Podcasts about capital one venture x

We dive into the complex world of changing and canceling award travel, sharing real experiences and practical strategies to help save your trip when plans change.• Domestic carriers like American, Alaska, and Southwest generally don't charge fees for award ticket changes• International airlines like Air France/Flying Blue, British Airways, and Singapore typically charge significant change fees• A personal saga of spending three hours changing Air France flights reveals important distinctions between calling the airline versus the loyalty program• Waiting for airline schedule changes can sometimes qualify you for fee-free changes or cancellations• Premium credit cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X offer valuable trip protection benefits• An annual travel insurance policy (like Allianz) can provide additional protection for under $500 for a family of five• Booking one-way flights provides more flexibility and potentially lower change fees when plans shift• When evaluating change fees, consider whether the improved experience justifies the cost• Clearing cookies when searching for award availability can sometimes reveal better optionsIf you've enjoyed our podcast, please leave a review or rating wherever you listen. It helps more people find the podcast and helps us grow to provide more fun content. Thank you!

New Zealand has been high on so many of your travel wish lists—and for good reason! In this episode, Pam shares details from her recent two-week adventure on the North Island of New Zealand, including how she booked business-class flights, multiple free hotel nights, and even covered rental cars and excursions—all using points and miles (and one fortuitous mistake fare). From kayaking Cathedral Cove to digging out hot tubs at Hot Water Beach, it's a trip full of unforgettable experiences and major travel inspiration. Finding Flights to New Zealand: A Challenge (and a Win!) Getting to New Zealand in business class is no easy feat, but Pam pulled it off. After struggling to find availability, she scored two one-way business-class award tickets from Dallas to Auckland. The return flight was a mistake fare in United Polaris for just $1,000 cash (normally $3,800+).  Points-Powered Luxury: Park Hyatt Auckland & More Pam raved about the Park Hyatt Auckland, calling it one of her favorite Park Hyatts ever. For just 25,000 Hyatt points per night, she enjoyed stunning views of the harbor, incredible Globalist breakfast, and unbeatable service. She also used Capital One Venture X credits to cover stays at boutique resorts. The Itinerary: Coastal Drives, Kayaks, and Tiny Houses Bay of Islands: Booked via Capital One credits, with a scenic boat tour to Hole in the Rock Cathedral Cove: Kayaking through crystal-clear waters to one of New Zealand's most famous spots Hot Water Beach: Digging hot tubs in naturally heated sand Rotorua & Lake Taupo: Rafting a 21-foot waterfall, visiting Maori villages, and relaxing in Hilton luxury Bonus Stay: A tiny house Airbnb—Pam's dream come true! The Total Cost Breakdown Using a mix of points, miles, Capital One credits, and cash, Pam calculated her total out-of-pocket costs at around $3,000—a fraction of the $28,000+ retail value for flights and hotels. With ten nights of free hotel stays, complimentary breakfasts, and first-class flight experiences, it was an unforgettable journey made possible by smart planning and strategic redemptions.   Links: How to Get Your Next Vacation for Nearly Free - https://travelmomsquad.lpages.co/freevacation Links For All Things Travel Mom Squad: stan.store/travelmomsquad   Episode Minute By Minute: 00:30 – Why Pam did New Zealand: Take 2 03:00 – Booking flights with AA miles and a United mistake fare 08:30 – Pam's advice for finding flights to New Zealand 13:00 – Park Hyatt Auckland + Waiheke Island day trip 18:00 – Bay of Islands and boutique hotel stay 21:00 – Tiny house stay and Cathedral Cove 26:00 – Rafting a waterfall and Maori village experience 31:00 – Hilton Lake Taupo and relaxing 35:00 – Flying United Polaris home + final night at Grand Hyatt DFW 38:00 – Cost recap and final thoughts on why Pam can't wait to return Thinking about a trip to New Zealand? This episode will show you it's totally possible with points and miles—and that even Grandma can conquer a 21-foot waterfall!

When you start flying more because you're using miles and points, having access to airport lounges can be a nice perk of traveling! In this episode, Lyn shares the easiest way to get access to airport lounges - by holding the right travel cards - and her favorite card options to help you do so most affordably.Resources:Capital One Venture X referral link - https://familiestravelfree.com/capitalonepodcastChase Sapphire Reserve affiliate link - https://familiestravelfree.com/ReservePodcastCapital One LoungesAMEX Lounge SearchChase Sapphire LoungesWant to learn my simple system to use miles and points to always fly for free? Come join my Families Fly Free membership, where you'll learn my expert process, receive personal support and get access to lots of great travel content and regular live webinars and Q&As. Learn more at https://www.familiesflyfree.com/joinJoin the Families Fly Free email list at https://www.familiesflyfree.com/emailGot questions about Families Fly Free? Email info AT familiestravelfree.com or text 844-403-2263

Is the Capital One Venture X the travel card missing from your wallet? In this episode, we're diving deep into one of the most talked-about credit cards on the market and why it's a must-have for savvy travelers. Whether you're a seasoned points collector or just starting out, this card offers a ton of value—and I'm breaking it all down for you.Here's what you'll learn in this episode:Key Benefits of the Venture X Card – From its annual travel credit to airport lounge access, we're covering why this card stands out from the rest.Unique Redemption Opportunities – Learn how to use your Venture X points for everyday travel expenses like Disney tickets, theme parks, and even rental cars.How to Maximize the Annual Fee – Discover why the card's perks more than make up for its cost, including free authorized user benefits.Why You Need This Card:75,000-point welcome bonus after meeting the minimum spend.$300 annual travel credit and unlimited 10x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.Priority Pass and Capital One lounge access for a luxury airport experience.No foreign transaction fees—perfect for international trips.Links & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:Capital One Venture X Card Disney tickets, Disneyland tickets, Disney Cruises 2025 Discount Packages | Undercover TouristFREE GUIDETravel Points Academy | Points Too ParadiseWant Help Building Your Credit Card Strategy? Book a 1:1 Card Concierge Session to get personalized advice on which card is right for you and how to make the most of your travel points.Join the Conversation: Have you used the Venture X for unique travel redemptions? DM me your stories or questions on Instagram.Don't Forget: If this episode helped you, subscribe to the podcast and leave a review! Share it with a friend who's ready to travel smarter with points.

Welcome back, travelers! Today, we're tackling a common question we get—choosing between the Capital One Venture and Venture X cards. Both are powerhouses when it comes to earning travel rewards, but if you could only have one, which would it be? Alex, Pam, and Jess dive deep into the pros and cons of each card, sharing their personal takes on which one they'd pick and why. The Basics: What Do These Cards Offer? Before we make any decisions, let's look at what these two cards bring to the table. With the Capital One Venture card, you'll earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, with no categories to track. Plus, it comes with a lower annual fee than its premium counterpart. On the other hand, the Venture X card is Capital One's premium travel card, offering more perks for frequent travelers. You still get unlimited 2X miles, but add in access to airport lounges and a hefty travel credit, and you've got a card designed for those looking to elevate their travel experience. Which Card Fits Your Lifestyle? Alex and Jess compare the cards side by side, highlighting which types of travelers might benefit the most from each. For those who travel occasionally and want to avoid high fees, the Venture card is a no-brainer. It offers flexibility and ease, with enough earning potential to rack up miles for annual getaways. But for frequent travelers or anyone who loves luxury perks, Venture X is hard to beat. The lounge access alone can make the card's higher annual fee worth it, especially if you travel multiple times a year. The additional bonus earning categories on travel also mean you'll build up your miles faster, making it easier to fund those bigger trips. Ready to Choose Your Card? Whether you're just starting your award travel journey or you're a seasoned pro, choosing between the Venture and Venture X cards depends on your travel style and how much you value luxury perks. Hit play now to hear Travel Mom Squad's full breakdown, and start planning your next adventure using Capital One miles!   Links: Links for This Episode: Capital One Venture: https://travelmomsquad.com/capital-one-venture-rewards-credit-card Capital One Venture X:  https://travelmomsquad.com/capital-one-venture-x-rewards-credit-card Links For All Things Travel Mom Squad: stan.store/travelmomsquad   Episode Minute-By-Minute Recap: 0:00 - Introduction: Kicking off the comparison between the Capital One Venture and Venture X cards. 2:00 - Alex breaks down the simplicity of the Venture card and why it's great for beginners or those looking for low fees. 5:00 - Jess dives into the perks of Venture X, from lounge access to higher earning categories on travel-related expenses. 10:00 - Side-by-side comparison: Which card is better for different types of travelers? 15:00 - Alex, Pam, and Jess each share which card they'd choose if they could only have one and why. 20:00 - Final thoughts: Encouraging listeners to assess their travel habits and goals to make the best card choice for their lifestyle.

In our upcoming two-part episode on financial intelligence for runners, we dive into valuable tips and strategies for maximizing travel points and credit card benefits. We start by chatting with Ben Kimenkul (@bensbigdeal on Instagram), who shares why marathon runners should consider earning travel points over cash back, and how these points can be a game-changer for race-related travel. Ben walks us through choosing between credit cards with or without annual fees, explaining the perks that can justify the cost, especially for frequent marathoners. We also discuss essential benefits like TSA Precheck, lounge access, and rental car insurance that can make travel smoother and more cost-effective. For those tall athletes who need extra legroom, Ben covers how to use points for first-class cabins and hotel stays to enhance your race experience. Ben also shares insider tips on using points to book last-minute flights, covering race entry fees, and finding the best credit cards for marathoners, like the BILT card for earning points on rent or the Capital One Venture X for families. He emphasizes the importance of strategic spending to accumulate points and offers advanced tips to avoid baggage fees, such as linking your reservation to someone with elite status. Following this, we talk to Chris Heuisler, the Running Concierge at Westin Hotels, about how Westin supports marathon runners with specialized amenities and services, including nutritious food options, tailored environments for performance and recovery, and partnerships with local race organizers. Chris shares insights on what runners should consider when selecting a hotel for their marathon travel and how Westin accommodates the specific needs of runners, particularly those traveling across time zones. Don't miss this comprehensive discussion to help you travel smarter and perform better at your next race! We are now on YOUTUBE:Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@RunningPodcast  TIFOSI OPTICS: Use our 20% off code “MRP20” or use this link: https://tifosioptics.com/discount/MRP20  RUNUR athletics runur.run  code: runur_mrp20 Free UCAN sample pack: UCAN.co/mrp Use code MRP for 20% off!Support our podcast and check out our RunSwag Tshirts ·  Our website: ⁠www.marathonrunningpodcast.com ⁠ ·  Our Instagram: ⁠@runningpodcast⁠ ·  Our Amazon Storefront: ⁠Amazon Storefront⁠ ·  Join our Facebook group: ⁠SpeedStriders Facebook Group⁠ ·  Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@RunningPodcast

(Disclaimer: Click 'more' to see ad disclosure) Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as MileValue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Today, I'm chatting with Kevin from The Points Analyst.  In this episode we discuss the tool Kevin built to make finding award space easier, how the premium passport planner will help users find hard to find award space, upcoming features,  and so much more! One credit card sign up bonus can often times get you enough points for a business class ticket to Europe.  One card to consider for this is the Capital One Venture X. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out https://geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at https://geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! Check out Capital One Venture X Card Here: ➤ Waitlist for The Points Accelerator Here: Timestamps:  00:00 - Get to know Kevin 03:09 - Why Kevin built a tool 06:17 - Why this hasn't been built before 07:53 - Costs associated with running the search engine 10:16 - Could anybody build this? 12:13 - Seeing how the tool works 13:29 - Airlines available and saver rates 16:51 - Using this with particular routes 17:34 - What is saver space for different airlines? 18:34 - Avoiding phantom availability 19:55 - What airlines is the best for? 21:52 - Why are some programs harder to search with? 25:11 - What behavior airlines want to avoid 27:36 - The fees to gain access to this tool 30:04 - Is this only business class? 30:25 - What is the non saver option? 33:25 - Can you convert all currencies to USD? 36:23 - Where to find Kevin and the tool 37:36 - Outro == ➤ You can find Kevin Here: You can find Julia at: ➤ Free points 101 course (includes hotel upgrade email template):  ➤ Instagram ➤ Credit card links ➤ Patreon  ➤ Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls 

Follow us on Instagram @TravelPartyof5**GIVEAWAY: ENDS 9/7/24! Details: We are raffling off ONE $50 gift card of your choosing (must be able to be sent via email). Ideas: Starbucks, Target, Southwest, Walmart, you name it. FOR A CHANCE TO WIN: Leave us a review on itunes, screenshot your review and email it to us at travelpartyof5@gmail.com. That's it! I feel like your chances are fairly high. Winner will be contacted 9/8/24. Thank you in advance

Send us a Text Message.My Personal Report FrameworkCheck out “Darling Girls” by Sally Hepworth.I've been making cottage cheese protein bagels weekly; you can find the recipe on skinnytaste.com. I've also been preparing high-protein overnight oats regularly for breakfast, which includes oats, chia seeds, protein, and fruit. I started making these after finding out about my high cholesterol in January.I've been into adult gymnastics for almost a year now, and I'm amazed at what my body can accomplish in my 40th year of life. I've also been swimming a lot in our pool recently.Although I generally save money, I recently got the Capital One Venture X credit card for my new PRN job's travel expenses.I'm very excited about my upcoming trip to my best friend's wedding, especially because it's our first cruise as a family.Personally, I am treating myself to a new AirTrack to practice my gymnastics outside. I got mine on Facebook Marketplace along with a new pull-up bar, but I will link to them, on Amazon:Ally Peaks Pull Up BarPremium Air Mat Tumble Track Inflatable Gymnastics Tumbling MatWelcome to the Savvy Scribe Podcast, I'm so glad you're here! Before we start the show, if you're interested, we have a free Facebook group called "Savvy Nurse Writer Community"I appreciate you following me and listening today. I would LOVE for you to subscribe: ITUNESAnd if you love it, can I ask for a

Welcome back to Just The Tip, our Friday mini episode series! This week we're breaking down the perks and benefits of two of the top travel credit cards on the market today. The Squad has both of these credit cards, we know them, we use them, we love them. And while both are great, each one offers different benefits with its point system, partners, and booking portal. Tune in to hear it all! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Trip Meet Up: ⁠New River Gorge Rafting Weekend June 7-10, 2024⁠ Shop: ⁠Trip Itineraries⁠, ⁠Amazon Storefront ⁠and ⁠TSP Merch⁠ Connect: ⁠YouTube⁠, ⁠TikTok⁠, and ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ ⁠and contact us at travelsquadpodcast@gmail.com to submit a question of the week or inquire about guest interviews and advertising. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/travel-squad-podcast/support

What is the best Capital One Miles card? (01:35) - Pop quiz for Nick about filling in the gaps of a reader's trip report (Giant Mailbag) (13:32) - Jetblue's Peak and off-Peak pricing... for checked bags (Crazy Thing) Read more about Jetblue's peak and off-peak baggage pricing here: https://frequentmiler.com/jetblue-increasing-checked-baggage-fees-will-now-have-peak-off-peak-pricing/ (17:55) - Alaska Airlines offering up to 50% off award sale to Maldives, Tahiti & more (Award Talk) Read more about this Alaska Airlines award sale here: https://frequentmiler.com/alaska-airlines-offering-economy-premium-economy-award-sale-to-maldives-tahiti-more/ (19:40) - Read our post on the best time to visit any country here: https://frequentmiler.com/the-best-time-of-year-to-go-to-every-country-in-the-world-in-one-table/ (19:54) - Qatar business class award availability find Main Event: Which is the best Capital One Miles card? (24:48) - Why Capital One Miles matter. (31:55) - Capital One Miles cards (37:32) - So which is the best Miles card? Check out the Capital One Venture X card here (https://frequentmiler.com/VentureX/#Goto), or the Capital One Venture X Business card here (https://frequentmiler.com/VentureXBiz/#Goto) (41:23) - But Cash Back cards matter too! (44:26) - Cash Back cards (47:05) - So which is the best cash back card Check out the SaverOne card here: https://frequentmiler.com/C1SVO/#Goto (50:46) - But what's the best card combo? Read more about the Venture One card here: https://frequentmiler.com/C1V1/#Goto Read more about the Venture card here: https://frequentmiler.com/C1VR/#Goto Check out other Capital One credit cards here: https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/#CapOne (56:28) - Which issuers allow you to have more than one of the same card? (Question of the Week) Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don't forget to like and follow us on social media. Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder https://open.spotify.com/artist/6zAQHcu57q9QmYEKaDBpEU?si=JylqRM-FRhuVsWSE5oCIvA  

