March 25, 2020

Maximizing Travel Rewards | Brian Kelly on Masters in Business

Check out the Masters in Business Episode Page & Show Notes

“Budget travelers are the number one people who should be maximizing points” – Brian Kelly
Facebook is the best social media marketing platform because of its massive audience and micro-targeting tools
- Important to remember that marketing on social media is also about cultivating your brand, not just your conversion ratio
Pack your clothes using the stack and fold method and invest in noise-canceling headphones
The Points Guy is releasing an app soon that will give personalized information on all your reward points needs
Three Great Credit Cards:
- American Express Business Platinum for the perks
- Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel and dining
- Chase Freedom Unlimited for 1.5x points on everything
Advice for college graduates:
- Treat your credit score like an asset
- Being valuable and congenial will generally take you farther than staying at one place forever
- “Make yourself uncomfortable; that’s how you grow.” – Brian Kelly
We are in a golden age of travel — traveling is cheaper, faster, and safer than ever before

Brian Kelly (T: @thepointsguy and IG: @briankelly) is founder and CEO of The Points Guy, a travel website and blog teaching you how to use the points you already earn
Host – Barry Ritholtz (@ritholtz)

Brian started the site in 2010 as a side hobby while working at Morgan Stanley
The site exploded in 2011 when Seth Kugel of the NYT wrote a piece on The Points Guy after Brian answered Seth’s challenge to prove frequent flyer miles aren’t useless for budget travelers
- “Budget travelers are the number one people who should be maximizing points” – Brian Kelly
Around the same time Brian started affiliate marketing for the credit cards he reviews
- Then one sudden weekend Brian netted $30,000 in one weekend from affiliate links, prompting him to devote himself full-time to the site
A year later Brian sold the company to Bankrate but then decided to work for Bankrate in order to keep working on The Points Guy

Coming soon in 2020
The app will give personalized information tailored to your needs rather than the identical experience TPG currently gives everybody
- “Our app will be the next generation of our company” – Brian Kelly
Some features of the app:
- The homescreen will be the net worth of your reward points
- Automatic point tracking and information on efficiently spending points
- Advising you on what cards to use for specific expenses

Facebook is the best social media marketing platform for marketing because of its massive audience and its micro-targeting tools
- Conversely, this is why marketing on Snapchat isn’t as effective. It has many active users but doesn’t provide such tools
Brian has recently started experimenting with TikTok marketing, but is wary that it might have similar issues to Snapchat
- Also, TikTok’s audience skews very young
Remember that marketing on social media is also about cultivating your brand, not just your conversion ratio
For ‘traditional’ marketing, affiliates are currently where it’s at

Stack and fold your clothes rather than rolling them
- This method minimizes wrinkles
- Brian explains the exact method in this video
The iPhone X and above supports dual SIM usage on one phone
- You can easily swap between data plans when you travel with this feature
  - Verizon Wireless is currently the fastest and most reliable data plan internationally, but Google Fi is an inexpensive and reliable alternative
“I always have my MacBook Air, and I always bring my own TV shows and movies on planes” – Brian Kelly
Invest in noise-cancelling headphones
- Besides granting peace and quiet, when you have noise-canceling headphones planes become a great place to meditate
If you are having a bad travel experience, try shifting your perspective from what’s bothering you
- Researchers estimate that only 5% of the global population flies a year so you’re pretty lucky just to have the experience of flying
Never take sleeping pills before takeoff
- You never know what kind of issues can suddenly occur

American Express Business Platinum
- Relatively high annual fee but it has some of the best perks available
  - This card will get you into most U.S. airport lounges
- “A lot of times Amex has cheaper prices and more flexible fares. We book all of our travel at The Points Guy through Amex Travel.” – Brian Kelly
Chase Sapphire Reserve
- 3x points on travel and dining
  - Travel includes tolls, parking, travel, and others — it’s quite a broad definition
- No foreign transaction fees
Chase Freedom Unlimited
- Unlimited 1.5x points on everything
  - The half point difference compared to the 1x of most cards may seem small, but it’s practically a 50% bonus
- No annual fee

Treat your credit score like an asset
- If you mess it up it’ll take years to fix
Just because you can’t see yourself spending the rest of your life at a job doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it
- Being valuable and congenial will generally take you farther than staying at one place forever
“Make yourself uncomfortable; that’s how you grow.” – Brian Kelly

We are in a golden age of travel — traveling is cheaper, faster, and safer than ever before
Concurrently, Brian and Barry have both noticed that people have been acting odder on planes over the years
- Some personal experiences:
  - People spreading their naked feet across people’s seats and clipping their toe-nails
  - Requesting that the pilot fly at a lower altitude in order to take a better picture
The goal of learning is growth, not to be the best or smartest
Your academic performance doesn’t determine whether you’ll be successful so don’t stress too much over it
- What’s more important in life is to throw yourself into something you love
The theoretical problem with teleportation:
- You are taken apart molecule by molecule, essentially killed, then built molecule by molecule in another location
  - Are you still the same person?