If you ask most people how they travel on points, you’ll almost certainly hear about travel rewards credit cards before the conversation is over. It’s no secret that travel credit cards accelerate the process of earning points and miles, especially for U.S. travelers.
But not everyone can or wants to open a new line of credit. If you’re firmly in the debit card demographic or have ever wished for a way to rack up travel points without plastic, there are several ways for you to earn rewards for travel redemption without using a credit card.
The travel rewards platforms below earn points and miles for travel without requiring a credit card. Companies like these earn affiliate revenue when you purchase products or services through their referral links, then give you back a portion of their earnings in the form of rewards. Some of these platforms are relatively new, while others have been around for some time.
There’s no cost to join or use any of these platforms, and many offer promotional periods with higher reward rates on certain hotels, destinations, or travel times. Sites like these are particularly valuable for frequent travelers who are seeking the best deal rather than staying loyal to a single travel brand.
The primary tradeoff is that most bookings are considered third-party reservations, which means you may not earn rewards from the hotel or enjoy any benefits from elite status. And when you’re booking flights through these travel platforms, you’ll have to contact these companies for customer service instead of working with your airline or hotel if you need to change or cancel your ticket.
Here’s what you should know about earning travel rewards that don’t require a credit card.
Rove Miles
Founded in 2023, Rove Miles is a relatively new platform that allows travelers to earn flexible rewards on hotel stays. Customers earn Rove Miles on hotel and flight bookings as well as online shopping transactions made through the website using any form of eligible payment.
Rove partners with more than 200,000 hotels worldwide including major brands like Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton as well as thousands of smaller boutique properties. You can search by hotel location, ratings, amenities, or even by reward multiplier, which can be as high as 25 miles per dollar on some hotel stays.
Rove also offers the option to select “loyalty-eligible” bookings for major chains like Marriott, Hilton, IHG, and Hyatt on select hotel reservations—a feature relatively unique to Rove that still allows you to earn credit and enjoy elite status benefits through that property’s loyalty program.
Rates through Rove are often comparable to booking directly with your hotel of choice, with the added benefit of earning Rove Miles on every dollar spent. You’ll typically find the best prices on stays of three nights or longer. And since Rove isn’t tied to a specific airline, hotel, or credit card company, you can pay with any debit or credit card of your choice, allowing you to earn rewards that way as well.
Rove Miles can then be redeemed for future flights and hotels booked through Rove. You can also transfer them to a growing number of airlines (such as Air France-KLM, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Finnair, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines), as you can with certain credit card rewards.
Bilt Rewards
Bilt Rewards launched in 2021 as a platform that allows renters to earn rewards on rent payments, but it’s evolved into a full-fledged rewards ecosystem that encompasses most of your daily expenses including travel purchases, dining, fitness subscriptions and classes, and more. Through Bilt Dining, for example, you can link your debit or credit card and earn up to six Bilt Points per dollar at more than 20,000 restaurants nationwide.
While most people think of the affiliated Bilt credit card when talking about Bilt, the Bilt Rewards system is a separate entity, which allows you to link any credit or debit card to earn flexible points for future use.
If you use the Bilt Rewards credit card to pay rent, you can do so without incurring transaction fees. If you prefer to use a different payment method, you’ll still earn Bilt points but you’ll need to pay transaction fees: 250 points and $1.95 for rent paid with linked bank accounts; 250 points and $9.95 on rent paid by debit card, and 1 point per dollar plus a 3 percent transaction fee for rent paid with a non-Bilt credit card.
Bilt points are extremely valuable because you can use them in many different ways. You can use them like cash by redeeming them for rent or to pay off your credit card statement, or use them for various rewards within the Bilt Collection of products such as branded sweatshirts, mugs, and home decor.
For the best value, transfer Bilt points to nearly two dozen major airlines and hotels. The options that may be most useful include U.S. airlines like Southwest, United, and Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines, as well as Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton hotels.
One Key by Expedia
Expedia and its partner brands, Hotels.com and Vrbo, have been household names in travel for many years. You can earn rewards for all three travel brands through a joint loyalty program called One Key, making it very easy to accumulate points for future travel no matter where you book.
As the name suggests, Hotels.com focuses specifically on hotel stays, while Expedia covers the gamut of travel from rental cars to flights, activities, as well as hotels and homestays. Meanwhile, Vrbo focuses on vacation rentals worldwide—a subset of travel through which it’s rare to earn travel rewards.
All eligible purchases through each of these brands earn OneKeyCash, which can be redeemed for travel through any of the three brands. And while Expedia does offer two One Key credit cards, you don’t need to use them—or any other travel credit card—to join or earn within the One Key loyalty program.
It’s easy to redeem OneKeyCash: Your can apply points directly toward future reservations across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo, no credit card or loyalty status required.
Rocketmiles
Rocketmiles has been around for more than a decade, allowing travelers to earn airline miles or Amazon gift cards from hotel reservations. While Rocketmiles is more dated than the other programs reviewed here, it’s particularly useful if you want to earn credit toward future Amazon purchases.
Unlike Rove Miles and One Key, Rocketmiles doesn’t offer its own rewards system. Instead, you can choose to earn Amtrak rewards or Amazon gift cards, or airline miles for Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Atmos from Alaska Airlines/Hawaiian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
When booking through Rocketmiles, you’ll search for the hotel of your choice, then choose the rewards program for which you want to earn rewards. The search function will show you how much the room costs per night, as well as the number of miles or points you’d earn for the program of your choice. A few days after you complete your stay, the rewards will go directly to your loyalty program account.
The bottom line
Platforms like Rove, One Key, Bilt, and Rocketmiles make it possible to earn miles and points without a credit card. The best option for you depends on your travel habits, how you spend your money, as well as how you prefer to redeem your rewards.
These programs change all the time, so don’t get too loyal to a single platform—instead, look for the best one to fit your needs at the time of booking.