(Disclaimer: Click 'more' to see ad disclosure) Hey there, points people! Today, I'm chatting with Gauri, a student from the Points Accelerator Program. In this episode we discuss how Gauri was able to fly her family of 5 in Air France business class, strategies you can use to help your family travel in luxury, how Gauri keeps her points bank healthy and so much more! For those looking for a card with points transferrable to Air France, consider the Capital One Venture X. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! ➤ Check out the Capital one Venture X Card HERE ➤ Waitlist for The Points Accelerator ➤Points Accelerator students receive a token of appreciation in exchange for recording podcast episodes or providing video testimonials. Timestamps: 00:00 - Get to know Gauri 03:48 - How Gauri got into points 07:07 - Some of the worst credit advice? 07:45 - How many points Gauri earned before jumping in 08:40 - What to do when finding business class for 5 is tough to find 09:40 - How Gauri booked all 5 members of her family on business class 11:15 - How much it cost Gauri to fly her family of 5 12:04 - How Gauri earns her points 14:04 - The reality of booking business class flights/cancelations 16:54 - Did flying to France deplete Gauri's points bank? 17:17 - Gauri's experience with QSuites 18:30 - Where did Guari stay on her trips 19:38 - How much money Gauri saved with points 21:11 - How to earn points without crazy high spend 24:14 - Gauri's future trips? 26:28 - Check out the points analyst and katies travel tricks 27:38 - Outro == ➤ You can find Julia through her ⁠⁠Free Course⁠⁠ (includes hotel upgrade email template) | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Credit Card Links⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠ ➤ Sign up for the newsletter for exclusive access to free coaching calls! ➤ Ask me a question or request a free award search tutorial HERE! Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

(Disclaimer: Click 'more' to see ad disclosure) ➤ Sign up for free coaching through the newsletter https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-... ➤ Free points 101 course (includes hotel upgrade email template) https://www.geobreezetravel.com/freec... ➤ Free credit card consultations https://www.geobreezetravel.com/consu... ➤ Seats.Aero: https://seats.aero/r/tffyknc4 Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 00:22 - Knowing what card to get next 01:32 - Which card should be used when 02:44 - When and how often should you cancel cards 05:11 - Struggling to find a location for travel 06:24 - What is a good points deal? 09:15 - Minimize sign up bonus FOMO 10:23 - Predictable offers 11:37 - Getting started with points and miles 12:18 - When to use miles for an upgrade 13:10 - Speculatively moving points 14:12 - Best airlines for earning points 14:45 - When is status worth it? 16:39 - Using the Capital One Venture X credit/portal 17:18 - Should you buy points? 17:37 - Outro ===== You can find Julia at: ➤ Free course: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/freec... ➤ Website: [https://www.geobreezetravel.com](https://www.geobreezetravel.com/) ➤ Instagram: / geobreezetravel ➤ Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards ➤ Patreon: / geobreezetravel Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Watch this episode now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6oYMcgIOf4 Capital One Venture X Business https://milevalue.com/creditcards/capital-one-venture-x-business/?aff=lgttp Click "more" to see Ad Disclosure. Istanbul Tour: https://www.viator.com/tours/Istanbul/Istanbul-Full-Day-Private-Guided-Old-City-Tour/d585-11522P1?pid=P00137785&mcid=42383&medium=link Laundry service in Bangkok: https://www.washdrop.com/ Want to know how to travel using credit card points and miles? Every Friday we share our insider tips! Collectively we've redeemed millions of points and miles for hotels and flights worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. We give you the inside scoop how you can do this too! Website: https://www.letsgettothepoints.com/ Email: letsgettothepoints@gmail.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/letsgettothepoints/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@letsgettothepoints CREDIT CARD LINKS: https://milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=lgttp EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL DISCOUNT CODES: https://letsgettothepoints.com/tools/ Seats.aero: Award Flight Search Engine Use Code: LGTTP20 for $20 off the first year https://seats.aero/or CardPointers: Save Money and Maximize Your Spend Bonuses https://cardpointers.com/partner/letsgettothepoints/ MaxMyPoint: Hotel Rewards Checker Use Code: LGTTP for 20% off the first 3 months of your Gold or Platinum Subscription https://maxmypoint.com ON TODAY'S EPISODE: ____________SKIP TO YOUR FAVORITE TOPIC__________ 0:00 OPENING 1:14 WELCOME 1:53 ROUND TABLE 2:00 Inspiring YOU 4:41 Frontier Status 9:29 Turkish Airlines Miles Devaluation 11:47 Capital One Venture X Business 14:16 Live Credit Card Application 23:29 Mitch's American Air and British Airways Flights 32:34 Nicole's Wins and Losses 33:36 ASK US: Istanbul Layover and Turkish Business Class Lounge 40:02 MORE ON SOCIAL: Q & A 40:19 What credit card welcome offer are you working on? 41:08 Biggest travel pet peeve? 42:20 How do you handle laundry while traveling? LISTEN TO US ON THE GO: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-get-to-the-points/id1687838601 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Id1L8rLfHtrQdXa6EZwko Thank you for supporting our Channel! See you every Friday with a new episode! Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letsgettothepoints/support Disclaimer: The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Advertiser Disclosure: This video may contain links through which we are compensated when you click on or are approved for offers. The information in this video was not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Offers are current only at the time of the video publishing date and may have changed by the time you watch it. Let's Get To The Points is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letsgettothepoints/support

Today we are talking about decisions, decisions, decisions. Do you book flight or hotel first? How do you choose where to travel? What are the best lounges to visit? In this episode, Angel and Mackenzie walk you through their thought processes when it comes to choosing: How to decide where to travel: deal vs. destination, and how to combine the two How to use points for backup plans if you don't immediately see a deal but need to go somewhere Having an “FU fund” of points for back up flights How to choose positioning flight cities or layover cities How to decide which lounge to go to Our ranking of which lounges we prefer The power of making a decision and sticking to it to learn your preferences ..and more! Sign up for the New Year, New Me challenge ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/107410213357749553/share If your are interested in applying to be a speaker (for the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit, you can sign up ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠! https://forms.gle/pApfdAcxrxXbnunK6 You can find our FREE Travel Hacking Beginner's Blueprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/90732056966858389/share Want to submit a question or comment to our Bougie Mailbag? You can do so here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/Hb3iAbCfsK5BWnii8⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Be sure to join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: facebook.com/groups/bougieinabackpack Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CardPointers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to know the right card to use when, and to track your credit card offers across cards! Using this link, you can save 30% or more on a Pro membership. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cardpointers.com/bougie⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Freely ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and download the App for free to organize your credit cards! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://my.travelfreely.com/share?bref=bbmp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bougie in a Backpack is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All of our favorite cards are listed ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you want to learn more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ One card we recommend if you are having trouble choosing a card is the Capital One Venture X, which earns 2x on all purchases, has no foreign transaction fees, gets you into airport lounges, and the annual credits are valued higher than the annual fee. Learn more here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-X/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bougieinabackpack/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/travelhacksmack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pennywisetraveler

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! A big thanks to our sponsor, Thrifty Traveler Premium!  Use the code GO10 to save $10 off your first year of Thrifty Traveler Premium.  They'll help take the hassle out of finding great award flights by sending the best deals right to your inbox.  You can choose what airports you want to see deals from and you can see cheap paid flights as well! If you'd like to win a free year of Thrifty Traveler Premium, just subscribe to our YouTube channel and send us a screenshot of your subscription for a chance to win.  You can send that to ed@pizzainmotion.com, text it to 571-293-6659 or DM Ed on social media (@pizzainmotion on Twitter, FB and Instagram).  You can also earn extra chances to win by joining our Slack commmunity (more info on that below). There's still time to donate to our Pinky Swear fundraiser.  Check out this episode if you want to learn more. We ran out of time last week to discuss Ed's credit card strategy for 2024 so we're digging into it now.  We're also talking about the newest 737 MAX issue and how Richard's comments about the MAX really didn't age well. Lastly, the Capital One Venture X is losing a key benefit in 2023.  Was it valuable or is this a nothing burger? If you're looking for a way to support the show, consider joining our Slack Community. You can support the show and purchase access below: Monthly access Annual access Personal consultation plus annual access We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month. Hope you enjoy the show!

Today we are talking about etiquette when it comes to traveling, and how to get a better experience. Being nice and asking for things can get you far! But there is a way to do it, and a way that is rude or entitled. In this episode, we define that line, and we talk about: How Angel got tons of free things on her recent trip to Europe, including a bouquet on her flight How to get a room upgrade when there are no suites available the day you check in Taking advantage of club-level rooms and why you may want to do that Using third party websites to get tickets to sold out attractions in Paris ..and more! Sign up for the New Year, New Me challenge ⁠⁠here⁠⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/107410213357749553/share If your are interested in applying to be a speaker for the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit, you can sign up ⁠⁠here⁠⁠! https://forms.gle/pApfdAcxrxXbnunK6 You can find our FREE Travel Hacking Beginner's Blueprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/90732056966858389/share Want to submit a question or comment to our Bougie Mailbag? You can do so here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/Hb3iAbCfsK5BWnii8⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Be sure to join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: facebook.com/groups/bougieinabackpack Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CardPointers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to know the right card to use when, and to track your credit card offers across cards! Using this link, you can save 30% or more on a Pro membership. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cardpointers.com/bougie⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Freely ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and download the App for free to organize your credit cards! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://my.travelfreely.com/share?bref=bbmp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bougie in a Backpack is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All of our favorite cards are listed ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you want to learn more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ One card we recommend if you are traveling abroad is the Capital One Venture X, which earns 2x on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-X/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Some of our favorite business cards are listed below if you want to learn about them: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-unlimited/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-cash/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-preferred/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bougieinabackpack/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/travelhacksmack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pennywisetraveler

In this episode we share the exact credit cards we use that offer the coveted benefit of airport lounge access for our entire family of 5. This podcast is perfect for beginners, as we aim to demystify the process, clarify the advantages, and provide actionable steps to leverage cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X, American Express Platinum, and more.Throughout the episode, we'll break down the different lounge brands - Priority Pass, Capital One, Centurion and the new and upcoming Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge. We hope to empower you with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions when selecting a credit card that aligns with your travel goals.Our goal is to help you elevate your travel experiences, making airport lounges not just a distant dream but an accessible reality - AKA they aren't just for "fancy people."  Cheers!

Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpjWtxbqNVQ CREDIT CARD OFFERS ENDING SOON! Ink Business Cash® Credit Card https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-cash/?aff=lgttp Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-unlimited/?aff=lgttp Want to know how to travel using credit card points and miles? Every Friday we share our insider tips! Collectively we've redeemed millions of points and miles for hotels and flights worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. We give you the inside scoop on how you can do this too! Website: https://www.letsgettothepoints.com/ Email: letsgettothepoints@gmail.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/letsgettothepoints/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@letsgettothepoints Join our email list: http://eepurl.com/izNpy-/ ALL CREDIT CARD LINKS: https://milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=lgttp ON TODAY'S EPISODE: SKIP TO YOUR FAVORITE TOPIC 0:00 OPENING 0:59 WELCOME 1:47 ROUND TABLE 2:00 Recap of our Special Editions 5:09 Nicole's Trip Overview 6:35 Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi 11:20 Etihad First Class Apartment 23:12 Serena's Trip Overview 27:11 Hyatt Regency Casasblanca 27:29 Emirates A380 Business Class 30:34 Atlantis the Palm in Dubai 32:06 Emirates 777 First and Business Class 33:35 Park Hyatt Istanbul 37:30 Turkish Airlines Economy Class 37:58 IGA Lounge Istanbul 38:18 Park Hyatt Vienna 43:48 WEEKLY RECAP 44:03 Booking JetBlue Mint 44:35 Atlantis Bahamas or Grand Hyatt Baha Mar? 49:45 Ink Business Card High Sign Up Bonus ENDING SOON 52:30 Our 2024 Trips 54:33 MORE ON SOCIAL 54:52 What is our next card? 55:48 Capital One Venture X or Amex Gold? 56:49 Bora Bora or Maldives? EXCLUSIVE TRAVEL DISCOUNT CODES: https://letsgettothepoints.com/tools/ Seats.aero: Award Flight Search Engine Use Code: LGTTP20 for $20 off the first year https://seats.aero/ CardPointers: Save Money and Maximize Your Spend Bonuses https://cardpointers.com/partner/letsgettothepoints/ MaxMyPoint: Hotel Rewards Checker Use Code: LGTTP for 20% off the first 3 months of your Gold or Platinum Subscription https://maxmypoint.com LISTEN TO US ON THE GO: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-get-to-the-points/id1687838601 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Id1L8rLfHtrQdXa6EZwko Thank you for supporting our Channel! See you every Friday with a new episode! Disclaimer: The content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. #travelhacks #travel #firstclass #etihad #hyatt #parkhyatt #grandhyatt #abudhabi #marrakech #dubai #istanbul #vienna #london --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/letsgettothepoints/support

(Disclaimer: Click 'more' to see ad disclosure) Hey there, points people! Today, I'm chatting with Hani, a student from The Points Accelerator Program.  In this episode we dive into how Hani flew her entire family on first class flights all around the world!  For those diving deeper into the world of points and miles, consider the Capital One Venture X card, which is one of the most popular cards for accessing different airport lounges. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! ➤ Check out the Capital One Venture X Card HERE ➤ Waitlist for The Points Accelerator Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 04:12 - Introducing Hani, a student from the Points Accelerator 07:20 - Hani's day to day and how she earns points 10:53 - Advice to get significant other into points and miles 14:19 - Sleeping and eating on planes 15:34 - How much Hani has saved with points and miles 16:38 - Who is paying for first class flights? 17:36 - How Hani has time to travel 20:13 - Learning the points game 21:33 - Hani's next trip(s) 25:17 - What would Hani's trips cost in cash? 26:15 - How is Hani getting time off? 27:57 - Hani's top tip 30:25 - Traveling with kids 33:09 - Outro/Conclusion == ➤ You can find Julia through her ⁠⁠Free Course⁠⁠ (includes hotel upgrade email template) | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Credit Card Links⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠ ➤ Sign up for the newsletter for exclusive access to free coaching calls! ➤ Ask me a question or request a free award search tutorial HERE! Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Today we are talking to Shawna Lum, the founder of Move Overseas Now. Shawna runs two businesses, travels all over the world, and spent 6 years living in Spain. If you are dreaming of living overseas, Shawna teaches you how to navigate the ins and outs of Visas, citizenship, and how to make those dreams a reality. She is also going to be featured in the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit! In this episode we chat about... How Shawna went from studying abroad to living in Spain for 6 years, traveling around the world in the meantime The benefits of living in Spain How you can live abroad on any budget The best remote companies to work for if you want to go for a digital nomad visa Why digital nomad Visas may not be the best Credit cards to consider if living abroad ..and more! You can find Shawna on Instagram at @shawnalumm You can grab her Move Abroad Roadmap Here: https://tr.ee/pnDqSr5eGX Sign up for the New Year, New Me challenge ⁠here⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/107410213357749553/share If your are interested in applying to be a speaker for the Bougie in a Backpack Virtual Travel Summit, you can sign up ⁠here⁠! https://forms.gle/pApfdAcxrxXbnunK6 You can find our FREE Travel Hacking Beginner's Blueprint ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/90732056966858389/share Want to submit a question or comment to our Bougie Mailbag? You can do so here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/Hb3iAbCfsK5BWnii8⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Be sure to join our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠: facebook.com/groups/bougieinabackpack Download ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CardPointers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to know the right card to use when, and to track your credit card offers across cards! Using this link, you can save 30% or more on a Pro membership. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠cardpointers.com/bougie⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Freely ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and download the App for free to organize your credit cards! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://my.travelfreely.com/share?bref=bbmp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Bougie in a Backpack is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. All of our favorite cards are listed ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you want to learn more! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ One card we recommend if you are traveling abroad is the Capital One Venture X, which earns 2x on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-X/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Some of our favorite business cards are listed below if you want to learn about them: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-unlimited/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-cash/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-ink-business-preferred/?aff=biab⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find us on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bougieinabackpack/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/travelhacksmack⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/pennywisetraveler

The Capital One Venture X card is one of the most popular credit cards of the past two years. The card has undergone recent minor changes. This episode reevaluates the card to determine if it is worth keeping in 2024. Visit our website at www.therewardsmater.com

(Disclaimer: Click 'more' to see ad disclosure) Hey there, points people! Today, I'm chatting with Chris from @thechrisflyer. In this episode we dive into the luxurious world of airport lounges with Chris, a seasoned travel reporter, editor, and strategist. We explore both the current state of lounges, what the future has in store and how to make the most out of your lounge experience! For those diving deeper into the world of points and miles, consider the Capital One Venture X card, which is one of the most popular cards for accessing different airport lounges. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! ➤ Check out the Capital One Venture X Card HERE ➤ Waitlist for The Points Accelerator Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 04:14 - How Chris got into the game of points and miles 06:04 - Chris' first time in a lounge 08:03 - Cheapest ways to access a lounge 10:33 - Non priority pass lounge cards 11:26 - Worst Lounge? 14:55 - Is going to the lounge always worth it? 15:17 - The best lounge Chris has been to 18:19 - Julia's favorite lounge 19:01 - What is in store for the future of lounges? 26:14 - Long haul flying, it's impact on the body and what's to come 29:18 - Where to find lounge on arrival 31:30 - Differentiation in future lounges 34:10 - Conclusion == ➤ You can find Chris on Instagram ➤ You can find Julia through her ⁠⁠Free Course⁠⁠ (includes hotel upgrade email template) | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Credit Card Links⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠YouTube⁠ ➤ Sign up for the newsletter for exclusive access to free coaching calls! ➤ Ask me a question or request a free award search tutorial HERE! Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Kim Lalande from KEY.co discussed significant updates since their last conversation. The company has experienced substantial growth, expanding its curated home inventory from 700 to over 3,000 properties, aiming to hit 4,000 by year-end. A major announcement was their partnership with Capital One Venture X program, targeting high-end spenders with curated inventory and personalized services, enhancing the overall stay experience. The conversation touched on the evolving landscape of the vacation rental industry, highlighting the impact of large companies like Capital One entering the vacation rentals space. Kim emphasized the industry's maturation, paralleling trends in the hotel industry but with a focus on the local and personalized experience offered by property managers. Technology's role in elevating the guest experience was a focal point, with AI implementation for content generation and quality maintenance through photo analysis and natural language processing of reviews. The discussion also explored the challenges and opportunities arising from increased industry consolidation, expanding inventory, and the potential for European expansion in the future. The interview ended on a note of excitement for further industry growth and the role of partnerships like Capital One's in reshaping the vacation rentals landscape, hinting at potential shifts in consumer behavior with credit card companies gaining influence in the vacation booking space.

