Stack Your Points

0:00 Intro & Welcome 0:43 Viewer Questions: Best Trifecta (One Card Per Issuer) 13:27 Triple Dip Options & Year-End Card Offers 26:43 News: Citi Updates & DoorDash-Instacart 30:52 Topic: Airbnb Chore Fee Ban 44:31 Topic: The Credit Chase Landscape 52:59 Members & Shoutouts

00:00 – Welcome and Check-In 03:37 – If We Could Fix One Thing About the Points and Miles Industry 08:26 – Hilton vs. Marriott: Which Is Better for Domestic Travel? Comparing credit cards, loyalty programs, property availability, and overall value. 20:35 – Is There Room for a Fourth Major Airline Alliance? Could Southwest, Icelandair, Condor, and other independent airlines build something differen...

⏱️ Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:02 - Viewer Questions: Favorite Portals & Cards 9:18 - Cashback vs. Transferable Points 19:20 - Amex $350M Fine 24:34 - Costco Co-Brand Negotiations 34:02 - Design a Card Without Coupons 44:08 - Points & Miles Sliders 54:53 - Q4 Expectations 1:08:48 - Outro & Membership Shoutouts

00:00 — Show Kickoff & Banter 00:44 — Chase Private Credit and 5/24 Viewer question from SJDP1234: Is Chase’s dabbling in private credit a way to loosen restrictions on cobranded cards while keeping tighter rules like 5/24 for in-house products such as Sapphire and Freedom? Or is it mainly a way to share the risk of weaker credit profiles while keeping Chase cards difficult to acquire? 11:58 —...

0:00 — Show Intro & Card Design Q&A In light of the CFF’s “refresh,” what cards could use a very minor cosmetic update? 8:01 — Q&A: CSP & Hyatt Points Transfer With the CSP going 4:3 with Hyatt, should you move points now or hold if you don’t have any trips ready to book? 14:23 — Q&A: Bilt & Amtrak Partnership Does Bilt adding Amtrak mean anything for Amtrak getting additio...

0:00 — Show intro and Skytrax airline rankings banter 0:42 — Viewer Question: Rygrex — Should card credits be valued at zero if they’re for things you wouldn’t normally buy? We talk Lululemon, Peloton, rideshare, DoorDash, and whether credits can have real value simply because they encourage you to try something new. 6:31 — Viewer Question: Garrett — Is it possible to have a “cool” credit card set...

00:00 — Cold Open and Intros 04:15 — Build the Perfect Airport Build the perfect airport using existing airports: one airport’s lounges, another’s food, another’s design, and another’s efficiency. International and domestic editions. DiamondRyce via Upgraded Points 09:59 — Credit Cards in a Rising-Rate Environment With Treasuries and likely interest rates on the rise, what changes are you expectin...

This week, Matt, Lani, and RJ dig into transfer partners they’d love to see, whether premium non-travel cards could actually work, overlooked travel destinations, the Sapphire Reserve refresh, and some of the worst-designed credit card credits on the market.   They also cover rumors and news around Chase Aeroplan, the Freedom Flex, and a possible Bonvoy Brilliant Business card before wrapping up w...

00:00 | Show Intro Craig returns and the crew catches up before getting into this week’s viewer questions and topics. 02:59 | Dunkin’ Gift Card Strategy Keith asks whether RJ plans to buy 10 Dunkin’ gift cards with Paze on her new Chase Sapphire Reserve, leading into a discussion of Paze offers and stacking opportunities. 07:52 | Credit Card Myths Busted Correl’s trouble-free Amex experience in Ja...

Hyatt premium-card rumors, points-value debates, credit-card politics, and whether annual-fee cards should have a pause button. Plus, Matt, RJ, and Lani tackle travel etiquette, from reclining seats and overhead bins to the eternal question of how much lounge food is too much. 0:00 | Intro Play the intro 0:10 | Welcome & Intro Banter Matt kicks off the show with RJ and Lani and immediately cal...

00:00 Show Kickoff Matt and RJ get things started, with Lani on assignment, and jump into a viewer-question-heavy episode before moving into the increasingly messy state of credit card ecosystems. Viewer Questions 01:32 Hard Truths in Points & Miles If you had to pick one “hard truth” of the points & miles game that everyone should know, what would it be and why? DDAF The biggest one: trav...

Matt, Lani, and RJ discuss travel, points, and credit card news, including RJ’s IHG suite stay, upcoming Texas meetups, digital wallets like Paze, the future of Amex’s no-annual-fee business cards, overrated credit card content, transfer-bonus strategy, unusual bonus categories, Chase’s upcoming Hyatt transfer-ratio change, Marriott extending its relationships with both Chase and American Express,...

