Airbnb is one of the largest home-sharing and vacation rental platforms. There are hundreds of thousands of listings on the Airbnb platform. I personally use Airbnb when I don’t feel like spending hundreds of dollars for a midrange hotel as there are tons of budget-friendly options on the platform. For the most part, I am a big fan of Airbnb. However, there is one thing that has always bugged me about the platform. Airbnb does not have its own loyalty program.’
Without its own loyalty program, you might have asked yourself, “How do I earn points and miles with Airbnb?” You may be surprised to learn that there are actually numerous ways to earn points and miles with Airbnb. Through Airbnb’s partnerships, you can earn miles or points with a few major airlines. Additionally, by using the right travel credit cards, you can earn additional points on stays with Airbnb.
Here’s a detailed guide on how you can earn points and miles with Airbnb.
How Do You Earn Points and Miles with Airbnb?
As previously mentioned, there are several ways to go about earning miles or points when you book an Airbnb. One of the easiest ways to earn points or miles is to book through one of Airbnb’s partner airlines. Airbnb currently partners with major airlines including British Airways and Delta Air Lines, among others. Beyond booking with partner airlines, there are a few other ways to earn points when booking with Airbnb.
In this post, we’ll cover the following ways that allow you to earn points or miles with Airbnb:
- Booking with a partner airline
- Using travel rewards credit cards
- Purchasing Airbnb gift cards
Earn Points and Miles with Airbnb Partner Airlines
One of the most straightforward ways to earn points or miles is by booking through one of Airbnb’s airline partners. Several major airlines now offer frequent flyer members the option to book and earn with Airbnb. Only a few years ago, the only partnership Airbnb had with an airline was with Delta Air Lines. Now, this list includes 4 major airlines across the globe.
Unfortunately, the rate at which you will earn points or miles on stays with Airbnb isn’t all that great. For most airlines, you will earn 1 point per dollar spent with Airbnb. You might earn more or even less depending on what partner airline you use to earn miles.
Here is a full list of Airbnb’s airline partners:
| Airline | Program | Earn with Airbnb | Link to Portal |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANA | ANA Mileage Club | 1 mile per 200 Yen (~$1.30) | Earn ANA Mileage Club Miles |
| British Airways | Executive Club | 2 Avios per $1 | Earn British Airways Avios |
| Delta Air Lines | SkyMiles | 1 mile per $1 | Earn Delta SkyMiles |
| Qantas | Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 point per A$1 (~$0.66) | Earn Qantas Frequent Flyer Points |
How To Book Stays with Airbnb with Partner Airlines
If you are currently earning airline miles as opposed to hotel points with a major rewards program like Marriott Bonvoy, you might recall how easy it was to link programs. When you want to earn airline miles on hotel stays, you will typically log in to your hotel rewards account and link your frequent flyer program. It’s a one-and-done process. Unfortuantely, this is not the case with Airbnb.
Instead of linking programs and selecting to earn miles with your preferred airline, you will need to book through an airline’s specific Airbnb booking portal. This adds a step but probably doesn’t add more than 5 minutes to the booking process.
Here’s an example of how you would book an Airbnb to earn British Airways Avios:
The first step in earning British Airways with Airbnb is to navigate to the British Airways Airbnb info page. To do this, you can click this link. Once you’re on this page, you need to scroll down to find the link to the booking portal. You will then click the first link, “Book accommodation on Airbnb.”
When you click this link it will bring up a page requesting you to provide your British Airways Executive Club. Enter your number and hit continue.
If everything worked as it should, you should see a pretty large banner on the Airbnb website with British Airways Executive Club branding. If you see this banner, you are ready to book and earn British Airways Avios.
The process when booking with other airlines will be, more or less, the same as when booking to earn Avios. You will always need to first visit the airline’s website to log in and get access to the airline-specific Airbnb booking portal.
Points or miles earned with Airbnb won’t post as soon as your stay is completed. They won’t even post in the days or weeks following your stay. Rather, you can expect to wait up to 2 months to see your points or miles posted to your account.
The Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards for Airbnb Stays
Another way to earn points or miles with Airbnb is to use a travel rewards credit card. When using a rewards credit card, you won’t earn miles or points with one specific airline but rather, you will earn points, miles, or cashback with your credit card. You can then choose how to use those rewards for travel including with airlines and hotels.
