Many high journey rewards playing cards supply bonus rewards whenever you guide flights, resorts and rental vehicles by way of the issuer’s journey portal.
For instance, the Chase Sapphire Most popular® Card (see charges and charges) affords 5 factors per greenback spent on journey bought by way of Chase Journey℠ however simply 2 factors per greenback spent on different journey, together with flights booked straight with airways.
So, you would possibly think about reserving flights by way of a bank card journey portal whenever you plan your subsequent journey. Nonetheless, many vacationers imagine you may typically pay extra for flights when reserving by way of a bank card journey portal. Plus, you possibly can earn bonus rewards on choose airline bank cards in the event you use them to guide straight with the airline.
However are flights actually costlier whenever you guide by way of a bank card journey portal? We collected after which crunched over 800 information factors to search out out.
What information did we accumulate?
For this story, we collected 804 information factors to find out whether or not flights are costlier on common whenever you guide by way of a bank card journey portal. Particularly, we collected fares throughout 134 round-trip flight itineraries.
For every itinerary, we outlined the precise flight numbers, journey dates and cabin class, after which requested TPG staffers to gather fares throughout the next reserving strategies as rapidly as potential (at all times inside a four-hour window):
Half of the journey dates for our itineraries had been about two months out, whereas the opposite half had been about six months out. All of the itineraries we thought-about originated within the U.S., with 37% of our information factors being home flights and 52% being flights inside North America. Now, let’s dive into what we discovered.
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Key takeaways
If you happen to’re solely within the highlights, this is a abstract of an important takeaways:
- Not each itinerary is bookable by way of every bank card journey portal.
- Capital One Journey bought the very best proportion of the itineraries we searched; Amex Journey bought the bottom.
- In comparison with reserving straight, fares are, on common, about the identical by way of Capital One Journey, barely costlier by way of Bilt and Chase Journey, considerably costlier by way of Amex Journey, and way more costly by way of Citi Journey.
- Capital One Journey returns the identical fare as reserving straight greater than half the time. Bilt, Chase Journey and Citi Journey return the identical fare as reserving straight lower than half the time. Amex Journey returns the identical fare as reserving straight lower than a fifth of the time.
- To get the very best flight worth, you must test every portal you possibly can entry and evaluate these charges with what the airline prices for direct bookings.
We realized loads extra attention-grabbing issues whereas analyzing our information. So, learn on for extra statistics and a deeper evaluation of what we realized.
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Is it costlier to guide flights by way of a journey portal?
Reserving flights by way of a bank card journey portal is typically costlier, however generally cheaper. We crunched information from 134 round-trip itineraries and calculated the common distinction between every portal’s pricing and reserving straight. Here is what we discovered:
- Amex Journey portal: 10.32% costlier than reserving straight
- Bilt journey portal: 6.50% costlier than reserving straight
- Capital One Journey portal: 0.76% costlier than reserving straight
- Chase Journey portal: 5.94% costlier than reserving straight
- Citi Journey portal: 14.59% costlier than reserving straight
Here is a have a look at the variety of itineraries that had been equal to, costlier than or inexpensive than what you possibly can guide straight with the airline.
| The variety of itineraries that had … | Amex Journey | Bilt journey | Capital One Journey | Chase Journey | Citi Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The identical fare by way of the portal and when reserving straight | 26 | 57 | 81 | 50 | 35 |
| A costlier fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 61 | 47 | 26 | 42 | 60 |
| A fare at the very least 1% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 56 | 37 | 20 | 36 | 53 |
| A fare at the very least 10% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 41 | 29 | 9 | 26 | 34 |
| A inexpensive fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 16 | 13 | 19 | 16 | 24 |
| A fare at the very least 1% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 14 | 5 | 11 | 8 | 17 |
| A fare at the very least 10% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
As you possibly can see, the Capital One Journey portal featured probably the most itineraries with the identical worth as reserving straight. The variety of itineraries at the very least 1% costlier by way of the Capital One Journey portal, in comparison with reserving straight, was much like the variety of itineraries at the very least 1% inexpensive. Plus, we discovered itineraries by way of the Capital One Journey portal had been on common simply 0.76% costlier than reserving straight.
In the meantime, fares for 61 itineraries had been costlier by way of the Amex Journey portal than reserving straight. In 41 cases, the Amex Journey portal returned costs greater than 10% increased than you’d get reserving straight. One such itinerary concerned flying Air Canada in financial system between New York and Toronto in December. This itinerary by way of Amex Journey prices $382, whereas reserving straight would price $210.
Now, let’s talk about a few of these metrics when taking a look at subsets of our dataset. Specifically, we’ll talk about home, worldwide and financial system flight tendencies.
