Chris Hutchins' Top Points and Miles Tips, Straight From “All the Hacks”

Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways

In this special in-studio episode of Smart Travel, hosts Sally French and Meghan Coyle welcome Chris Hutchins, host of All the Hacks podcast, to share practical strategies for earning and

Key takeaways

• Automatic elite status with no spending requirement makes the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan card more accessible but may reduce exclusivity of benefits.
• The 15% discount on award flights incentivizes higher point redemptions, especially for expensive trips.

Main topics

• Chase Air Canada Aeroplan card updates
• Earning and redeeming points for maximum travel value

Notable quotes

"You get automatic AeroPlan 25K status every year, no spending requirement needed."

Conclusion

Chris Hutchins emphasizes that points and miles should enhance travel,

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:00) Hey, Smart Travel Listener! How would you like a free $250 Amazon gift card? We're Speaker 3 (0:05) giving away two of them, and all you have to enter to win is take our listener survey. Speaker 4 (0:09) And this year's survey is way shorter than last year, so do fill it out. Ah, sure. Just like me, you'll love to see it. We really want you to fill it out because your answers actually help us shape the show, what we cover, what we cut, and whether or not it takes Liv to see another episode. Oh no, that would be sad if we cut them, but Speaker 3 (0:26) tell us what you want to hear. Now is your chance to make your voice heard. Go to nerdwallet.com slash travel survey and submit your entry by September 30th. You can find the official rules at that same link. Speaker 4 (0:37) That's nerdwallet.com slash travel survey. Thanks and good luck. Speaker 1 (0:40) In January of 1915, Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became encased in the ice in the Weddell Sea. Through determination, grit, and savvy, Shackleton would lead his men through a brutal winter, then over hundreds of miles of Antarctic ice, followed by 800 miles across some of the roughest waters in the world. It is one of the most extraordinary and inspirational journeys in the history of exploration. Find this story and many others at the Explorers Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts or at explorerspodcast.com. Speaker 4 (1:10) As soon as we started planning to record an episode in SF, I knew there was one travel expert we had to have on the show. It is my... fellow Bay Area travel expert, SFO frequent Speaker 3 (1:20) flyer, and host of his own podcast, All the Hacks. Chris Hudgin is in studio today with Speaker 4 (1:25) us to record. Thanks for joining us. Speaker 3 (1:27) Yeah, Speaker 2 (1:27) thanks for having me. Speaker 4 (1:28) We're talking all about practical tips for earning and redeeming your points and miles. Chris does this for his entire family, but no matter how many points you have or how many people you travel with, you can use these same strategies. Speaker 4 (1:44) Welcome to a special in-studio edition of Smart Travel from NerdWallet, a deep dive into the tips, tools, and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle. And I'm Sally French. And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. Coming at you from a real video set in San Francisco. And you can actually watch our video on Spotify. But first, before... We get to the main segment. I want Speaker 3 (2:04) to share our disclaimer, and that is that we will talk about a few credit card companies that are Neuralet partners in this episode. That does not influence how Megan and I discuss them. The benefits, terms, and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but of course, things can change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening. For the latest details, follow the links in the episode description. All Speaker 4 (2:23) right, let's hop back to our houses real quick, and we'll be back in studio right after this. Speaker 4 (2:31) Chase and Air Canada refreshed the Chase Aeroplan credit card last week. It's got a new name. It's called the Chase Air Canada Aeroplan card now, and it has a new earning structure, new benefits, and a new annual fee. I think the headline benefit Speaker 3 (2:45) on this card is that you get automatic AeroPlan 25K status every year, no spending requirement needed. That is something that we don't see on a lot of credit cards. It's Speaker 4 (2:56) also a lot simpler than the old version of that benefit on the card because previously you would get it. The first year you became a cardholder and then there was a $15,000 minimum spending requirement each calendar year to keep renewing it. So now there's no spending requirement. You just get this automatic elite status as a cardholder. This Speaker 3 (3:14) makes me wonder, though. It is going to be so much easier for so many people to, I guess, get status, which they've always been able to do with this card, but hold on to status. And it does kind of make me ask, if everybody has status, if everybody is special, then does that mean