Vacation rentals can be one of the best options for family travel. Having multiple bedrooms, a kitchen, and extra space can make longer trips much more comfortable — especially when traveling with kids.

If you landed here searching for the old Wyndham and Vacasa partnership, that program has ended. Jump to the bottom of this post for a full explanation of what happened.

This guide will walk you through the best strategies available now.

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Why Vacation Rentals Work Well With Points

Many people assume that points and miles only work for flights and hotels.

But in reality, some of the most useful rewards strategies allow you to cover any type of travel purchase, including vacation rentals.

This can be especially helpful when traveling to places where traditional hotels are limited or expensive, such as:

National parks
Beach towns
Mountain destinations
Small European villages
Family ski trips

In many of these places, vacation rentals are often the most comfortable option for families.

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The highest-value strategy most families miss: Hotel timeshare properties on points

Major hotel loyalty programs have timeshare-style villa properties that book exactly like a regular hotel room. Instead of a standard room you get a multi-bedroom villa with a full kitchen, living room, and space your whole family can actually spread out in.

We stayed at a Hyatt Residence Club property in Sedona, Arizona using World of Hyatt points. The space was completely different from a regular hotel room. We had a full kitchen, a living area, and room for our whole family without anyone on a pullout couch. Sedona is one of those destinations where hotels are expensive and the Residence Club property gave us significantly more space for far fewer points than a comparable hotel room would have cost in cash.

That experience changed how I think about using hotel points for family travel.

Here are the major hotel programs that have these timeshare-style properties bookable with points:

Hyatt Residence Club — bookable with World of Hyatt points. Properties in destinations including Sedona, Maui, Aspen, Bonita Springs, and more. This is the program I have personal experience with and the one I recommend most for families who already earn Hyatt points.

Marriott Vacation Club — bookable with Marriott Bonvoy points. One of the largest timeshare portfolios in the world with properties in Orlando, Hawaii, New York, Park City, and internationally.

IHG Holiday Inn Vacation Club — bookable with IHG One Rewards points. Strong option for families with a broad portfolio across the US including beach and mountain destinations.

Choice Hotels Bluegreen Vacation Homes — bookable with Choice Privileges points. Extensive US portfolio with many properties that sleep six or more, which makes them ideal for larger families or multi-family travel.

Hilton Grand Vacations — bookable with Hilton Honors points. Properties in popular family destinations including Orlando, Las Vegas, and Hawaii.

The key thing to understand about all of these is that you are not booking a hotel room. You are booking a villa or condo-style unit with real living space. For families traveling with kids, that difference is significant.

Strategy 1: Use Flexible Travel Miles to Cover the Purchase

One of the simplest ways to use points for vacation rentals is by earning flexible travel miles that can be applied to travel purchases.

With this strategy, you book the vacation rental normally through a site like Airbnb or VRBO and then use miles to erase the travel purchase from your statement.

Some travel rewards cards allow you to redeem miles toward travel purchases made on your card, including:

Vacation rentals
Flights
Hotels
Rental cars
Tours and experiences

This flexibility makes these types of rewards extremely useful for families who don’t always stay in traditional hotels.

Here is the specific detail that makes this strategy especially powerful for families. You do not need to have your welcome bonus in hand when you book. You can charge a vacation rental to your travel card today, earn your welcome bonus over the next six to eight weeks, and then go back and use those miles to erase the charge from your statement — as long as the purchase was made within the past 90 days.

That means you can secure the exact property you want right now without waiting. This is one of the most underused strategies in the points and miles community and one of the reasons flexible travel miles work so well for vacation rentals specifically.

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Strategy 2: Use Rewards That Function Like Cash Back

Another approach is using rewards that are marketed as cash back but are actually part of a larger points ecosystem.

Some rewards cards earn points that can be redeemed for statement credits, which effectively allows you to cover travel purchases — including vacation rentals.

These points can also sometimes be combined with other cards within the same rewards system, creating additional flexibility.

For example, some business and everyday rewards cards earn points that are often advertised as cash back. However, those same points can also be pooled and used toward travel redemptions when combined with certain travel cards.

This flexibility allows families to earn rewards from everyday spending and later use those rewards toward travel expenses like vacation rentals.