This week on Stack Your Points, the crew answers listener questions about changing bank partnerships, whether inflation is the same as a points devaluation, premium card perks, and the future of lounges beyond airports. They also cover Citi's refreshed AAdvantage Executive card before diving into three larger discussions: earning interest on points balances, whether co-brand cards are becoming ben...

00:00 Intro / Welcome to Stacking Points 01:35 Viewer Question: Do you keep cards that aren't the best mathematically but make you feel good? (RP2048) We all talk about crunching the numbers and doing the math. Do you find it difficult to just stick to the math? Some cards hold nostalgia for us personally or a perceived status. Do you have any cards that aren't the best mathematically but you keep...

Matt and Lani break down the latest in points, miles, and credit cards — including whether American and Alaska will ever put award availability behind a paywall, if Pays could become a bonus category on your favorite cards, and which transfer partner additions would actually move the needle. They also tackle listener questions on whether points and miles are still worth it, which cards they'd neve...

  This week, Matt, RJ, and Lani dig into Delta’s new Basic Business fare, rebuild cashback cards as points earners, and design a credit card strategy for someone traveling 50 weeks a year. They also discuss whether statement credits can genuinely broaden your horizons, Citi’s latest JetBlue transfer change, and JetBlue’s new paid points subscription plans. Later, the crew asks what your wallet rev...

Matt and RJ are back for a two-host episode of Stack Your Points, with Lani out this week. This episode is all about predictions, Amex and Resy, the New Zealand Amex Platinum, Chase Freedom Flex product change weirdness, what to do if you cannot travel for a year or two, and whether boutique and independent hotel stays deserve more attention in the points world.   0:02 Introduction Matt and RJ kic...

In this episode, Matt, Lani, and RJ dig into cashback vs. points, Wyndham’s latest moves, Bilt’s chaotic support reputation, the future of premium-card branding, reverse redemption travel planning, and whether “effective annual fee” thinking misses the bigger picture. 0:00 — Welcome & Introductions Matt, Lani, and RJ kick off the episode and set up a packed viewer-question slate. 4:26 — Q1: Ca...

In this episode, Matt, Lani, and RJ talk through credit card setups that changed purpose over time, whether Chase consumer cards deserve the hate, what tech actually earns a spot in the travel bag, and how they would manage credit cards during a stretch of unemployment. They also cover banker perspectives on credit reports, expiring semiannual credits, Bilt adding iPrefer as a transfer partner, th...

Welcome back to Stack Your Points. In this episode, Lani, RJ, and Matt dig into viewer questions, loyalty program drama, card devaluations, point-buying temptation, and whether the “perfect” credit card setup is even possible.   We kick things off with a big-picture question: are transfer partners actually at risk, and could banks eventually push everyone into portal-only redemptions? From there,...

In this episode, we answer viewer questions on keeping up with points and miles news, whether the Chase Sapphire Preferred still makes sense as an entry-level travel card, the Senate Banking Committee minority party inquiry into Bilt 2.0 practices, and our early reactions to WWDC and Apple Intelligence. We also dig into three bigger points and miles topics: whether aspirational redemptions are act...

00:00 Cold Open & Introductions Viewer Questions 07:08 Finding Value After Recent Devaluations Keith asks where outsized value still exists within Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards after a year of transfer partner devaluations, award chart changes, and benefit cuts. Are the banks trying to push everyone into using their travel portals? 13:33 When Does It Make Sense to Book Bac...

Viewer Questions With the new membership structure being teased, does this mean that SYP will be introducing transfer partners? - RP2048 If you had $100K extra to spend in a 12 month period starting today that you would get immediately reimbursed for that you had to spend through credit cards, how would you spend it and what would you use the earned points for? - DDAF You can spend at any amount a...

Viewer Questions With all the recent devaluations, is 1.5 CPP redemptions soon to be the new 2 CPP redemption minimum target rate? - Keith What's a piece of credit card or travel advice you give to others but that you generally don't follow yourself? - DDAF What's the worst piece of credit card advice you have gotten? Both from a random person (don't pay off your entire balance to increase your sc...

00:00 Show Kickoff and Introductions 03:33 Perfect Card Setup 12:43 Maxing Travel With Limited PTO 21:59 Chasing Lifetime Status Worth It 29:01 Scott Kirby and United Power Plays 38:13 Points Fees Stay High 43:09 Delta Beverage Cutbacks 48:54 Best Hotel Card Value 55:51 Detoxing Card Groupthink 01:02:05 Shared Partners Devaluations 01:12:53 Member Shoutouts Wrap