How do miles work on credit cards?

It’s kinda like a game. With some credit cards every time you make a purchase you earn points or miles.

How much you earn depends on the card and what you paid for. Some cards give you more points/miles for certain categories like food, travel, and gas. Once you rack up enough you can redeem them. With points, you can redeem them for various things like cash back, gift cards, and travel.

When you specifically earn miles you can redeem them for (usually) flights. How much your miles are worth depends on the card and airline, so you’ll want to check the conversion rate before committing to using miles. You don’t want to get to checkout and realize your points aren’t worth as much as you thought they were. 

Depending on how many points you have you may be able to cover part of your trip cost, or get the full thing for “free”.

Some cards even let you transfer miles to an airline partner, which might get you more bang for your buck. Each program has its own transfer ratios, so check if it’s worth it before you transfer.