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Strategy 3: Cards That Work Well for Vacation Rentals

When your goal is booking vacation rentals, the most helpful rewards programs are usually the ones that offer flexible points rather than points tied to a single hotel chain.

Some of the most useful categories of cards for this include:

Travel cards that allow you to erase travel purchases with miles

Business cards that earn flexible rewards which can later be used for travel

Everyday rewards cards that earn points marketed as cash back but that can also be pooled with travel rewards

Many families use a combination of these types of cards so their everyday spending helps generate points that can later be used toward travel.

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A Few Cards Families Often Use to Build Flexible Points

There are several rewards cards that are particularly helpful for building flexible points that can eventually be used toward travel.

For example, some business cards and everyday rewards cards earn points that are often marketed as cash back, but those rewards are actually part of a larger flexible points system. When paired with a travel card in the same ecosystem, those points can become extremely valuable for flights and hotels.

Other travel cards earn flexible miles that can be used to cover travel purchases after they post to your account, which can work well for vacation rentals booked through sites like Airbnb or VRBO.

There are also travel cards that allow you to redeem rewards toward travel purchases in a similar way, offering another option for offsetting the cost of vacation rentals.

These flexible rewards strategies allow families to reduce the cost of trips even when staying outside traditional hotel programs.

Here are some of the cards and reward systems that work particularly well for this.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

One of the simplest ways to cover vacation rentals with points is by using miles that can erase travel purchases.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns miles that can be redeemed toward travel purchases after they post to your statement. This means you can book a vacation rental normally and then apply miles to cover part — or all — of the cost.

This flexibility makes it especially useful for:

• Airbnb stays
• VRBO rentals
• vacation homes near national parks
• ski condos and beach houses

Because the redemption works as a statement credit, you are not limited to hotel loyalty programs.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Another useful card for building flexible travel points is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

This card earns Ultimate Rewards points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners, but they can also be used through the Chase travel portal to book a wide range of travel options.

Many vacation rentals appear through the travel portal, which means points can sometimes be used directly toward those bookings.

The flexibility of these points also makes them helpful for covering flights to destinations where vacation rentals are the best lodging option.

Chase vacation home rentals — a new option worth knowing about

Chase recently launched vacation home rentals inside the Chase Travel portal, giving cardholders access to private residences including cottages, villas, cabins, and beach houses worldwide.

This option lets you search for and book vacation homes the same way you would search for a hotel inside the portal. Points redeem at 1 cent per point for vacation homes through Chase, which is not the highest value use of Ultimate Rewards points. If your goal is maximum value, transferring to Hyatt for a Residence Club property will almost always beat this option.

But if you have a large balance of points and want to use them toward a specific property without navigating transfer partners, it is a legitimate and convenient option. Note that a 7-day advance booking is required, so this does not work for last-minute trips.

Access is currently limited to select cardholders and expanding, so check your Chase travel portal to see if vacation homes appear as an option for your card.

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Ink Business Cards and Freedom Cards

Another strategy many families use is earning points from everyday spending through cards that are often marketed as cash back cards.

Examples include the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card, and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.

These cards earn rewards that are often described as cash back, but they are actually Ultimate Rewards points.

When those points are combined with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred®, they become fully transferable travel points that can be used for flights and hotels.

Or they can simply be redeemed as statement credits to help cover travel expenses like vacation rentals.

This makes them powerful cards for building points from everyday business or household spending.

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Ink Business Premier® Credit Card

The Ink Business Premier® Credit Card works slightly differently.

This card is designed primarily as a high-earning cash back business card, particularly for larger purchases.

Because it earns rewards that can be redeemed as statement credits, it can be a useful tool for covering travel purchases like vacation rentals — especially for families who prefer the flexibility of cash-style rewards.

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U.S. Bank Travel Cards

Several U.S. Bank travel cards also allow points to be redeemed toward travel purchases.

These cards often provide statement credits or travel redemptions that can be applied to expenses like vacation rentals.

This type of redemption is especially useful when staying in destinations where vacation rentals are more practical than hotels, such as:

• national park gateway towns
• ski resorts
• beach destinations
• larger family trips

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Why Flexible Rewards Work Best for Vacation Rentals

Vacation rentals rarely participate in traditional hotel loyalty programs.

