65. Beginner's Guide - Points and Miles | Part 2

[@BeBesStyle2010]

I enjoyed this episode (and every episode) LGTTP family!

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Thank you for your support, BeBe! We hope you can make it to our event in LA!

[@User-dh4xj]

Thank you for the video / episode! I’d love to see an intermediate / advanced episode!

[@Omahottie]

Me too! I was going to write this

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Thanks for the idea! We will add it to the list.

[@reneecopeland1095]

Wonderful! Thanks again. I really appreciate the pace of the presentation. I can understand better.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Glad it was helpful! Sometimes we think we talk too slow. Thank you for reinforcing our need to slow down ! ❤️

[@salyuwon808]

Learning so much👏🏼👏🏼

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Fantastic! That’s why we make these videos! Thank you for commenting.

[@pastalu5254]

Enjoyed your video. You guys are great! Each and every one of you. Look forward to future videos like this.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

🥰Thank you so much! We appreciate your kind words. Let us know if you have any topic ideas or questions!

[@amyhuang6017]

Love to hear all of you share your travel story 😊. Thank you for the video

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

More to come! Thank you for watching!

[@nicholascoyle3210]

I like Miguel’s pronunciation of AeroMexico the Spanish way and then his pronunciation of Iberia the English way

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

We like all the ways. ♥️

[@mssara714]

In regards to what Miguel touched on at 32:24, I'm curious, once points are transferred from Qatar to BA Avios, is it possible to transfer back to Qatar in case things don't work out? Or are they stuck at BA?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Yes, it is possible to transfer back and forth an unlimited amount of times. But they will limit you if they detect fraud.

[@jeffreybacot]

Great Show and useful. Just booking a flight to Rome for sister and BIL for their Anniversary. I would have not known about the British Airways Household Account if not for this episode and been super frustrated. Thanks. Sorry I will miss the meet up but I will be flying back from a friends wedding in Tulum that day to Houston and already booked the ticked before the announcement.

[@jeffreybacot]

Lesson 2 - If you are booking and not going - log in from one of the other family members accounts to book. It worked out and they are super excited to be going to Italy for their 15th Anniversary. Thank you again. FYI - just got my IHG (going to Thailand and will be using my 5 free nights) and Emirates (Mitch's fav - I know I wanted Gold Status right away Plus will use the 70K points to hopefully upgrade to first class from business on my way back from Thailand). I tried to just use your link for Chase Business card. None of the links for Chase are working - FYI.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hi and thank you for watching! You are generous helping your sister and BIL book a nice trip. They are in for a treat. Our Chase links will be working shortly. Please hang tight for a couple more days, if you can. Thank you! We will let you know when they are up.

[@monkeyfamilyadventures]

Just shared this episode! I wish I got in the Aeroplan family pooling before they suspended it. Would be quite helpful. Hopefully it’ll come soon again.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hi Monkey Family! Thank you for sharing our video! We really appreciate it. We hope the Aeroplan family pooling comes back soon too!

[@merrywilliams6825]

I loved listening to part 1 and part 2! Transfer point question. If there was a transfer bonus for air france and i was thinking about booking a year later would that be a good choice? Is that too speculative? Wanting to go to Switzerland with my family of 4 (2kids)

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hi and thank you for watching! We only recommend speculative transfers if you are very flexible with your dates and have back up plans for your points in case the awards for Switzerland do not materialize. Air France just devalued their awards and there's no way to know for sure when the next devaluation will happen. For most people, we recommend the conservative route and transfer when you see availability and are ready to book.

[@rsims44106]

Great show guys! My questions are do you guys keep track of your spend when you are working on a sign-up bonus? Somewhere along the way I heard that you should keep track of your spend and not rely on the card’s calculation (which I don’t do). Also @nicole I listened to your explanation on how to calculate how many points to transfer for a transfer bonus several times and I still don’t get it. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Thank you for watching! Calculation example: if Amex has a 30% transfer bonus to British Airways, and the award ticket will cost 70k Avios, you would divide 70k by 1.30: 70,000/1.30 = 54,000 miles needed to transfer. If the bonus is 25%, you would divide by 1.25. Let us know if this makes sense!

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Also, please submit a video question for us and we will each answer the question about tracking our spend! 😊

[@rsims44106]

@@LetsGetToThePoints talk about speedy service!!! Sheesh you guys are good! Thank you!!!!

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Send us an email and we can send you instructions to submit a video question!

[@alisonlopez7729]

Question Do you need an account with all 3 alliances? So if I wanted to transfer my chase points to a sky team alliance partner do I need an account with Delta?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

You don’t need one unless you are transferring to Delta. Although, it is free to set up a loyalty account with all the airlines.

