Thread by @think_in_points

A lot of folks think, “Why do I need miles when my card lets me book hotels directly on an OTA platform?” 🤔

Here’s why it actually matters, and why EPM must start a miles transfer program soon 🧵👇

I had some reward points on my HDFC DCB.
At the same time, I was short of points in Accor for upcoming hotel stays.
70% of my stays were already going via Accor → so the decision was -
1⃣ Use DCB points to book hotels directly via Smartbuy
2⃣ OR transfer them to Accor

If I use HDFC DCB points directly on Smartbuy OTA, I get -
❌ No Accor reward points
❌ No Accor status points
❌ Nights don’t count towards my loyalty tier
Basically, I’d lose all the loyalty benefits of booking inside the Accor ecosystem.

So instead, I transferred DCB points to Accor.
Conversion rate = 1 RP → 0.5 Accor points.
Now, here’s the thing,
With euro at a high, Accor points gave me almost 2X INR value
Even after 0.5 conversion, I got ~₹1 per RP
PLUS, I earned all my status & reward points on my stays

This is why miles & hotel point transfers matter.
Direct OTA redemptions are fine for one-off trips.
But if you’re inside a loyalty program, then every night, every flight, every point, every tier matters!

And that’s why I believe:
If EPM (Emeralde Private Metal) wants to compete head-to-head with cards like Infinia, it must launch a robust miles transfer program.
Without it, it will be “just another OTA redemption and GV card” and that’s not enough in the premium space.

For frequent travelers, loyalty points > plain OTA bookings.
That’s the gap EPM needs to close with a miles program.
Do you agree?
Or would you still prefer the flexibility of OTAs?

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