Because of that, the best strategy is usually earning rewards that offer flexibility rather than being tied to a single hotel brand.

Flexible points and miles allow you to:

• book the property that fits your trip
• reduce the cost using statement credits or travel redemptions
• combine rewards from multiple cards

While the Vacasa partnership with Wyndham was an incredible option while it lasted, flexible rewards strategies ultimately give families more options for the types of trips they want to take.

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Our Family’s Approach to Vacation Rentals

When our family books vacation rentals now, we usually follow one of three approaches.

First, we sometimes use flexible travel miles to erase the cost of the rental after booking.

Second, we may redeem rewards as statement credits to offset part of the cost.

And third, we often combine rewards from several cards to cover as much of the trip as possible.

This flexibility allows us to book the types of properties that work best for our family — whether that’s a cabin near a national park, a larger home for a road trip, or an apartment in a city.

While the Vacasa partnership was a great option while it lasted, flexible rewards strategies have ultimately proven to be the most sustainable long-term approach.

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Which cards earn the points you need

The strategy you use for vacation rentals will determine which cards are most useful for building your points balance. Here is a breakdown organized by which approach each card supports best.

For hotel timeshare properties, you need hotel points

If your goal is booking multi-bedroom villas through hotel timeshare programs like Hyatt Residence Club or Marriott Vacation Club, the most direct path is earning points in those specific hotel programs.

The World of Hyatt Credit Card earns World of Hyatt points directly and is the most efficient card for building points toward Hyatt Residence Club properties. If Sedona, Maui, or Aspen are on your family travel list, this card gets you there the fastest.

The Marriott Bonvoy Boundless and Marriott Bonvoy Business cards earn Marriott Bonvoy points directly, giving you access to one of the largest timeshare villa portfolios in the world including properties in Orlando, Hawaii, Park City, and internationally.

The IHG One Rewards Premier card earns IHG points for Holiday Inn Vacation Club properties across the US including beach and mountain destinations.

The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass and Hilton Honors Aspire cards earn Hilton points toward Hilton Grand Vacations properties in destinations like Orlando, Las Vegas, and Hawaii.

For flexible points that cover Airbnb and vacation rentals

If your goal is the 90-day lookback strategy — booking any Airbnb or vacation rental and covering it with points after your welcome bonus hits — you need flexible travel miles rather than hotel-specific points.

The Capital One Venture Business card is one of the strongest options in this category. It earns unlimited 2x miles on every purchase and carries a $95 annual fee. It does not report to your personal credit report as a new account which means it does not affect your 5/24 count. Like all Capital One Venture miles it supports the 90-day lookback so you can book a vacation rental now and cover it with your welcome bonus after it posts. If you have any side income this card is worth a serious look.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is the personal version of the same flexible miles program. Same 2x earning on every purchase and same 90-day lookback functionality.

The Capital One Venture X is the premium version of the Capital One miles ecosystem. Higher annual fee offset by annual travel credits and lounge access, same flexible miles that work for vacation rentals, and the ability to pool miles across all your Capital One Venture cards.

For building points through everyday spending

Some of the best points earners are cards that most people think of as cash back cards but are actually part of larger flexible points ecosystems.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve both earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can be used to book vacation homes directly through the Chase Travel portal or transferred to hotel partners like Hyatt for timeshares. The Sapphire Preferred earns 5x on Chase Travel and 3x on dining. The Reserve earns at higher rates and comes with a $300 annual travel credit.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited and Ink Business Unlimited earn points that are marketed as cash back but are actually Ultimate Rewards points. When combined with a Sapphire card those points become fully transferable and can fund both strategies covered in this post. Both cards earn 1.5x on every purchase with no annual fee, making them excellent everyday earners that quietly build your points balance over time.

For a full breakdown of which cards to get first, in what order, and how to build a points strategy that works for your family, see my best offers page where I keep everything updated and ordered by where to start.

Final Thoughts

Points and miles strategies work best when they are flexible enough to match the way your family actually travels.

For some trips, that means booking flights and hotels entirely on points.

For others — especially trips that involve vacation rentals — it may mean using flexible rewards to offset the cost.

Either way, the key is letting everyday spending generate the rewards that eventually fund the trip.

Over time, those ordinary expenses can add up to some pretty extraordinary adventures.