Developments for home flights
The common distinction between every portal’s pricing and reserving straight for the 50 round-trip home itineraries we thought-about is as follows:
- Amex Journey portal: 6.10% costlier than reserving straight
- Bilt journey portal: 4.00% costlier than reserving straight
- Capital One Journey portal: 0.05% inexpensive than reserving straight
- Chase Journey portal: 4.14% costlier than reserving straight
- Citi Journey portal: 2.77% costlier than reserving straight
Here is a have a look at the variety of home itineraries that had been equal to, costlier than or inexpensive than what you possibly can guide straight with the airline.
| The variety of home itineraries that had … | Amex Journey | Bilt journey | Capital One Journey | Chase Journey | Citi Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The identical fare by way of the portal and when reserving straight | 13 | 31 | 36 | 22 | 13 |
| A costlier fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 18 | 15 | 8 | 12 | 19 |
| A fare at the very least 1% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 16 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 16 |
| A fare at the very least 10% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 11 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| A inexpensive fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 |
| A fare at the very least 1% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| A fare at the very least 10% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
In our checks, home fares by way of the Capital One Journey portal had been 0.05% inexpensive than reserving straight, with three fares even being 10% inexpensive. One among these fares was for a round-trip United Airways itinerary from Los Angeles to New York in December. We might guide this itinerary by way of Capital One Journey for $312.
In the meantime, reserving straight or through Bilt journey carried a fare of $412 and reserving through the opposite portals carried a fare of $427 or increased.
Developments for worldwide flights
The common distinction between every portal’s pricing and reserving straight for the 84 round-trip worldwide itineraries we thought-about is as follows:
- Amex Journey portal: 12.89% costlier than reserving straight
- Bilt journey portal: 8.12% costlier than reserving straight
- Capital One Journey portal: 1.26% costlier than reserving straight
- Chase Journey portal: 6.91% costlier than reserving straight
- Citi Journey portal: 20.35% costlier than reserving straight
Here is a have a look at the variety of worldwide itineraries that had been equal to, costlier than or inexpensive than what you possibly can guide straight with the airline.
| The variety of worldwide itineraries that had … | Amex Journey | Bilt journey | Capital One Journey | Chase Journey | Citi Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The identical fare by way of the portal and when reserving straight | 13 | 26 | 45 | 28 | 22 |
| A costlier fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 43 | 32 | 18 | 30 | 41 |
| A fare at the very least 1% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 40 | 26 | 14 | 27 | 37 |
| A fare at the very least 10% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 30 | 22 | 7 | 20 | 30 |
| A inexpensive fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 8 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 17 |
| A fare at the very least 1% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 11 |
| A fare at the very least 10% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
Amex Journey, by far, had the fewest itineraries for which the fares by way of the portal had been equal to these discovered straight with the airline. The Amex Journey and Citi Journey portals additionally confirmed fares at the very least 10% costlier by way of the portal than reserving straight for 30 itineraries — 36% of the worldwide itineraries we thought-about.
In the meantime, Capital One Journey had by far probably the most itineraries for which the fares by way of the portal had been equal to these discovered straight with the airline. The Capital One Journey portal had 18 itineraries costlier than reserving straight and 15 inexpensive, with common fares that had been simply 1.26% costlier by way of the Capital One Journey portal than reserving straight.
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Developments for financial system flights
The common distinction between every portal’s pricing and reserving straight for the 83 round-trip financial system itineraries we thought-about is as follows:
- Amex Journey portal: 17.14% costlier than reserving straight
- Bilt journey: 9.92% costlier than reserving straight
- Capital One Journey portal: 0.14% costlier than reserving straight
- Chase Journey portal: 8.59% costlier than reserving straight
- Citi Journey portal: 11.52% costlier than reserving straight
Here is a have a look at the variety of financial system itineraries that had been equal to, costlier than or inexpensive than what you possibly can guide straight with the airline.
| The variety of financial system itineraries that had … | Amex Journey | Bilt journey | Capital One Journey | Chase Journey | Citi Journey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The identical fare by way of the portal and when reserving straight | 6 | 33 | 52 | 25 | 17 |
| A costlier fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 49 | 36 | 15 | 29 | 36 |
| A fare at the very least 1% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 46 | 33 | 12 | 26 | 32 |
| A fare at the very least 10% costlier by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 36 | 28 | 5 | 21 | 21 |
| A inexpensive fare by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 5 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 17 |
| A fare at the very least 1% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| A fare at the very least 10% inexpensive by way of the portal in comparison with reserving straight | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
Economic system fares by way of Capital One Journey had been the identical as reserving straight 63% of the time. In comparison with different bank card journey portals, Amex Journey featured the fewest financial system itineraries with the identical fare as reserving straight and greater than triple the best-performing portal’s variety of financial system itineraries that had been costlier when reserving by way of the portal.
Forty-nine of the financial system itineraries — 59% of the financial system itineraries we thought-about — had been costlier by way of the Amex Journey portal than reserving straight with the airline.
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What’s the greatest bank card journey portal for reserving flights?
There is not one greatest bank card journey portal for reserving flights. Nonetheless, I recognize the Capital One Journey portal’s worth drop safety on flights for which the platform recommends reserving instantly, and I’ve gotten worth from Amex’s Worldwide Airline Program.
