Updated: 10/10/19 | October 10th, 2019
Long-time visitors understand I like travel credit history cards since of the big amount of points as well as advantages they bring. (New visitors now understand this.)
In fact, this month alone I signed up for an Amex Platinum as well as United Airlines card, with more sign-ups organized next month. points bring great deals of benefits like free flights, elite status, free inspected bags, as well as concern boarding.
And, while I understand a great deal about this subject, there are people who spend their whole day figuring out exactly how to maximize points. people like Brian Kelly.
Brian Kelly runs The points Guy, a website devoted to maximizing reward programs as well as credit history card offers to get as much free travel as well as elite condition as one potentially can. He understands the reward booking systems, points programs, as well as credit history cards inside as well as out.
Today, Brian shares his secrets.
Nomadic Matt: exactly how did you ended up being “The points Guy”?
Brian Kelly: I started young. I’ve been passionate about points since I was 13 years old when I organized a household trip to the Cayman Islands utilizing my dad’s airline miles. By the time I was a sophomore in college, I was a us Airways elite flyer.
While working for a wall street bank after college, I was on the road constantly, earning tons of miles as well as points in addition to elite condition with airlines as well as hotels, as well as that enabled me to fund a fantastic travel way of life in my spare time. I would take trips to Europe for the weekend utilizing miles as well as points (I sat behind Madonna in British Airways very first class when — that was memorable!), went on a blowout high-end trip to the Seychelles with my partner for just a few hundred dollars utilizing points, as well as hopped all around the country.
I started blogging about news in the points world, in addition to my own areas of expertise, as well as people started reading it. then a great deal of people started reading it, as well as I decided to begin blogging full time. That was just under a year ago, as well as it’s been phenomenal! difficult as well as interesting as well as motivating all at the exact same time.
Over the years, exactly how many miles have you accumulated? exactly how many credit history cards did you have to open for that to happen?
From credit history cards, I’ve pulled in millions of points as well as miles. Literally. Last year alone, just with credit history card sign-up as well as costs bonuses, I raked in over 600,000 points. That took me about seven cards to do.
A great deal of people are concerned that credit history card “churning as well as burning” will hurt their credit history score. What do you state to this?
I would never advise anyone with less-than-healthy credit history to apply for several cards at once, as “churners” frequently do. For one thing, you most likely won’t get accepted. For another, you should very first concentrate on fixing your credit history to ensure that you can then take full advantage of the lucrative credit history card offers that are out there.
That said, only 10% of your credit history score is based on new credit history — when banks perform a credit history query when you apply for a new card. Otherwise, the most important factors are your repayment history as well as the amount of money you owe, which integrated amount to 65% of your credit history score. So before you even believe about applying for new cards, you requirement to make sure your credit history is in order as well as that you have a decent score.
If your credit history is good, then applying for new cards should not hurt it. Your score generally only drops a couple of points for opening a new card (out of a overall of 850), so the effect is minimal.
Do you cancel a great deal of your cards or just keep them going forever?
I cancel a few of my cards, mainly to prevent hefty annual charges for cards I am not actively utilizing or deriving some kind of benefit from. However, instead of closing the account completely, I usually try to ask the bank to either waive the annual charge or downgrade to a no-fee card to ensure that the line of credit history stays open as well as keeps my credit history score healthy.
What makes for a great credit history card offer?
The whole point of points is to discover value, so if you discover a credit history card that will offer something of value to you, that makes it a great offer. The $695 annual charge on the Amex Platinum card seems onerous to some, however others like the $200 airline rebate you get from it, lounge access, as well as a hold of other perks, including earning membership benefits points, whereas those looking for a lower annual charge may prefer the Amex Premier benefits Gold Card, with just a $175 annual fee, where you get three points per dollar spent on airfare as well as two points per dollar spent on gas as well as groceries, however not those higher-level perks.
Still others may prefer the versatility to utilize their points at a fixed value, like with funding One, to buy the airfare they want, when they want, as well as don’t care about flying in a premium cabin, while those who do want to fly business internationally or stay in a elegant hotel suite may want to rack up points in their airline and/or hotel program of option by getting a co-branded card.
It truly depends upon what you want to do with those points, as well as when you have a strategy in mind, go after the cards that will get you there fastest.
With so many offers available from so many different companies, what would be your top three tips for maximizing those offers for free hotels or flights?
1. Strategize — Don’t just indication up for each card with an OK offer. If you have a specific trip or goal in mind, concentrate your efforts on the cards that will get you the most miles for the airline that’s going to get you where you requirement to go or the hotel where you want to stay.
2. Don’t just concentrate on the sign-up bonuses — The finest cards available are the ones that enable for sustainable points earning with your costs habits. And, for that matter, make sure you are putting every cost possible on a points-earning card to ensure that you are maximizing your earning potential.
