Stack Your Points

I Coulda Gone Pro

Hosts | Matt Clausen of Credit Tidbits | Lani from Call Me Lani | Tariq Gaines from Riq’s Rewards | RJ from Do You Take Cards
 
Viewer Questions
As credit card and service fees become more common, at what point do you pay with another form of payment versus a credit card?  A charge that codes as 3x with a 3% fee?  2x catch-all with a 3% fee?  Or just when you are working on a SUB?  Or never? - Keith 
What do you do if you’re at the airport and you learn that your flight will be delayed? Look into other options with the same/different carrier? Ride it out? Are there any tools that help you make these decisions? - joromacsquibb
How have you used points/miles and CC perks to help family and friends? For example, I have recently covered a family member's multiple hotel stays in her effort get a second opinion from an specialist doctor. @Keith had several other great examples in another thread. Any suggestions for how people can use their points and perks to help others? Big or small. - DDAF 
What is your favorite movie to watch on a plane? - AP
News Round-Up
Amex is going be refreshing more cards
⁠⁠SoFi just released their Q4 2024 earnings call and during it they mentioned that they have signed a hotel co-branded partner.⁠⁠
“...we’ve signed a partnership with a leading hotel rewards brand for a co-branded debit card program launching in the first half of ’25. This is a new differentiated offering that will expand our footprint among consumer brands.”
Topics
Matt
You’re named Head of Product for a brand-new Credit Card Company; how would you approach designing cards to differentiate from the big issuers/be “interesting” (interpret how you will)
Lani
No topic this week 
Tariq
I know all of us here are for the most part use points-earning cards to redeem for travel, but I think we should discuss how cash back provide peace of mind in its simplicity. 
RJ 
Which card in your wallet needs a refresh the most, what would you change and which card are you most comfortable staying how it is currently? 

The Bellybutton Ring of Payment

Back to Basics of the Week: Travel Portals
 
Viewer Questions
Could you do a segment on food cards?  There are so many to choose from, and I can't decide on a food card for 2025. - Keith There are hotel cards with food categories like the Hilton Surpass and Marriott Bevy.  Airline cards like the Aeroplan card, Delta Platinum, and AA Cards.  Transferable currency cards like the Amex Gold Card, Citi Strata, Savor, and the CSP (😉)
Let’s pretend you are all in active duty military and have your credit card fees waived. What 5 cards would you get (repeats acceptable) to maximize your benefits? (AP)
What insurance companies/coverages do you recommend for additional travel insurance? - K1d_Cat37 
Is the CC travel game just a gateway drug to a lifetime addiction to luxury travel? - Double Double 
What’s the best earning one-card setup for the average American family?  Consider annual fees, category multipliers, other benefits & protections, and ease of use. What should I recommend to family and friends who do not want to optimize with multiple credit cards and are losing money in their current one-card crummy setup? (A Delta card) (Keith)
 
News Round-Up
Citi Updates the Look of the Costco card and adds an extra percent on gas.
Topics
Matt
If an issuer went completely Cardless, no physical card, what sort of physical token would you be willing to carry that still has your information in the event your phone or watch are without power (or you don’t buy the cellular watch). 
Lani
Not a political debate: Secretary Pete did some amazing things over the last 4 years regarding US travel. Especially with accountability of airlines, disruptions, and compensation.
Assuming things continue moving forward, what more or other ideas would you like to see or be enhanced upon.
Tariq
You can no longer use your Plan A travel strategy (reason regardless), and your plan B strategy is your new plan A. How would you go about your new strategy with card acquisition, points-earning, and your travel day?
RJ 
Sometimes I feel like the communities over reliance on the idea of aspirational travel, mass maximization and “perfect” redemptions turns people off, makes people do things they might typically want to do, makes us all sound like tools.
Where is the line between learning how to travel better and being too precious fall for you? 
 

