Travel, Hotel, and Credit Card Points Strategies for 2022

#45: Points expert Richard Kerr joins Chris to discuss airline, hotel, and credit card loyalty points, including changes/expectations for 2022, which credit cards and loyalty programs you should avoid, how to assess whether a signup bonus is worth it, and the hottest redemptions in the market today.  

Richard Kerr (@kerrpoints) is a former Naval Officer who left that career behind to become one of the top experts in the world on travel loyalty programs, credit cards, and point strategy. He is currently the Director of Travel Rewards at Bilt and previously led travel partnerships at The Points Guy Loyalty and founded the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group.

Selected Links From The Episode (Advertiser Disclosure)

Connect with Richard Kerr: Twitter |  Instagram | Bilt Rewards | Articles on The Points Guy

Award Travel 101 on Facebook Group

YouTube Video: How Frequent Flier Programs are like Banks

Credit cards Signup Links: https://allthehacks.com/cards

Point.me Award Search: $1 trial w/ this link (and the code HACKS)

Get the most out of your points:  Cashback Monitor | CardPointers | MaxRewards | Card Curator

Points communities online: Travel on Points | The Frequent Miler | Miles to Memories | r/CreditCards | FlyerTalk

Travel points blogs to follow: The Frequent Miler | View from the Wing | Miles to Memories | Boarding Area

Atlanta Restaurants: Marcel | Yebo Beach Haus

Full Show Notes

Who is Richard Kerr? (00:11)

Why did Richard shift from the Navy to the points and travel world (and what Trump always needed to be stocked up)? (01:14)

What’s WRONG with loyalty programs these days?  (03:01)

Reasons for and against collecting Delta Skymiles. (05:08)

There are no reasons to invest in Marriott Bonvoy anymore, here’s why. (06:03)

The gold standard of hotel loyalty programs. (07:03)

How will hotel loyalty programs change in the next few years? (07:55)

How the AAdvantage program may change miles in 2022 and millions of miles given away. (09:46)

What is the state of credit card points in 2022 (and why it’s a race to the bottom)? (15:58)

Offer stacking: How Richard’s friend landed 500K Amex points buying a car on his credit card. (22:40)

How you can take advantage of offer stacking. (23:32)

Is it still worth holding on to the Chase Reserve or the Amex Platinum card in 2022? (27:30)

Why you should steer clear from Citi Bank. (30:07)

How Bilt Rewards helps renters and landlords. (31:54)

Can you pay your mortgage using Bilt? (35:08)

Where can you use your Bilt points? (34:39)

How Bilt makes money (and how it helps you get a mortgage). (37:59)

Why Bilt teaches its customers how to transfer their Bilt points to other programs. (40:04)

How to stop redeeming your points at terrible valuations. (42:53)

The best redemptions you can take advantage of now (Richard Kerr’s recommendations). (44:15)

Richard Kerr’s most exciting redemption story. (45:53)

The most affordable way to get cash when you’re traveling. (47:58)

Why you should become part of points communities. (49:45)

Blogs in the travel space you should follow. (50:51)

What you should do on your first trip to Atlanta. (51:54)

How to keep in touch with Richard Kerr. (53:37)

Sponsors

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Editor’s Note: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.