FREE RESOURCES PAGE
When you start getting into this hobby, I highly recommend learning the basic foundation and being organized if you plan on doing this for a long time.
I created this page for the sole purpose of keep everything simple and put all of the resources in one page.
Without further ado, read below!
Credit Cards Google Sheet
This free credit card google sheet is what I use ever since I started with this hobby. The great thing about this template is that there are separate columns where you can fill out all of the info each time you get a credit card.
Some of the info on the columns include: the name of the card, the current sign up bonus, the card’s perks, annual fees, an additional notes section, etc.!
Click the link below to download the file. After that, there will be a "Use Template" on the upper right of the screen so click that to download the template :)
Personal Monthly Budget Template
The Personal Monthly Budget template helps you track your income, savings, and most of all, identify all of your personal + living expenses.
That way, you’ll have an idea where to use your card to meet the “minimum spend” and get the bonus!
Follow the instructions to download the file once you click on the link below.
TOOLS THAT WILL HELP SET YOU UP FOR SUCCESS
If you plan on getting serious about this hobby, you’ll need some tools to help you get organized if you plan on getting a few cards.
Below are the tools that helped me in my credit card journey:
Create an Empower Account
This is one of my favorite tools to track our income and expenses. You can also categorize each spending if it’s a personal or business expense.
You can also use this app to input your banks, assets, investment accounts to track your net worth.
Also, it let’s me know if an annual fee from a certain credit card posts in my account.
Last but not least, using the Empower app lets me know if someone “hacks” my credit card account and use it without my knowledge. When this happens, you can call your credit card company and tell them that there were some fraudulent activity and they’ll be more than happy to erase those fraud transactions, close that card, and give you a new one.
If you use my referral link below and create an account, we’ll both get $20! Win-win! : )
CardPointers App
This is a great app that helps track all of your cards, all of your card benefits, renewal dates, Chase 5/24 status, and so much more!
You don't put your credit card information - you just need to put details like when you opened a certain card. You can also put the details when you applied for a card (sign up bonus, minimum spend and annual fee).
I would suggest doing the free trial first and see if you like the free features before paying for anything . I paid for the lifetime subscription so I am not paying any monthly subscription fees moving forward : )
I contacted the owner of the CardPointers app and he's giving us an awesome deal if you sign up with the link below. If you sign up for their monthly or lifetime subscription, you'll unlock some amazing features like knowing what your current Chase 5/24 status, view a list of nearby stores and which card to use at each one, etc.!
Google Calendar
Whenever I get a new card, the first thing I do is put a note of my Google Calendar on my card’s minimum spend deadline so I won’t miss it.
For example, I applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card on January 1, 2024. The current promotion says “earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.”
If my card application was accepted on January 1, 2024, that means that my 3 month deadline is around March 1, 2024. With this information, I’ll put a note on my Google Calendar that the $4,000 minimum spend is due on March 1, 2024.
Please check the screenshot on the right for your reference on how it looks on my Google Calendar. I also changed the color of the label to red to give it a high priority (you can choose your own color by the way)!
QUICK TIP - try meeting the minimum spend on a card at least 2-3 weeks before the deadline. You don’t want to cut it close and miss out on a bonus : )
All About The Major Point Currencies (Chase, American Express, Citi, and Capital One)
This section is all about how-to videos and knowing the best ways to redeem your points for MAXIMUM value!
All About Chase
This playlist is focused on Chase (how to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to transfer partners, how to combine Chase points, how to redeem points for travel, etc.)!
All About American Express (Still in progress)…
This playlist is all About American Express (how to transfer points to transfer partners, redeeming them for travel, etc.)!
Transferable Point Program Partners
Aeroplan
Air Canada Aeroplan has 45+ airline partners so even you’re not a frequent flyer with them, you can still find tremendous value with the program.
Aeroplan is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Bilt Rewards at a 1:1 ratio, or from Marriott Bonvoy at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-points bonus for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points transferred - making it easier for you to earn and redeem those points for flights!
United Airlines
United MileagePlus is a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards — in other words, your Chase Ultimate Rewards points can become United MileagePlus miles at a 1-to-1 ratio.
United Airlines isalso a member of the Star Alliance team (which consists of 26 members), so this means is that you’ll have plenty of options to travel wherever these airlines fly!
United Airlines is also one of the three big airlines in the US (besides Delta and American Airlines) and its also a transfer partner of Chase making it easier for you to redeem those Chase Ultimate Reward points for flights!
American Airlines
You can transfer your Bilt points to your AAdvantage account at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. The standard ratio is 3:1, meaning 3 Bonvoy points convert into 1 AAdvantage mile.
One of the best ways to go to Japan is using AA miles. Award availability for premium cabins (business and first class) are plenty less than 2 week of travel. If you’re flexible with your travel dates and want to book a premium cabin, then this will work for you!
Quick tip - American Airlines doesn’t charge any cancellation fees. You can book your flight in economy first, wait until 2 weeks of your departure date to see if there are some award availability for business/first class flight, cancel that economy flight and book your new itinerary : )
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is one of my favorite programs since it’s a transfer partner of most flexible currencies (Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy Points, and Citi ThankYou Points).
Also, redeeming points with Virgin Atlantic is one of the best ways to go to Japan in the points and miles world!
t's also worth noting that programs like Chase, American Express, and Citi will sometimes do a promotion where they offer a 30% bonus for transfer bonuses from programs such as to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. When this happens, you can take advantage of it so you can take a little bit of a discount and spend fewer points.
TOOLS TO FIND AWARD AVAILABILITY
This section is all about the tools to find the BEST award availability and make sure you’re getting the best value out of your points : )
Thrifty Traveler
People ask me these 2 questions:
”Dax, how do you plan your travel and how do you find the best travel deals?”
My answer to them - it’s by signing up with Thrifty Traveler!
There are 2 type of subscriptions, free and a paid monthly membership. On the free subscription, you’ll get an email from them daily and they send out some travel deals every now and then. With the monthly subscription, they will send out the premium deals to their members as soon as they find an award deal. You can opt out to receive a text from them so once they see a rare award deal, they’ll send out a text to their members so they easily can book it before it goes public!
My strategy is that we let the award deals take us to our destination! : )
OTHER WEBSITES TO FOLLOW TO LEVEL UP YOUR POINTS GAME
This section is all about the websites that will help you earn points without even signing up for a card, earn money through bank bonuses, NLL (no lifetime langugage offers), and other good stuff!
I always check this pages on a daily basis and this is how I can keep up to date with what’s going on with the credit card points world : )
Doctor of Credit
I always check this site everyday for deals and other important credit card updates. This is how I found out deals like:
- Earn 60,000 AMEX bonus points if you sign up for an AMEX Business Checkings account
- Bank bonuses (Earn $350 from opening a Capital One account after doing 2 $250 deposits)
- NLL (no lifetime language offers)
- and so much more!