Don't be fooled into thinking all the travel deals happen in the shoulder seasons. While there are cheaper times to travel, you can still find some gems if you have to travel during the busy seasons. Here's a breakdown of how we spent Christmas in Porto, Portugal and Vigo, Spain for under $2000. We used Going and got an alert for our flightsOur Marriott Account and Capital One Venture X paid for our hotels (all but $50)Our bus/train ticket from Porto to Vigo and back again was $40 a piece. Pair those savings with the fact that Porto and Vigo are not expensive destinations in general and you have a week filled with Michelin restaurants, port wine tours and Christmas markets that won't break the bank.You don't want to miss today's episode full of some amazing wins and some ridiculous fails.Sign up for our newsletter below to get all the links from this week's episode, plus a weekly travel hack tip and the latest travel news delivered straight to your inbox.Support the showJoin our Travel Community on Facebook to connect with other like minded travelers, share stories, tips, tricks and travel hack wins- Travel More Insiders Subscribe to our Newsletter for access to our giveaways and travel hacking tips Visit our Website https://travelmorepodcast.com/ Join Going (Scott's Cheap Flights) Use code: MAGIC20 for 20% off your first year! Check out Travel Food on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetravelmores/ Don't waste something you're already paying for! Email us at info@magicpasstravel.com to see how we can help you make the most out of your upcoming Disney or Universal experience. Disclosure: We only recommend products we would or do use ourselves and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission.

Hey there, travel enthusiasts! It's Alex, Pam, and Jess—your fellow travel hacking moms. Today, we're all pumped up to spill the beans on one of our most treasured secrets: Capital One Venture Miles!  First we dive into the cards that earn Venture miles or Spark miles (the business version).  Then we discuss how to improve your odds of approval for Capital One cards. They can be kind of quirky, but we have some tips! The real gems are the Venture and Venture X cards. The Venture X, the premium personal card, may have a $395 annual fee, but when you look at the benefits, it's a steal!  The Venture X also boasts some of the best airport lounge access, perfect for family travelers like us! Capital One lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium lounges—you name it, you get in! Plus, it gets even better with primary rental car coverage.  Finally we cover some sweet spots when it comes to redeeming those Capital One miles. You don't want to miss this! So, fellow adventurers, Capital One Venture Miles are here to make your travel dreams come true. Don't wait, hit play now and join us in the full episode to unveil the secrets of the enchanting Venture Miles and how they can revolutionize your travel journey. Happy hacking, friends!   Links For This Episode:  Roundtrip Ticket to Hawaii for 15K Miles: https://travelhackingmom.com/roundtrip-ticket-to-hawaii-for-15k-miles/  Capital One Venture card: https://my.travelfreely.com/card?id=28&ref=hms Capital One Venture X card: https://my.travelfreely.com/card?id=726&ref=hms  Free Gifts and Resources To Start Your Travel Hacking Journey: Free Webinar: How to Start Traveling for Nearly Free Best Current Credit Card Offers: Best Rewards Card Offers | Travel Hacking Mom Award Travel Academy: Award Travel Academy Our Website: https://travelhackingmom.com Connect With Us: Newsletter signup: https://travelhackingmom.com/newsletter Instagram: Alex + Pam + Jess | Points & Miles (@travelhackingmom) TikTok: travelhackingmom's Creator Profile Facebook group: Travel Hacking Mom Group | Facebook    Episode Minute By Minute: 00:02 Listen in on our favorite ways to redeem Capital One Venture Miles  02:00 Jess highlights the three personal cards that earn Venture miles  02:21 Jess highlights the three business cards that earn Venture miles 10:51 Pam gives her review of the Venture X card  16:41 More Venture X perks like rental car coverage and status  20:42 Alex talks about some ways that you can redeem your Venture miles  23:57 How to combine and transfer Venture miles  26:10 Pam and Jess share their favorite ways to use Venture miles 29:10 Vacasa vacation rentals through Wyndham Rewards is a good option for lodging 41:30 Alex's favorite way to use Capital One Venture miles   

Hey there, points people! Today, I'm talking to Chew of @ChewsToExplore. Chew is a full-time healthcare professional, travel content creator, and points enthusiast. In this episode, Chew and I talk about his experience of using points and miles to travel to Bora Bora for next to no cost, and how he got six nights for free at the Conrad Bora Bora using Hilton points and free night certificates. He also shares his tips on finding cheap flights and using points and miles to save money on travel. Chew talks about how he uses his points and miles to travel to different countries with his wife, and how they can experience luxury travel on a budget. If you're interested in doing the same, you may want to check out the Capital One Venture X Card, which has the lowest annual fee out of the major premium credit cards. With the Capital One Venture X, you'll get automatic top tier status with Hertz, lounge access at airports, and more. Remember, if you decide to apply for the Capital One Venture X Card or any other card, never apply directly through Google – always use a friend or creator's referral link. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! And we have the links to the Venture X and the free consultation form for you in the show notes as well. And now, on with the show! ➤ Check out the Capital One Venture X Card: HERE! ➤ Want to learn how to earn more points without needing to open up more credit cards? Check out my free webinar “You Don't Need 20 Cards” HERE == ➤ You can find Chew on Instagram | YouTube | Website ➤ You can find Julia through her ⁠Free Course⁠ (includes hotel upgrade email template) | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠Credit Card Links⁠ | ⁠Patreon⁠ | ⁠YouTube⁠ ➤ ⁠Sign up⁠ for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls! ➤ Ask me a question or request a free award search tutorial ⁠HERE⁠! Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Raise your hand if you feel like you don't have enough money saved in order to move abroad.Yeah, I thought so.  But here's the thing, whenever I ask HOW MUCH money you need saved in order to move... most people don't know the answer. So in this episode, I'm going to myth bust the idea that you need a ton of money saved in order to move abroad AND I'm going to show you how to figure out EXACTLY how much money you need to make the move.Let's stop stressing over not having "enough" money and have a real number based on facts and research to work towards.  PS: Don't Forget to join the Move Abroad Manifestation Workshop happening August 13th! Resources Mentioned: -> Move Abroad Manifestation Workshop -> Move Abroad Budget Calculator-> Capital One Venture X -> Trusted Housesitters for Pet Sitting-> Move Abroad Crash Course 

This is part 2 of Shelly Blancq's series on Traveling Hacking and Budget Travel.  Shelly discusses her experiences and strategies around credit card hacking, particularly with a focus on travel rewards. She starts with discussing how she used a Capital One card due to its straightforward points system and low barrier of entry. The Venture X card, which comes with an annual fee of $95, offers up to 60,000 to 75,000 points upon spending $3,000 in three months. These points can be used to offset travel-related purchases at a value of 1 cent per point. The speaker then transitioned to using Amex and Chase credit cards, as they offered better transfer partners, enabling more lucrative rewards. Transferring points to specific loyalty programs could result in significantly better value, she exemplified this with a flight from JFK to Chicago costing 5,000 Chase points instead of $250.   Key Points: Shelly highlights the Capital One Venture X card as a good starting point for those new to credit card rewards, with a low annual fee and straightforward rewards system. Transitioning to Amex and Chase credit cards can offer better rewards due to their better transfer partners, potentially giving significantly more value for your points. Shelly advocates for smart spending and strategic utilization of business credit cards and special offers to maximize points without incurring additional expenses. About Shelly Blancq   Shelly is a travel expert with one eye always on the budget. She and her husband take multiple international and domestic trips a year- all on teachers' salaries. She is committed to finding the best ways to spend your travel budget and hack your way to free flights, upgraded hotel rooms, and fancy rental cars so you can spend money on what matters most- the experiences.    Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/travel-more/id1664095534 Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality, affordable mental health care by giving providers the tools they need to build thriving in-network private parties. When providers join Alma, they gain access to insurance support, teletherapy software, client referrals, automated billing and scheduling tools, and a vibrant community of clinicians that come together for education, training, and events. Learn more about Alma.   Connect with me: Instagram: @thetravelingtherapist_kym   The Traveling Therapist Membership: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/travelingtherapistmembership   Revolutionize Your Private Practice with AI Course: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/ai   Signup to learn more about life as Traveling Therapist: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/l2v7c3   The Traveling Therapist Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/onlineandtraveling/   Bill Like A Boss Insurance Billing Community: https://kymtolson.kartra.com/page/blab   Subscribe to the Podcast: Apple iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcast | Stitcher | Amazon |  Castbox

I break down each of the four travel credits I have in my wallet that I've been using to travel the world, the benefits, how to take advantage of the perks and which one I'm going to get rid of. I absolutely love to travel and these credits cards have given me a major boost in being able to travel all over the world for some of my favorite adventures and I'd love to give you some insight on which ones I use, why and how I use them. If you're looking to travel more and just get started, getting one of these cards could be a major step in the right direction to help you save on future travel. While these cards offer major perks and benefits, I do discuss some of the frustrations and talk about which card will soon be leaving my wallet. My cards in the wallet: Capital One Venture X > Referral Link Chase Sapphire Preferred > Referral Link Delta American Express Platinum > Referral Link Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier > Referral Link

This episode is all about our weirdest budget travel hacks to save money, (most of these do not even involve credit cards, points, or miles!) In this episode, Angel and Mackenzie talk about: Why and when we will book budget airlines or basic economy How to change your flight time and choose your seat for free if you booked basic economy How to avoid carry-on bag fees and middle seats on budget airlines How to save $20-$100 on low-cost carriers How not to fly with a mini-fridge as your personal item Tips for navigating Guest of Honor bookings to get free breakfast, parking, and more if you do not have status. We are excited to bring you this new podcast every Monday! Introducing Bougie in a Backpack Podcast! Angel from The Pennywise Traveler (@pennywisetraveler) and Mackenzie from Travel Hacks Mack (@travelhacksmack) are your new best travel friends you didn't know you needed, teaching you ways to save and while still traveling and thriving. From sipping champagne in first class for $5.60 plus points, to stacking to save money and earn extra points and miles on your next facial, they're hear to teach you tips and tricks you can implement into your everyday life. You will find them getting upgrades, flying first/business class, and also flying Spirit Airlines! Be sure to join our facebook community https://www.facebook.com/groups/bougieinabackpack Join our Virtual Stacking challenge, June 19-23 https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/457913/89528871995573466/share Find us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bougieinabackpack/ https://www.instagram.com/travelhacksmack https://www.instagram.com/pennywisetraveler Bougie in a Backpack is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. If you are interested in learning more about the Capital One Venture X card we discussed in this episode, you can check it out here: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=biab All of our favorite cards are listed here if you want to learn more: https://milevalue.com/best-credit-cards/?aff=biab The above are affiliate links, so we may receive a commission if you apply for a card through our links. We appreciate you doing so, as it helps to keep this podcast free and running every week. If you do use our links, we should to let us know so we can say thank you!

Nicole Haynes from @nicolestraveltips is a wife, soccer mom to 2 teenagers, marathon runner, and midddle and high school math teacher. Born and raised in Kingston Jamaica, she moved to the US when she was 20 years old. A few years back she used to extreme coupon, which was her gateway into points and miles. In this episode, Nicole and I dive into her family's recent trip to Germany, including what they flew, where they stayed, how much it all cost, and how they earned the points. We also cover some of my recent trip to Germany where my husband and I experienced our first ever first class flight on Singapore Suites from Frankfurt to JFK. If you are looking to level up your travel experiences with perks like airport lounge access for your whole family, top tier rental car status, and a $300 travel credit each year, make sure you check out the Capital One Venture X, which is rapidly growing in popularity as one of the most popular cards for families who like to travel using points and miles. Remember, if you decide to apply for the Venture X or any other card, never apply directly through Google – always use a friend or creator's referral link. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! And we have the links to the Venture X and the free consultation form for you in the show notes as well. And now, on with the show! Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Waitlist for The Points Accelerator: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/waitlist You can find Nicole at: Instagram: www.instagram.com/nicolestraveltips You can find Julia at: Free Course: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/freecourse Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more. 

The Rewards Master Podcast: Use points, cashback, and discount offers to upgrade your life to the next level. Check out our website www.therewardsmaster.com Without a doubt, the most powerful tool for rewards is Credit Card spending: spending multipliers, sign-up bonuses, and retention offers. While restaurant reward programs, airline loyalty programs, and shopping portals can all provide outstanding returns, the foundation of any rewards strategy will always be built on strategic credit card usage. This episode discusses my card setup for the second quarter of 2023. I discuss several cards I plan to use heavily for the next three months: The Delta Reserve Card by American Express The Prestige Mastercard by CitiBank The Hilton Aspire Card by American Express The Venture X Card by Capital One Bank The Everyday Preferred Card by American Express If any of these cards seem beneficial to you, check out the referral links above. If you choose to apply for any of these cards and are approved using the provided link, I may receive a referral bonus. Thank you for supporting the podcast.

The price of the Families Fly Free membership is going up Friday, April 28 at 12:01am ET! Join now at the lowest price you will ever see membership again and get your plan in place before your summer travels. It's time to put traveling with your family back at the top of your to-do list. Learn more and join at FamiliesFlyFree.com/Join.In this sneak peek at one of the live Ask Lyn Anything Q&As Lyn holds monthly inside the Families Fly Free membership, members ask questions about the Priority Pass, Capital One Venture X, Southwest Companion Pass, booking Southwest flights and more. 