The Sweet Sweet Milk of Sign Up Bonuses

Back to Basics of the Week: 0% APR Cards 
 
Viewer Questions
What happened to the Robinhood Card? I never hear about it anymore. Did the Smartly Card overtake it? (Keith)
With the Ink train closed (or at least limited* RJ add), what's the best way to earn UR points now? (M2K)
No one likes 5/24 or PUJ, but we work around them. If you could choose, would you flip it and move 5/24 to Amex and PUJ to Chase? - Double Double 
What are all of the best $0 Annual Fee cards with unique travel perks? Example: US Bank Altitude Connect free GigSky data - James
News Round-Up
None
 
Topics
Matt
If you could “Thanos Snap” one mainstream issuer out of existence (Discover’s pending merger with Capital One makes it ineligible, also, predatory lenders are a given, so Mission Lane, First Premier, Merrick, and Credit One are also off the table); which would it be and why?
Lani
Spinning off of Double_Double’s question:at times, the value of a card can outweigh the welcome offer it comes with (i.e., you get one too low like on an Amex Gold/Plat, or it's the right time for you to get a card but its the basic everyday offer like on an Ink Cash or Unlimited). But regarding Pop-Up Jail only, as you can get approved for a card but not the welcome bonus, is there a world where you would just take the card, save on welcome spend, and just eat benefits and skip the Welcome offer?
Context: I had a conversation with another creator regarding Surpass card specifically
Tariq
I think the “credit card ladder” is overrated. We need a better way to do credit card 101 for beginners. 
RJ 
Assuming you care about categories (dining, streaming, gas, ect) on cards, which categories do you personally care about the most, which do you think people “overthink” and do categories even “matter”?

A Day Ending in 'Y' on this Podcast feat @KeyKEYadventures

Hosts: CallmeLani, MattClausen, Riq's Rewards, keyKEYadventures
 
Special Thanks to Key for stepping in last minute. RJ will be back next week.
 
Intro | 3 to 5 minutes
Who we are
 
Back to Basics of the Week 
"What are Duos and Trifectas, what do they do, and favorites around the horn?"
 
Viewer questions
Question for @CallMeLani  or anyone with experience on this topic. Have you ever been able to book a hotel through an airline portal and also been able to get benefits from your status with that hotel? Example using the United travel portal to book a night at a Hyatt then at check in giving your member number and getting benefits from your status. (I’m thinking of booking a night at a Hilton through the AAdvantage Hotel portal, getting my 10X AA miles from that, giving my Hilton Honors number for breakfast and paying $50 on my Amex Bus Plat for credit and the rest on my aspire card for extra Hilton points) - Anthony
In this moment of "2025 roadmap" videos, what has made you *deviate* from your strategy in the past? And how important/realistic is roadmapping anyway? (Double_Double_Animal_Fries)
What non-points and miles/travel-related goal do you have for yourself this year? (Jason)
News Round-Up 
 
Topics 
Matt
Do we think the Honey affiliate link scandal could come to the Points and Miles community and affect our ability to stack (primarily Rakuten)?
Lani
Over the holiday, while “on assignment,” I has a severe customer service issue at a Hilton property. After talking to front desk, Amex (as I booked via Amex travel portal), and Hilton customer service it was resolved.
Have you ever had a severe customer service issue? Does how the experience which it was handled affect you with a particular card/issuer, property, etc.? Can be good or bad experience
Tariq
Keith’s question about reevaluating Bilt points from last week had me thinking: Is there a better way to determine the value of a point or mile? 
Key
Outro - 1 to 3 minutes 
Where to find us 

Matt Is A Liar Liar Onesie On Fire

We did a Q&A show!
What got you interested in points and miles? - Jason
At what point in life do you see yourself transitioning into a complete Cash-back setup? - Ronald
​​Will the Citi Strata be the new food card for 2025?  Add in the gas & EV charging categories and with possibility of AA as a new transfer partner from the Citi & AA deal last week.
Chase and Wells do not want to play in the grocery category, Amex increased the Gold Card to a $325 AF and ALL of their credits feel like a chore.
The Savor card seems like a lost soul because Capital One makes it so difficult to get their bifecta. (Keith S)
AS-HA is the 5th largest airline in the country. They are quite a force in the Western US but fairly irrelevant on the East coast. If AS wanted to greatly expand its reach and be more competitive on a national level they need hubs and focus cities in these locales.  Pick one hub and two focus cities that AS should expand to for future growth (no repeat locations please, otherwise it’ll all be NYC). - AP 
Matt talks a lot about “ghost cards” or discontinued cards . If you could bring a card back from the dead - that was killed more than a year ago - which card would you bring back? - Sam 
What Goals do you have for the podcast and your individual channels for 2025? - K1d_Cat37
What's the story of the worst hotel stay you've ever had? - SpaethCo
Have you ever had such a bad experience with a hotel chain or with an airline that you’ll never use them again?  Name and shame. - Keith
What are your credit card/travel wins for 2024? - Vincent 
What card does the community like that you don’t agree with (like Matt for the CSP). Why don’t you think the card is that great and why does the community overhype it? - AP
Do you ever seek out or utilize 0% apr offers? What’s your typical game plan for funds (CD, HYSA, etc) and do you payback gradually or wait till the last month and pay in whole? - AP 
What is your trigger to get a new card? - Double Double Animal Fries
Is it a specific future redemption? The next step in a grand strategy? A really good SUB? Incidental upcoming high spend? An opportunity to try out a new card/ecosystem?
What are your endgame setups (no more than 5 cards)? - AP
Should Bilt’s points value be reevaluated since they no longer offer transfer bonuses like they used to?  (And American Airlines left the program). (Keith)
Let me further elaborate; Bilt convinced some of us to accept 1x earnings (which we normally never would accept) and to hope & wait for Rent Day transfer bonuses to the likes of Aeroplan and FlyingBlue with 150% transfer bonuses.  Those are all but gone and if there is anything decent then the number of bonus points are capped.
I finally came to the realization that earning 2x on my VX with a 20%, 30%, or 40% bonus to some of these programs comes out just as good or better than what Bilt is offering on a one-day transfer bonuses every few months. This is the current math since they nerfed double points on Rent Day by 90%.
By lowering the Double Points offerings to 1/10 of the original rates and the extremely limited Transfer Bonuses, I no longer see much of the same value in the Bilt program as I once did.
You can get 1x on an Alaska or Hyatt card all day long.  If you want Hyatt points then the CFU for 1.5 unlimited and 3x dining is better.

