting at first. With many acronyms and specialist terms in use, trying to speak with a points and miles aficionado can be like learning a foreign language. Luckily, there are no verbs to conjugate in this language—and as with learning any language, the more often you use it in your daily life, the quicker you’ll learn.

Whether you’re dipping your toe in the world of points and miles or have already made your first award redemption, there’s a ton of credit card rewards lingo out there. So to save you from frantically Googling “SUB credit card meaning,” “what is HUCA” and other definitions, we’ve compiled the most common credit card acronyms and specialist terms all in one place.

Treat this as your online points and miles dictionary that you can always refer back to.

A woman checking credit card program acronyms on her phone.

Common Credit Card Program Acronyms

Let’s start with common acronyms and terms related to some of the major card issuers: Chase and American Express.

Chase Credit Card Acronyms

Chase is one of the most popular credit card issuers, offering a wide selection of premium travel rewards credit cards, so it’s no wonder Chase has its own dedicated credit card abbreviations and acronyms.

Here’s a summary of the most common Chase-related acronyms you’ll run into:

  • 5/24: Chase’s 5/24 rule
  • CFF: Chase Freedom Flex®
  • CFU: Chase Freedom Unlimited®
  • CIC (or CIBC): Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
  • CIP (or CIBP): Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
  • CIU (or CIBU): Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
  • CSP: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
  • CSR: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
  • PYB: Chase’s Pay Yourself Back redemption feature
  • UR: Chase Ultimate Rewards points

American Express Card Acronyms

Just like Chase, American Express is a heavyweight credit card issuer with a wealth of premium travel rewards cards on offer. Here’s a summary of the most common terms you’ll hear when talking about American Express:

  • AGC: American Express Gift Card
  • Amex Gold: American Express® Gold Card
  • Amex Plat: The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Amex: American Express
  • BB+/BBP: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
  • BBC: American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card
  • BCE: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
  • BCP: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
  • Black Card: Centurion® Card from American Express
  • FR: Financial review, typically conducted by American Express, to provide proof of income.
  • MR: American Express Membership Rewards
  • NLL: No lifetime language. American Express has a “once per lifetime” rule, meaning you can get the welcome offer on a single type of card only once (or around every seven years). Amex often has card offers without this rule written into the card agreement, which is referred to as having no lifetime language (NLL).
  • PUJ: Pop-up jail. American Express sometimes puts you in “pop-up jail” meaning that when you apply for a new Amex card, a pop-up window will appear stating that you may be ineligible to receive the card’s welcome offer. If you open too many Amex cards in a short period of time and use them only for earning their welcome offers, you have a higher chance of landing in a pop-up jail.
Checking airline and hotel program acronyms on her phone.

Airline and Hotel Program Acronyms

With Amex and Chase covered, let’s look at some of the most common terms you’ll run into when talking about airline and hotel loyalty programs.

Frequent-Flyer Program Acronyms

The world of credit card rewards is often focused on earning flexible points that transfer to airline rewards programs, and quite rightfully—transfer partner bookings are some of the most valuable redemptions, giving you the biggest bang for your buck.

So, it’s no surprise that when it comes to frequent-flyer rewards programs, there’s a fair amount of jargon to learn.

The three major airline alliances to which most airlines belong are:

  • OW: Oneworld
  • ST: SkyTeam
  • SA (or *A): Star Alliance

Common airline abbreviations within the world of credit card rewards can be the International Air Transport Association (IATA) code of the airline, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code or the airline’s initials, depending on convention.

Some of the most common airline acronyms include the following:

  • AA: American Airlines
  • AC: Air Canada
  • AF: Air France
  • AS: Alaska Airlines
  • AV: Avianca
  • B6: JetBlue Airways
  • BA: British Airways
  • CX: Cathay Pacific
  • CI: China Airlines
  • DL: Delta Air Lines
  • EI: Aer Lingus
  • EK: Emirates
  • EY: Etihad Airways
  • F9: Frontier Airlines
  • G4: Allegiant Air
  • HA: Hawaiian Airlines
  • JL (JAL): Japan Airlines
  • KE: Korean Air
  • LH: Lufthansa
  • MU: China Eastern Airlines
  • NH (ANA): All Nippon Airways
  • NK: Spirit Airlines
  • QF: Qantas
  • QR: Qatar Airways
  • SQ: Singapore Airlines
  • UA: United Airlines
  • VS: Virgin Atlantic
  • WN (SW): Southwest Airlines

When it comes to frequent-flyer loyalty programs, you’ll typically hear about the following programs and their rewards currencies:

