Points & Miles FAQs: 10 Questions Every Traveler Should Know

Takeoff: A Points and Miles Podcast by 10xTravel

Hosts Travis Cormier and Lovan Edwards return from summer break to answer ten of the most frequently asked questions regarding points and mi

Key takeaways

• Prioritize transferable currencies over destination-specific points to maintain flexibility against devaluations.
• Bilt rewards are highlighted as a top-tier currency due to extensive transfer partners and 1:1 ratios.

Main topics

• Transferable vs. fixed currencies
• Credit score impact of new cards

Notable quotes

You want to get transferable currency because that opens up all your options.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a practical guide for travelers looking to optim

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) What points should I earn? Is this going Speaker 1 (0:02) to wreck my credit? What's the best points currency? If you've been in points for more than five minutes, either you've asked one of these questions or you have heard someone ask one of these questions. So today we're picking 10 of the most frequently asked questions that we get in points and miles and laying out the answers to you. Speaker 1 (0:25) Welcome back to Take Off, a Points and Miles podcast by 10X Travel. I'm Travis, and joining me today after our long summer break is my new co-host. So glad to have him here. He won't be new. He's been on a few episodes already, and I'm sure all of you listening are familiar with him. Levon, welcome to the show. Speaker 2 (0:51) Hi, guys. It's good to be back and now as an actual host. So you guys will be seeing a lot more of me. Speaker 1 (0:58) Yeah, a permanent feature now. You know, coming back from the summer break, shaking it up completely new, not just new ideas, some new formats, but a new recurring voice. It's not a fully new voice, but a new recurring voice here. So LeVon's here with us today. gave us a lot of these questions for today's episode that I'm sure he sees in our Facebook group or our 10x Travel Plus community all the time. I don't know about you, Levon, but it's also just questions that like when people learn about points and miles that you inevitably get. Absolutely. Of course, there's probably, there's certainly a lot more than what we've got here, but we've narrowed it down to 10. So that way this doesn't become the longest recorded. anything in the history of the world. Some of these are going to have some pretty, pretty simple answers. Some are going to require the classic, it depends answer. But we're going to do our best to answer those for us today. But one thing we're not getting rid of that's ever important with LaVon here as a permanent staple for the first time is going to be our icebreaker to get us started. So I think today it would be really cool. LaVon, I'm just going to throw the icebreaker to you. People have heard enough icebreaker answers from me. For you, what do you do here? Speaker 2 (2:17) All right. So my job here at 10X Travel, I'm the community manager. We have a really robust, large group with over 400,000 in our Facebook group, over 60,000 on Instagram, and also public Facebook page, our TikTok, YouTube. So my job is just to make sure that the community culture. is open and inclusive to everybody, that everybody's able to learn about points and miles, this amazing thing that helps us travel more affordably, and also just to create content and disseminate information throughout the community. So that's the long and short of what I do here. And I love it because there's just amazing people in our community that are super knowledgeable, super helpful to each other. And honestly, There's not really anything I'd rather do. And Speaker 1 (3:09) we're super happy to have LeVon. It's been awesome just having someone who's so... Speaker 1 (3:16) passionate and considerate of of our community and just like ultimately helping people you know like i always sense that you just you enjoy helping people um and when you get to do that with 400 000 plus people that's i don't know that's that's pretty special so uh thank you levon for for all that you do you do around here thanks for having Speaker 2 (3:38) me yeah Speaker 1 (3:40) So speaking of helping people, let's help people by hopping into these 10 frequently asked questions here in Points and Miles. So the first one that we get decently often, especially when someone is new to Points and Miles, is I want to go to... a specific destination? What points should I earn? This is like the classic beginner question. And it makes a lot of sense, right? You get started in points and miles, because there's probably a place in mind that you want to go. But sometimes that can maybe lead you a little astray. I'm going to throw it to you, LeVon, to see like how you would answer this. Speaker 2 (4:22) Sure. So Absolutely. Like, you know, when I one of the things that really got me involved in points and miles and taking it to the next level was I wanted to go to Japan. And so I'll use that as an example. Let's say you want to go to Japan or Australia, wherever it is that you're looking to go. And your mindset is like, OK, like I should be getting a specific kind of points currency to get to that place. And honestly. I don't think that that way of thinking is correct. You want to get transferable currency because that opens up all your options. There are so many devaluations that happen in points and miles. And what might be the best way to get to Japan today will not be the best way to get there even a month from now, six months from now. So you just want to have all your options open. And by having transferable currency, you're able to transfer to, you know, whether that's Air Canada, Air France, United, Turkish Airlines. You just want to have a bunch of options. So focus on getting transferable currency first. That way, no matter what's happening at points and miles, because things change and change quickly, you'll be ready to go. Speaker 1 (5:38) You know, it takes me back to the trip that got me into points and miles and how so much of what you say. resonates with me. I got started trying to plan a trip to the Maldives. And instead of focusing on flexible points, I read how someone else did it and just tried to copy and mimic them. And while it did end up working out, what it meant in the long run was that I took away some options that took some time to get back. I opened cards with Bank A and that restricted me. Speaker 1 (6:12) meant I had too high of a velocity or too many cards to where Bank B would approve me. So it... comes back to it can negatively impact like the long-term strategy that doesn't mean it's not important to have that inspiration when you're getting started but it can really impact those other trips after you get that that dream one and ultimately those flexible points really are going to be your your workhorse of your points and miles journey so beyond that speaking of flexible points The second most popular question that we get is what points currency is the best to earn? I Speaker 2 (6:54) think that's a great, great segue because we're talking about, you know, we should have transferable currency. Then you're thinking like, OK, well, which one of them would be the best? And right now, if I'm being honest, bill points are just at the top of the hill and everybody else is kind of like a distant second or third. They have. the absolute most amount of transfer partners of any transferable currency that's out there right now, they have everybody. And then on top of having everybody, even some transfer partners that other banks have, like Emirates, they still have that one-to-one. For other banks, it might be four to three or something less than one-to-one. So it takes a lot of those points transferred over to be able to book your trip. And Build still Speaker 1 (7:44) has them one-to-one. So then I'm going to probe you here. Someone's brand new to Points and Miles. Are you saying they should go get a Build card? Great question. Great question. Actually, Speaker 2 (7:57) no, I would not say so. I think card strategy should still be the most important thing. That comes first before thinking about like, okay, what points and miles should I be stacking up on? That should kind of be dictated where and what cards you apply for. Because at the end of the day, these banks have different restrictions. You know, you can only have a certain amount of them. in over the course of two years. We all are familiar, or at least likely familiar with some of these bank restrictions. So that should be what's at the forefront. And because at the end of the day, you will eventually be able to get a built card. So I think it's better to kind of start with some other banks first, get familiar with some of the players that are a little bit easier to understand, and then you can get into build later. Speaker 1 (8:50) Yeah. And I'd 100 % agree with that. Don't let what's most valuable now impact your long-term strategy. That it can be a shiny object syndrome. Speaker 1 (9:06) You want to set yourself up for long-term success. And there will be a time when getting those points makes sense, even if now isn't the right time. And maybe for some people, it is the right time. We're speaking in broad generalities right now because this is a podcast. We can't give specific one-on-one advice unless we have someone on the show asking for that. Speaker 2 (9:32) I would also mention, because I know some people might be thinking like, oh, but like American airline miles are really valuable at higher points are really valuable. And I just want to double back and make sure that we're really driving on the point that transferable currency is