[@jesus123nun]

With so many cards that have large sign on bonuses, but have an annual fee, how would it work in order to keep a large amount of cards? Would you close the cards and open new ones and transfer the points before hand? Is there a certain amount of cards you recommend to have throughout the year?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

We evaluate each one when a new annual fee is due. Everyone’s number will be different based on needs and tolerance for fees. We keep a number of cards because we travel a lot but someone who doesn’t travel as much might only want 1 or 2 travel cards.

[@jesus123nun]

@ if I use the same technique of opening cards for large bounces, how many time a year would you recommend? With a P2 operation

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

We recommend opening cards based on spend. Get one card, spend on it, and when you get close to finishing the minimum spend, start thinking about your next card.

[@jesus123nun]

@ thank you !

[@jamesv5802]

Awesome

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Thank you for watching! We love AA miles!

[@reliev33]

Mitch trip it pro has point tracking im waiting for it to go on promo again.and lets go mid and advanced tier I'm all about it more to see where I fall in this category lol.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Great tip on Trip It Pro! We'll put your idea on the list!

[@mssara714]

Ok my last question - with the last Turkish devaluation, is it still the best way to fly to Hawaii, or are there other options we should be looking into?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

It is still the best deal even considering the Turkish deval...but it can be a pain to book and difficult to find the availability you need. Worth the effort if you are game.

[@TruthPeaceShalom]

Love your videos so easy to follow. I have a Capital One Sparks business If I want to change to a higher level Capital One Venture, will I get signing bonus points and can and should I close out Sparks would my current points transfer or remain in my Capital One Account? I really dont want to retain too many cards, currently have 5 opened over 5-10 snd 20 years ago all basic level cards which I would like to gradually upgrade as I can handle spending minimums.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hello! We are glad you find our videos easy to follow! In order to keep your Capital One miles, proceed with these steps: 1. Open Venture (see links on our website or let us know if you need help finding it), 2. move existing Cap One miles to the new card, 3. make sure all points have been moved and then you can close the older card. For Cap One, the miles are tied to the specific card but you can move freely between each card.

[@sindymejia6661]

Hey guys, how many miles do I have to make before I start thinking on buy a trip for 2 people?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

This depends on where you want to go, where you’re based, and whether you want to fly economy or business. In Episode 57, we cover typical award pricing for some flights. That could give you an idea and starting point.

[@mssara714]

Mitch how about using your ANA miles to fly domestically in Japan to explore islands like Okinawa and Hokkaido?

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Great idea! Mitch will look into this for his next trip to Asia!

[@jfvalejandrino]

@@LetsGetToThePoints Mitch, inter-asia r/t business class from 35k to 43k (ana points) using ana, eva, asiana, singapore metal. cheaper than AA & BA which is 60k.

[@Lisa_Bonita_LS]

Capital one lets you transfer points in increments of 100, instead of 1,000. I just did a transfer to Avianca a couple weeks ago.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Great datapoint. Thank you, Lisa Bonita!

[@Travelingnoypifam]

When you transfer points to BA. Does it expire? Also, on my BA account it says Tier points collection year ends Nov 8, 2024 and Card Expiry Dec 31, 2024. I don’t have a BA credit card.

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hi! BA points expire after 36 months of inactivity but it's very easy to extend the expiration. We're not sure why those dates show up on your account. It may have to do with earning status.

[@WealthLifeAlliance]

Do you guys reduce your income tax from your W2 job as allowance, then pay it instead with credit card to get pts or sign-up bonus? Don’t worry I won’t take it as financial or tax advice 😁 I thought about doing that but don’t know if someone else does it and what’s their opinion. Thanks

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

This is a good strategy...as long as you are diligent and estimating your taxes correctly. You would not want to be hit with underpayment penalties. If you want to know if we personally do this, please send us a video question!

[@WealthLifeAlliance]

@@LetsGetToThePoints my apologies I missed this response in the notif. Yes I think that will be nice question to ask :)

[@Skye14979]

I’m so glad to have found this channel! I’ve binge watched every episode in a matter of weeks and now re-watching to figure out which points I need to collect to plan my trip. I can understand getting multiples of the same credit card like Nicole’s gold and platinum business AMEX for the SUB but with the high annual fees, do you downgrade or cancel them after a year? Is there a downgrade path for AMEX gold/platinum (business or personal) to a no annual fee card? Thank you for another great and timely episode!

[@Omahottie]

You can cancel the high AF cards after the 2nd AF posts. However, open Amex BBP before doing to enable you still have all your points. This card has no AF and it is 2x on every dollar spent up to $50k/year

[@LetsGetToThePoints]

Hi and thank you for binge watching us! We're glad you found us! There is unfortunately no downgrade path to a no annual fee card for the ones you mentioned. Please watch Episode 17's Ask Us segment for our thought process on downgrading, cancelling, etc. Please also stay tuned for next Friday's episode when we talk about this more.