  • AAdvantage: American Airlines’ loyalty program that earns AAdvantage miles
  • AerClub: Aer Lingus’ loyalty program that earns Avios
  • Aeroplan: Air Canada’s loyalty program that earns Aeroplan points
  • Aeroméxico Rewards: Aeroméxico’s loyalty program that earns Aeroméxico Rewards Points
  • Allways Rewards: Allegiant Air’s loyalty program that earns Allways Rewards Points
  • ANA Mileage Club: ANA’s loyalty program that earns ANA miles
  • Asia Miles: Cathay Pacific’s loyalty program that earns Asia Miles
  • British Airways Executive Club: British Airways’ loyalty program that earns Avios
  • Finnair Plus: Finnair’s loyalty program that earns Avios
  • Flying Blue: Air France’s and KLM’s joint loyalty program (also known as FB) that earns Flying Blue Miles
  • Free Spirit: Spirit Airlines’ loyalty program that earns Free Spirit points
  • Frontier Miles: Frontier Airlines’ loyalty program that earns Frontier Miles
  • HawaiianMiles: Hawaiian Airlines’ loyalty program that earns HawaiianMiles
  • KrisFlyer: Singapore Airlines’ loyalty program (also known as KF) that earns KrisFlyer miles
  • LifeMiles: Avianca’s loyalty program that earns LifeMiles
  • Mileage Plan: Alaska Airlines’ loyalty program that earns Mileage Plan miles
  • MileagePlus: United Airlines’ loyalty program that earns MileagePlus miles
  • Miles & More: Lufthansa Group’s loyalty program that earns Miles & More miles
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer: Qantas’ loyalty program that earns Qantas Points
  • Qatar Airways Privilege Club: Qatar Airways’ loyalty program that earns Avios
  • Rapid Rewards: Southwest Airlines’ loyalty program that earns Rapid Rewards points
  • SkyMiles: Delta Air Lines’ loyalty program that earns Delta SkyMiles
  • Skywards: Emirates’ loyalty program that earns Skywards Miles
  • TrueBlue: JetBlue’s loyalty program that earns TrueBlue points
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Virgin Atlantic’s loyalty program that earns Virgin points

Lastly, some general terms related to airline loyalty programs include:

  • Direct flight: Direct flights are flights in which the flight number and plane remains the same. Direct flights may still have technical or fuel stops along the way to their final destination and shouldn’t be confused with nonstop flights.
  • Double open-jaw: A flight itinerary in which your starting and final destination are different, as well as the city you fly back from (for example, Chicago to Paris followed by Barcelona to New York).
  • F: Code used for full-fare first class tickets
  • FF: Frequent flyer
  • FFP: Frequent-flyer program
  • J: Code used for full-fare business class tickets
  • Layover: A flight connection that lasts less than 24 hours
  • Medallion Year: The 12-month period that runs from Feb. 1 of one year to Jan. 31 of the following year, used by Delta SkyMiles
  • Medallion Qualification Dollars (MQDs): Used by Delta SkyMiles members to earn elite status within a Medallion qualification year
  • Mileage run: Taking flights (one or more) for the sole purpose of accumulating frequent-flyer miles
  • Metal: Refers to the operating carrier you’re flying with. For example, “The Southwest Companion Pass must be used on Southwest metal.”
  • Nonstop flight: Nonstop flights travel from one airport to another without stopping at any other airports along the way.
  • Open-jaw: A flight itinerary in which your starting and final destination are the same, but you fly from different airports to get there and back (for example, Boston to Dublin followed by London to Boston).
  • OW: One-way flight
  • PNR: Passenger name record
  • Premier Qualifying Flights (PQF): Used by United MileagePlus to count flights toward elite status
  • Premier Qualifying Points (PQP): Used by United MileagePlus to points earned toward elite status
  • Premier 1K®: United MileagePlus’ highest level of publicly-available elite status
  • PPS: Priority Pass Select
  • RT: Round-trip flight
  • RTW: Round the world. An around-the-world airline ticket that starts and ends in one country and makes several international stops along the route, such as the Aeromexico Round The World Pass
  • Stopover: A flight connection that lasts longer than 24 hours
  • SW CP: Southwest Companion Pass
  • United Global Services: United MileagePlus’ invitation-only elite status tier
  • W: Code used for full-fare premium economy tickets
  • Y: Code used for full-fare economy class tickets

Hotel Loyalty Program Acronyms

When dealing with hotel loyalty programs and award nights, the most common terms and acronyms you’ll come across are the following:

