And the Travel Reward Goes To... You

Gathering rewards points are a great way to get discounts on your favorite things. The key to getting closer to your desired rewards is to focus your energy with one or two programs. Spreading out your discounts makes it harder to get a reward. Most debit or credit cards offer discounts per dollar spent, but there are some programs that offer points based on using their brand. Travel reward programs tend to follow this format; some also give the added benefit of added points by purchasing goods from their sponsors or preferred vendors.

If you're looking for a place to invest time and energy into, here are some reward programs worth investigating:

Travel Reward Program #1 - American Airlines AAdvantage Program

With most Citi credit cards you can earn 1 AAdvantage mile per $1 spent on everyday purchases. Most come with annual fees after the first 12 months and you can earn between 15,000 and 25,000 miles within the first four months if you spend $750 or more. With Citi business credit cards you can earn up to 150,000 miles per calendar year and purchases made on employee discounts are eligible as well. You can also earn miles by participating in the AAdvantage Dining Program. Earn up to 5 miles per dollar spent at participating restaurants.

Beginning at 25,000 AAdvantage miles you will have earned enough miles to obtain a travel award. Awards can be used for one-way, round-trip, or multi-city travel.

Travel Reward Program #2 - Thank You Network

The Thank You Network gets you points based on the number of Citi accounts you have and/or sponsoring accounts you have. Every month you get points just for having an account or card that is recognized by the Thank You Network. You can use points for gift cards, restaurant vouchers, hotel stays, airline vouchers, and more.

The Thank You Network works with Expedia.com as far as using points for specific travel options. I once used this to get a hotel stay at a Hilton in Omaha for three nights. When using Expedia.com through the Thank You Network all hotel stays, plane fares, and car rentals are priced as a number of points required to obtain that reward.

Travel Reward Program #3 - Hilton HHonors Rewards

Hilton HHonors Rewards offers points, or points and miles based on hotel stays in any venue within the Hilton family of hotels. Earn a free night in any of the Hilton brand hotels with as few as 7.500 points. Receive 10 points per stay plus either 1 mile per dollar spent, 500 fixed miles per stay, or 5 extra points per dollar spent depending on what earning style you choose. You can also transfer points between family and friends at any time. Hilton brands include Hilton, Embassy Suites, Doubletree, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations, Homewood Suites by Hilton, The Waldorf Astoria Collection, and the Hampton Inn.

Travel Reward Program #4 - Starwood Preferred Guests Rewards

Starwood Preferred Guests program features rewards for stays at hotels such as Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Le Méridien, W Hotels, Westin, aloft, and element. Points can be used at 960 hotels worldwide in over 97 countries. I've personally used this rewards program at a Sheraton hotel inside the airport of Paris, France. I didn't redeem a free night but I was able to gain points from my stay overseas. I've also received points from a stay at a hotel near New York City. I like the program and love the hotel options that come with it.

There are no blackout dates, you only need 2,000 points for a free weekend night award, and you'll get additional points if you use your American Express card.

Travel Reward Program #5 - Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Program

With Southwest Airlines rewards program if you fly eight roundtrips (or 16 credits) within 24 months and you get one free. Each flight one-way gets you one credit; each flight roundtrip gets you two credits. If you fly Business Select, it's 1.25 credits one-way, 2.5 credits roundtrip. You can earn credits by staying with a partnering hotel such as Hilton or Marriott or Hyatt, or renting a car from places such as Hertz, Alamo, or Thrifty. You can also earn credits by dining at participating restaurants, bars or clubs. You automatically get 2 credits just for opting into the Rapid Rewards e-mails.

For those who fly a lot Southwest Rapid Rewards has special recognition awards - there's the A-List and Companion Pass perks. The A-List is for those who fly 32 or more one-way flights within a 12-month period. People who are on the A-List get an A when you travel at least a day and a half in advance. The Companion Pass is for those who fly 50 or more roundtrips (100+ credits) within a 12-month period. The Companion Pass allows one person of your choice to fly free with you, anywhere, for an entire year.

Sources:

Citibank Credit Cards
http://www.citicards.com/cards/wv/showSearchResults.do?family=FAMILY_AADVANTAGE

Hilton HHonors
http://hhonors1.hilton.com/en_US/hh/home_index.do

Starwood Preferred Guest - Hotel Offers and Loyalty Guest spg.com
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/index.html

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Home
http://www.rapidrewards101.com/#/home

American Airlines AAdvantage
http://www.aa.com/i18n/AAdvantage/programDetails/main.jsp?anchorLocation=%2Flayout%2FlayoutThrColHdrFtr1024.jsp&url=%2Fi18n%2FAAdvantage%2FprogramDetails%2Fmain.jsp&_locale=&reportedTitle=Program+Details

Thank You Network
http://www.thankyou.com