Ravinder Birk from @thetravelpointsrebel is the founder of The Travel Points Rebel and aims to introduce Canadian women to the world of points and miles! In this episode, Ravinder and I go over some tricks to save you miles based on how Aeroplan structures its pricing chart. As a throwback, don't forget to tune in to some of our past episodes featuring Canadian points enthusiasts like episode 23 featuring Ricky Zhang, episode 18 featuring Spencer and Ashley, and episode 75 featuring Will Balo. Nearly any of the flexible points programs will transfer to Air Canada's Aeroplan program, whether it's Chase points, Amex, Capital One, or Bilt. Some of the most popular cards with each of these banks is the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, Capital One Venture X, and Bilt Mastercard. Remember, if you decide to apply for any of the cards, never apply directly through Google – always use a friend or creator's referral link. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! Chase Sapphire Preferred: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/chase-sapphire-preferred/?aff=gbt Amex Gold: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/american-express-gold-card/?aff=gbt Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Bilt Mastercard: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/biltreferral You can find Ravinder at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetravelpointsrebel You can find Julia at: Free Course: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/starthere Waiting List for The Points Accelerator: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/waitlist Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

The Venture X card is possibly the most valuable of the “premium card” offerings currently available from major card issuers, including the American Express Platinum Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. It has been trendy over the past year. Overall, I consider the Capital One Venture X one of the best premium travel cards on the market. The $395 compensates through credits, the sign-up bonus is generous, the multiplier is simple, but above average for general spending, and the benefits are excellent. For these reasons, Venture X is an absolute “keeper card” in my wallet that I intend to renew year after year. If you are interested in Venture X and would like to support The Rewards Master, we will receive a referral bonus if you apply through this link: https://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/lp/referrals/?referralCode=P9V7J7NZ&customerName=Lenora&programCode=3014&pId=923812&oC=COFR58RSsw Check out our webpage for credit card, restaurant, and airline reviews: www.therewardsmaster.com

Have you ever wondered how people travel so often? Or maybe you're listening to this now because you've always wanted to travel more but couldn't figure out how to make it happen? Stay tuned to hear about one of our favorite strategies to make the most of our yearly travel budget: Travel Hacking. #1 Beginners Travel Hacking Travel hacking is using credit card points to pay for travel expenses. With maybe our favorite (and definitely most used) card, The Capital One Venture card, you accumulate points with your regular spend (the amount you put on a card each month) and then “erase” any travel purchases you make. We've used this for free flights to Europe, twice and also many domestic flights since signing up for the card in 2017. #2 Intermediate Travel Hacking If you feel like you are on board with the Capital One Venture card and want to take your hacking to the next level, we recommend the Capital One Venture X card. The difference here is that this card costs $395/year. That high annual fee gets you the same eraser power you had before, but also comes with a $300 travel credit (when booked through the travel portal!), and 10,000 anniversary points- which that alone is $400 a year (as long as you actually use them!). It comes with priority pass for airport lounges, access to signature select airport lounges, and capital one lounges. It also gives you Global Entry/TSA precheck and some other fun perks like basic travel insurance, rotating memberships through the year, etc.#3 Expert Travel HackingIn our world, expert travel hacking comes in the form of transferring your points to partners instead of using them in a portal or erasing points. What that means is you have, let's say, 10,000 credit card points. Now instead of using those as an eraser, you transfer them to Delta and use them like Delta Skymiles. In this case, you often get much better redemption rates (cent per point!). Capital One Venture Referral https://capital.one/3LT5QSw Capital One Venture X Referral - https://capital.one/3XxznDDSapphire Preferred Referral Link- https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/QR1AP1HFLV Favorite Blog: https://frequentmiler.com/Support the showJoin our Travel Community on Facebook to connect with other like minded travelers, share stories, tips, tricks and travel hack wins- Travel More Insiders Subscribe to our Newsletter for access to our giveaways and travel hacking tips Visit our Website https://travelmorepodcast.com/ Join Going (Scott's Cheap Flights) Use code: MAGIC20 for 20% off your first year! Check out Travel Food on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetravelmores/ Don't waste something you're already paying for! Email us at info@magicpasstravel.com to see how we can help you make the most out of your upcoming Disney or Universal experience. Disclosure: We only recommend products we would or do use ourselves and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, we may earn a small commission.

Mary Graves from @mary3graves retired after 33 years in pharmaceutical sales - she's now an empty nester with a big bucket list, and her children make me fearless! They go on tons of adventures each year, with many of them in the mountains to ski! In this episode, Mary has prepared basically an entire masterclass for us about how to set up a ski vacation strategy around points and miles, complete with slides! If you're listening on your usual podcast platform, we'll describe what we're seeing for you, but if you would like to see the presentation and all of the visuals, we will have this episode and all future episodes featuring video for your on YouTube! If you're looking to do some ski trips, check out the Capital One Venture X. The Capital One points make it easy to erase purchases like ski passes, and many of the resorts we discuss today are Wyndham properties, which you can book using Capital One miles! If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Swagbucks: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/swagbucks You can find Mary at: Instagram: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/mary3graves You can find Julia at: Start here: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/starthere Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

The Rewards Master Podcast: Use points, cashback, and discount offers to upgrade your life to the next level. Check out our website www.therewardsmaster.com Without a doubt, the most powerful tool for rewards is Credit Card spending: spending multipliers, sign-up bonuses, and retention offers. While restaurant reward programs, airline loyalty programs, and shopping portals can all provide outstanding returns, the foundation of any rewards strategy will always be built on strategic credit card usage. This episode discusses my card setup for the first quarter of 2023. I discuss 5 cards I plan to use heavily for the next three months: The United Quest Card by Chase The Delta Reserve Card by American Express The Prestige Mastercard by CitiBank The Venture X Card by Capital One Bank The Everyday Preferred Card by American Express If any of these cards seem beneficial to you, check out the referral links above. If you choose to apply for any of these cards and are approved using the provided link, I may receive a referral bonus. Thank you for supporting the podcast.

This week, we throw regular segments out the window and cover your end of year checklist before diving into the 2022 Bonvoyed Awards, where we discuss which program has Bonvoyed us the worst in 2022. 01:37 Elite status https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-titanium-achieved-heres-how-i-sprinted-to-the-finish/ 06:34 Expiring free night certs https://frequentmiler.com/gift-hotel-points-free-night-certificates-and-award-nights-booked-with-points-rules-by-program/ 13:41 Airline fee credits https://frequentmiler.com/amex-airline-fee-reimbursements-still-works/ 18:36 Now is the time to apply for Amex Platinum cards 20:14 Saks credit https://frequentmiler.com/platinum-card-saks-credit-what-can-you-get-at-saks-with-50/ 24:34 Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection https://frequentmiler.com/find-your-own-fine-hotels-resorts-deals/ 29:12 Dell credits 35:50 2022 Bonvoyed Awards 37:00 Radisson International 38:35 Hilton's war on breakfast 43:17 Emirates 45:17 Delta's Triple Threat 51:39 Capital One Venture X 54:08 American & United 57:18 Chase Pay Yourself Back 1:05:20 Question of the Week: Where is Aalborg? Music credit: Annie Yoder

Sheda from @shedah3 is a middle school math teacher and ex basketball player turned credit connoisseur. In this episode, Shedah and I discuss how to get status and upgrades on Delta Airlines, whether you're traveling as a student, traveling with family occasionally, or travel often. One of the perks of having status might include access to exclusive lounges like Delta SkyClub. If you don't have status yet, don't worry – you can still get into lounges and get all the food and drinks for free with cards like the Capital One Venture X card, which include premium benefits such as lounge access, top tier status with Hertz, a $300 travel credit through the portal, and much more. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Free course: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/freecourse You can find Shedah at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shedah3 You can find Julia at: Start Here: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/starthere Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Capital One Venture X is one of my favorite new travel cards, which offers a flexible rewards system. I share my thoughts on how I like to use it, as well as information about its awesome travel perks and how to earn more miles on this flexible travel card.Thanks for using our link if you decide to apply for this card: https://www.familiesflyfree.com/capitalonevxWant to get on the fast-track to always fly your family free? Come join us inside the Families Fly Free membership, the BEST way to learn how to fly free using travel rewards...Learn moreDownload Lyn's FREE list of 7 INSIDER hacks she uses to personally fly her family free...https://familiesflyfree.com/7hacks 

Jerod Morales from @letsgotraveldad and his wife have 4 children - all boys! They both love travel and having a large family. He has a day job in IT and helps his wife with a thriving health and wellness coaching business. Jerod is also one of the moderators of the Award Travel 101 and 201 Facebook groups, as well as the Travel Grumps group...a place to vent about the hard moments of traveling. He recently started writing for the AwardWallet blog, and he writes about travel for East Side Magazine in Austin, TX. In this episode, Jerod and I discuss how larger families can make points and miles work for them – whether it's how to find 6 award seats on the same plane, saving on booking multiple rooms, or other tips and tricks that make travel easier when you have 4 kids in tow! If you have a large family, food costs at the airport can add up, but the Capital One Venture X can help. With the Capital One Venture X, you can add your spouse or significant other as an authorized user, and you can each bring two guests into airport lounges covered by the Venture X for free! That means all 6 of you can enter the lounge and have unlimited food, all through one credit card! If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards and if you're not sure what card is right for you, I offer free credit card consultations at geobreezetravel.com/consultations ! And we have the links to the Capital One Venture X and the free consultation form for you in the show notes as well. And now, on with the show! Capital One Venture X: AwardLogic: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/awardlogic You can find Jerod at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgotraveldad Get 3 vouchers for 35% cashback with Fluz: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/fluz Free trial with AwardLogic: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/awardlogic You can find Julia at: Start here: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/starthere Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Today you are going to a little bit of real talk with Heidi. Maybe because I am on night 3 of a hotel to MYSELF while I'm at a conference or maybe I shouldn't have had that second cup of coffee (by the way if you like Real Talk with Heidi version, feel free to support this buying me a coffee) Either way, I wanted to give families a valuable way to use travel rewards to supplement their travel budget, traveling longer, farther - let's just say it's one of my favorite optimization strategies AND after 2 people it gets much more difficult - you even heard Chris Hutchins from All the Hacks say it on episode 092.  The game is harder to play with more people.       And I'll just say it, the content out there for families is eh.  I don't think you need to pay thousands of dollars to follow someone's system.  Once you learn the rules of the game you just need a reliable source to ask questions and find the answers you need. I also don't think everyone needs to take online courses to understand how points and systems work.  Many of those groups want you to use their links so that they get all the referral bonus points. Just for the record, I'm not opposed to any of those things, people can make money doing things they are good at and I know that many use the referral and affiliate links to fund their work.  I just think there is a better way to support YOU through this - what can I say, we are sherpas helping families adventure.  I think families need a fair shot at the travel rewards game.      Part of the challenge with travel hacking is that the rules change often.   It takes time to understand and let's be frank - we don't have time to scurry down the rabbit hole of travel rewards.  For this episode I am going to highlight some of the travel hacking resources I have and walk through three examples of how we recently used travel rewards.  I also am announcing a FREE Live Family Travel Hackers Q/A Session so stick around and make sure to register to get EVEN more tips.   First to highlight some of my previous content: On episode 018 | Travel Rewards tips with Melissa Lagerquist.  We talk about some of the basic terminology, approaches and ways she has used points to hack cruises.  Full disclosure - Melissa is connected to the Choose FI Travel Rewards course.  If you want to go down the rabbit hole that free course is where I started when it was launched probably close to 5 years ago.  On episode 019 | Our approach to travel rewards I walk through our strategy and I give you a free downloadable planning guide to help you through the process.  That is available at: https://ordinarysherpa.com/rewards/   Episode 032 | How to Fly a family of 5 to Hawaii for under $500 I dive deep into Southwest Companion Pass which we have had for 4 years straight.  We are not renewing next year because we will be traveling in the RV next year and as you will soon hear we have a different strategy.  Episode 070 | Hacks to Optimize Family Experiences without Sacrificing Value offers an updated approach to how I plan our summer vacations in particular.   We also reference travel hacking in episode 084 with Ed Tee adventuring near and far; Episode 040 Interim Expat with Scott Barrett, and Episode 077 | Funding the Fun with Jen of Investor Mama.     The DIY approach to learning travel hacking can seem like an uphill slog.  I may have said on more than one occasion “Can someone just tell me what to do?!” Stick around until the end to get the link to register for our Free Family Travel Hacker LIVE Q/A.  Tonight I wanted to share a few behind the curtain tips to help you travel more for less.     Hawaii flights for 5 for under $300 It's no secret here that we used 2 Southwest Companion Passes.  RIGHT NOW is the best time to start earning the Southwest Companion Pass to give you the maximum amount of time where one person flies free with you (-$5.50 per flight in taxes and fees). If you have ANY questions about earning the Companion Pass make sure to sign up for my Free Q/A!    Many people tell you to design your strategy based on a destination you want to travel to.  That is one approach, but I also like to think about the experience.  From Wisconsin to Hawaii is 8+ hours of flying, and direct flights don't exist.  Instead of designing this trip to be a long-haul with 3 kids, we broke it up into smaller segments which meant we also had so many more options on what that experience could look like and created a schedule that worked best for our family.  Instead of looking for fare sales from our home airport of Milwaukee, I look for routes to our destination and work backwards. Our route was Milwaukee-San Jose (staying a night in San Jose and making a mini-vacation of it), from San Jose to Kona (big island) for 5 nights, from Hilo (Big Island) to Honolulu (Oahu) for 4 nights, from Honolulu to Kahului (maui) for 5 nights, from Maui to Los Angeles for 2 nights, and from Los Angeles back to Milwaukee for 3 nights.  In many ways it felt like we had 5 different vacations.     Now that might seem much longer in terms of days and number of flights overall that you want to spend, but keep in mind we were on 3 islands and planes are really the easiest way to get between them.  Because we had utilized the best fares and designed an experience, the total number of points needed for this entire itinerary was 60,168.  Because we had 2 companion passes we only needed this number of points for 3 of our family members (which was 180,504).  Because both my husband and I had attained Companion Passes we earned over 240,000 points (at the time the requirement was only 120,000). Part of the reason I like Southwest is because they use a standard formula based on price/points as opposed to dynamic points systems that are difficult to figure out how many points you need to earn to redeem your family flights.  Harry Potter World (tickets and hotel) for $0.  This was a recent “can we do it challenge.” that we booked for 2023.  Universal Orlando (which is where Harry Potter World is Housed) often offers a 2-day+2 Day Promo (PS. It's still happening right now for travel before March 2, 2023 if you are interested). We used a travel eraser card like the Capital One Venture X card.  We bought the tickets through Undercover Tourist (which was just under $1,500 for a family of 5 for 4 days) and then were able to wipe that travel expense out with points.  There are general rules of thumb, often a point equals a $.01 so in this case would be 150,000 points.  I can go into much more detail on how we reach those minimum spends and when we apply for credit cards as a part of our regular family budget on the Q/A call.  I did some research into what hotel works best for our family in the area and I'll jump into that in a bit below.  Ultimately we landed on Cabana Bay Beach Resort and used the Chase Ultimate Rewards to pay for our hotel.  It doesn't always make sense for us to use reward points for hotels and car rentals. I can go into much more detail on what we look for and when it makes sense to pay for accommodations/transportation to earn bonus categories vs. when it makes sense to use rewards if you want to have insight into my brain and how we approach this. Best Hotel-hacking options for larger families.   Hotels in general can be tricky for families.  As your kids get older it's not as easy to coordinate sleeping arrangements.  We have found several specific hotels within the various hotel families.  As a family of 5 hotels in general are harder.  As I was finding the right formula for our family I would look at things like: was there free parking or free shuttle to the airport? Could we make a meal in the room?  Was there free breakfast or perks with hotel status that we could optimize?  Usually the selling factor for the kids, is there a pool?  Within the 3 major families of hotel Marriot, IHG, and Hilton there are several branches that offer options for families.  Three of our favorites are: Residence Inn or Springhill Suites by Marriott Embassy Suites by Hilton Hyatt House or Hyatt Place by IHG And if I am paying cash I appreciate Comfort Suites.   As I alluded to at the start of this episode, travel rewards can be overwhelming and the content out there is not always geared towards families of 3 or more.  Register for our LIVE EVENT to answer your Questions on Family Travel Hacking for those interested in becoming a (or improving your) Family Travel Hacker skills.  To register go to https://ordinarysherpa.com/LIVE Even if you are slightly interested I would strongly encourage you to sign up.  It will be recorded AND there is a surprise that will only be available to those who register - before the rest of the community and world knows about it. 

Why would anyone want to pay $400 or more for a credit card? This week, Greg and Nick discuss some of the cards on the market that *may* be worth it and which perks would need to matter to you to make them worth the price of admission. 00:46 Giant Mailbag: ANA's friendly change 4:55 What crazy thing....did Air Canada Aeroplan do this week? 9:51 Awards we booked this week: Greg's United award change to New Zealand and Nick's Marriott booking near Disneyland Paris 24:23 Why pay $400 or more for a credit card? 27:09 Capital One Venture X 33:45 Amex Platinum card 35:33 Amex Business Platinum 37:40 Chase Sapphire Reserve 39:41 US Bank Altitude Reserve 41:35 Amex Delta Reserve 43:28 United Club Infinite 46:10 American Airlines Executive Card 47:28 Chase Ritz-Carlton 50:00 Amex Bonvoy Brilliant 55:51 Amex Hilton Aspire card https://frequentmiler.com/maximize-hilton-resort-credit/ 1:00:38 Question of the Week: What can you do for phone access abroad? (Testing Holafly) Music credit: Annie Yoder

Why not start out an episode learning why Richard has sausage fingers? We take some time to do a deep dive into my Amsterdam and London trip.  Flight reviews, hotel reviews and some touristy stuff is all thrown in there. We heard from a couple dozen listeners about problems they're having with the Capital One Venture X card.  Richard and Ed detail what folks are experiencing right now.  Ed also shares a problem he's having with Chase Ultimate Rewards. Lastly, Ed is happy Hilton is putting Peloton bikes in all of their hotels.  Richard rains on his parade to finish things off. Don't forget that you can leave us a voicemail or text us at (571) 293-6659‬. Listen for your question on a future show! Shoot us an e-mail (ed@pizzainmotion.com) or you can tweet me and Richard if you have questions. And, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and ask your question there. If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! Hope you enjoy the show!