34 to 0

Hosts | Matt Clausen of Credit Tidbits | Lani from Call Me Lani | Tariq Gaines from Riq’s Rewards | RJ from Do You Take Cards
 
Back to Basics of the Week: MileagePlus X: How it works, the EASY point Stack, All things MileagePlus X.
 
Viewer Questions
​​What card(s) do you hope to acquire in 2025 and why? - Vincent 
What cards are you closing/pcing/downgrading in 2025? - Jon 
Do you have any regrets about the cards that you applied for in 2024? Keith S
What’s the most ridiculous response you’ve heard from someone when you told them about your credit card hobby? - Jason
Frequently folks say pick your partners based on your travel habits but how would you recommend folks pick their partners if they don't yet have travel habits/preferences to refer to? (Double_Double_Animal_Fries) 
Context: I have found that trialing hotels/lounges/airlines and seats/etc is an important part of the process, which may not always precede your CC journey but instead may go in parallel. Also CC benefits/rewards may reveal to you travel preferences/must-haves you didn't know you had. So a "chicken and egg" sort of situation.
Be interested in your thoughts and any personal experiences. Thanks!
News Round-Up
Capital One and Discover get one Step closer to Merging
 
Topics
Matt
Hyatt and AA have recently rolled out the ability to “rent” Airline status for a day. Would you use miles or hotel points to “rent” status for a day to potentially accentuate the first-class seat and the Suite that you wanted to book.
Tariq
What was the best trip that you took this year?
RJ
If you could trade wallets with any of your co-hosts for a year, without having to worry about AFs, which co-host’s wallet would you want to try out?

Be Nice or Get Out of the Way

Back to Basics of the Week
Status Highlight Number 5: Delta Airlines 
 
Viewer questions 
What’s your 2025 prediction for each of the big issuers? Chase, AMEX, WF,  Citi,Cap1 and Barclays. I know Barclays isn’t a “big issuer”, but I smell change is coming - Jason S
If Chase cut their affiliate program and referral bonuses, do you think collectively as a community we would care about 5/24 nearly as much? What percentage of Chase fanboys do you think would turn on them? - K1d_Cat37
If you had a life event (maybe you need to assume a caretaker role, etc) that severely limited your ability to travel for a few years, what would you do as it relates to credit card strategy? Would you continue to accumulate or convert to cashback. If cashback what are some cards you’d seriously consider adding to the rotation? - AP 
Aisle or window seat? - Keith S 
News Round-Up
Rotating Categories in Q1 (Discover & Chase)
Topics 
Matt
What’s the best two card setup for you in 2025 (as follows): What’ll be driving your point acquisition; what makes Travel Day easiest; what’ll be the first two cards you let go of in 2025? 
Lani
Per last episode, rejection sucks. 
Tariq got rejected and I hit pop-up jail (but broke free!)
Pop-up jail sucks. 5/24 sucks. Whatever Capital 1 does with applications suck.
I think we’re all at a place where we can say, “Do I really need another card?” 
Upon a denial or rejection, what would you do next? Try to get it overturned? Rethink your life? What would it take for you to just accept it and move on
Tariq
If you could choose a city to live solely based on how well it would work with your travel game preferences, which would you pick, and why?
RJ
How do you handle travel delays, tracking flights, contingency planning when things go wrong on the road? 