  • AI: All-inclusive
  • BW: Best Western
  • Choice: Choice Hotels
  • CI/CO: Check-in and checkout
  • FHR: Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program
  • FNC: Free night certificate
  • HH: Hilton Honors
  • IHG: InterContinental Hotel Group
  • LHRC: Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection
  • Mattress run: The practice of staying at a hotel (for one or more nights) for the sole purpose of earning loyalty points
  • MB: Marriott Bonvoy
  • MGM Rewards: MGM Resorts’ loyalty program
  • RC: The Ritz-Carlton
  • SNA: Suite night awards (Marriott Bonvoy)
  • SUA: Suite upgrade awards (World of Hyatt)
  • Walked: “Being walked” at check-in refers to when the hotel is overbooked and you’re denied a room.
  • WoH: World of Hyatt
  • Wyndham: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Traveler checking in at airport using credit card reward points for flights

Travel Rewards Terms and Point Systems

Apart from specific airline, hotel and card issuer acronyms and terms, the world of credit card rewards has its own set of terms and abbreviations for a variety of things.

Here’s a list of the most common acronyms and terms you’ll run into when talking with a fellow points and miles aficionado:

  • AAoA: Average age of accounts. This refers to the average age of your credit accounts, which is a key component that goes into calculating your credit score.
  • AF: Annual fee
  • APR: Annual percentage rate
  • APY: Annual percentage yield
  • AU: Authorized user
  • Biz card: Business credit card
  • BOA: Bank of America
  • BOGO: Buy one, get one (free).
  • BYODP: Be your own data point. Typically used when nobody knows the answer to a question. Much like saying, “Give it a try and let us know how it goes.”
  • CB: Cash back
  • CB: Credit bureau. The three major ones are Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
  • CC: Credit card
  • CK: Credit Karma (CreditKarma.com)
  • CL: Credit limit
  • CO/C1/CapOne: Capital One
  • CP: Companion Pass (usually in reference to the Southwest Companion Pass)
  • CPM/CPP: Cents per mile or cents per point. This refers to the monetary value of reward redemptions, calculated by dividing the cash value of a redemption by the number of miles required to book it.
  • CR: Credit report
  • CSR: Customer service representative (or Chase Sapphire Reserve®)
  • DP: Data point. Typically used in a sentence such as, “We are seeing many DPs confirming that this method works.”
  • Earn and burn: The practice of earning points (particularly through welcome offers) and redeeming them quickly afterward
  • EIN: Employer Identification Number
  • EQ: Equifax credit bureau
  • EX: Experian credit bureau
  • FTF (also Forex or FX): Foreign transaction fees
  • GC: Gift card
  • GE: Global Entry
  • HP: Hard pull (a credit inquiry that shows up on your credit report)
  • HUCA: Hang up, call again.  HUCA is basically another way of saying, “If you don’t get the result you like, try again.”
  • KTN: Known Traveler Number (used for both Global Entry and TSA PreCheck®)
  • MC: Mastercard
  • MSR: Minimum spending requirement
  • P1/P2: “Player 2,” a partner in your points and miles strategy, such as a spouse, making you “Player 1.”
  • PC: Product change
  • Rep: Customer service representative
  • SC: Statement credit
  • SM: Secure message (a method of contacting your bank/card issuer)
  • SP: Soft pull (a credit inquiry that doesn’t show on your credit report)
  • SSN: Social Security number
  • SUB: Sign-up bonus, aka a welcome offer or welcome bonus
  • T&C: Terms and conditions
  • TIN: Tax Identification Number
  • TSA Pre: TSA PreCheck
  • TU: TransUnion credit bureau
  • TYP: Citi ThankYou Points
  • VGC: Visa gift card
  • WF: Wells Fargo
  • X/24: The number of credit cards you’ve opened in the last 24 months (for example, 3/24 would mean you’ve opened three cards in the last 24 months), typically talked about when applying for Chase cards
  • YMMV: Your mileage may vary, which is another way of saying, “Different results for different people.”
  • YQ: Fuel surcharge (a fee tacked onto certain airline award tickets)

Putting It All Together: How to Use These Terms

With this reference guide at hand, you’ll be well equipped to expand your points and miles vocabulary and converse with other credit card rewards enthusiasts. No longer will reading about credit rewards feel like the decryption of some secret code.

And while you’re at it, why not join our Facebook group—10xTravel Insiders—for the latest news, as well as the ability to share and ask about your own point redemptions? This way, you’ll get the hang of this points and miles lingo in no time.