Immanuel Debeer of @flighthacks is originally from Belgium and now lives in Perth Australia where he runs Flight Hacks as a full-time blogger. He is also the co-founder of a bill payment platform in Australia called Frequent Pay which allows business customers to pay anyone using their reward credit card. In this episode, Immanuel and I discuss the best ways to fly between the United States and Australia on points, and the unique challenges that often make these routes difficult. We will be discussing routes, airline products, and of course, how to do it all on points. One of the airlines most associated with Australia is Qantas Airlines, and pretty much everyone other than Chase transfers points there. You can use American Express, Citi, or Capital One. With these currencies, some of the most popular cards to use for points and miles are the Amex Gold, Citi Premier, and Capital One Venture X. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards You can find Immanuel at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flighthacks You can find Julia at: Start here: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/starthere Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Note: I apologize in advance that the sound gets a little warbly in some places here -- my podcast editor did the best he could, but the wifi kept cutting out in Puerto Rico which messed with our audio. Jen Ruiz from @jenonajetplane is a lawyer turned full-time travel writer and author. She is a 5-time Amazon bestseller, 3-time TEDx speaker and 2-time award winning travel journalist. She documents her adventures on her website, Jen on a Jet Plane. In this episode, Jen and I discuss how to use points and miles to travel to and within Puerto Rico, where she currently resides! This episode is particularly special to me because I actually had my destination wedding in Puerto Rico years ago before I knew about points and miles. We got married in a boutique hotel and one of the most popular ways to book boutique hotels on points is by using Capital One miles. If you are looking for more upgraded travel experiences, check out the Capital One Venture X which comes with lounge access, a $300 travel credit to use through the portal, top tier rental car status with Hertz, and more. Remember, please never ever apply for a credit card through Google. Always use a friend or creator's links to support them. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Jen at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenonajetplane You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Want ultra-luxury perks like lounge access and elite status at a bargain-basement price? This week, Greg and Nick discuss how to get the most bang for your buck by maximizing annual credits on your ultra-premium credit cards. 1:21 GIant Mailbag 5:47 3 Cards, 3 Continents, 3 Updates https://frequentmiler.com/frequent-milers-2022-team-challenge-3-cards-3-continents/ 15:22 Awards we booked this week 19:45 What crazy thing....did Amex do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/12-transfer-bonuses-from-amex-membership-rewards/ 30:00 Mattress Running the Numbers: Craftsy through SimplyMiles https://frequentmiler.com/stack-craftsy-offers-for-small-profit-4050-american-airlines-miles-loyalty-points/ 37:34 Luxury Perks for Free (After Rebate) 38:46 Capital One Venture X card 46:50 Amex Platinum Card 1:24:22 Amex Business Platinum 1:38:55 Amex Hilton Aspire card 1:46:44 Question of the Week: Is it worth transferring speculatively (given the transfer bonuses available) if you know which programs you often use? Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder

Eidref Laxa from @whatsgooddough is a points and pizza enthusiast. When it comes to using points, his philosophy is simple- 90% of his travel is to eat amazing food across the US using the Southwest Companion Pass. The other 10% is used to fly premium cabins, preferably first class. In this episode, Eidref compares his experiences flying Emirates first class and Etihad first class. Everything from the lounge experience to the onboard service to the actual hard product seat on the plane. If you are looking for a premium credit card but with a fee below $500, check out the Capital One Venture X, which includes lounge access, top tier rental car status, and many other luxury perks. Remember, when you go for your next card, always use a friend or creator's referral link – please don't apply directly through Google. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Eidref at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatsgooddough You can find Julia at: Course waitlist: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/waitlist Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Tommy Lonergan from @travelliketommy has saved more than $500,000 in free luxury travel over the last 7 years by focusing on maximum value high-end redemptions aka bucket list points redemptions. In this episode, Tommy and I discuss an incredible series of points trips he took last May, where he spent more than a million points to fly some of the most luxurious first class and business class products and stay in some incredible hotels. If you are looking to upgrade your travel, check out the Capital One Venture X. It comes with an annual $300 travel credit to use in the Capital One portal, a $100 TSA PreCheck credit, lounge access, and top-tier rental car status. Best of all, it has a lower annual fee than similar premium credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum. Remember, if you are interested in opening a new card, please don't apply through Google. Always use a friend or creator's referral links. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards Capital One Venture X https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Tommy at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelliketommy You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Lindsay Bayer Ray of @lindsay_bayer is a happy graduate of my coaching program and I'm so excited to share some of her award travel wins from the past year! Outside of her love of travel, she works in tech and loves minimalist decor, housplants, and sushi. In this episode, we discuss how Lindsay strategically allocated different aspects of her wedding budget to earn thousands of dollars of free travel as well as getting Globalist status with Hyatt. We also discuss her fabulous honeymoon that she and her husband took to the Thompson Zihuatanejo in Mexico! If you're relatively new to points and miles but are looking for upgraded travel experiences, check out the Capital One Venture X card. This card comes with an annual $300 of travel credit to use in the Capital One portal, a $100 credit towards TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, lounge access, top tier rental car status, and more! Remember, never ever apply for a credit card through Google - always use a friend or creator's links when possible. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Lindsay at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsay_bayer You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Sanjay Sharma of @sanjay1 is the head of Product at @pointme, where he leads the development of products that are helping thousands of people travel better with points. Sanjay himself has used points to travel to over 150 countries! In this episode, Sanjay and I discuss some of the main challenges people have when they search for good flight award availability, how to save points when you book flights, and some of the ways point.me makes all of this much much easier than it has been in the past. One of the great things about Point.me is that you can actually filter results by the type of points you have, whether it's Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, or something else! Having a variety of cards that work with multiple transfer patterns is a key strategy for when you are leveling up your award travel game. Remember: when you're ready to apply for your next card that earns flexible points, whether it's a Chase Ink card, Capital One Venture X, Amex Gold or Platinum, or Citi Premier, don't use Google. Always ask your friends or favorite creators if they have a referral or affiliate link you can use. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out geobreezetravel.com/cards Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel Check out Point.me at: https://point.me/?pid=109 You can find Sanjay at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanjay1 Point.me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pointme You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Chris Hutchins from @chrishutchins is an avid financial optimizer and host of the top-ranked podcast "All the Hacks" where he shares his quest to upgrade his life without having to spend a fortune. He has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and CNBC. In this episode, Chris and I discuss how he has earned more than 11 million points and miles, many of them by planning bachelor parties and other group travel, and how you can take advantage of group rates with airlines. If you're looking to earn a lot of miles by booking hotels and plane tickets, check out the Capital One Venture X card. This card lets you earn 10 points per dollar on hotels and 5 points per dollar on flights booked through their portal, and 2x on all other purchases, making it one of the best cards for miscellaneous expenses. You'll also get lounge access, $100 towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and $300 annually as a statement credit towards travel booked through the Capital One portal. Remember, if you're interested in applying for the Venture X or any other card, make sure you use a friend or creator's referral or affiliate links rather than applying directly through Google or mailers. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Capital One Venture X: https://milevalue.com/creditcards/venture-x/?aff=gbt Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Chris at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrishutchins Website: https://www.chrishutchins.com You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Freddy Lansky from @pointspanda is the CEO and owner of Points Panda, an award travel consultancy and points blog with a US airline news focus. He's flown first class with Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, British Airways and others. His other hobbies include surfing, hiking, and studying foreign languages. Freddy is from Atlanta, Georgia and has called Mexico City his home base since 2015. In this episode, Freddy and I discuss some of the best routes for flying in and around Latin America, whether you're looking to do a short haul from Atlanta to Mexico city or a long haul in business class all the way to South America. One of the main transfer partners we discuss in this episode is Avianca LifeMiles, which is great for their rewards program, but not necessarily great for their hard product airplanes. You can transfer points from American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott Bonvoy into Avianca's rewards program. Some of the most popular cards with each of these programs is the Amex Gold, Capital One Venture X, and Citi premier. If you'd like to apply to for any of these cards, please be sure you don't apply through Google, but rather use a friend or creator's referral or affiliate link. If you are interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Freddy at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pointspanda You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Here's my unboxing of the Capital One Venture X credit card. Enjoy! Join "Millionaire Movement” Discord Community - https://teachingmillionaires.com/discord Join waitlist for Rich's LLC Educational Program - https://teachingmillionaires.com/waitlist  So here are all the resources I mentioned in this video:

Will Balo from @willbalo is a Canadian points enthusiast based in Toronto. By day, he's a business coach and outside of that, he incorporates real estate investing as a side gig. In this episode, Will and I discuss all things Aeroplan - the shopping portal, redemption sweet spots, the generous lap child policy, and more! The great thing about Aeroplan is that most of the major flexible points will transfer to this program, including Chase, American Express, Bilt, and Capital One. Some of the most popular cards for these banks are the Chase Sapphire Preferred, American Express Gold, and Capital One Venture X, which are all linked in the show notes. Remember, please never apply for a card through Google - always use a friend or creator's referral links. If you'd like to support this show when you get your next card, please visit www.geobreezetravel.com/cards. Download Fluz at: https://joinfluz.app.link/GEOBREEZETRAVEL Download App in the Air at: https://links.appintheair.mobi/geobreezetravel You can find Will at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willbalo You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

