Credit MUSTS

1.) Download CreditKarma

2.) Keep credit card balances at $0. This is a HUGE impact on your score.

3.) Dispute missed payments using a service such as Lexington Law. Only do this service for 1 month. They will file the disputes, then they are not needed.

4.) Download AwardWallet and link your email/accounts. This will track your spending to maximize credit card rewards.

Brandon's Credit Tips

POINT.ME

AWARD LOGIC

MAXIMIZING MILEAGE REDEMPTION

FREE - Best place to start

Allows you to search multiple departure and arrival cities. You can even search arrival by country and continent to determine where cities fly to/from.

Easy to scan between dates and set filters.

Very thorough cash prices.

$4.99/Day $19.99/Month $199.99/Year

Great second search

3 day search window

Not as thorough but a great start before narrowing down

$12/Month $129/Year

Most thorough point search

Single day searches only

GOOGLE FLIGHTS

BILT

Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred

AMEX Gold

Capital One Venture or Venture X

BEST CREDIT CARDS

$0 Annual fee

1x points on rent (NO FEES)*

3x points dining

2x travel

1x points everything else

*MUST HAVE CARD FOR RENTERS

$95 or $550 Annual fee

60k BONUS POINTS

3x points dining (and grocery preferred)

3x Travel (2x preferred)

1x points everything else

Compare Preferred and Reserve full benefits here

$0.015 Reserve ($0.0125 Preferred) redemption value booking through chase.com for flights (an option for booking any flights that you would pay cash for)

$250 Annual fee

60k BONUS POINTS

4x points dining

1x points everything else

STRONGLY do not recommend platinum, but see full benefits here

Transfer fee applies when transferring AMEX points to mileage partners

$95 or $395 Annual fee

75k BONUS POINTS

2x all purchases

Compare Venture and Venture X full benefits here

Can be combined with Savor card for 4x points dining

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS AND CONSIDERATIONS

Take advantage of transfer bonus windows

Many airlines/hotels offer bonuses when transferring from credit cards.

Click here for a more thorough dig.

Get 1-2 new credit cards each year to maximize bonuses

Only consider bonuses over 50k points.

It will only minorly impact your credit, but you should be able to snag $1k-$2k in bonuses each year.

Bonuses typically can only be claimed every 2-4 years for similar programs.

Consider Point Values

Never settle for anything under $0.015. Even $0.015 is a very bad redemption.

Master List of Tranfer Partners

Consider these when selecting a card

If you have any questions, then contact me directly