Welcome to the group!

The goal of "Travel Hacking" isn't to spend more money to get points, the goal is to get outsized value from the money you are already spending. Use this cheat sheet to understand the game.

1. The Golden Rule

Never carry a balance. If you pay $1 in credit card interest, you have lost the game. Only spend what you can pay off in full every month.

2. Understand the 3 Types of "Points Currency"

Not all points are created equal.

• Transferable Points (The Gold Standard): Points earned through banks (Chase, Amex, Capital One, Citi). These can be sent to dozens of different airlines and hotels. This is where the real value is, this is the one we want to use!
• Fixed Loyalty Points: Points tied to one brand (Delta SkyMiles, Hilton Honors). You can only use them there.
• Cash Back: Simple, but low value. 100,000 points usually only equals $1,000. In comparison, if you use these 100,000 "Transferable Points" you can make those same points worth $5,000+.

3. The Strategy: "The Big Win" vs. "The Daily Grind"

• The Big Win (Sign-Up Bonuses): This is how you get 80% of your points. Banks will give you 60k–100k points just for signing up and spending a certain amount in 3-6 months.
• The Daily Grind (Multipliers): Use specific cards for specific categories.
• Example 1: Use your Amex Gold for 4x points on Groceries/Dining (My favorite!); use your Chase Sapphire for 3x on Streaming/Travel/Dining.
• Example 2: Use portals like Rakuten and bank portals to get multipliers on purchases. Rakuten may give you 10x on purchases at Macys or Citi Portal may give you 5x on purchases on Adidas etc.

Pro Tip: "Double Dipping" You can stack rewards by using your Amex Gold at Bilt Dining restaurants. This earns you 4x Amex points plus 3x Bilt points on the same meal. We can dive deeper into these stacking strategies in the WhatsApp group chat!

4. How to Actually Book (The "Secret" Method)

Don't book through Bank Portals. (e.g. don't just "Pay with Points" on the Chase app, this is the worst value).

1. Find a flight on an airline (e.g. Virgin Atlantic).
2. Check if they have "Award Seats" available.
3. Transfer your bank points to that airline's loyalty program.
4. Book the flight for 1/10th of the cash price.

Note: These steps are simple but there is a complexity to it. I can guide you on how to book these in our WhatsApp group chat!

5. Your First 3 Steps

1. Check your Credit Score: You generally need a 700+ to get the best travel cards.
2. Pick a Goal: Do you want a Business Class seat to Europe or 5 nights at a Hyatt in Mexico? Your goal determines which card you get first.
3. Get a "Starter" Card: I usually recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred it's easy to use and have huge bonuses.

🛠 Pro-Tools to Use:

• Seats.aero : To find where the "Award Seats" are hidden.
• CardPointer: To keep track of all your different credit card offers in one place.