nobody is special? Speaker 4 (3:30) I mean, yeah, maybe. And it also makes it a little bit harder to get upgrades and like maybe some of the benefits that make elite status really worth it. But there are other benefits to elite status, things that don't require other people to not be flying on the same flight as you. So I would say some of those are like the complimentary checked bags, which you also get with this card, priority check-in, and most importantly, elite status with the Airline Alliance. So Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, which also has... United and a bunch of other airlines around the world. And so you do get some benefits with those other airlines when you're flying them as well. We should Speaker 3 (4:06) say airplane 25k status is one of those entry level statuses. Maybe you get lucky and somehow get a seat upgrade. But this was never really the status where you're going to get that first class seat upgrade. guaranteed every time anyway. Right. Speaker 4 (4:19) And we should talk about the annual fee because that went up like a lot. So it used to be $95 and now it's $195. So you are paying for that elite status. It more than doubled, but they did add Speaker 3 (4:32) a lot more benefits on the card to hopefully help people justify that more than 2x annual fee. So let's talk about some of those. The Speaker 4 (4:38) one I'm excited about for aeroplane cardholders is the new discount on award flights. So we're seeing so many different credit card companies and airlines do this, where if you buy a flight on points and you're a cardholder, you can get a discount, meaning you don't have to spend as many points or miles. So this one is a 15 % discount. on eligible Air Canada flight redemptions. That's really similar to Delta Airlines, take 15 benefit on their cards. And United also introduced a similar discount earlier this year. Of Speaker 3 (5:09) course, what's tricky about this benefit is the higher the points price, the more value you get out of the benefit. So it kind of weirdly incentivizes you to spend more money on points. But then also you do have to actually have the points to get value out of it. And you get the points for typically spending on the card, which just compels people to spend more money on the card. Speaker 4 (5:27) Yeah, there's also some benefit. for actually spending cash on Air Canada flights. So there's up to $100 in Air Canada statement credits each year. So if you're buying airfare or something like that, you get $50 credit twice a year in each first half and second half of the year. Yeah, Speaker 3 (5:43) we should note that is not just an $100 credit off the bat. So again, this does force you to fly Air Canada at least twice a year. Although I think if you do have this card, you should be flying Air Canada twice a year anyway. Speaker 4 (5:54) Yeah, yeah, this card is definitely for frequent Air Canada flyers. Although I think it could work for some really frequent travelers in the US who are maybe trying to earn a lot of Air Canada points. We have a lot of articles about this on the NerdWalla website, but there are so many things you can do with aeroplan points, especially if you fly a lot of Star Alliance airlines that I was just talking about. Speaker 3 (6:16) Okay, and then as far as actually earning those points, the earnings rate on this is that you get up to 5x total points on Air Canada purchases. That is 3x from the card plus 2x from Air Canada as a 25k member, which we just said you automatically get for holding the card. Then you can get 3x on travel, 2x on dining, groceries, and gas. Speaker 4 (6:35) And 1x on everything else. Also, the big draw is the welcome offer. It's the card's best ever welcome offer. Up to 115,000 Aeroplan points. So that's a lot of points. You would get 75,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus another 40,000 points after you spend $20,000 in the first 12 months. So that's a pretty high spending requirement, but you have all year to do it. Okay, so maybe temper the expectations that you'll earn the full $115 Speaker 3 (7:04) ,000. Unless you really have got that big bathroom renovation planned. I don't know how many people are going to spend $20,000 in the first 12 months on this single card. Unless they maybe want to put all of their spending on this card. So I don't know. I would say temper your expectations on earning the whole offer. I Speaker 4 (7:20) mean, it's good motivation if there is a business class flight. that you want to spend 115,000 points on. Sally, you were able to redeem Aeroplan points for a business class flight, right? Speaker 3 (7:33) Yeah, well, and that's interesting because I was like, this card is only for people who fly Air Canada, but I was thinking about it. Speaker 4 (7:39) And I've probably only flown Air Canada twice in my life. But one of my best redemptions Speaker 3 (7:45) of all time, I was flying from Madagascar to Mauritius on Air Mauritius, which is an Air Canada partner. And... I used Air Canada points to actually book that flight, even though it was on Air Mauritius. Just because Air Canada, their