The three kinds of points

Transferable bank points

Earned on general-purpose rewards cards from major banks. Their superpower is flexibility: they can usually be moved into a handful of airline and hotel programs, or used directly in a bank's own travel portal.

For a beginner, flexible points are the safest place to build a balance, because you don't have to know your destination before you earn them.

Airline miles

Earned by flying, by co-branded airline cards, or by transferring bank points in. They are tied to one airline and its partner alliance, so they are worth the most when that airline actually flies where you want to go.

Hotel points

Same idea, locked to one hotel family. Often the easiest early win: a few free nights can cut the cost of a first solo trip more than a free flight would, because accommodation is usually the scariest line item.

A word on 'value'

People online argue endlessly about cents-per-point. Ignore most of it. A point is worth whatever it buys you compared to the cash you'd otherwise hand over — and a redemption that gets you on the plane beats a theoretically better one you never book.