Guides, Common Beginner Questions
Will It Be A Pain To Keep Track Of Everything?
Keeping track of everything can be difficult -- IF you don’t have a plan. That’s the reason we created The Points Navigator, to make this easy for everyone (including ourselves!). Let’s talk about some of the areas that can be a challenge... and how we can make it easier for you.
Knowing which cards are best for you personally
- Nearly every site we’ve seen are taking “kickbacks” from the credit card companies. So it is hard to know if they are recommending cards that are best for you... or for them. We don't take money from banks, credit card companies, or advertisers. So you can be confident our advice is unbiased and personally tailored to your situation.
- We do the research and math for you -- and post it all in one place. That includes posting the estimated value of bonuses. So you'll know when a 50,000-point bonus from one card is actually worth more than a 120,000-point bonus from another.
- We personalize your recommendations based on your goals, spending levels, and what cards you’ve already gotten.
Keeping track of which cards you have, fees and when to cancel
- Our system allows you to easily log which cards you have, when you got them, and when the annual fee is due.
- We’ll use that information to automatically coach you on navigating application rules in selecting future cards.
- We’ll notify you 60 days before your annual fee is due with pertinent facts so you can make an informed decision before it shows up on your bill.
Paying too many credit card bills each month
- With our coaching, the reality is you’ll still only be using a few cards each month.
- We recommend turning on auto-pay for all cards as soon as you get them. If you aren’t comfortable paying the full statement balance, at least do the minimum payment. You can always edit anytime between the statement generation and the actual payment, but it will at least be in place as a safety net.
Knowing how to book with all of the different systems
- We have a page for every type of point system. We'll tell you:
- The different ways you can use those points
- The best way to maximize the value of those points
- Specific directions on navigating the portal to book travel
Keeping track of what card to use
- We’ve tried to simplify the strategy so you aren’t carrying more than 3 cards at a time
- We’ve grouped benefits into (+) and (-) categories so you’ll know which card has the best: rental insurance, travel insurance, warranty coverage, etc. on our benefit pages. That means you don’t have to go to every card page individually.
Keeping track of what points you have, and when they’ll expire
- We've built a tool to allow you to track all of your (and your spouse's) point totals, valuations, and expiration dates in one place.
- Through our partnership with AwardWallet, you’ll be able to sync these to update automatically
My Strategy Notes