Not all credit cards will earn the same amount of points with Airbnb. Some credit cards earn more per dollar spent than others. So, you should pick your preferred travel rewards credit card wisely when booking an Airbnb. Here are some of the best credit cards to use with Airbnb for maximum value:
Best Travel Rewards Cards to Earn Points & Miles with Airbnb
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Credit Card
- Why? – Earn 2x points on travel including with Airbnb
- Annual Fee: $95
- Other Benefits: Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary for hotels booked through Chase Travel, DoorDash Dashpass membership, Travel and Purchase Protection
- Learn More
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Why? – Earn 2x points on all purchases including with Airbnb
- Annual Fee: $95
- Other Benefits: $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, Hertz Five Star Status, $50 in Experience Credit on every Lifestyle Collection hotel stay
- Learn More
American Express® Green Card
- Why? – Earn 3x points on travel including with Airbnb
- Annual Fee: $150
- Other Benefits: Clear Plus statement credit of up to $189 each year, $100 LoungeBuddy statement credits each year, Travel and Purchase Protection
- Learn More
Best Rewards Credit Cards to Earn Cashback with Airbnb
Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Why? – Earn 3% Cashback on purchases in the category of your choice, like travel, including with Airbnb
- Annual Fee: $95
- Other Benefits: Receive up to $200 in statement credits towards travel including $100 in airline incidentals each year and $100 towards TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry application fees every four years, Travel and Purchase Protection
- Learn More
Amazon Prime Visa Signature Card
- Why? – Earn 3% Cashback on purchases made on Amazon including on Airbnb gift cards
- Annual Fee: $0 with Amazon Prime membership
- Other Benefits: Up to 10% back on purchases in a category of your choice on Amazon, 5% back at Whole Foods, Travel and Purchase Protection – must have Amazon Prime membership for increased rewards rate
- Learn More
No Annual Fee: Discover it® Cashback Credit Card
- Why? – Earn unlimited 1% cashback on all purchases
- Annual Fee: $0
- Other Benefits: Rotating quarterly 5% cashback categories, Unlimited cashback matched during your first year with account
- Learn More
Buy Gift Cards to Earn Points and Miles with Airbnb
You can also purchase Airbnb gift cards to earn points and miles. Instead of earning points or miles on individual stays with Airbnb, you will be earning them on the purchase of gift cards. That being said, unless you purchase gift cards as part of a promotion offered through an airline’s shopping portal, you can expect to earn 1 mile or point per dollar spent. It’s not the best way to earn points but it’s something to keep in mind especially if your preferred credit card doesn’t earn a ton of points on bookings made directly with Airbnb.
Buying Gift Cards Online or In-Store
If you hold a credit card that doesn’t earn a bonus on vacation rentals like Airbnb, the second best way to ensure you’re still earning miles and points with Airbnb is to buy gift cards. The key here is that you will want to buy from a retailer through which your preferred credit card will own bonus miles.
For example, the American Express® Gold Card earns 4x points at grocery stores* up to $25,000 in a calendar year. So, if you go to your local grocery store and buy Airbnb gift cards, you will earn 4x points on those gift cards. If I were to go to my local grocery store and buy a $500 Airbnb gift card, I would earn 2,000 American Express Membership Rewards points.
If you decide to purchase Airbnb gift cards online from a retailer like GiftCards.com, you will only earn 1x points per dollar spent or 1% cashback. But, if you know you will be booking an Airbnb sometime soon, you can always purchase gift cards and then book with an Airbnb partner airline. For example:
- Purchase a $100 Airbnb gift card and earn 1x points (or 1% cashback)
- Book a $100 stay on Airbnb through British Airways Executive Club and earn 100 Avios
- So, you will have earned 1x points (100 points) and 100 Avios
But, there is often an even better way to purchase Airbnb gift cards: airline shopping portals.
*American Express Gold Card earns 4x rewards points up to $25,000 in spend at eligible supermarkets located in the U.S. (superstores, convenience stores, warehouse clubs, and meal-kit delivery services are not considered supermarkets). The American Express Gold Card has a $250 annual fee. See terms and fees for more information.
Buying Gift Cards on Airline Shopping Portals
There are some occasions in which you might be able to earn bonus miles or points when buying gift cards. Airline shopping portals, like those offered by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and United, will sometimes run promotions that offer bonus miles when members buy gift cards through certain retailers.
If you have an airline’s co-branded credit card, you can also double dip when making purchases via the airline’s shopping portal. For example, if I spend $100 at a retailer that participates in an airline’s shopping portal and I earn 1 point per dollar spent, I would initially earn 100 points. However, if I also used that airline’s co-branded credit card, I would earn an additional 100 points during the statement period.