Death, Taxes, Devaluations

Back to Basics of the Week: American Airlines
 
Viewer Questions
With sweet spots disappearing and devaluations happening regularly for travel partners, are we all heading towards cash back and travel portals with a boost like with Chase and USBAR? - Anthony 
What is the top destination on your bucket list and how would you get there?  If you say the Maldives, then I’m unsubscribing. - Keith
RJ and Lani talk about how "travel day is sacred". Wondering if you could get more into that, like where you find value in "travel day" benefits from your cards, status, other memberships like Clear, etc. - Double Double Animal Fries
Would you get the $0 AF Bilt Card in 2025?  Please elaborate. - Keith
News Round-Up
None
 
Topics
Matt 
Which Card or Issuer had the “best” year in 2024? (Could be based on perception changes, card buffs, transfer partners, etc; and I’m NOT going to name Wells Fargo)
Lani
As a “Team Take the Trip” advocate, over these past trips, my family (and I) have gotten really spoiled with luxury properties. Most of which outside of my plan A strategy, meaning, booked outside of IHG, United miles. More so Amex FHR/Chase Edit (2 Waldorfs, JW Marriot, etc). 
Thinking of trip coming in 2025, I’m looking at Evermore resort Orlando, and my wife wants to stay at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Now these options do not take points (kinda). Hearing about from your partner aside, if “take the trip meant” cash even tho you’re sitting on a pile of points, do you still do it or not?
Tariq
I was recently denied for a card that’s on my game plan. How would you go about making any adjustment if deemed necessary?
RJ
What is the “best” card with an AF of between $1 and $99? 
Yes this is going to depend on the ecosystem but for a moment let’s set that to the side.

An Unexpected Lani Sighting

Back to Basics of the Week - Status Highlight Number 5: Hyatt
Viewer Questions- What’s your credit card hot take that is not about the Chase Sapphire Preferred?  Mine is - the Amex Centurion card is a garbage card; it’s a bad earner and has a reverse-SUB. - Keith - What card do you have that you continue to hold and use because it provides incremental value, but you'd never sign up for it again as a new card?  (Spaethco)- Amex is so far ahead of Chase and Capital One at building and running lounges. What airports should Chase and Capital One be targeting to make a splash? Please, no answers about Chase buying The Club.- AP - Do you think credit card companies should only offer status and lounge benefits on business cards? My thinking is a lot of the complaints come from Business travelers. I like to chat about the lounge being overcrowded - acmeacresa- What’s your favorite pool side drink?- Anthony B
News Round-Up- US Bank has been pulled from the website the Altitude Reserve, and launching the Smartly Rewards card.
- Chase losing the Austin Terrace, but likely to gain an Austin Lounge in Time.
TopicsMatt - You know, I’m beginning to think that Status only matters at higher-end Hotel properties…regardless of the level of Status it seem?
Tariq- What is a spending category/benefit from a card in your collection that you’ve ok utilized more than you expected?
RJ- Lani's comment from last week got me thinking about choosing your own adventure cards. If you could make a credit card with either (three 3X categories and 1.5X everything else) or (one 5X category, one 4X category, one 3X category and 1X everything else) which would you pick and what would you pick for the categories? 

Book A Helicopter Ride

Back to Basics of the Week 
Status Highlight Number 4: United
Viewer questions
If you were to move overseas then where would you move to? - Keith 
If you have citizenship in 2+ places is it possible to get that other country’s version of credit cards as well? (American express is one bank that comes to mind that has a few cool options) - Anthony 
If you were to enter into a six month period of gardening and wanted to concentrate all of your spending on one of two points ecosystems, Chase or AMEX, which would you choose if your goal was to NOT piss off the bank you don't spend with? How much activity would you keep on the non-preferred bank? - Jason 
Outside of YouTube and credit cards what’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished this year or looking forward to tacking next year? - K1d_Cat37 
Non-credit card question: Which ice cream flavor are you? - Vincent
News Round-Up
None
Topics
Matt 
Does it ever seem/feel like we overthink the whole game and still do pretty well with a flat earning card/Coupon sites and apps/buying the points you want?
Lani
What’s your points “sweet spot?” How many points is too many points? 
RJ
If you had the power to make one major change to credit cards/issuers, what would you do?
Outro