S1E1: What is "Points for Normal People"?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Points for Normal People.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Katie and I'm here because I know that travel costs add up, especially for a family.

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<v Speaker 1>But I believe that travel isn't just for the rich.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why, on Points for Normal People, I'm here to help you do what our family does Use everyday expenses and credit card welcome offers to supercharge your travel points so that you can pay for entire family vacations every year.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm so excited that you're here with me today for this very first episode.

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<v Speaker 1>Today I'm going to be giving you a short overview of what I will cover in season one.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll introduce myself, I'll talk a little bit more about the title of the podcast, what I mean by points for normal people and why I chose to name it that, and I'll talk about how my travel points methodology is different.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm assuming that you're here because you want to travel more, but, as we all know, travel costs add up, especially when you're a family and you have to multiply the cost times three or four or more.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you've had the experience of dreaming up a fun trip, but as you start to research it, you're tallying the costs and you're just feeling discouraged.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you have credit card points.

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<v Speaker 1>You've been faithfully saving for years to help with travel costs, but when you go to redeem them, you find they only cover a small part of your vacation.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you've been seeing posts pop up on social media about people traveling the world with credit card points.

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<v Speaker 1>They seemingly get in boatloads and while you're skeptical, it intrigues you and you're trying to figure out the catch.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you've started dabbling with credit card points but are feeling bogged down with the learning curve.

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<v Speaker 1>Or maybe you're into points but find a lot of the blogs and social media accounts unrelatable to how you and your family travel.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe you're here for another reason.

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<v Speaker 1>I just want you to know that you are welcome here, whatever your stage of life and whatever your experience with points.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Katie and I'll be your guide here into the world of points.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been in the travel points hobby for 13 years.

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<v Speaker 1>In that time, our family has used points to stretch our travel budget in ways that we never thought would be possible.

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<v Speaker 1>But I want you to know right now that this podcast isn't about me.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not about where I've been on points or how I use my points.

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<v Speaker 1>It's going to be about teaching concepts that you can take and use to meet your own travel goals.

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<v Speaker 1>I do want to share some of my background here so that you can see where I'm coming from and understand my experience with points.

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<v Speaker 1>So here are some of those highlights and how I got to the point pun intended where I am today recording this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>We have been to Asia with our kids five times with points Five times.

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<v Speaker 1>That alone is crazy to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks to learning these tricks, we've been loyal holders of one or two Southwest Companion Passes for 10 years.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll devote full episodes later to the Southwest Companion Pass because it is my favorite deal, but for 10 years now we haven't paid for a single domestic flight thanks to points in the Companion Pass.

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<v Speaker 1>We've used points for road trip hotels and fancy all-inclusive resorts.

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<v Speaker 1>We've taken our kids to Hawaii and London and Costa Rica and more.

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<v Speaker 1>We've even used points to go to Disneyland Tokyo and Disneyland Paris, because with points it can actually be cheaper to go to those places than to the US parks.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, I wasn't always all in on this hobby.

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<v Speaker 1>I, for me, the biggest catalyst from going from casual points collector to points millionaire was when we were in the process of adopting our son from the Philippines.

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<v Speaker 1>It was my first really big goal and in order to earn the points.

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<v Speaker 1>In the short time I had to earn them, we really had to kick it into high gear.

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<v Speaker 1>After we had kicked it into higher gear, we just stayed there and kept earning points with the streamlined systems I had developed for myself.

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<v Speaker 1>When I was learning about how to earn and redeem points, I didn't see many people like myself that I could learn from.

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<v Speaker 1>The blog space was dominated by mostly dudes who were very focused on certain kinds of points redemptions, like luxury flights and very aspirational hotels.

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<v Speaker 1>I had to weed through information and read lots of forums and try to figure out how this would work for my own travel style and goals as a family.

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<v Speaker 1>Even when I went to a few points conferences, I quickly realized that most people were willing to invest way more time than I was into this hobby, but I still felt like travel points could be helpful to all the families that I knew and could be done in such a way that didn't take tons of time.

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<v Speaker 1>So eventually that led me to start a blog, partly just as a resource for friends and family who kept asking us how we managed to travel so much.

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<v Speaker 1>See, my husband is a nurse and I was a stay-at-home mom, and a nurse makes a comfortable salary, but it's not like as a nurse you make a salary where you can just go and travel anywhere you want, which is the travel lifestyle that we had.

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<v Speaker 1>I started writing long emails to my friends to explain how we were doing this, and eventually decided to put my take on points up on the internet, and my blog, katie's Travel Tricks, was born.