Here is a list of shopping portals that feature gift card retailers that offer Airbnb gift cards:
- Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Shopping
- American Airlines AAdvantage Shopping
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles Shopping
- JetBlue TrueBlue Shopping
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Shopping
- United MileagePlus Shopping
Nearly every shopping portal offers the same earning rate with the exception of JetBlue TrueBlue. In most cases, you will earn 1 point/mile per dollar spent. With TrueBlue Shopping, you will earn 0.5 points per dollar spent. All shopping portals allow you to earn points or miles on Airbnb gift cards through the retailer GiftCards.com.
As previously mentioned, you can sometimes earn double points through GiftCards.com. Always be on the lookout for shopping portal promotions as they are often random and only last a few days.
Can You Redeem Points and Miles with Airbnb?
The short answer is no. No, you cannot redeem points and miles with Airbnb. But, there are ways around the lack of any redemption partners. The easiest and most common way you can redeem your points for stays with Airbnb is through redeeming points for gift cards. This is almost always a bad deal offering limited value. However, you will occasionally find discounts on Airbnb gift cards when using miles or points.
Redeem Miles or Points for Airbnb Gift Cards with Airlines
Very few major airlines offer the option of using points or miles for gift cards. United and Air Canada are two that do offer this option. However, as mentioned, the value you will get on these redemptions isn’t great. Here’s how much it will cost you to redeem points for Airbnb gift cards.
If you were to use your Air Canada Aeroplan points for a $500 Airbnb gift card, you would typically need 70,000 points. There is currently a promotion running until June 28th making a $500 Airbnb gift card available for 62,500 points. However, for this example, we will look at the normal rate.
Redeeming 70,000 points for a gift card with a cash value of $500 puts the value of each Aeroplan point at just $0.0071. That’s 0.71 cents per point. According to AwardWallet’s latest valuations, the average value of Aeroplan points is 1.79 cents per point. So, you’re getting quite a bit less from your points when redeeming for gift cards.
Now, if you were to use United MileagePlus miles for Airbnb gift cards, you would also need to take into consideration certain restrictions. United allows members to purchase up to $100 in e-gift cards in a 24-hour period. So, each day, you can only purchase a $100 Airbnb gift card. You will need to redeem 33,333 miles for a $100 Airbnb gift card. Redeeming miles for these gift cards gets you 0.03 cents per mile. Looking at AwardWallet’s latest valuations, the average value of MileagePlus miles is 1.76 cents per mile. Again, not a great use of your points.
Related Guide: What You Need to Know About Buying Airline Miles
Redeem Miles or Points for Airbnb Gift Cards with Credit Card Rewards Programs
Pretty much every credit card connected to a rewards or cashback program gives cardholders the option of using points or cashback for gift cards. Once again, this is not advisable as you won’t get a ton of value from this. Capital One, Chase, American Express, and Discover all allow cardholders to use rewards for gift cards.
So, the bottom line here is that you can redeem rewards points and miles for gift cards but doing so doesn’t offer a ton of value and isn’t a great use of points.
Consider Other Rental Platforms to Earn Points or Miles
If none of these options sound all that attractive, there are other platforms you can use to book vacation rentals, homes, or apartments. Two other platforms that allow you to earn points and miles are Marriott Homes and Villas and VRBO.
The only platform that allows you to earn points directly through the platform is Marriott Homes & Villas. When you book with Marriott Homes & Villas, you can earn both Bonvoy points and elite nights. You can then use your Bonvoy points for stays at hotels or you can transfer points to partner airlines. You can read our full guide to Marriott Homes and Villas here to learn more about earning points through the vacation rental platform.
Related: Earn 5x Bonvoy Points with Marriott Homes & Villas through June 26th
In the case of VRBO, you can earn either OneKey cash or you can earn United MileagePlus miles. OneKey is the loyalty program for Expedia, Hotels.com, and VRBO. With VRBO, you will earn 2% OneKey cash on eligible stays. You can then redeem your OneKey cash for stays with VRBO in the United States. You can also use OneKey cash with Expedia or Hotels.com.
A better way to earn on VRBO stays is through United MileagePlus. MileagePlus members will earn 3 miles per dollar spent with VRBO. To earn MileagePlus miles, you will need to book through the MileagePlus VRBO booking portal. You can access that booking portal via this link.
The Bottom Line
While Airbnb does not have its own loyalty program, you can still earn points and miles with Airbnb. By taking advantage of Airbnb’s partnerships with major airlines and using travel rewards credit cards, you can accumulate miles or points on your next stay. Additionally, purchasing gift cards through airline shopping portals allows you to earn points or miles with your preferred airline even if this airline doesn’t have a partnership with Airbnb.
How do you earn points and miles on vacation rentals or stays booked through platforms like Airbnb?