Wondering how to earn more points towards travel? Trying to decide which travel credit card is the best fit for your family? This week we chat with points and miles expert Jennifer Yellin about the best travel credit cards for families. Kim and Tamara also talk about the changing travel restrictions in Europe, the Caribbean, and cruises. Note that since this podcast was recorded, Italy has also dropped its testing requirement for fully vaccinated travelers. About Jennifer Yellin Jennifer Yellin is the founder of Deals We Like, where she helps her readers travel on a deal. She writes about everything travel related, such as travel credit cards, travel rewards (points and miles) and travel destinations. Jennifer is also a freelance writer for CNN Underscored and The Points Guy where she writes on similar travel topics. Jennifer loves traveling to beach destinations and embracing ski trips with her family. How to Pick the Best Travel Credit Card for your Family For family travel, you need to book early if you are looking to use points since they are popular times to travel and you need more seats than if you are traveling solo When choosing a credit card to start using points there are some that are very easy to redeem points, like Capital One which allows you to earn points and then use the points eraser to erase the travel charge on your credit card. Others, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, you transfer your points to airline or hotel programs to use your points. You can get better value that way but it takes a little more work There are also airline or hotel specific cards that provide certain perks, like a free night certificate or free baggage, that can be valuable if you are able to fully utilize it Also look at the annual fees and make sure you are getting more value than you are paying in annual fees The Hyatt card will help you earn Globalist status, which will provide nice perks like room upgrades. See our episode about the best hotel loyalty programs Southwest is a popular card for Southwest fliers that can earn the Companion Pass (see our episode about flying families for free) The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card but wait to sign up until they have a very good sign up bonus. Points transfer easily on a one-to-one basis and you can even book through their travel portal. They have a partnership with Southwest and OneWorld Alliance members like American and British Airways If you transfer 1-to-1 to Hyatt, you will get more value out of your points then transferring to Marriott If you do decide to have multiple cards, make a note of which cards give more points for specific categories (e.g. gas, travel, supermarket) and put a piece of tape or label on each card and write on it which category to use that card for If you have a specific trip in mind, find out what hotel you want to stay at and then look at signing up for that hotel brand credit card and sign up when there is a good bonus (unless a card like Chase has a better welcome offer) You can also sign up for credit cards in you and your partner's name or a personal and business card to get multiple sign up offers if you have a specific trip in mind When you want to use points for a family, it can be hard to find enough free seats for everyone. Just keep in mind that if you book separately you may end up separated if they reshuffle the flights but you can try to get the itineraries linked to avoid this If you have status, you probably want to buy a ticket for the person with status and use points for the rest Expert Flyer is a membership website that helps you find special award availability For international airlines, it also helps to use an award booking service to help find flights to a specific destination, these usually cost about $150-200. Usually you don't pay unless you can book You can use Point.me (used to be Juicy Miles) where you put in your itinerary and the system will provide you with options that you can book and that is a less expensive service because it is automated When you transfer points, it can take 24-48 hours for the points to show up in your account and you can't book until they are available. You can Google how long it takes to transfer points between specific programs Once you transfer points from your credit card to an airline or hotel program, you can switch them back to the credit card so be sure you want to use them To earn additional points, sign up for every shopping portal available such as eBates/Rakuten (for cash back or points), some have Chrome Extensions to remind you to purchase through the portal. Most mainstream ecommerce sites will earn you points There are also a lot of sign up bonuses around big shopping weekends Cashbackholic will show you which shopping portals offer the best rates/points offers EV Rewards will also compare for you Always look at the targeted offers that are sent to you from your credit card companies to earn extra points or cash back Buy gift cards through shopping portals, put purchases on credit card and have others pay you back for group dinners, class gifts, etc. Never sign up for a credit card without a sign up offer Southwest currently has a good offer for earning a Southwest Companion Pass Make sure you can always easily meet the minimum spend requirements when signing up for a new card If you are applying for a mortgage or a loan soon, don't apply for a new credit card, but otherwise it won't hurt your credit score Cancel cards when you are no longer getting value, but you can also call and see if you can get a fee waived or reduced If you have applied for 5 or more Chase cards in 24 months, you can't get approved for a new card and Amex offers are usually once in a lifetime but you may be able to get it once they roll off your credit card in seven years or so Full Episode Transcript [00:00:00.190] - Kim Tate Stay tuned to find out how you can charge your way to free travel. [00:00:15.450] - Announcer Welcome to Vacation Mavens, a family travel podcast with ideas for your next vacation and tips to get you out the door. Here are your hosts, Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and Tamara from We 3 Travel. [00:00:29.890] - Kim Tate Tamara. It's kind of a fun intro today because I feel like we're going to share some happy news for a change that's happening. Do you want to kick us off and start talking about some changes that are happening in the travel space lately? [00:00:41.710] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I mean, just overall, I think everyone feels a whole lot better than they did a month ago, for sure. And I know traffic to my website showing that people are more interested in international travel than they have been, for obvious reasons. But it's just so nice to be on the side of things where it's like things are getting better. [00:00:58.670] - Kim Tate We have good news. Yeah. [00:01:00.680] - Tamara Gruber But as you guys know, we're planning a spring break trip coming up very quickly, and we've been keeping everything crossed that everything goes okay. But we saw just actually, I just saw very recently, I think it was on February 12 that France has lifted their testing requirement to get into the country. So it's just like one of these hurdles that I can check. I can just cross off like, okay, the day before, how am I going to get the test that I need? And is it going to come back in time depending on how things are there or they're going to shut now that things are better, they're closing some testing centers. What's the best way to get this test that they need? So it's just like one of those hurdles that I don't have to go through now. And it's just it's such a relief. And also because Hannah had COVID in early January, I was actually going to get her tested to see if she's still testing positive. Do I need to get the doctor's note and go through that whole thing? And so as restrictions are lifted, it's just so nice to have one less thing that you have to do as you're getting out the door, and then one less thing that could kind of screw up the road. [00:02:11.860] - Tamara Gruber Obviously, you could still get sick, but hopefully you would know that versus like, oh, no, you're actually asymptomatic. Not that we want to be traveling asymptomatically, but you know what I mean? So I'm just encouraged that there are a number of European countries that are lifting their testing requirements at the same time, though, I should say that is for people that are fully vaccinated and different countries have different rules about full vaccination. Like, for example, for France, you need to also be boosted if it's been more than seven months since your second shot or your only shot if you're like me when it was Johnson, Johnson. So you need to follow still those kind of guidelines and all of the rest. But at least on the testing front, it's one thing. So, yeah, so France lifted it. The UK has lifted that, Ireland has lifted it. Spain lifted it. And I've seen that both Portugal and Greece have lifted it for the EU. And so my matter of time before they lift it for the US as well. And part of it might be like the US still has the requirement that people need to test, including US citizens, on entry into the US. [00:03:24.420] - Tamara Gruber So it might be one of those things where it's like, well, if you lift it for us, we'll have it for you kind of thing. But yeah, at least I mean, right now we're still going to have to get tested in France to go into Italy. But at least we know that that's pretty easy to do. Like, there's tons of pharmacies around and it's cheap and readily available and fast turn around. So I'm not as worried about that. And then I actually just ordered some testing kits from EMED, which is what you and I used when we were in Portugal because it's the proctored self testing that is accepted for return to the US. [00:04:00.540] - Kim Tate And it's instant. Yeah, it's really good. [00:04:02.170] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. [00:04:03.870] - Kim Tate That horrible one day window that the US enacted, which I hope they're going to reedit that now that Omicron is calming down because that one day is a big ask. [00:04:13.080] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, it's definitely and I was worried about like, oh, if we're in Italy, I know I can get tested, but will the turnaround be in time? So I just felt like bringing these along is going to be the easiest scenario. We just do that in the room and we'll be all set. So positive news on my friend. And I know you've been paying attention to some other stuff going on, so you have some positive news, too. [00:04:34.640] - Kim Tate Yeah. Well, we're headed out on a cruise for spring break, and we're getting numerous emails that keep coming in because cruises are really volatile right now with the way they're changing. A lot of them went back into even a lockdown. They canceled a lot of cruises in January. And now I think things are loosening up, and so that's kind of opening up options. And so I think that for cruising, just know that cruising is back. Cruises in general have always been, as we talked about in that episode a while back, they're pretty obsessed with cleanliness and germs because of other things like norovirus that they've had issues with. So just know that cruising is back. And so if that's an option. The other thing that I like about cruising is because we're doing a Caribbean cruise and because you come in and out of a US Port, you are waived from a lot of those testing requirements that if you were just flying directly into a Caribbean Island. So there is some benefit to that. Just know that some of the Caribbean Islands also are editing what they're requiring. And I know that, for example, I believe it's the Bahamas and maybe even Aruba, if you're vaccinated, you no longer have to submit a PCR test. [00:05:41.530] - Kim Tate You can take a rapid test. Of course, it has to be a proven rapid test. You can't just take one of the Amazon ones and take a picture of it. It has to be like the EMED ones that you're talking about. But I think for some travelers, those are way easier than, like you said, making appointments and going in through a drive through or some kind of testing site. And then that stress over. Will I get the results in time, especially if for us out here, the Sundays really throw us off because they don't run the results on Sundays and do the testing. So if you need it, you kind of have to either wait for Monday or you have to go Saturday and hope that process works. So I just know that for us, it's kind of a big thing to keep an eye on. And I do think, like you that things are relaxing, and I think everybody's ready to get back to travel. So I feel like a lot of us traveled over the past year anyways, but it's becoming more accessible for people who maybe don't want the cost or the stress of testing. [00:06:35.070] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I mean, I've talked to a couple of people recently. They were like, oh, I just paid $100 for a test, and then they dropped it the next day. The cost for a family to have to deal with that kind of testing is considerable. It's huge. [00:06:51.000] - Kim Tate Well, our in laws won't come visit us from Canada because they're a family of five and they didn't come last summer because even after the border opened, they can't pay for five test times $150 or whatever. It just was cost prohibitive. [00:07:06.880] - Tamara Gruber So, yeah, I like to be an optimist, and it's been hard for a couple of years. And I know things can change and all of that, but it is just nice to see positive news, positive things happening. And I'm excited. I'm excited for where all of our travels are going to take us this year. [00:07:26.130] - Kim Tate I definitely think that it's exciting and I think that it's people I mean, governments are seeing that the travel restrictions and the testing isn't necessarily catching it. It's still spreading like wildfire all throughout the country. I think that's a bigger thing. Like, I'm fully into watching things, but the fact that obviously Omicron moved through multiple countries, it really shows that we kind of all just need to get back to living and do our responsible parts. [00:07:54.940] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Well, speaking of getting back to living, I think everyone has been thinking of the trips that they want to take. And so we've been trying to have some episodes that addressed some of that, like some of that inspirational dream travel and today we're going to talk to really a credit card expert, and she's going to help us figure out ways to earn our way to those dream trips using credit cards. So I'm very excited to kind of find some new strategies after talking to her today. [00:08:26.090] - Kim Tate Yeah, definitely. Jennifer is a true expert. So let's get talking to her. [00:08:38.270] - Tamara Gruber We are here this week with Jennifer Yellin. She's a travel and credit card expert, founder of travel site Deals We Like, and a freelance writer for The Points Guy and CNN Underscored. So, Jennifer, I feel a little bit odd to have such an expert here today, but welcome. [00:08:52.970] - Jennifer Yellin Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. [00:08:55.340] - Tamara Gruber Well, we get a lot of questions about credit cards and strategies. And there are always some of our favorite episodes, and people always have different advice. So it's really nice to talk to, like, people with different viewpoints and experience. But before we get into really talking about what credit cards families should be using to earn points, I was hoping you could inspire us a little bit with some of the trips or flights that you've been able to book using miles and points. Sure. [00:09:21.790] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. So this past two years, like many of you, probably has been a little bit of a pause in staying at home. But just more recently, my family was actually able to take our first trip since the Pandemic started to Aruba, and we were able to book that fully on points, utilize our JetBlue points. And with JetBlue, it's really cool that if the flight goes down in price, you can cancel now with your points and rebook it. So I was able to do that a few times and really get that price down really low. Booking with points, even during the Christmas time period, it was pretty awesome. And then we stayed at the Hyatt Regency there right on Palm Beach and used points as well. And my husband actually has global status, which is their top tier status. So we are able to apply a suite upgrade. And we're confirmed into a two bedroom suite. And my kids had their own bunkbed room, which I thought was so cool. [00:10:11.020] - Kim Tate That's amazing. That's definitely like a dream. Good job on that, because I know those suite rewards are kind of difficulties sometimes. I hear they are. [00:10:19.280] - Jennifer Yellin I mean, it wasn't available right away. I had a check online daily, maybe hourly leading up to it. And probably about two weeks before our trip. [00:10:26.930] - Kim Tate It opened up nice. [00:10:28.700] - Jennifer Yellin That was good. [00:10:29.960] - Kim Tate That definitely sounds good. I know Tamara was in Aruba, too, but I think those are the dream trips that everybody thinks about when they can do points on Airlines and hotels. So Unfortunately, I get overwhelmed at that aspect of, like, how to redeem. And so I have a whole bunch of points, but they're all just sitting in my account doing nothing for me. So I had a friend who's in the point space once say to me, what do you hate free money? Because you're not using your points. So I know that that's a good thing when you can use them. [00:10:57.520] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. Family travel, specifically points kind of early because we always are booking during the popular Christmas break, spring break time frame. And that's when everyone books early. So right now I have a bunch of trips planned for December break. Clearly, I'm not taking them all, but booking them right when the war calendar opens up has allowed like a word availability to be booked and it's easier to come by. [00:11:22.660] - Tamara Gruber That's a good tip. [00:11:23.840] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. As long as I can cancel them, I'm good. I probably have like four different trips. [00:11:28.850] - Kim Tate Yeah. It becomes you have to have a spreadsheet to manage it sometimes. [00:11:33.110] - Kim Tate Well, what do you think is some of the so let's start off by talking about what you think some of the criteria is for people to look for when they're choosing a credit card to start earning points because there are a lot of options and I know kind of what I'm thinking and what other people have said. So in your opinion, what should people look at? [00:11:50.580] - Jennifer Yellin I think it kind of depends. There's two types of credit cards out there in the points space. Forget about cash back, but there's those that allow you to easily redeem your points. Like capital One is the first one that comes to mind. You book your flight and you can kind of use your points to wipe away the charge. [00:12:10.730] - Kim Tate Like the eraser or something. [00:12:12.510] - Jennifer Yellin Exactly. Like at a very easy rate. You don't have to worry about award availability. Like you were saying that you don't want to deal with if the flight is available. The hotel is available on points. As long as you can book it with cash, you can use your points. Then there's one like the Chase Ultimate Rewards, which kind of has a few different programs, actually. But those are where you can redeem your points to various hotel and airline programs by transferring your points. But that takes kind of some motivation, I guess it takes some effort and work and you need to kind of learn the programs, but then you could actually get something of better value. So it kind of depends on what your personality is. [00:12:53.540] - Kim Tate Right. And then, of course, there's also, like specific airline credit cards, like Delta or I have an Alaska card just because it gives me some perks. But it's funny because on Alaska I still book with my Amex because Alaska pays three times, but Amex pays five times. So it's kind of funny how you have to think about that stuff. [00:13:10.330] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. Other things I look for is I try to keep my annual fees low because I have a decent amount of credit cards. But are there perks that come with a credit card, like a free night certificate? So like Hyatt offers a free night certificate. It's capped at a category four, but I always find that that helps pay for the annual fee and actually allows me to come out ahead. So are there any of those other bonuses or perks that you'll utilize? [00:13:35.210] - Tamara Gruber I used to have a Marriott card, and I felt like sometimes I ended up not always using that voucher for the free night because then you would look at it and when I wanted to book, it was only like $100, $150. And you're like, oh, I'm going to save it for something else. And then it never ended up happening with all these things you definitely have to stay on top of make sure you're using the perks and the bonuses that you get. Right. [00:13:58.270] - Jennifer Yellin Definitely. Because if not, you could be spending a good amount on just fees where you're really not worth it. [00:14:04.160] - Tamara Gruber I mean, I totally admit that we've had the Capital One venture card for years and years, and the Holy Racer thing is just super simple. [00:14:12.670] - Kim Tate Yeah. That's what Paul likes. He loves that one. Just for the ease of it. [00:14:16.910] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. And we've also been using a higher credit card. And even though we're not getting the best value every time you make a purchase, it helps us earn global status, which, as I've mentioned before, is like their top tier status. So by earning that status, because every time you spend, I think $5,000 on the card, you get two nights towards status. So that, combined with staying at hotels, allows us to use that and then kind of get these awesome perks. So you kind of got to look at the pros and cons of every car and see what works best for you. Whenever anyone asks me, my simple answer sometimes is it depends. [00:14:51.780] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. We talked to who is Ed Pizza, right. A few months ago, Kim, and he was really recommending Hyatt as a great program for families. So I'm glad that you brought that one up and like ways to kind of maximize that because their point redemption is certainly much more generous than, as I mentioned, the Marriott card. [00:15:11.380] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. Ed and I are big Hyatt people for sure. [00:15:15.100] - Tamara Gruber Well, it sounds like you gave a couple of good starter cards for someone that's interested in travel but maybe doesn't have any particular destination in mind, or they just want to be able to use it, like travel generally. I know some people are like, really into Southwest, do everything Southwest. We had somebody on that talked about that in the past. But are there any other kind of starter cards that you would recommend for someone that doesn't want to be loyal to a particular brand or a particular airline? [00:15:43.570] - Jennifer Yellin Sure. Yes. If you don't want to be loyal and you kind of want to be agnostic and have to diversify your portfolio, I guess the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card. I wouldn't say the sign up bonus is as high as it has been over the past year. So if you're not in a rush, you might want to hold off. But that is a good program where it's simple. They have really good transfer partners such as Hyatt, United, JetBlue, and then once you get more into it, you can explore some of the international airline partners as well. But it's simple. Everything transfers as one to one, and you can kind of figure out what your needs are and then transfer to the program. Or you can book through their travel portal. I think it's run by Expedia. It's the exact same process as booking as any other Expedia hotel you would or Air flight. And you can utilize your points that way, too. It's at a fixed value, so they offer a good amount of opportunities. [00:16:37.550] - Tamara Gruber And are they one that has a really broad portfolio of Airlines? I remember I used to do that a lot with Amex, and then they had gotten rid of a lot of their partners and we kind of dropped Amex for a while. Some still have limited partnerships with the one to one transfers. [00:16:55.310] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah, I think they have a broad number of transfer partners. It's on the airline front, off the top of my head. United JetBlue, British Airways, which a lot of people will book domestically. You can book their British Airways points using on American Airlines, so they're a partner. So it's really easy to travel domestically even with an international airline. And then there are some other international carriers, too, in Southwest actually is one of them as well. So I think they have a good amount. There are definitely ones that are better than others just because of not all points are pretty equal. So if you transfer one to one to Hyatt versus one to one to Marriott, Hyatt points are 20,000 Hyatt points is probably equivalent to 60,000 Marriott points. So it's slightly different when you're transferring in a one to one rate. You want to get the best value. I'd say. [00:17:45.920] - Kim Tate Yeah. I think that it's good to mention that you do have to be mindful of the transfer partners because that is where you can get into. There's a whole it's kind of like couponing, right? Where the people who are like those extreme couponers, they knew everything and they could stack stuff. And I think that people who really get into this are good at stacking stuff because it's like, oh, I know for a fact that British Airways has really high taxes. So maybe you want to fly Air Lingus into Ireland and then get to there's little things like that that you learn over time. But it is nice to have the multiple transfer partners knowing that you can kind of optimize the way the credit cards work for you. Do you have any tips? Because I know this is a big thing in the point space about deciding if you do decide to have multiple cards, how do you decide what expenses to put on each card? [00:18:29.730] - Jennifer Yellin So I have many cards, probably too many, but I kind of look at category bonuses. So some credit cards will give increased payout for gas, some will for restaurants, some for travel, supermarkets, your common purchases. And so I kind of lay it out and I actually have what's it called tape with Sharpie written on which one to use for various types of purchases. And that has helped, but that can definitely get overwhelming. I'd say if you don't want to be overwhelmed, you're probably better off with a credit card like the Capital Adventure that just offers you two points for every dollar you spent. It doesn't matter what you're purchasing. If you're buying a toy for your child, purchasing travel, going to grocery store, anything, it's the same return. So it really depends on maybe your personality and how much you want to spend on this. But if you're willing to put in the effort, you can definitely maximize every single purchase you make. But it will require a few different credit cards. [00:19:35.410] - Tamara Gruber I like that tip, though, of like putting a little note on them in some way because I have a terrible memory when it comes to numbers. And so I could see myself having a spreadsheet somewhere that says use this one for gas and this one for that. But until it becomes like routine and a habit, I would be like which 01:00 a.m. I supposed to use again. So like a little tip, right? [00:19:56.480] - Kim Tate So many people in the point space on the groups, a new quarter comes around and they change out and they have those label makers like the Dymo label makers, and they put them on their cards, which card to use? And they do it for their spouses too. That maybe aren't into it as much because sure enough, I think of that. I'm like, which one do I want to use for dining? What do I want to pay here? [00:20:24.450] - Tamara Gruber I'm thinking like when you use Apple Pay or you do online and your card saved, you can name them. Usually just name it like Amex or Visa. You could name it like grocery store, dining, gas. [00:20:36.650] - Kim Tate All the gas probably isn't needed online. [00:20:39.090] - Tamara Gruber So that kind of covers some of the general travel. I know some people have some dream trips in mind. Like say, okay, I want to go to the Maldives or I want to go to Tokyo. Like what is a good strategy to get me to a particular destination? Is that better to then look at a specific card for the airline? That might be best for that? What would your approach to that kind of scenario be? [00:21:05.080] - Kim Tate Absolutely. [00:21:05.600] - Jennifer Yellin Whenever I give anyone advice, I always actually find it's easier for me to help them when they have a specific trip in mind, because then you can have a strategy for that particular destination. So I know it was a few years back, but a friend of mine wanted to go on our honeymoon to the Maldives. Like you had mentioned, it's definitely a quite extensive adventure. So this is a prime opportunity to use your points and miles. And I said, well, the Hyatt actually has a great property there get the highest credit card. I can't remember what the actual bonus was at the time, but right off the bat, it was either two or three nights free at the Maldives. This was many years ago when before the point rates went up a little bit. But that was probably a $3,000 in savings. So I think if you know exactly where you want to stay, let's say it's the Hyatt, then look to see what the Hyatt credit card is offering at the time. Look to see what maybe the Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering at the time, since you can transfer the Hyatt and see which one is going to give you a better welcome offer for that particular destination in mind. [00:22:07.650] - Kim Tate Yeah, I know we were planning a trip to Tokyo, and Japan Airlines is a partner with Alaska, and Alaska is my airline of choice here in Seattle. And so that was easy for me because I was kind of banking those miles and I got the Alaska card because my status gives me free bags, but I was able to get free bags for my kids as well. And all that. And those points really helped in the way get us our Tokyo flights that we didn't get to use, but still there. [00:22:32.320] - Tamara Gruber You got them? [00:22:33.530] - Kim Tate Yeah. [00:22:33.910] - Jennifer Yellin I did something similar last year about probably eleven months ago. I knew I wanted to go to Hawaii over this past December break. We didn't go, therefore, we went to Aruba. But I purposely just got the Alaska credit card purely for them, based in Boston. Boston. I don't think I've actually ever flown Alaskan Airlines in my life, actually. But there was a points available I saw. So I immediately applied for the credit card and both my name and my husband's name. And actually I applied for the personal credit card and the business credit card in both of us. And I knew that immediately would give us both a one way flight there. And I already had American Airlines booked on the way home with points. So I applied for that card for that one specific destination. I now have all these Alaska airline miles, and I know that I'll just use them at another point of time to hopefully go to Hawaii again. [00:23:21.250] - Kim Tate Yeah. [00:23:22.350] - Jennifer