Award travel can feel overwhelming and complicated … but not with the right tools and organization. This week on our special Starter Kit series, Kyle and Gunnar walk through all the websites, apps, and tools they use to organize their credit cards, points, miles, and travels.
From a credit card benefit tracker to ways to use your pesky monthly dining credit to the best services to maximize your points and miles, it’s all here.
Tune in now on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts! And be sure to subscribe now to get the next Starter Kit episode on Tuesday mornings!
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In This Episode
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- 00:00 – When did Kyle realize it’s time to get organized?
- 02:40 – Using our Credit Card Benefit Tracker
- 06:35 – How to organize your credit cards
- 12:00 – Understanding & maximizing your credit card perks
- 17:00 – Tools you need to book award travel
- 33:00 – Your Vol. 4 Flight Plan
Produced and edited by Sylvia Thomas
Video editing by Kyle Thomas
Show music: “All That” by Benjamin Tissot
Vol. 4 Flight Plan
- Find tools to manage your credit cards, your benefits, and your passwords
- Bookmark resources that can help you maximize your card credits and benefits
- Sign up for free sites that take the guesswork out of booking award travel (like TripIt, Aerolopa, MaxMyPoint, and more)
- Consider signing up for our tools: The free Card Benefit Tracker or Thrifty Traveler Premium
Related Episodes & Stories
Ep. 30 – Tools of the Trade: How We Earn, Organize & Redeem Points Smarter
Ep. 50 – Inside Thrifty Traveler with Founder Jared Kamrowski
Ep. 17 – Have Banks Lost the Plot With Premium Credit Cards?
Ep. 46 – What’s in Our Wallets & Our Points Planners
We were in Japan for over a month this spring and when we tallied up our 10 favorite experiences none were in Tokyo and only one was in Kyoto. We loved Takayama, Nagano, wild areas in Shikoku and the Japanese Alps, and the rural areas in Western Honshu. For onsens that aren’t crazy crowded try the area around the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway in the mountains near Kamikochi.
BTW, before you go to Japan go online and listen to Japanese pronunciation of place names. Narita, Haneda, and even Kyoto and Tokyo aren’t pronounced the way you probably think and Japanese speakers might not understand you if you use English pronunciation. (For example, Tokyo and Kyoto are both two-syllables.)
Can I have more info about the vpn to use for getting more points?
Hi Mary, search Rakuten for “Express VPN” or “Nord VPN.” Both regularly offer close to 100% back – 100x points when you have your Rakuten account set up that way – for these purchases. At 100% cash back (100x points), you’re essentially buying points for 1 cent apiece if you don’t plan to use the service. Just don’t forget to cancel before the promo rate expires!