points are so valuable. Speaker 4 (8:03) Exactly. If you want more ideas of how you could use your Aeroplan points, if you do end up getting this card, check out the links in our episode description. We'll put all the resources we have there. Speaker 3 (8:13) All right. We got to talk about the hottest drama rocking the travel industry over the past week has been this relationship between Hyatt and American Airlines. And spoiler alert, it ended in the most dramatic fashion. We got to get Bravo TV in here because for people who follow the show, they probably know that Hyatt and American have had this partnership where you can receive reciprocal benefits from travels across both brands. So last week. Hyatt appears to have broken up with American Airlines. American put out this very dodgy statement that basically said the relationship is over. And in the newsroom, we were all like, wow, this is so wild. What's happening? And then I think within two hours, Hyatt put out a new statement being like, new boyfriend, we have Delta Speaker 4 (9:00) is our new partner. Yep. All the breakup comments were all over the internet last week, and I was absolutely loving it. I mean, it was literally a matter of hours that Hyatt was like, okay. sorry, we broke up with American. Oh, actually, we've been dating Delta. You know, it takes like a couple of months to put these partnerships together. So it was great, great drama. Although there's honestly not a lot of info yet on the new relationship between Hyatt and Delta Airlines. So we are like anxiously waiting to hear what is really going on there. Speaker 3 (9:32) For listeners who want to know what does this mean for their points or bells in either program? How does this really affect them? Speaker 4 (9:37) Okay, just to recap, there was that previous relationship between Hyatt and American Airlines, and that program basically let elite members who had elite status in either of those programs earn some rewards with the other brand. So it used to have this like dual earning benefit where you could earn both Hyatt and American points. If you were flying American or if you were staying at Hyatt, you could earn both of those types of points at once. But that all ended in 2024 and it was like a really sad day. I honestly remember it. That fizzle out Speaker 3 (10:12) of the relationship. Exactly. It's a slow burn. Speaker 4 (10:15) Exactly. And so in recent years, the has really been very limited. It was mostly just the ability to choose milestone rewards. Basically, when you're earning elite status, there are some extra benefits you can earn along the way. And some of the options for milestone rewards were benefits with the other brand. And there was also some status challenges that like you could possibly earn American or Hyatt elite status at a lower. threshold, like lower flying or lower staying in hotels threshold. And I actually did this and that's how I earned Hyatt Explorers status this year because I did that status challenge last year and I wouldn't have been able to do it unless I had American elite status. But all of that is basically winding down right now. So American and Hyatt members have until November 15th to link their accounts. And then they have through the end of their elite status years this year. to possibly earn one more milestone reward and choose either the American or the Hyatt reward if they want to. But that is like... basically it. There is no dual earnings, which I think is what a lot of American and Hyatt members really miss. Now we should talk about what's going to come. Speaker 3 (11:32) And the reality is we don't really know. We don't know how many points or miles you'll earn for either stay. We don't know if there'll be any sort of status matches or if you have status in one program, you might get special benefits in another. But it is Speaker 4 (11:44) important to call out that. Hyatt and Delta already promised that the dual earning is coming back. Like, we don't know what the rates are, but we do know that the ability to earn Delta miles and Hyatt points on the same hotel stay or the same flight is coming. It's just we don't know how much yet. Speaker 3 (12:02) I did reach out to Hyatt and I said, can you please share us anything? And they said. In a few months, we'll tell you. Speaker 4 (12:07) Yeah. So we will also tell you Speaker 3 (12:10) in a few months. As soon as we know, we will share it with you. Keep Speaker 4 (12:12) listening to the show because we'll have all the updates right here. And also, I think this is important for people who were thinking about possibly getting elite status with either Hyatt or Delta or American this year. You know, we're coming towards the end of the year right now. And I've had a lot of listeners ask, should I try to get Delta elite status? Think about whether or not this partnership affects that decision for you. Because for me. If I was a frequent Delta flyer, I might try a little harder to get elite status because I love staying with Hyatt and I'm interested in that dual earning benefit. Speaker 3 (12:44) Now we got to talk about another card that we talk