CardWise Compass / A clearer path to free travel.
Hi {{first name | friend}}!
A very warm welcome to the 14 new subscribers who joined this week, and thanks so much to the kind endorsement from Lala K - it means the world!
Last issue, we covered maximizing benefits already sitting in your wallet. This week’s mistake is similar: points sitting in your account with no plan to use them.
Estimated read time: 3 minutes
Today's Issue at a Glance:
Signal: A quick quiz to see how close you are to business class through your points
Strategy: Points don’t earn interest, and waiting doesn’t make them worth more
Scenario: My Emirates first class flight is a great example of how points devalue
Step: A simple sense-check to see if you have a plan for your points, or not (yet!)
Signal
Promoting this one more week, as I’ve had only a few entries so far: How Close Are You to Business Class With Your Points? Answer five short questions about your spending and points, and you’ll get a Business Class Readiness Score and the two highest-value actions for your current situation. Takes you 60 seconds (and it took me a while to pull together for you!)
Strategy
If you remember one idea from this week's newsletter, let it be this:
Points don’t earn interest, and waiting makes them worth less, not more.
Example: In December 2023, I flew from Milan to New York in Emirates First Class for 85,000 Emirates miles and $140.95 in taxes, a seat worth $9,000+ (!). Those miles came from a Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus, transferred straight to Emirates. More details are listed on my blog here if you’re interested.
But booking this same seat today isn’t possible the same way. Booking First Class awards with Emirates miles now requires Silver, Gold, or Platinum status. Fortunately, there are workarounds, but I’ll spare you the details for now.
Scenario
There are too many examples of airlines and hotels devaluing their award programs to list them all. We call this “points-flation," where the cost of trips increases each year. Just like cash sitting uninvested loses value to inflation, unused points lose value to points-flation.
Option 1: you got the Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus in 2023 like I did, and intended to book something, but life got busy (relatable!). A few years later, you’re ready to finally use your points, and sadly find out that booking the same way now costs you 75% more miles, $50 more in taxes/fees, and you’d have to get another card with a $500 annual fee. Ouch.
Option 2: you got the same sign-up bonus, and identified a use case for your points - even an aspirational trip like Emirates first class - did all your research to learn how to book the flight (or paid someone like me to do it for you), and booked an unforgettable trip, and now have the photos to gloat to all your friends - just kidding on that last one.
Choose Option 2, not 1! To be clear: saving points for something bigger, like a trip you are planning, makes sense. The mistake is letting points sit with no plan to use them.
Step
This week, look at your points balances and ask: is there a real plan behind these, or are they just sitting here collecting dust? If you're not sure how to use your points well, that's what a free strategy call is for. We'll build a plan so your points fund a trip instead of sitting around, losing value month after month.
If this was helpful, would you please forward it to a friend sitting on a large untouched points balance? Or share this link so they can grab their own copy of the points guide and subscribe.
Next issue, we'll cover mistake #9: not being organized, and the most powerful free tools that help you optimize your cards and points.
Blessings, and I hope to hear from you soon!
Ross
CardWiseTravel.com
P.S. I finished this from the beach, where we’re staying for free, thanks to the sign-up bonus from this Rewards Premier card. Not saying that to brag, but because if it works for a family with three young kids, it'll work for you too. You can do this! Reach out with any questions :)
Three architects working on their sandcastle