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- Don't save up your points (and other helpful tips).
Don't save up your points (and other helpful tips).
Also don't eat yellow snow.
By the end of April, I’ll have stayed 13 nights of the month in a hotel.
That’s too much. Not quite sure how that happened.
But, yay travel!
I’m living it so I can help you all do it BETTER & CHEAPER.
Continually thrilled and blessed that this newsletter continues to grow.
I promise it will be worth your time every week.
Let’s get into it.
It’s not money. Don’t save your points.
Here is a points/travel mindset rant you need to hear:
Saving money is good. It’s essential actually.
Often, when we earn money, we’re afraid to spend it. And that can be good…
So, when we earn points, we often treat them the same.
They do have monetary value, after all!
Brother & sisters, I say to you, spend all your points.
EARN. BURN. REPEAT.
Here’s why I say that:
Points lose their value.
I hear about a new point devaluation every day. Airline & hotel programs are constantly changing their rules around.
For example, Turkish Airlines had an incredible points price to fly business class to Europe & fly domestically to Hawaii.
Those prices are gone now.
If you’d been saving Capital One points for years hoping to book something, you missed out.
Yes, I know it can take a long time to save up points, but if you have them, just spend them.
The deal you’re looking at will most likely not be available in 6 months.
It’s not money.
Yes, points have a monetary value. But ideally, you’re not relying on their monetary value to feed your family.
They are rewards for your normal everyday purchase.
Sign-up bonuses are rewards for opening a card (and maybe paying a small annual fee).
In many ways, points are freely given.
Because of that, you should feel comfortable “blowing” them.
In fact, I don’t think I believe you can “blow” points. You can redeem them at a low value, but if it’s helping you travel (the whole point of all this), then you won!
Life is short.
This sounds a little cheesy, but it’s true.
You never know what will change and travel becomes less possible.
Take my family for example:
I knew I was going to have a gap where I wasn’t working a full-time job for a few weeks.
We decided to “blow” (not really) ALL of our Capital One miles on a week at an all-inclusive in Mexico.
We have zero Capital One miles left.
“But Colin, how will you travel now?”
Well, a few days before we left, we found out my wife is pregnant!!!
My wife isn’t comfortable leaving the country during a pregnancy (understood) and we definitely won’t be traveling internationally with a newborn for at least a couple of months.
So there you go - we may not be in a place to travel internationally again for well over a year. And that’s ok.
I’m so glad we used the points to have the Cancun all-inclusive experience. Because that deal may not exist next year.
You never know what life will throw at you - you never know when your days of traveling might be over.
So do it. Travel NOW. The future is so not guaranteed.
My top 5 points & miles tips:
No fluff here, just some no-nonsense tips to help you book better vacations.
1: Always search for flights one way.
Searching roundtrip messes everything up. Don’t do it (for points flights).
2: Understand how airline alliances work.
To become a master at points & miles, you have to understand airline alliances.
You can book a United flight through Air Canada.
You can book an American Airlines flight through British Airways.
You can book a Delta flight through Air France.
Understanding partner airlines unlocks $$$ in value.
3: Use tools to save time.
Stop spending hours searching for flight & hotel availability. Use seats.aero and point.me to fix all your problems.
4: Don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Any question you have someone else has already had - and figured out. Yes, scour the internet, but join communities.
There are a ton of great Discord/Facebook groups dedicated to travel hacking. These can be great places to learn.
Also, you have ME. Respond to this email with any questions you have and I’ll respond in the next 2 days.
5: Don’t be a math geek.
Don’t book something just because you’re getting 9 cents per point.
Don’t NOT (ok double negative) book something because you’re “only” getting 2.2 cents per point.
At the end of the day, book what you want to do.
The whole point of all this is travel. Let your points fuel your travel. Stop caring so much about specific numbers on redemptions.
Is it where you dreamed of going? Good. It’s a good deal.
Pull the trigger.