February 9, 2026
The Most Memorable Credit Card Points Lessons from Real Travelers
Episode Description
Have you ever wondered what points lessons other travelers learned the hard way—so you don’t have to?
Today’s episode is a little different. I recently crowdsourced the biggest points lessons learned in 2025 from members of my community, and the responses were so good. Some were tactical, others were mindset-shifting, and more than a few had me laughing because they highlighted mistakes that are just so relatable in this hobby.
In this episode, I’m sharing the most insightful, surprising, and valuable takeaways from real travelers across the spectrum of experience—from those just starting their rewards journey to seasoned award travel veterans. I’ve organized these lessons around five main themes: be proactive and be prepared, stay curious and creative, don’t let perfect be the enemy of done, automate and plan ahead to prevent year-end stress, and high-value specific tips you need to know.
From transfer timing surprises and phantom award space to the power of flexibility and actually spending your points instead of hoarding them, these real-life lessons will help you earn more strategically, book better redemptions, and navigate award travel with less stress in 2026.
Turn your expenses into points and save tens of thousands of dollars a year on your wishlist travel. Don’t miss out! Click here to know more about my comprehensive online program, Points Made Easy.
What You’ll Learn from this Episode
- Why setting up loyalty accounts before you need them prevents booking stress
- How to avoid phantom award space by calling airlines before transferring points
- The power of flexibility and creativity in unlocking “impossible” redemptions
- Why booking good enough now beats waiting forever for perfect
- How to track card spending to avoid missing bonuses by dollars
- What suite upgrade awards are and how they can save hundreds per stay
Featured On the Show
- Follow me on Instagram
- Get on the waitlist for the Points Made Easy Course here!
- Get My Cash-Back Credit Card Cheat Sheet!
- Listen to episode 10: Sign-up Bonus Snafus and How to Avoid Them
- If you are a woman physician join my Point Me to First Class Community for Woman Physicians here
- If you have any questions or you want me to dive deeper into a specific topic, email me here: podcast@pointmetofirstclass.com
Click here to download full episode transcript
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Point Me to First Class is the show for professionals and business owners with higher-than-average personal or business expenses, who want to learn to leverage these expenses into credit card points they can spend on travel.
Each week, I share valuable tips, tools, and strategies to help you uplevel your skills earning and redeeming credit card points, so you can expand your travel and expand your experiences.
