Stack Your Points

Viewer Questions

What are your thoughts on holding multiples of the same card (IHG cards, Hilton Aspire cards, CCCs, etc)? Do you hold doubles or see yourself ever acquiring doubles? - AP 

Now that most premium smart phones cost over $1,500 and are creeping up towards the $2,000 mark, it seems that cell phone coverage through credit cards leaves us with only partial coverage.  Most banks provide between $600 - $1,200 of coverage for lost or damaged phones.  Which cards do you currently use to pay your phone bills, and is there a better overall points-earning card on the market for monthly phone bills? - Keith

So I been considering the best route to get status to get a better experience. So if I pick American Airlines as my domestic/ secondary partner I could earn status more specifically by stacking using AA E Shopping portal, AA Dining program, AA travel portal for hotel ie.   Possible spend on credit card. I am considering adding Citi / AADVANTAGE EXECUTIVE WORLD ELITE MASTERCARD ($595) which would provide me some additional benefits when flying on AA steal and would provide me lounge action for the Admiral club when I fly Cathay Pacific. So here’s my theoretical question just imagine

That there’s no premium travel cards for you United flyers there’s no premium united club card, there’s no Delta Reserve, and there’s no premium good JetBlue card sorry, Matt. And no stacking ways to build loyalty points. But you have a route to earn status through one your airlines partners such as my is Oneworld. This airline has a a premium credit card that allows you lounge access when you fly your US airlines. And they have all the stacking options. All of the airlines in your in your airline alliance have the same options. So which airline would you pick from the alliance and would you choose to earn status throughout an another airline? - Jared_T

What is your favorite card? Why is it your favorite? - Keith 

If you could add one feature, category multiplier, transfer partner, or protection to your favorite card, what would that be?  And would you be willing to pay a higher AF for that improvement? And why do you think the card needs this improvement? - Keith 

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Matt

No, you don’t NEED a retention offer every year on every card.

Lani

Timing of the strategy. Just get the card you want vs. family language

Tariq

Is the credit card game really that complicated, or does the community like to overcomplicate the game?

RJ 

Tomorrow you wake up with 0’s across all of your point totals. How would you rebuild your point stocks?

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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

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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

Back to Basics of the Week: Travel Portals

 

Viewer Questions

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 (😉)

 

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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? 

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

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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”?

Intro | 3 to 5 minutes

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Outro - 1 to 3 minutes 

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.

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

 

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?

Back to Basics of the Week

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