about very frequently on the show is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Now it is turning 10 years old this year. So happy birthday, Chase Sapphire Reserve, double digits. But what matters to you is that there are a couple of limited time offers for people who hold this card and a permanent-ish change. Right. Speaker 4 (13:02) So let's start with that one. As of October 1st, 2026, this year, the DoorDash restaurant credit goes from $5 a month to $15 a month. All right. Ooh, tripled. And now it works on all eligible DoorDash orders. You don't have to do that, like, non-restaurant thing where you're like... ordering some pickup from a convenience store, like none of the jumping through hoops for that anymore. The total DoorDash value per month goes to $35 a month. And that's locked in through the end of 2029. So just to remind listeners, there are still those two Speaker 3 (13:37) $10 monthly non-restaurant promos. So those are like if you're doing the grocery delivery. And I know a lot of people don't do those because there's so many other fees involved in this. But I really like the $15 a month at a restaurant because you could really... just get a free meal. I always do the DoorDash pickup. So there's not that extra delivery fee and $15. I'm like, all right, that's, that's, I might only pay a couple dollars on top for lunch. So I'm a fan of this. Speaker 4 (14:01) So Speaker 3 (14:01) Sally, you're buying lunch for us, you Speaker 4 (14:02) know, next time we're recording. Hey, Speaker 3 (14:05) you and me together cannot share a $15 meal. That one is all me. Speaker 4 (14:11) Sounds good. Okay. And in addition, there are lots of other kind of Chase offers you can activate and add to your card and save lots of money in the next few months. We'll just run through a couple of them. One of them is get $125 back when you spend $500 or more at an eligible IHG stay in the U.S. And Sally, I feel like IHG doesn't get enough. love. There's lots of brands in the IHG rewards program. Some of them are Intercontinental, Kempton, which is a favorite if you travel with pets, and even cheaper brands. Then there's a set of credits that Speaker 3 (14:44) runs through December 14th. That is $250 back on a $1,000 spend at Miraval or Alila Properties, which are part of the World of Hyatt portfolio. I will remind you, those are very expensive hotels, that spending Speaker 4 (14:57) $1,000 Speaker 3 (14:58) on a night at that hotel does not Speaker 4 (15:00) seem unreasonable. I've stayed at the Alila Ventana, Big Sur. And I stayed on points. So it was $0 for me. Well, not zero. You do pay for something. There's a cost. But it's an all inclusive. And if you are interested in it, that $250 back could, you know, take 25 % off your one night stay maybe. So could be good. Speaker 3 (15:21) I'm very excited about this next offer is 200 back on minimum $200 spend. So if you can find a cheap flight that is spend with JSX. They are a semi private flight service. And Megan, in a couple weeks, I'm going to fly JSX for the first time ever. So I'll let you know. I'll let you know how it is. Speaker 4 (15:40) That's Speaker 3 (15:40) exciting. I Speaker 4 (15:40) didn't know about this offer, Speaker 3 (15:42) so I booked the flight before I knew about the offer. No. Speaker 4 (15:45) If I like it, Speaker 3 (15:46) maybe I'll book another one before the offer period ends. And Speaker 4 (15:49) check out all of the different offers that Chase has right now for this 10th anniversary. Sally, you wrote a great article on it. We'll link to that in the episode description as well. Can I share one more thing about the Speaker 3 (16:00) Chase news? I often don't like to share contests because the odds of winning are so low, but Chase is doing a contest for the 10th birthday. this, you can post about your favorite trip that you've taken over the past 10 years. And then there's going to be 10 finalists who go to a vote. And then this is why I want to share this is I think this is fun. The grand prize is 5.5 million ultimate rewards points. And then even if you're the other nine, you still get 500,000 points, which is not bad. Speaker 4 (16:27) Wow. Oh my gosh. I've never had a million points of anything. So 5.5 million chase points. That's amazing. Let's think about what we would do with 5.5 million. million dollar Speaker 3 (16:37) chase points well million chase points we'll have to do a show on that maybe well Speaker 4 (16:41) okay i feel like our guest has some ideas about that you'll want to stay for this interview it's with chris hutchins the host of all the hacks podcast and a travel expert stay with us Speaker 4 (16:59) Today's episode Speaker 3 (17:00) is sponsored by Fora. Megan, real talk. How many times does a friend text you a quick question and then it's actually 11 questions about their trip? Speaker 4 (17:07) Every single time. Classic gems like, can you help me find a cheap flight from my home airport to Europe? Speaker 3 (17:13) If people are going to ask you anyway, you might as well get paid for the answer. That is what Fora is for. Speaker 4 (17:17) Fora is the modern