Credit Card BS Podcast
A Stanford student and a UC Berkeley graduate share everything you need to know about the world of Credit Card Points and Luxury Travel. UC Berkeley graduate Shaun Lane created and taught the world's first and only univeristy level for-credit course on Credit Card Rewards. Stanford Student Sherwin Lai has amassed millions of credit card points and has taken vacations all over the world nearly for free. If you listen to this podcast, you will find yourself traveling to the world's best destinations for cheaper than you could possibly imagine.
Refreshed Premium Card Battle: Amex Plat vs. Sapphire Reserve
The ultimate head-to-head comparison between the refreshed American Express Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Are they worth the increase in annual fee? We provide detailed analytical comparison between the two cards that you won't hear on other YouTube videos.
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The Death of the $400 Card
We are in a credit card recession. Gone are the days of the $400 card with a simple credit; we are in a new era of high annual-fee coupon books. We talk about what this broad industry trend means for your credit card strategy.
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Combining Points Across Cards and with Family Members
Banks allow you to pool points together from various cards to get more value from travel, but each bank (Chase, American Express, Citi, Capital One) has a slightly different mechanism for how it works. We give you the detailed breakdown on how you can combine points to maximize earning and redemption value for each issuer. We also teach you how to share points with family members.
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Amex Marriott Business Card Changes Leaked?!
American Express recently sent out a survey on possible changes to the Bonvoy Business card as well as the potential launch of premium business Marriott cards. Is it good or bad news?
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New Alaska Airlines Cards: Full Breakdown
Alaska Airlines has released a new slate of Atmos credit cards, including a refresh of it's Bank of America credit card, and the launch of a brand new premium credit card. We give you everything you need to know and tell you why the premium card might actually be worth considering despite its higher annual fee.
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Is Chase Pay Yourself Back Worth It?
Chase offers Pay Yourself Back, a way to redeem points as statement credit against certain purchases at a higher value than cash back. Is this a good use of your points? We provide an advanced analysis of its value proposition compared to other redemption options.
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Walked by a Hotel? What to Expect
We expect hotels to honor our reservations, but inevitably sometimes they can't. What should you expect when a hotel walks you? We discuss what actions to take if you are walked, the compensation you should expect (including Marriott's Ultimate Reservation Guarantee policy), and tips on how to minimize the chance of being walked in the first place.
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The New Caesars Prestige Credit Card
Caesars Rewards just launched a $149 credit card. How does it stack up to the previous Wyndham Diamond status match? And are the card's perks worth the fee, making it a keeper card? We give you our raw thoughts in today's episode.
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YIKES: Southwest Card Changes Explained
Southwest recently eliminated what used to make them special: no more open seating, no more free checked bags. Unsurprisingly, the Chase Southwest credit cards have been refreshed as well. We walk through these changes and why it's bad news for most people.
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Altitude Reserve Changes (Nerfed?!)
The US Bank Altitude Reserve is the GOAT: 4.5% return on all mobile wallet purchases with effective $75 annual fee. That's coming to a screeching halt. We talk (complain, really) about the upcoming changes to the Altitude Reserve and how those updates affect its value proposition.
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Citi Strata Elite: New Favorite or Complete Failure? (FULL ANALYSIS)
We walk through the new Citi Strata Elite launch, what surprised us about it, and our take on whether the card is worth getting.
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Venture X Just Destroyed Its Most Valuable Perk
When the Venture X first launched, people loved how generous its lounge access was. But all good things must come to an end. We discuss the card's new upcoming restrictions and fees on guests and authorized users.
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Hilton's Awful Devaluation
Hilton hit us with yet another unannounced devaluation. We know that devals happen time to time, but have they gone too far this time? And what does this mean for our strategy for using Hilton points going forward?
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Sharing Hotel Points with Others
We walk through the process and rules each major hotel loyalty program provides for members to share points and awards with friends and family. Whether you're trying to book a stay for someone else or are combining points across multiple accounts together for an award, we have lots of useful information for you in today's episode.
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Hilton Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal HACKS
WA Cabo is one of the best, if not the best Hilton property in the world. We tell you how to leverage Hilton's program to stay there without paying its crazy high prices. Plus, some secret tips and tricks about the property.
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Best Business Class Flights to Asia: FULL TIER LIST
Today, we give our totally objective and unbiased tier list of the best business class flights to Asia. Which products are S-Tier, and which belong to the category of "Why bother?" If you stay to the end, we throw in a bonus list, too.
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Purchase Protections: A HUGE Underrated Credit Card Benefit
While everyone else is focused on the shiny credit card perks like lounge access and first class flights, don't sleep on purchase protections. They might be able to save you more money than you think.
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Hyatt & Standard Hotels Integration
Hyatt and Standard Hotels have landed their integration. Learn about all the details: redemptions and benefits. Then, we talk about what this means for Hyatt's long-term brand strategy and what we can expect as loyalists.
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New Chase Sapphire Reserve Benefits Tier List
The controversial new Chase Sapphire Reserve launch just dropped. We give a comprehensive rundown on all the perks and changes and our unique (perhaps unpopular!) take on if they're worth it. You won't want to miss this special episode—we give a breakdown of the card that is unlike any other blog post or video.