3. Do your homework — See what bonuses the credit history cards you’re thinking about have historically offered as well as make sure you get the very best one possible.
Do you make points any type of other method besides these sign-up bonuses?
Of course. I travel a great deal so I make miles the great old-fashioned method of sitting in an airplane as well as going somewhere. In terms of credit history cards, the very best ones aren’t necessarily just the ones with the biggest bonuses. In my opinion, the very best points-earning cards are the ones that enable you to sustain your lucrative points earning with classification costs bonuses.
For instance, while the present Chase Sapphire favored bonus offer offer is down to 40,000 ultimate benefits points from its high of 50,000, I still believe it’s a fantastic card since you get double points on travel as well as dining costs (basically all I do), as well as those classifications are relatively broad, so you can make a ton of points. You might then integrate those points with the ultimate benefits points you make with the Chase flexibility card’s quarterly costs bonus offer categories, where you make five points per dollar spent on things like groceries, office supplies, gas stations, or specific vendors like Amazon.
Suddenly you’re looking at a ton of additional points. Those are the type of cards worth holding on to even after you’ve redeemed your sign-up bonus.
How many miles a year do you fly? Is everything on points?
Last year, I flew about 150,000 miles, as well as though a few of those trips were utilizing miles (like one from the USA to Mauritius in the Indian ocean via Paris), as well as I just recently traveled to Asia for three weeks utilizing United as well as British Airways miles, I do pay for many of my tickets. After all, you’ve got to make a few of those miles as well as elite condition flying.
Explain for a minute why you believe these credit history card offers are so good? Is it just the points you get, or do you get extra benefits like elite status?
It all depends upon what you’re looking for. If you want the versatility of transferable points that you can utilize on a range of airlines or hotels, then American reveal membership benefits as well as Chase ultimate benefits would be programs for you to look into, whereas if you want to be able to buy any type of ticket any type of time as well as don’t care about flying coach, perhaps a fixed-value point system like funding One venture benefits is the method to go.
If you are going to be flying a specific airline a lot, perhaps the co-branded card is what you should look at, such as Delta’s SkyMiles Amex, which gets you elite-status advantages like free inspected bags for as much as nine people on your booking (a big value), discounted SkyClub passes, as well as 20% off in-flight food as well as entertainment, in addition to other positives such as two miles per dollar spent on Delta; or the recently introduced United Club Card, which confers not only membership into the United Club at airports however likewise advantages like two free inspected bags for the cardholder as well as a companion, concern access, as well as elite condition with both Hyatt as well as Avis. That’s a great deal of value.
What is your preferred travel credit history card?
I mentioned it earlier, however I like the Chase Sapphire favored card. It’s most likely my preferred card at the moment. The ultimate benefits points I make utilizing it can be transferred to a range of partners, including United, British Airways, Korean Air, as well as Southwest, hotels including Hyatt, concern Club (Intercontinental), Marriott, as well as Ritz-Carlton, in addition to Amtrak, so I can utilize them for quite much anything.
Plus, I get two points per dollar I spend on dining as well as travel, which includes a great deal of categories, like taxis as well as even parking. I just recently transferred the points I got for signing as much as United as well as utilized them to fly business class from Newark to Singapore on Singapore Airlines for 60,000 miles as well as $2.50 USD in taxes/fees. That was a fantastic redemption.
Also, it’s made from metal, so it feels great as well as it looks awesome in my wallet!
For more fantastic tips on exactly how to utilize airline credit history cards as well as (legally) milk the points system for free travel, make sure you checked out Brian’s blog. You can likewise comply with him on Twitter.
Want to discover all about points as well as miles?
Stop paying full cost for airfare! download our free guide to travel hacking as well as learn:
How To pick a credit history Card
How To make Miles for free Flights & Hotels
Is travel Hacking truly a Scam?
CLICK right here get THE free guide sent TO YOU
Book Your Trip: Logistical tips as well as Tricks
Book Your Flight
Find a inexpensive flight by utilizing Skyscanner. It’s my preferred browse engine since it searches websites as well as airlines around the globe so you always understand no stone is left unturned.
Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, utilize Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses as well as hotels.
Don’t fail to remember travel Insurance
Travel insurance coverage will protect you against illness, injury, theft, as well as cancellations. It’s comprehensive security in situation anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to utilize it many times in the past. My preferred business that offer the very best service as well as value are:
SafetyWing (best for everyone)
Insure My trip (for those over 70)
Medjet (for extra evacuation coverage)
Ready to book Your Trip?
Check out my resource page for the very best business to utilize when you travel. I listing all the ones I utilize when I travel. They are the very best in class as well as you can’t go wrong utilizing them on your trip.