travel agency designed for people who want to turn their passion for travel planning into a real business. Fora's tech, training, and Speaker 3 (17:24) community gives you everything Speaker 4 (17:25) you need to start earning. As a travel advisor with Fora, your subscription unlocks best-in-class training, powerful booking and payments technology, industry-leading AI tools, and a global community of industry insiders. Everything on the platform is built to help you start, grow, and scale your own travel business with confidence. And the perks are real. With a network of Speaker 3 (17:42) Over 7,000 preferred travel partners, 4 gives you the ability to offer clients VIP perks like upgrades, resort credits, late checkout, the stuff that makes people feel like they've gotten in with the hotel. You'll Speaker 4 (17:52) earn commission on hotels, cruises, and experiences, turning everyday travel planning into real income. Many advisors start by booking for friends and family and growing from there. So next time someone hits you with a quick question, maybe it's time to send them an invoice instead. It's time to turn your passion for travel into a business with Fora. Become a Fora advisor today at foratravel.com slash smart travel. Speaker 3 (18:12) That's F-O-R-A travel dot com slash smart travel. And make sure you tell them we sent you. Today's episode is sponsored by Vinted. Megan, I have to confess something. I have clothes that I just don't wear because maybe they don't fit right or because wearing sundresses in San Francisco is just not something you can ever do when it's foggy 90 % of the time. Well, maybe it's time to let go of those sundresses. I love any sort of deal or opportunity to earn and save money, and I will let go of almost anything if I know I'm getting paid for it. You Speaker 4 (18:39) should try Vinted. It's a secondhand marketplace that makes it easy for everyday sellers, people like me and you, to sell pre-loved fashion and actually earn some money doing it. Speaker 3 (18:48) And listing something takes minutes. You snap a photo, write a quick description, set your price, and it's live. And there are no selling fees on Vinted. Speaker 4 (18:54) So whatever you sell something for, you keep. The app is free to download too. Speaker 3 (18:58) If I'm keeping everything I make, it's actually worth the time to list something instead of just letting it sit in my closet. So Speaker 4 (19:03) if you've got a drawer of clothes you're never going to wear, like Sally, like I do, it might be time to open Vinted, take a few photos, and see what it's worth to somebody else. Speaker 3 (19:12) Download Vinted for free and start selling today. Speaker 4 (19:16) Today, we're bringing you a conversation with a legend in the points and miles world. Chris Hutchins is the host of the All the Hacks podcast, which is all about strategies and tactics to upgrade your life, money, and travel. Chris Hutchins is also a founder and investor, and previously he was the head of new product strategy at Wealthfront. He just came back from Speaker 3 (19:35) Bora Bora. He has lots of trips in the works. So we brought him in to get nerdy about all the practical tips for earning and redeeming your points and miles for travel. Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence. Of Speaker 2 (19:45) course. Chris, Speaker 3 (19:46) where are you just back from? I feel Speaker 4 (19:47) like you travel all the time. Speaker 2 (19:49) It's funny. I feel like once we had kids, I didn't travel as much. But the past few weeks have been a little wild. I just came back from Victoria, Canada. Speaker 3 (19:57) Whoa. Okay. Did you go just to Victoria, Canada? I Speaker 2 (20:00) just went to Victoria, Canada. Wow. Speaker 3 (20:01) I went this summer as part of a cruise. I thought it was very cute. Speaker 2 (20:04) Yeah, it was a little cute. I went for a conference. Oh, conference. We landed in Victoria, went to the conference. Conference ended, flew home. Oh, wow. So Speaker 3 (20:11) it Speaker 2 (20:11) was not, I didn't get to explore Victoria. You at least walked around the waterfront? Yeah, I got to walk around Victoria and see the lake and, you know, go swimming and all that stuff. But we didn't, it wasn't like a proper trip. We'll have to go back for a proper trip. Okay, Speaker 4 (20:22) sounds good. We'll talk about all the proper trips coming up. But first, talk to us about how you got into Points and Miles. Speaker 2 (20:29) Wish that I knew the moment this happened. And I tried to do some homework before coming in. So I know my dad traveled a lot for work. And so I have all these photos of me like sitting in a first class seat, sipping apple juice, flying like to somewhere somehow. I know that I flew on the Concorde when I was a kid, but I don't remember it. Speaker 4 (20:46) No way. So Speaker 2 (20:47) I was kind of surrounded by it. But, you know, when you're five and six, you know, you don't know what's happening behind the scenes. So I like I was surrounded by the travel stuff. Thankfully, my dad was always. created a frequent flyer account. I started accruing miles