How To Redeem Credit Card Rewards For Airbnb

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to bring many Americans’ vacations and hotels to a halt, road trips to nearby Airbnb are becoming more popular.

Vacation rental markets, like Airbnb, have gained traction as a home away from home for large group sizes and even more now as an eco-friendly option.

Airbnbs offer more space than social distancing, and guests tend to have separate kitchens and dining areas. Amid the pandemic, Airbnb has also ramped up cleaning procedures between stays and asked hosts for contactless check-ins whenever possible.

If you are looking for some time off during this upcoming holiday season, vacation rentals may be the best option. And the good news is that all those credit card rewards you’ve been hoarding in quarantine this year can help cover the cost of your next vacation.

Before diving in, you first need to find out how your credit card issuer encrypts Airbnb transactions. Purchases that fall under the “travel” category typically include time-sharing and hotels. But there are also categories like home sharing, homestay and rentals.

Both Chase and Wells Fargo classify Airbnb as family-sharing travel, but not all card issuers do.

Here’s what’s in the travel categories of the five major issuers:

• American Express: Hotel stays, time-share rentals, and vacation rentals (American Express® Green Cards only); Does not include purchases of time-shared properties
• Bank of America: Hotels, motels, resorts, time sharing
• Capitalize one: Hotel and car rental booked through Capital One Travel
• Chase: Hotels, motels, time sharing
• Citi: Hotel, time share

Now that you know where you stand, let’s take a look at the many ways you can use your points and miles to pay for vacation rentals and Airbnbs.

If you have a premium travel rewards credit card, there’s a good chance you can redeem your points on vacation rental purchases.

Note that you generally cannot book Airbnb through the card issuer’s online rewards portal, such as the Chase Ultimate Rewards® or Amex Travel portal. But you can see an option to book vacation rentals, like motels, condos, and entire homes.

Cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card can earn 25% more value (1.25 cents per point) when they redeem points for travel inside the Chase Ultimate Rewards® (CUR) portal. , which offers a wide selection of vacation rental properties. With Chase Sapphire Reserve®, points are worth 50% more (1.50 coins per point).

But Chase isn’t the only issuer offering this option. Cardholders of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card earn miles on their purchases.

While most of the best travel credit cards have annual fees, these costs can often be offset when you take advantage of the card’s annual travel credits.

Both the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the US Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® Card offer travel credits of $300 and up to $325 respectively, which can be applied to a variety of travel expenses including vacation rentals.

If you have a credit card from one of the five issuers above, see how your card issuer classifies these types of travel purchases.

Many credit card issuers allow you to redeem your rewards on hotel, rental, time-sharing gift card purchases, including Hotels.com, Four Seasons, Marriott, and Hilton.

For example, Chase cardholders can redeem their points through the CUR portal for gift cards at select merchants, including Airbnb. The minimum redemption amount starts at 2,500 points or $25.

You’ll want to make sure you’re redeeming your points for a 1:1 value (where a point or mile is worth 1 cent). For example, at this conversion rate, a $100 Airbnb gift card would cost 10,000 points.

Note that with many credit cards, redeeming your points for gift cards may not be the highest redemption value available. You’ll want to weigh this option against others that might give you more value. (For example, with Chase’s limited-time Pay Yourself Back tool, you can get between 1.25% and 1.5% higher value on other purchases.)

Remember that Airbnb has its own restrictions when it comes to gift cards, such as not being used to pay for long-term stays, payment plans, or changes to an existing reservation.

You don’t need a travel credit card to help earn free stays when you rent a vacation home like Airbnb.

If you use a standard cash-back credit card, you can redeem your cash for a statement credit. This helps offset the cost of your bill. So you can pre-book a vacation rental or Airbnb and then use your credits to pay off some (or all) of the cost.

This is one of the simplest ways to cover vacation rental costs because you’re using credit that applies to your balance that isn’t linked to a specific transaction.

For example, Citi® Double Cash Card holders can get 1% cashback on purchases and 1% cashback on bill payments. The easy-to-use rewards program has no limits on how much cashback you can earn. Cardholders can cash out for checks or statement credits once they’ve earned $25, so when you book a vacation rental or Airbnb, cash in for a refund pepper.

Whether you carry a travel credit card or a cashback credit card, there’s a way you can use your earned rewards to book vacation rentals.

While most travel credit cards have rewards programs where you can use your points to book rooms, check with your card first to see if vacation rentals are available. in that category or not.

And for those that offer gift card redemption options, see if Airbnb is one of the sellers and what the redemption value would be if you used your points to purchase gift cards.

Information about the Capital One card and the US Bank Altitude® Reserve Visa Infinite® card has been independently collected by Select and has not been reviewed or made available by the publisher prior to publication.