149. 2025 Points Year in Review: A Look Back at Cards, Strategies & Earning (Part 1) with Dr. Andrea Mabry
Point Me To First Class
Devon Gimbel MD
4.9 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 January 2026
⏱️ 78 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Do you ever wonder what cards other people have, how they use them, and exactly how many points they're earning each year? I'll be honest—I'm nosy when it comes to other people's points, and I love getting a peek inside someone else's points earning strategies.
In this first part of a two-part year-in-review series, I've invited Dr. Andrea Mabry back to the show to break down everything that shaped our points earning in 2025. This has become one of my favorite Point Me to First Class traditions, and this year marks the third installment of this annual series. We're pulling back the curtain on the credit cards we opened, the unexpected opportunities we seized, and the total number of points we earned across all our points ecosystems, from Chase and Amex to Capital One, Citi, and beyond.
Andrea and I each share our total points earned for the year, then break those numbers down by transferable versus airline-specific currencies, welcome bonuses versus organic spend, and the earning methods that delivered the most value. We talk about why this was an unusually busy year for new card acquisitions, what happened when an entire points program collapsed overnight, and what's on our radar for 2026.
Whether you're mapping out your own points strategy or just curious how two points enthusiasts approach earning at scale, this conversation offers real numbers, honest reflections, and the lessons we're taking into the new year.
Get full show notes and transcript: www.pointmetofirstclass.com/2025-points-year-in-review-part-1
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher than average expenses to travel the world. |
| 0:10.7 | I'm your host, Devin Gimble, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset, if you know how to leverage them. |
| 0:17.8 | Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often. Let's get started. Welcome back to the podcast, |
| 0:31.3 | everybody. I hope you're having a fantastic new year and are gearing up for a great year of |
| 0:36.5 | points earning and points redeeming. |
| 0:38.6 | I love January in the points and miles hobby because it represents the beginning of another |
| 0:43.4 | year of opportunities to turn our expenses into incredible travel experiences and lifelong |
| 0:48.8 | memories. It's also the month where those of us with semi-compulsive type A planning tendencies get to lay |
| 0:55.5 | out all our top points priorities for the year and construct the strategies that will make those |
| 1:00.5 | goals a reality. But before I jump into looking forward for the year, one thing I always love to do |
| 1:05.7 | first is to take a look back at the year that just ended. This is a chance to evaluate how the points planning I did |
| 1:11.8 | last January played out in reality, and it helps me to reset for the upcoming year of points |
| 1:16.8 | earning and points redeeming. I don't know about you, but I'm really nosy when it comes to |
| 1:21.0 | other people's points. And I love knowing what cards other people have, how they use them, |
| 1:26.5 | and how many points they're earning |
| 1:27.9 | and what they're doing with them. So in what has become one of my favorite, point me to first |
| 1:32.2 | class podcast traditions, I've invited another points in Miles expert to join me for a two |
| 1:37.4 | part podcast series where we're going to take a look back at the prior year and break down |
| 1:42.1 | all the points we earned, how we earned them, and what our |
| 1:45.9 | 26 points earning plans look like before we come back next week for part two of this series, |
| 1:51.4 | where we're going to talk about how exactly we used our points last year to book memorable |
| 1:56.3 | points trips. This is now the third installment of this two-part points earning and redeeming |
... |
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