On his podcast, Clark Howard answers real reader questions on money, credit, debt, retirement, travel, and more, along with co-host Christa DiBiase.

Clark's answer: There is definitely some truth to the pitches you see, and there is a lot of competition in this space now. They might find a loophole where you take points from American Express, Chase, Citi, or Capital One, transfer them to Air Canada, and redeem them through a partner program you’ve never heard of to get a seat on a completely different airline. It is true that from time to time there will be screaming deals, most often in premium economy or business class and rarely in international first class.

However, pulling this off takes several steps, and the single most important requirement is that you have to be the most time-flexible traveler ever. You might only find availability on two specific days in one month going over, and just one day the following month coming back. If your schedule isn’t that open, these offers really aren't going to work for you. But for people who are retired, self-employed, or students with that kind of flexibility, the savings are real. About five months ago, I was able to book an incredible last-minute return flight from Europe for my son by transferring credit card points to a partner airline. It takes work and research, but if you have the patience and the flexibility, the deals are definitely out there.