163. Listener Q&A: Bilt vs Amex, Spending Toward Status, & Rethinking Points Fundamentals
Point Me To First Class
Devon Gimbel MD
4.9 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 13 April 2026
⏱️ 99 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Have you ever wondered if the advice you're following about credit cards and points is still relevant—or if the landscape has shifted enough that the old "rules" no longer apply?
In this listener Q&A episode, I'm answering your questions on everything from Rakuten rewards strategy and Chase credit card approvals to hotel booking during peak travel times and whether hotel status is worth the spend. But the biggest topic I tackle is one I've been thinking about a lot lately: how my fundamental advice about earning and using points has evolved over the past decade.
Listen in as I walk through why I no longer recommend Chase as the automatic starting point for everyone, why co-branded credit cards are becoming more strategically important than they used to be, and why the barrier to entry in this hobby may be lower than ever—but the bar for getting real value is actually higher. Whether you're just starting out or you've been in this space for years, this episode offers both tactical answers and a bigger-picture look at how to think about points strategy in the current landscape.
Get full show notes and transcript: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/listener-qa-points-strategy-evolution
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Eager to learn the secrets of award travel so that you can turn your expenses into unforgettable experiences? Join the Points Made Easy course waitlist here: https://pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy
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. |
| 0:29.0 | Hey everyone, welcome back to the podcast. Are you ready for another listener Q&A episode where |
| 0:35.7 | your credit card, points, and award travel questions |
| 0:38.6 | get answered? Well, I hope so because it's about that time. Usually about once per quarter, |
| 0:44.1 | I open up the podcast to tackle listeners submitted questions instead of doing a deep dive on |
| 0:49.8 | one focused subject. Instead, we're going to be covering a lot of ground on a variety of points |
| 0:55.1 | and miles topics from strategizing the most rewarding return for your racketing rewards |
| 1:00.4 | to how I've actually changed some of the fundamental advice that I give around points and miles |
| 1:07.7 | given today's current landscape, all the way to different travel planning strategies |
| 1:12.3 | for booking hotels during peak travel times. Whether you are just starting out or are already |
| 1:18.1 | deep in the points travel world, today's questions and answers will hopefully have something |
| 1:22.9 | useful for everyone, no matter where you are in your points journey. My approach is not just to give you |
| 1:29.1 | answers, but also to share how I think through these types of questions so that you can apply |
| 1:34.9 | the same frameworks to your own situations when you find that helpful. Credit cards, points |
| 1:40.6 | earning, and points redeeming are personal. So it's never really my goal to tell you exactly |
| 1:45.8 | what you should do in every single situation. Rather, I want to share the finite facts and |
| 1:51.1 | rules that do exist around credit cards and award travel and then help you navigate those |
| 1:55.9 | and the nuances in between in a way that suits you and your spending and travel goals best. So with |
| 2:03.0 | that said, let's jump in. So the first two questions today are focused around the online |
| 2:08.5 | shopping portal racketon, which is one of my favorite ways to accelerate points earning |
... |
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