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Mesa Homeowners Card: Points on Mortgage Payments?
A new BILT competitor has entered the market. The Mesa Homeowners Card lets you earn points on mortgage payments. What's the catch? Is the card worth getting? We cover everything from the card's multipliers to credits to redemption options.
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The New Citi Strata Card is Confusing
Cit is dropping a new no-annual fee card to replace the Rewards+. We do a deep dive to analyze whether the benefits are worth it and how the card fits in (or doesn't) into a Citi trifecta setup. It turns out this launch leaves more questions than answers about the future of Citi's credit card rewards ecosystem.
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Are the New United Cards Pointless?
Coupons, coupons, coupons. The new Chase United card lineup revamp has taken a page from Amex's coupon playbook. Are any of those credits actually useful, or are they a pain to use? Find out on today's episode!
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American and Alaska Miles - All the Bonuses You Can Get (Complete Guide)
American and Alaska mileage programs offer amazing first and business class redemptions on their oneworld partners. But their miles can be hard to get because they don't transfer from any major bank's program. We talk about all the credit card bonuses (and secret tricks) that can help you rack up those miles quickly.
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Chase Sapphire Reserve Changes LEAKED?! (Coupon Book Galore)
The Chase Sapphire Reserve refresh has leaked. There have been widespread complaints that the changes turn the CSR into yet another coupon book. We offer a nuanced take on the details, why they are happening, and what it might mean for your strategy.
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How to Defeat Amex Popup Jail (Comprehensive Guide)
The dreaded Amex popup jail. What is it, why are you in it, and what can you do to get around it? We spill the secrets.
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Comparing the US Bank Business Cards (Amazing Bonuses!)
No one talks about the US Bank Business cards. You're missing out on a ton of big and easy-to-get bonuses.
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Is the Robinhood Credit Card Worth It?
There's been a lot of attention on the new Robinhood Credit Card's flashy cash back multiplier. But is it actually as good as it seems? In this episode, we give our unbiased review (and cynical take).
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Credit Card Food Delivery Perks (Doordash, Uber Eats): FULL GUIDE
Some credit cards have special partnerships with food delivery apps like Uber Eats, Doordash, and Grubhub. Today we discuss how to take advantage of those perks and whether they are actually worthwhile.
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Citi Needs a Premium Card
The Citi Prestige used to be one of the best premium credit cards on the market, but it's been closed to new applicants for quite a while now. Citi desperately needs to reintroduce a high-end premium credit card to become competitive again. We talk about what we want to see and what we are likely to see when they finally launch one.
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Chase Elevated Offers: Historical Patterns and Analysis
Everyone is talking about the 100K Chase Sapphire Preferred offer right now, but let's take the long view and look back at some historical patterns across Chase cards over the last several years.
How often do these elevated offers come up and what offers can we expect? In what phases does Chase tend to roll out these offers?
How do elevated offers for Ultimate Rewards cards compare to those for co-branded cards?
Should you get a card without an elevated offer?
What happens if you opened a card right before an...
Southwest is RUINED
Southwest made some massive changes to their program recently. We complain about them and discuss what this means for you.
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Amex Plat Flavors (Schwab, Morgan Stanley, Vanilla): Which is the Best?
Today, we compare and contrast the Schwab, Morgan Stanley, Vanilla Amex Platinum cards. Which card is best for you might not be what you think. We tell you all the details so you don't have to figure it out yourself.
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Double Dipping Credits? Secret Premium Credit Card Hack
We all know that premium credit cards come with all sorts of credits that can help offset the annual fee, but did you know you can strategically time your credit card applications to double-dip credits for a single annual-fee cycle? We spill all the secrets in this episode.
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Is the BILT Card 2.0 Garbage?
The details of a potential new lineup of cards from BILT has leaked through a customer survey. We discuss whether those potential changes will bring value to travel hackers or whether they're a mere marketing ploy. We cover everything from their new annual fee concepts and credits to multipliers and mortgage earning opportunities.
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Best Credit Cards for EV Charging
There are so many videos out there about the best credit cards for gas stations, but what about for Electric Vehicle charging? We give you the full rundown.
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10 Things You Didn’t Know about Capital One Credit Cards
Capital One has an interesting and unique credit card lineup, but it's one of the most misunderstood issuers. Today we break down 10 secrets about Capital One that aren't really discussed on the internet that you may not have known about!
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New Devaluations: Air France & Marriott
Marriott "Bonvoys" its loyal members. Again. And we question Air France's claims that its newly increased pricing means more award availability.
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Is the New $499 JetBlue Premier Card Worth Getting?
JetBlue tries to compete in the premium credit card space, but it's a total flop. Today we whine about that.
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Hotel Loyalty Program Wishlist
How Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG can improve to become more competitive.
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Citi Credit Card Approval Algorithm Secrets
Citi is a slept-on credit card issuer, but they are notorious for having opaque approval criteria. Today we teach you some tricks to reverse-engineer Citi's approval algorithm. Plus, a secret double-dipping strategy.
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