Yellin So I did that myself, too. [00:23:24.870] - Kim Tate So let's talk about we talked about booking flights and using points because this is something that I've struggled with a lot. When you are for a family, when you are wanting to use points, do you think it's easier to just always search for four tickets? Say you're a family four. Tamara is a family, three, whatever you are, your whole family search for tickets with those points? Or do you think it's better to be willing to pay for some and get tickets for some? Because I know that I've struggled with that, especially because as a status person, I almost want to buy my ticket, which is what I did for our spring break. I bought my ticket and I use points on my family's three tickets because now I'll earn miles on that trip and they don't care about anything else. So do you have any tips about that for using points with a family? [00:24:10.340] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah, we actually do the same. We fly JetBlue a lot now. And my husband had status and actually they extended his status. So he still has his status, which actually isn't worth as much anymore. But we'll pay for his ticket and then use the points to purchase tickets for myself and my two kids. And then Jeff, who allows you if you call them and the tickets are booked within a few minutes of one another, they'll kind of link them kind of for you. So that's a strategy we use with JetBlue and Southwest. There's no capacity control. So as long as there's a paid ticket available, you can go ahead and use your points. It doesn't matter, unlike some other Airlines. But with other Airlines, sometimes I do recommend just looking at one ticket at a time, because if there's one or two tickets, you could do that. The only problem is when you're booking with multiple itineraries. And sometimes if there's schedule changes, the Airlines aren't as helpful, I guess is the right term to keep families together, necessarily if they are booked on separate itineraries. So that's just one thing to keep in mind if you're booking under multiple reservations. [00:25:15.090] - Tamara Gruber Yeah, we've actually had that happen to us a number of times. We used to travel on points much more often and we were separated. And it's one of those things that especially when you book far out in advance, they tend to reshuffle flights fairly often and equipment, and so you can easily get moved around. And it's something I'm sensitive to because I have a child who is now older, but when she was younger was also a nervous liar. So there's, like, no way I would have wanted her separated from me. I think it's a good tip to say call, tell them to link the PNR numbers on the itinerary, but it's definitely not foolproof. So if it's something that you're concerned about, definitely something to keep in mind. [00:25:59.070] - Jennifer Yellin Right. And my thought is if I'm willing to pay for two or three of the passengers and I'm probably willing to pay for all of them and then use the points at another time, I personally like to book with everything either paid or points just to keep everything clean. [00:26:15.750] - Kim Tate And I know that when you do talk about just for people who are maybe a little more intermediate or advanced well, if they're advanced they already know this. But I know that a lot of people use Expert Flyer, which is a website. You can actually pay a yearly membership fee. I think it's like $49 a year. $99 a year. I don't remember what it is. And they somehow have some magic API that looks for special award availability that's coded a certain way. And so if you are trying to play a game, I know some people set up like alerts so that if they're watching a specific flight or a specific destination, they can kind of if an award ticket becomes available, they can hurry and log in and book it. [00:26:57.950] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah, absolutely. That is one good technique. And another thing I've kind of found helpful at times is using an award booking service. I know that seems silly from someone who kind of knows as well, but specifically with international Airlines, it can be beyond overwhelming. And they have all the tools and they have the same API's. And I don't know what they do in the background, but sometimes they're able to find ways that you didn't think of to go ahead and book an award internationally using partner programs. And it can actually save you points. So if you have points on one Airlines, but then also points in a flexible program like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, which awards you ultimate reward points, you actually could potentially transfer your points to a program and then book your itinerary for less points than booking with another program. So there's so many different things to know, I guess, when it comes to that. But there are services out there. [00:27:53.490] - Kim Tate Yeah. Do you have any? Because I know a friend that I kind of met once that's in the space. And at one point when we were looking at Japan and I was trying to decide if I was going to do it myself and he charged like 150 or something to do it for you. But do you know what those typically charge or what? Is there a top one or two that you know by name that you could mention? Sure. [00:28:15.120] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. That price point sounds about right. But then there are other services that have kind of come out over the past few years. So one is Point me, it used to be called Juicy Miles, and instead of them actually booking it for you, you can kind of like Expert Flyer in a sense, somewhat. You put in your itinerary and it kind of lists out all these different options for you. So it's all system process. There's no one physically doing it for you. And that's a much less expensive option. I think that you can charge a monthly fee or maybe just you can do it a one time or even a seven day trial period. I think so. Those are some good options, too, because it's less expensive. But it will give you all these international Airlines that you do in point programs that you probably didn't even know existed. And how to book. The only problem is some of them are a little bit more challenging to actually transfer to and book. But by quick Google searching, there's, like everything out there that you can figure out on how to transfer points and everything. It's time consuming. [00:29:16.410] - Jennifer Yellin It's really time consuming. And sometimes, I don't know, it might be easier. [00:29:19.740] - Kim Tate That's what I'm saying at this point. I would pay someone $250 to do it for me because I do know how time consuming. [00:29:26.970] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. And usually you don't pay unless it works. Right. [00:29:30.550] - Kim Tate Unless they get it for you. [00:29:31.880] - Jennifer Yellin Right. If you're not happy with it, no harm. [00:29:34.500] - Kim Tate Yeah, that's good tip. And I think also just a heads up for some people realize that a lot of these, like, I know Amex and Ultimate Rewards, a lot of their transfer partners take 24 to 72 hours for the points to kick into your account, which can be a big issue, especially if you're like, oh, this airfare just became available. Now I have to transfer the points, but then you're waiting there two, three days. I'm hoping that they hit your account so you can buy that award ticket. It's very stressful. I actually did that for Alaska to get our Japan tickets. I needed like 50,000 more and I had to transfer some. And I was like, oh, my gosh, please get in my account before these disappear. [00:30:09.750] - Tamara Gruber That's a really good point. [00:30:11.620] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. If you like Google also, I don't know why has it, but if you Google, like, time to transfer points from one program to another, there's so many experts out there, points people that have kind of taken all the data and put it all together. So some of them are instant. Some of them could even take seven days. But you could probably get a good inkling based on what these other people have put together. [00:30:35.190] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. Well, it's one of these spaces where there are so many experts, but trying to sort through it all on your own is definitely confusing. That idea of being able to hire someone to help you. And thinking about that, I'm such an advanced planner, you kind of want to be like, oh, well, I'm probably going to use this. I'll just switch the points over now, but then you can't switch them back. [00:30:58.030] - Jennifer Yellin That is a good tip. Once you transfer points out of, like, Capital One or City or American Express Chase, I think those are the three main ones. They're in that program of choice. They are not going back in. So once flexible, points are no longer flexible. [00:31:12.770] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. One way. [00:31:14.020] - Jennifer Yellin Yes. [00:31:15.690] - Tamara Gruber Well, we talked a little bit about some ways that you can maximize kind of your earning potential through these. But maybe we can just touch on that a little bit more deeply because I feel like it gets challenging for families that don't have someone that's like a real road warrior that's traveling a lot to kind of build up points simply from travel. So obviously you need to find other ways to earn those points. So maybe you can just touch on a few of those strategies. [00:31:41.670] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. So one major way is to sign up for every single shopping portal. Ebates is one that's always advertised and that will give you cash back, although you can now have those points go into American Express. But similar to ebay, you can sign up and receive points to American Airlines or United Alaska. All the Airlines have their own shopping portal. So all you have to do is Google Alaska Airlines shopping portal and it'll bring you up. And a lot of them even have those widgets on your computer where every time you go to a site, if you were to Gap.com, it'll pop up and say kind of give you a reminder, remember to shop through the Alaska Port. I don't know if that. [00:32:22.620] - Kim Tate Yeah, the extensions. Like the Chrome extensions. Yeah, exactly. And I think Ebates, just so everyone knows it's called Racketon. Now, if you're confused about that. No, it's okay. You're good. I still think of them as ebay. So I wanted everyone to yes. [00:32:35.800] - Jennifer Yellin Ebay was definitely a softer name. So every time you make a purchase online, there's no reason not to earn points unless it's more of a boutique store. But with your mainstream stores, even if you're only earning one point per dollar spent that's one point more than you would have earned otherwise. And sometimes if you sign up for their emails, if you spend $200, earn $1,000 bonus. They have these types of bonuses all the time, especially around the holidays, Black Friday, even randomly, the long holiday weekends, like Memorial Day, Labor Day, big shopping weekends, and just sometimes out of the blue. So there's ways to really accrue a lot of miles from home. [00:33:17.530] - Kim Tate Absolutely. [00:33:18.420] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. [00:33:18.790] - Kim Tate That's one of my favorite tips. I do that a lot and I really like it. And there's these websites now, the one I use the most is like Cashback Holic. And they'll compare. So if you're going to you're like, okay, I'm about ready to buy. I'm going to book this Marriott stay. You can type in Marriott and it'll show you like who, because I belong to Racketon and Top Cashback and I can compare those two. I try not to get into too many of them, so I mainly use those two. But I'm like, oh, Top Cashback is 6%. Racketon is only four. I'm going to go to Top Cashback so you can get really nerdy and kind of compare them also. [00:33:49.190] - Jennifer Yellin Oh, totally. Absolutely. And EV Rewards is another one that will also compare for you is great. [00:33:57.090] - Tamara Gruber I totally admit that. I completely suck at this. I don't use any of these. And every time you read about it, you're like, oh yeah, I should do that. And I just get excited if I actually learn how to use one of the bonuses on my credit card, like get $50, $50. [00:34:16.510] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah. And another thing you want to do, I mean, this is separate from the shopping portal is I remember I think it was the last time I received an email from Barclaycard. And they are the bank with JetBlue. And it was like ridiculous offer spent $2,000 on your card over three months and earn I think it was 40,000 points. It was a targeted offer. I got it. My husband didn't. I was like, all right, moving all my spent to my JetBlue card for the next few months. Right. And they're just paying attention just helps you earn these increased offers. So there's definitely ways from home without flying to earn points and miles. [00:34:55.990] - Kim Tate I've definitely been getting better about when I'm about ready to either go on a trip or go shopping with my girls or something along those lines. I log into my Chase and my Amex accounts online and I look because they have an offer section because you have to add them to your card. [00:35:09.740] - Jennifer Yellin Yes. [00:35:10.010] - Kim Tate And I don't think people always realize that. So if it's like, oh, Levi's is having a deal, I add it to my card because maybe they're going to want Levi's jeans while we're on back to school shopping or, oh, guess what? Hilton is doing this special. If you spend if you stay two nights, you get whatever the case may be. And I don't think people do that enough. But it's a good way to really I think if you want to get serious about it, you should log in often to the offers page because they reset every month. [00:35:34.850] Yeah. [00:35:35.740] - Jennifer Yellin Every day you're going to laugh. But American Express offers used to update every day at three in the morning. And I'm not joking. And so when my kids were small and I was up in the middle of the night non stop, I was like, so excited. And that was part of my daily routine. Some people have their morning coffee. I would look at my American Express offers. I'm not even kidding. That's awesome. Daily. But I will say it used to be you could add them to every single American Express credit card you have. I can't remember when, but a few years ago, it's now just one per account. So it's not as generous as it used to be. But I used to check them every single morning. And I'd saved thousands of dollars this way because it's not earning points. Well, actually, there are offers that you can earn points, but some of them are cashback. So now there's either cash back or increase point offers. So it depends on the offer and the type of card you have, because some cards might have it somewhere, but they're really great way to earn points or offset your purchases. [00:36:33.850] - Kim Tate And like you said, so many are targeted. Like Tamara got this offer for a Marriott offer at one point on her Amex and mine. I didn't have it and I'm convinced it's because I had the Amex Marriott card. [00:36:42.870] - Tamara Gruber I don't know. [00:36:44.830] - Jennifer Yellin You'll never know. And sometimes you can even I remember I can't remember the exact offer, but it was like grocery stores and I spend $500 getting $100 offer, something like that. And I wasn't going to make $500 purchase in once because sometimes it's on a single purchase. So I just bought a $500 gift card there and then just use the gift card over the course of my shopping fees. So there are ways to kind of I don't know if scheme the system is the right term, but play the game. [00:37:13.460] - Tamara Gruber Yeah. I mean, I do what you do, Kim, is when I'm shopping online, I'm like, wait, that might have an offer. Let me look. But the other thing with the gift cards is just simply like gifts, right. We give gifts and I buy gift cards for people all the time. And it's just like if it's something that you're spending anyway, just find a way to use to earn points on it, right? [00:37:34.430] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. Or be the one to pay the bill at the restaurant and have everyone to Mo you buy the class gifts or anything like that. Like everyone wonders why I'm always a class mom. It's to accrue all the money and then I can put all the purchases on her credit card. [00:37:49.320] - Tamara Gruber Love it. [00:37:49.910] - Jennifer Yellin Little things like that. [00:37:51.290] - Kim Tate Well, I know another big way to maximize points is with sign up bonuses. So could you give any final tips for people that are thinking of getting a new card, anything they should know about sign up bonuses or things to watch for, and then wrap it up with any final tips that you think people need to know about credit card points? [00:38:07.580] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. So one thing you want to make sure of is when you sign up for a credit card, make sure it doesn't have to be the best offer because you might be waiting around for a year for the best offer. But make sure it's a really good offer. I know we were speaking before and you said you apply for an offer that was like half of what it typically is. So when you see an offer, make sure it's a good value and it's going to provide you with enough points that you'll be happy with that. Even if a better offer comes along in a month or two. Pay attention to best offer. Some banks, actually, if you apply within a few weeks or maybe even a month, if you call them up and say this better offer just came out, will you match it? They may or may not match it for you, but it's always worth a try. You never know. Some banks have kind of different fools and they change every so often also. But if you're looking for a credit card right now and specifically for family travel. The Southwest Credit Card actually has one of the best offers where you'll earn the Southwest Companion Pass. [00:39:05.500] - Jennifer Yellin I don't know if you guys have discussed the Southwest Companion Pass much on the podcast, but it's definitely one of my favorite travel features. And it allows someone to fly with you for free in a limited number of times. I've been a passholder for the past 13 or 14 years at this point. And it's like the most amazing thing ever. So that's one of my favorite offers right now. If you live in a Southwest hub, if you don't live near Southwest, then it's not worth it. [00:39:33.520] - Kim Tate And I'll chime in and just say that we did cover quite extensively about that Southwest offer and stuff with Lynne and that's episode 181. If anybody wants to go back and listen to that awesome. [00:39:43.960] - Jennifer Yellin Yes, she's an expert and everything's Southwest as well. So that's one thing right now, credit card offers are changing all the time. I think Marriott just came out with something last week, United as well. So it's like hard to even keep track. But sometimes even just like Googling best credit card offers from the experts. You'll get pages, but make sure it's really the best and not just them pushing you on the best when it might not be. [00:40:11.950] - Kim Tate Yeah, I definitely think that I've done that where especially if I have a big purchase, like, oh, I'm buying a new camera or we're about ready to take a big trip and I'm going to be putting a lot of charges. I kind of go and I say, okay, best credit card offers for March 2022 or whatever. And of course, it's the points guy, nerd wallet, upgraded points. [00:40:31.310] - Tamara Gruber Like all those guys. [00:40:32.280] - Kim Tate And so it's kind of good to just read through those and kind of see which ones are popping up. And they definitely, you'll know, because it's not just an offer. Like they'll write a whole article about this amazing offer is one of the best we've seen lately, that sort of stuff. [00:40:45.640] - Jennifer Yellin Right? Absolutely. And also just another tip is make sure you can meet the minimum spend requirements. Some of the credit cards are 1000 $2,000 in three months, six months. But the Capital One Venture X card right now, for example, is like, I think it's $10,000. So that might not be obtainable for most families. [00:41:04.130] - Kim Tate Exactly. [00:41:04.910] - Jennifer Yellin So it just makes it something you can do. [00:41:07.420] - Kim Tate Those business cards can sometimes have really high spends. Because I've looked at doing a business card, sometimes I'm just like, there's just no way I can spend that right now. [00:41:15.240] - Jennifer Yellin Right. [00:41:16.170] - Kim Tate Although I know that's a whole other expert level of people who do credit or gift card buy and resell to do that. So that's a whole other level. [00:41:24.990] - Jennifer Yellin Yes, it is. If you're interested in that, go to Greg at the Frequent Mile or he is crazy when it comes to this. But awesome attitude. [00:41:32.530] - Tamara Gruber One of the things that I'm thinking about. As I'm listening to you guys, I'm thinking about what I have an upcoming trip where I'm going to be spending a lot of money and some of that's already on one of my credit cards. But maybe I should look into what bonuses are up right now. But it makes me think about when you want to churn your cards. And we obviously talked about signing up, you and your husband for a card and signing up for this card in that card. And it's like, at what point are too many cards? Like too many? Like, how long do you keep it before you get rid of it? Are there considerations to think about in terms of your credit or just eligibility for future cards? That just to make people aware of? [00:42:10.930] Sure. [00:42:11.520] - Jennifer Yellin So as long as you're responsible with your credit cards, for the most part, credit cards are not going to hurt your credit. I mean, you'll see people who have 50 credit cards and they still have these awesome 800 credit scores. If you're applying for a mortgage to get a house in a few weeks, don't apply for a credit card right now. Right. So there's definitely or even any loan I wouldn't recommend applying for a credit card. Wait. And then go and get it. In regards to when you should cancel, if you're not getting value out of your credit card, cancel it's not going to hurt you or downgrade to a no annual fee. For example, if you have the Chase Sapphire preferred card and you find that the $95 annual fee is not worth it anymore, first of all, call and see if they'll do something for you. A lot of times they might say, okay, if you spend $1,000, we'll give you a $95 credit. You just never hurt. I know. Last year I think I ended up getting about $500 back from American Express amongst a lot of my credit cards. I know COVID played a hand in that. [00:43:16.470] - Jennifer Yellin But always call and see. And if not, then see if there's a car that you can downgrade it to, and then there won't be a Ding on your credit report. I mean, it also depends on what your current credit score is. And sometimes you might get a Ding, but it will go back up in a few months. So there's a few factors depending on. [00:43:34.050] - Kim Tate Yeah, it's like ten point Ding, and it does pop right back up because we've had that opening up a credit card kind of opens up. [00:43:40.310] - Jennifer Yellin Gives you more credit, which creditors like, too. [00:43:43.520] - Kim Tate So opening up credit cards is not a bad thing unless you're applying for a big mortgage. They don't like to see your capital, your accessibility too high, right? [00:43:53.510] - Jennifer Yellin Absolutely. And then Chase also has Chase and American Express have different rules in place. So I'm not sure if you've discussed Chase is 524. [00:44:01.800] - Kim Tate Yeah, we talked about that. [00:44:03.530] - Jennifer Yellin So you've applied for five or more cards. Usually they're personal cards, but sometimes they throw business cards into it, too. Chase will automatically not approve you for another credit card. I've seen some reports that that might be changing, actually. So we'll kind of see what happens over the next few months. But that's one thing to keep in mind. It's five or more cards in 24 months, I think I said. And then American Express also doesn't allow you to get the welcome offer for I believe it's like once in a lifetime, but once it falls off your credit report, they might not know. So might be like seven years. So those are things to kind of keep in mind. That's why you want to apply when the offer is the best, because if it's not and you're going to be losing out on points if a new offer comes around and then you're not able to get it and you're no longer a card holder. [00:44:48.390] - Tamara Gruber I have one more question for you, because now I'm just going to use you as my personal source for information if you want to get an additional card for someone in your family. So, for example, I have a 17 year old that we've been waiting till she turns 18 to get a credit card for her. And we've been debating like, do you get her own credit card or do we put her on one of ours? Do we get another one of the capital one cards? Any tips for if you're adding somebody in your family, maybe a first card? Is there any advantage, like kind of getting points from them versus kind of setting them up on their own? [00:45:24.660] Sure. [00:45:25.100] - Jennifer Yellin So just remember, if someone is an authorized user, you're responsible for all of their credit card habits. So if the credit card bill is not paid or if anything happens, it kind of can hit you. So just something to keep in mind with teenagers. But I actually personally don't know a lot about the high school age and what credit cards you can and cannot apply for for that age. I'm not there yet, fortunately. But setting someone up as an authorized user, I think some credit cards you can maybe do as early as 13, you can add them on. And that actually helps them as well build their own credit score. So it's always a great thing to get add on authorized users if they're not eligible to get their own credit card. And then when they are to get them, there are various student credit cards, and a lot of times those comes with $300 spend limits or very low thresholds that you might want for your child. But yeah, definitely getting them set up will only help their credit score, which can then ultimately help them in their 20s to apply for a credit card. [00:46:26.470] - Jennifer Yellin That will be useful. But there are a lot of student credit cards out there that do give you points and miles. [00:46:32.810] - Kim Tate They do come with a really high annual fee or not annual fee interest rate. Normally, that's the only bad thing. We actually added my husband and my daughter, both as authorized users with my Amex Platinum Tamara, because of the lounge access. So now, especially if they're changing it, we're going to get Mia. And that'll be my maxed on three, because with Amex Platinum, you get three authorized users for $175 total. So you pay the $175 and then they get all the lounge benefits as well. Are they changing the lounge that you can no longer guests unless you spend like $75,000 starting in January of 2023? I think you don't get anywhere. Is that right, Jennifer? I think that's right. [00:47:15.840] - Jennifer Yellin That I don't know. [00:47:17.100] - Kim Tate Okay. [00:47:17.820] - Jennifer Yellin Sorry. [00:47:18.780] - Kim Tate No, you're fine. [00:47:19.580] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah, but I will say that the expensive credit cards a lot of times you have to pay to add an authorized user, but no annual fee or low annual fee credit cards. Usually you can add a few authorized users for no fee. [00:47:33.380] - Kim Tate Great. Well, one of our questions that we ask all of our guests is what do you wear when you travel? So do you have any favorite brands that you want to tell us about when you travel? [00:47:41.020] - Jennifer Yellin Sure. I travel as comfortably as possibly. And I also wear my everyday clothes, which consists of black as leader pants, which is side pockets, like those leggings. And then you can put your cell phone or any cars. Side pockets are a necessity. Once I found them, like two years ago, I can never go back. And sneakers or flip flops, depending on the weather. Nothing fun and exciting. [00:48:05.480] - Tamara Gruber Well, you're brave wearing flip flops on the plane. [00:48:07.370] - Kim Tate My feet are always freezing. [00:48:09.230] - Jennifer Yellin Yeah, that is a good point. It depends on the length of it's. Just like an hour flight that's going to be different. But you're right. I used to travel for work every single week for many years. And I would always be traveling like those high heels and hated every second of it. I would get off the plane and go straight to the client site for the week. And now I just want to be comfortable. [00:48:28.770] - Kim Tate And everyone has those little packable ballet flats that you can just pop in and out. Yeah. [00:48:34.610] - Tamara Gruber I'm happy, though. So work travel days are behind me, too. And just like work dress in general has changed. [00:48:41.210] - Jennifer Yellin Oh, yeah. I got rid of all of my stuff, never going back. [00:48:44.640] - Kim Tate Good. [00:48:45.030] - Tamara Gruber Well, can you remind our listeners where they can find you online or learn more about points? [00:48:51.120] - Kim Tate Absolutely. [00:48:51.940] - Jennifer Yellin So you can find me at my blog Deals We Like. You can also find me on Twitter or Facebook. Everything is at Deals We Like. And then also I'm a freelance contributor at the Point Sky and CNN Underscore. So I have some great articles there as well. That where you can learn more about credit cards, family travel, anything in the points and miles world. [00:49:10.850] - Tamara Gruber Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge with us. It's always really great when we can get an expert on and just kind of brainstorm some ideas. Hopefully people will have something new that they can try to get them a little bit closer to their next kind of dream trip. [00:49:25.130] - Kim Tate Thanks for having me. It was great chatting with you. [00:49:27.320] - Announcer Thanks. [00:49:27.630] - Tamara Gruber You too. [00:49:31.850] - Kim Tate Well, as always, thanks for joining us for another week here and I have a little request. Tamara, I was looking at our podcast page the other day and I noticed that we were almost at 100 reviews. We are really close so I'm going to do a little bag from all of our lovely listeners and ask you guys if you're willing if you love our show, if you would leave us a five star review on your favorite podcast app, the one I looked on was Apple podcast. But wherever you're at or listen to us, if you'd leave us a positive review, we'd love it. We love hearing from you guys and I'd love to see that switch to 100 reviews. [00:50:05.780] - Tamara Gruber That would be great. I know we've been at this for almost six years and actually by the time it comes out it will be six years and we're just really bad about asking for reviews. We definitely appreciate it. I know some podcasts every day it's like the first thing that you hear is like leave us a review but we would appreciate it. We'll give you shout outs online. We'll read them especially if they're nice, but even if they're not nice, we will read them mindful of it but otherwise stay tuned because next episode we're going to be talking about sustainable travel and I think that is also on a lot of people's minds as we're getting back out there and how to be responsible and thinking about things in a more sustainable way. So join us next time talk to you again soon. Bye.