Fares
Our information confirmed that Capital One Journey was, on common, the very best at offering fares with the least markup in comparison with reserving straight. Capital One Journey provided decrease fares for home itineraries than reserving straight with the airline. The Capital One Journey portal additionally provided the identical fares as reserving straight on 60% of itineraries, the very best proportion obtained by any portal we examined.
The opposite 4 portals — Amex Journey, Bilt, Chase Journey and Citi Journey — all provided fares that had been, on common, increased than these obtainable when reserving straight with the airline.
Nonetheless, whereas the distinction between reserving straight with the airline and utilizing a portal was, on common, much less when utilizing the Bilt journey and Chase Journey portals in comparison with the Amex Journey and Citi Journey portals, the Amex Journey and Citi Journey portals featured increased percentages of itineraries that had been inexpensive than reserving straight by greater than 1%.
And, we discovered 9 itineraries by way of the Citi Journey portal that had been inexpensive than reserving straight with the airline by greater than 10%.
So, the Capital One Journey portal is greatest in order for you the very best probability of getting a fare near what you possibly can guide straight with the airline. However, our information confirmed the Amex Journey and Citi Journey portals are most definitely to supply a fare that is 1% lower than (in addition to 1% higher than) reserving straight with the airline. It could even be value checking these portals to see in the event you can snag a decrease price.
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Bookable itineraries
The principle disadvantage of Amex Journey is that it doesn’t have each itinerary you possibly can guide straight; that is extra incessantly the case with Amex Journey versus the opposite portals we thought-about.
Throughout the 134 round-trip itineraries we thought-about, 31 weren’t obtainable by way of Amex Journey, 25 weren’t obtainable by way of Chase Journey, 17 weren’t obtainable by way of Bilt, 15 weren’t obtainable by way of Citi Journey and 7 weren’t obtainable by way of Capital One Journey.
In some circumstances, this was as a result of portal not supporting a selected airline. For instance, Amex Journey, Chase Journey and Citi Journey do not supply Spirit Airways and Frontier Airways flights. And Chase Journey is the one portal that gives Southwest Airways flights (apart from the Capital One Enterprise Journey portal, which we did not take a look at).
In different circumstances, the portal solely confirmed some itineraries for airways it in any other case helps.
Whereas the Citi Journey portal included each American Airways, United Airways and Delta Air Traces itinerary we searched, Amex Journey did not present choices to guide eight of the 72 itineraries we looked for these airways. Moreover, Chase Journey did not present seven of those itineraries and Bilt and Capital One Journey did not present 4 of those itineraries.
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Incomes charges and card advantages
Additionally it is value contemplating the additional rewards you possibly can earn when reserving by way of bank card journey portals with choose rewards bank cards.
For instance, I will generally guide flights by way of Capital One Journey with my Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Credit score Card to make use of my card’s $300 annual Capital One Journey credit score and earn 5 miles per greenback spent on the a part of my fare that the credit score does not cowl.
Some playing cards earn rewards at a better price whenever you guide flights by way of the cardboard issuer’s journey portal. Here is a have a look at the incomes charges when reserving flights with some well-liked journey playing cards:
Lastly, keep in mind that some bank cards supply journey protections whenever you use them to guide flights. These protections can be found no matter whether or not you employ your card to guide straight with the airline or through a bank card journey portal.
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Redemption charges
You may as well redeem rewards when reserving flights by way of bank card journey portals. Some portals supply low redemption charges, although. Here is the redemption price you possibly can anticipate to get when redeeming for flights by way of the portals mentioned on this information:
- American Categorical Journey portal: 1 cent per level
- Bilt journey portal: 1.25 cents per level
- Capital One Journey portal: 1 cent per mile
- Chase Journey portal: 1 to 2 cents per level
- Citi Journey portal: 1 cent per level
So, the Bilt journey portal and Chase Journey portal are greatest if you wish to redeem your rewards for flights that you simply guide by way of the portal.
Nonetheless, keep in mind that TPG’s November 2025 valuations peg the worth of every of those currencies increased than what you will get when reserving by way of the portal. So, you may normally wish to switch your rewards to switch companions as a substitute of redeeming for flights by way of the portal to get extra worth out of your rewards.
Backside line
On common, the Capital One Journey portal provided fares closest to what you possibly can guide straight with the airline. In the meantime, the Citi Journey portal was about 14% costlier on common than reserving straight, and the Amex Journey portal was about 10% costlier.
This does not imply you must decide one reserving methodology and keep away from checking different choices, although. I used to be shocked by how a lot costs different between the portals — and when in comparison with the airline’s web site — whereas gathering information for this story. Processing the information and scripting this story made me notice greater than ever the significance of checking every bank card journey portal you might have entry to and the airline’s web site earlier than reserving a flight.
So, subsequent time it’s good to guide a flight, begin on Google Flights to evaluate your choices. You might also wish to open up your favourite award search instruments if in case you have transferable rewards.
Then, in the event you resolve to guide a paid fare, open up all of the bank card journey portals you possibly can entry through your rewards playing cards and seek for the flights you need.
Lastly, evaluate the charges throughout the portals with reserving straight with the airline to find out which can supply the very best worth.
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