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<v Speaker 1>Eventually, I got on other platforms, like Instagram as well.

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<v Speaker 1>I got on Instagram specifically when our family took off on a year of full-time travel.

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<v Speaker 1>This, again, was largely possible because I had built up a balance of two million points, so we had all these points at our disposal when we went to book our flights for our trip.

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<v Speaker 1>Over time, instagram has become my largest platform.

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<v Speaker 1>I call myself an accidental influencer, because I really did not think that that would be the focus for my business, and while I have met so many lovely people on Instagram, instagram actually drives me crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a few reasons for this.

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<v Speaker 1>One of them, though, is the rules that I have to follow as a credit card affiliate.

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<v Speaker 1>If you follow me on Instagram, you know that credit card affiliates on Instagram, specifically with Chase Bank, are not allowed to say Chase card names, and we're not allowed to say Chase, and it sure makes it hard to just try to give people really good, clear information.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, thankfully, those restrictions don't exist on blogs or podcasts or YouTube, so I'm really excited about having this podcast as a medium just to give clear information and teach these concepts in a very simple and linear way.

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<v Speaker 1>That's another thing that social media isn't great at facilitating.

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<v Speaker 1>That's one reason I'm structuring this podcast into seasons, so that you can start at the beginning of a season and work your way through in order.

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<v Speaker 1>While the episodes will make sense on their own at least I hope they will they'll be planned in a specific order that aims to build your knowledge layer by layer.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm really aiming at keeping each episode short but packed with value.

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<v Speaker 1>You're busy, I'm busy.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's learn this in the least amount of time possible.

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<v Speaker 1>So what exactly will you learn here?

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<v Speaker 1>On points for normal people, I'm going to start off by going over the most common mistakes I see when it comes to travel points and how to avoid them.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, for every topic I cover, I have additional resources available, either on my YouTube channel, on my blog or in my free course, and I will link you to other resources in the show notes for each episode if you're ready to deep dive into any of the topics that I cover.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're wondering if there's a bait and switch here, I want to assure you that one of my promises is that my resources, including my course, which is a comprehensive course, are free.

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<v Speaker 1>I believe that you shouldn't have to spend money to learn how to save money.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, I do earn a commission when you use my affiliate links to sign up for credit cards, and this is how I'm able to sustain my business, but I am also committed to sharing the best resources and the best offers, even when they don't earn me a commission.

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<v Speaker 1>If you decide you appreciate this podcast and my other content, the best way for you to support my work is to use my affiliate links next time you go to sign up for a credit card.

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<v Speaker 1>It costs you zero dollars to do so, and so I consider it really a win-win.

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<v Speaker 1>What else will I be covering in season one?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, in season one, we are also going to be doing a deep dive into learning the ins and outs of Chase Ultimate Rewards.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, there's a lot that you can do with points, but I think that mastering one rewards program first gives you the strongest foundation.

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<v Speaker 1>By the end of Season 1, you'll have a really good idea of the best ways that you can use Ultimate Rewards to stay at hotels, to fly to different destinations, as well as other uses for these points.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll understand the benefits of cards that earn chase ultimate rewards and you'll understand how to keep earning those chase ultimate rewards indefinitely.

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<v Speaker 1>Chase ultimate rewards is a really powerful ecosystem that you can absolutely hang out in forever or after master it, you can choose to add other reward programs to your knowledge base as well.

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<v Speaker 1>So that will be season one of Points for Normal People.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's talk about now the podcast name.

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<v Speaker 1>I went through a lot of name options when I thought of what to name this podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>The reason that I picked Points for Normal People for this podcast is because I truly believe that anyone can learn how to do this, and I think that a lot of the information that you see on blogs and social media with points is dominated by individuals who don't approach points in what I consider to be a normal way.

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<v Speaker 1>So let me explain what I mean by that and what my aim is.

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<v Speaker 1>Instead, the points creator space has long been dominated by people who tend to be aviation geeks.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're an aviation geek who isn't a multi-millionaire, you actually probably have to get into points in order to afford the flight experiences that you have on your bucket list.

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<v Speaker 1>So aviation geeks get really excited about points because flying Emirates first class and taking a shower on the plane becomes a possibility when you have points.

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<v Speaker 1>But they also spend a lot of time learning about different plane types and seating arrangements and all the distinctions between all the hard and soft products for different airlines, because they care, it's their hobby and they love learning that.

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<v Speaker 1>And they also don't mind jumping through a ton of hoops to earn and redeem points because it's a means to their ends.

