I’ve dabbled in Points and Miles for years. Maybe even decades. I started off simple – frequent flier miles for flights flown. About ten years ago, I started the credit card game but limited myself to about one every year or two and focused on branded cards from airlines or hotels – American, United, Delta, and Marriott.
Several years ago, I branched out to Flexible Points Credit Cards. I started with the Chase Sapphire Reserve. With that card and a couple of Airline Cards, I’ve been able to pay for the majority of my overseas flights and a few domestic trips as well. In 2021, I used points for my trip to Europe and to South Africa. In 2023, I used points for my trip to Guatemala. In 2024, I am proud to say I didn’t pay for a single overseas flight other than from Copenhagen to the Faroe Islands. I used existing American Airlines miles for the Dominican Republic, I got a Jet Blue card for the welcome bonus for my flight to Puerto Rico flight, I used existing Chase points for Grenada, and I used existing Delta miles for the flight to Copenhagen.
In mid-2024, I heard about Bilt. Since I am a renter, I jumped on this immediately and continue to kick myself for not learning about it sooner. That is a lot of opportunity cost down the drain. But this lesson motivated me to up my game. I don’t want to go crazy, but I don’t want not take advantage of the opportunities in this space. Here are some changes and lessons from the past year…
Looking at my past success and thinking critically about what I can handle, I’ve increased to two cards a year for me, and two cards a year for my player2 (aka my husband). This is about one card per quarter. It feels manageable in the number of cards and ensures I am never working on more than one minimum spend and sign up bonus at a time.
I am also more willing to consider a higher credit card fee. In the past, I’ve never held a card that has more than a $95 annual fee. But as I look closer, I am beginning to realize that I don’t get much for $95, and that some cards with a $395 annual fee give back more than that in benefits. I just applied for my first a few months ago. However, regardless of the annual fee, this should be revaluated annually to ensure the fee is worth the benefits. It won’t be the same for everyone. I don’t “value” benefits that I don’t use or wouldn’t pay cash for, but I do value things like a free night stay or a travel credit.
I haven’t given up on airline branded credit cards. I live less than an hour from a United Hub and the airport that is within walking distance has American Airline routes up and down the east coast with connections to the Caribbean and South America. My $95 annual fee for American Airlines is well worth the free checked bags or boarding group five to ensure I have space for my carry-on. But Delta is no longer worth it for me, I rarely fly them. And Jet Blue was a great one-time use strategy to off-set my flight to Puerto Rico but I don’t have plans to fly with them anytime soon.
Keep the main thing as the main thing. Understand your goals and objectives. For me, it is about making my travel more affordable. (Period). I want to pay less for trips that I am going to take anyway. This means I am not necessarily concerned with maximizing the value for every point. I often only get 1 or 2 cents value per point. I am not going to pay several hundred dollars in fees in order to fly business class. Many like to use points and miles to offset the cost of aspirational flights and hotels. While that is awesome – this is not my priority.
A few obvious reminders and maybe a few new tips: 1) Don’t ever spend more than you can afford to pay off at the end of the month. Travel credit cards have between 20-30% interest rates. Any benefits fly out the door if you run a balance. 2) Don’t spend on anything you wouldn’t have bought anyway. Even that extra tea or meal adds up and isn’t worth the points. 3) Don’t pay more in order to get more points, especially if you aren’t sure how you will redeem them. Just yesterday I was looking to rent a car. Booking directly through the site was about $25 cheaper than through a credit card portal which would offer me 10x. But the value of those points would not be more than $25. I booked direct and got the standard 2x. 4) Don’t pay a fee in order to use a credit card. There are some things you can’t use a credit card for or that require a fee. Make sure you do the math first and are gaining more than you are losing. 5) Always do the math and stay flexible and open minded. Again, my priority is saving money. Not maximizing my points. Those are similar but different goals. As an example, last summer I needed to rent a car. I used a credit card portal for the booking. It was a little more expensive than if I had used another site, and credit card portals usually only value your points at 1 cent per mile. I can do better. But bottom line, this made the car “free” and it was the only option that prevented me from paying out of pocket. It was worth it. I’ve used the portal to also book flights on American Airlines since I’ve run out of those points and don’t have a great way to earn more. 6) On the flip side, despite earning extra points and credits, I don’t use the travel portal when I find a better deal elsewhere. The option to use points and having multiple travel portals, increases the amount of research I do. Bottom line: Always do the math!
As I increase my knowledge and commitment to the points and miles strategy, I’ve found it vital to keep up on the latest news. Some of my favorite resources include:
Points Talk with the Travel Mom Squad
I am always learning something new. This is definitely one of those skill sets with lots of layers. And the more you learn the more you earn. But here’s what I’m not doing…. While I am continuing to go deeper and deeper down into this hobby, for me it is still about the actual travel and the destination. Points are a way to get me to where I want to go. I plan the trip first. I am not picking a destination based on the route, a new business class suite or a great deal.
To really maximize your points, you need to be flexible. That is not me.
For my trip this summer, I won’t even change my departure date by a single day in order to get a better deal. For the most part, I am only using points to pay for what I would have paid for in cash. I fly economy and use points for Economy (although if I can find a great deal on business, I might try it one of these days). As a general rule, I don’t want to use extra points for an elevated travel experience. While I sometimes stay in hotel chains, the majority of the time I like to picked smaller and sometimes quirkier options. I like having flexible points for when a hotel chain makes sense but that is not my goal.
I am definitely not an expert and Life Kinetic won’t transition from travel research to points and miles. But it is hard not to get excited about a “hack” that can save me thousands of dollars every year.
Life Kinetic Travel Research 