Kris Abad from @the_frugal_tourist has visited more than 85 countries and loves traveling in luxury frugally by using points and miles. In this episode, Kris and I discuss all things Singapore Airlines. We discuss how to earn points, different routes, redemption sweet spots, and more! Also, fun fact: Kris' name is spelled "k-r-i-s" like "Singapore Krisflyer". The great thing about Singapore Krisflyer is that a variety of different points will transfer over. You can use Chase, American Express, Citi, or Capital One. Some of the fan favorites for each of these banks are the Chase Sapphire Preferred, Amex Gold, Citi Premier, and Capital One Venture X. I'd recommend going with the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you are just starting out, but you can find links to any of those cards in the show notes. Remember, friends don't let friends apply through credit cards through Google. Please always use a friend or creator's links. If you'd like to support this show when you apply for your next card, please use the links in the show notes. Cards: www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Download Fluz at: https://joinfluz.app.link/GEOBREEZETRAVELPODCAST You can find Kris at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_frugal_tourist You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

I'm making Richard Kerr cry a little bit with the news that we've sold the RV. We're keeping a pickup truck so I imagine you'll find us camping beside the Kerr family at Disney World sometime in the not-too-distant future. We dig into Richard's trip delay claim this week with some great tips to save you from the pitfalls of these sorts of claims. I had a great Hilton stay this week. Being a hotel elite status free agent is definitely liberating. We've got some more feedback on the Capital One Travel portal. And, we're answering listener questions. This week we answer questions about Capital One Venture X, Fuel Rewards, and some bugs with the American Airlines Loyalty Points system. There's also a pretty sweet deal for a Hawaii trip if you're willing to sit through a timeshare presentation. If you sent us a question we promise we'll get you a reply. We've got a big backlog for future shows! Don't forget that you can leave us a voicemail or text us at (571) 293-6659‬. Listen for your question on a future show! If you have a question you can e-mail me at ed@pizzainmotion.com. And, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and ask your question there. If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! Hope you enjoy the show!

Mark White from @armyaggie03 is an Army officer, Texas Aggie, and world traveler having visited 87 countries with aspirations to visit them all. In this episode, Mark and I discuss different credit card and travel benefits that military families have access to, and an app that Mark used to fund his trip to Brazil while earning points and getting reimbursed for the spend. For any military families who are able to take advantage of the Military Lending Act, check out some of the premium credit cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, American Express Platinum, and Capital One Venture X. While these cards often have higher annual fees, they are offset by the benefits and travel perks that you receive with each card. Additionally, the Military Lending Act can help waive the annual fees on these cards! Remember, never ever apply for a credit card through Google, always be sure to ask your favorite friends and travel creators if they have a referral link that you can use to help them earn more points and commissions! And if you'd be interested in supporting this show when you apply for your next card, check out the links below. Download Fluz at: https://joinfluz.app.link/GEOBREEZETRAVELPODCAST You can find Mark at: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/armyaggie03 You can find Julia at: Website: https://www.geobreezetravel.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geobreezetravel Credit card links: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/cards Masterclasses: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/hangouts Patreon to access recordings of masterclasses: https://www.patreon.com/geobreezetravel Award travel coaching call: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/calendly Sign up for the newsletter and get exclusive access to sign up for free coaching calls: https://www.geobreezetravel.com/free-coaching Geobreeze Travel is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as milevalue .com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress .com to learn more.

I'm talking about the mess that is travel right now with Richard Kerr. I wrote a detailed piece about how crazy the world of travel actually is right now. It's just an absolute mess. We're answering listener questions as well and I've got some details to report back on in regards to 10X points posting on Capital One Venture X card. Marriott is adding new fees to hotel stays. And, it's more than just one property. Richard and I are on opposite sides of a listener question. One of my favorite Marriott properties will no longer be a Marriott. And, Bilt Rewards now has oneworld AND Star Alliance award search in their app. Side note: Use code PIM4BILT to skip the waitlist and apply immediately for the Bilt Rewards Mastercard. Don't forget that you can leave us a voicemail or text us at (571) 293-6659‬. Listen for your question on a future show! If you have a question you can e-mail me at ed@pizzainmotion.com. And, you can also find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and ask your question there. If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you'll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience! Hope you enjoy the show!

Scott Reichel and Scott Steehn break down the Rose Bowl, featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Utah Utes on our special Bowl Edition of "Heading Back to the Window."

Scott Reichel and Scott Steehn break down the Rose Bowl, featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Utah Utes on our special Bowl Edition of "Heading Back to the Window."

Here's a breakdown of the Capital One Venture X credit card, including why it may be the best credit card for travel. Enjoy! So here are all the resources I mentioned in this video:

Episode Description In this episode we speak to Richard Kerr who is the Director of Travel Rewards for Bilt Rewards. He gets a little nerdy with us and pulls back the curtains a bit into the other side of travel loyalty programs. What goes into developing a great program and how it may be different than you think. We also dive into Bilt Rewards including how it works and why it is different than other "rent payment" services that have come before. We also talk family RV travel on the heel of Richard's recent 40+ day RV trip and discuss the brand new Capital One Venture X card including what we like and some of the questions we still have about this premium card. Find more about Venture X here: https://milestomemories.com/capital-one-venture-x/ Episode Notes 2:28 - Talking Atlanta & Braves World Series Win 7:39 - Richard's long stories background in points & miles 11:12 - Working directly with 2 U.S. presidents 12:06 - How Bilt allows you to earn rewards on rent 17:04 - The Bilt Mastercard, ecosystem & transfer partners 20:49 - Behind the scenes of the formation of the Bilt loyalty program 24:28 - Pulling back the curtain on loyalty programs - the other side 27:49 - The RV lifestyle and family road trips 31:32 - Over the top campgrounds and the ones that are scary 35:07 - Planning a 40+ day family RV road trip 37:17 - RVing and camping at Walt Disney World - Worth the effort? 42:49 - New Capital One Venture X card 46:49 - Unique tech behind Capital One's travel portal 49:39 - Will Venture X Keep People in Capital One's ecosystem? 54:22 - How to apply for Venture X & support MtM Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at podcast@milestomemories.com.  You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know! Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

You don't need a budget. You just need something that works for you and you'll follow consistently. Tips that should make you feel better (less guilty!) about the perfect plan for you. ================ LISTENER QUESTION/COMMENTS ================ Is there a company for a Roth IRA that is safe, reliable, easy, and good (Sandy) Should I leave my money in a 401k or roll it into an IRA? Would a self-directed IRA be best for home flipping? (Wayne) My ex-son-in-law is going to set me up with a Robinhood account (Anita) ================ TOPICS =============== MONEY-SAVING TIP: Amazon vs. Walmart TRAVEL HACK: The new Capital One Venture X card is here Scott's daughter joins the show without her knowing it. ================ ENCORE ================ Get your questions answered on the show: https://GoAskScott.com Get your accounts in order with Optimize 401k: https://bit.ly/Optimize401k