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<v Speaker 1>If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm not an aviation geek, and for a long time I felt out of place in the Miles and Points community because my end goals seemed so different than everybody else's.

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<v Speaker 1>But as I started building a community of my own through my blog and my Instagram and my Facebook group, I realized that there was a heck of a lot of people just like me.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just that our normal travel goals often get drowned out because they just aren't as fancy.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to focus in on all the stuff that tends to get neglected because, frankly, luxury sells better.

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<v Speaker 1>This is for normal people, normal people who want to know the easiest ways to get points and the easiest ways to spend them.

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<v Speaker 1>I've been in the points world long enough to understand how to book all the fancy experiences, and I can tell you that pretty much anyone that you're seeing flying business class multiple times a year.

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<v Speaker 1>They are jumping through a lot of hoops to do that.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a hardcore hobby for them and they are spending a heck of a lot of time doing things to accomplish their goals.

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<v Speaker 1>They do that because it's worth it to them and that's great.

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<v Speaker 1>But this podcast is about maximizing your return on time invested.

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<v Speaker 1>What are the easiest ways to get points and what are the easiest ways to spend them?

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<v Speaker 1>How can we spend the least amount of time but still be able to create memories through travel?

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<v Speaker 1>This podcast will also have a different definition of value when it comes to points.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing that I love most about points is the wide range of experiences that it can give you, and it has given our family some really amazing experiences.

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<v Speaker 1>We can sit down as a family and talk about where we feel like going, and pretty much anywhere with the exception of Antarctica, is possible to do, and I love that.

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<v Speaker 1>But do you know what I think is way more valuable than the trip we took to Japan or the $2,000 a night suite we stayed in in Florence, italy?

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<v Speaker 1>It's that having points helps us build stronger connections with our extended family.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna say that again because I wanna give extra airtime to it.

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<v Speaker 1>So for us, the most valuable use of our points is that it helps us build stronger connections with our extended family.

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<v Speaker 1>Having points to cover our flights has allowed us to say yes to so much more family time.

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<v Speaker 1>We're able to fly to Colorado multiple times a year so that my kids can spend more time with their cousins.

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<v Speaker 1>When my cousin got married last summer, we could cover it and we didn't even think twice because we knew we'd use our Southwest points and companion passes to fly there.

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<v Speaker 1>Last year my husband had an aunt who passed away and he was able to book a flight for him and add his sister as his companion to fly down to Alabama to spend time with his aunts and his uncles and his cousins at the memorial service.

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<v Speaker 1>Again, we didn't even have to think twice about it.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't have to think about these kinds of travel decisions anymore, because we just know we have the points to do it.

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<v Speaker 1>So what does it mean to get a high value for your points?

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<v Speaker 1>To me, it means to use your points for the things that you value.

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<v Speaker 1>Almost every other points creator that I know uses a valuation for points that is cents per point.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a big deal in some circles to have bragging rights on this, so they figure out what a flight would cost in dollars, how many points they paid, and then they use the ratio to determine their cents per point.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to tell you right now I do not do that calculation.

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<v Speaker 1>I have rarely, if ever, done that calculation.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that the if ever done that calculation.

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<v Speaker 1>I think that the most valuable thing that you can do with your points is to use them for the things that you personally value and that you want to do.

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<v Speaker 1>If points will allow you to start seeing your grandma twice a year instead of once a year, that's an enormous value that it's adding to your life.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've always wanted to go to Spain or Bali or London and you can do that now, that's a great use of points because it adds value to your life.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't matter if your sense per point is low if you're accomplishing your travel goals.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you dwell too much on sense per point, it can skew your perspective and mindset so that you lose touch with the experiences that do truly add value to your life.

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<v Speaker 1>It can also make it easy to start comparing yourself to other people.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel really strongly about wanting to be a voice reminding you to value what you value.

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<v Speaker 1>How do you like to travel?

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<v Speaker 1>Where do you want to go?

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<v Speaker 1>That's again what points for normal people means Using your points for the things that you want, not what everybody else seems like they're doing on social media or blogs or whatever else.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope you're excited to dive in and learn more and be part of this community.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm excited to be here.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to end each episode with an action step that helps you move forward with your travel goals.

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<v Speaker 1>Today, the action step is pretty easy.

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<v Speaker 1>Keep listening to more podcast episodes.

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<v Speaker 1>I also have a brand new downloadable guide for beginners, which I encourage you to grab down in the show notes.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a good written reference to have and be able to refer back to, and I encourage you to sign up for it.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much for spending your time with me today.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll see you next time, when we will continue to unlock the secrets of Travel Points together.