#55: Points expert, Julia Menez, joins Chris to go deep on all things points and miles, including points stacking, optimizing rewards, tools to help organize your points and miles, using buying clubs to earn lots of points, and Chris shares how a somewhat sketchy website saved him an extra 15% off a new couch!
Julia Menez (@geobreezetravel)) is a points strategy coach, speaker and host of the Geobreeze Travel) podcast, where she interviews travelers from all walks of life about their points and miles strategies.
Full show notes at: https://allthehacks.com/maximize-points-julia-menez)
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Selected Links From The Episode
Connect with Julia Menez: Website) | Instagram) | Facebook)
Julia’s Podcast: Geobreeze Travel)
Julia’s gift to All the Hacks listeners: Geobreeze Hotel Upgrade Template)
Buyers Clubs
Earn More Points + $$$
- Grabr) - Get paid to bring items when you travel
- Rakuten) - Cash back
- Fluz) - Cash back
- Seated) - 20%+ back at restaurants
- Dosh) - Additional rewards
- Cashback Monitor) - Find the best cash back
- Honey) & RetailMeNot) - Get Promo Codes
- SearchTempest) - Search Craigslist
- Savendeals) - Buy coupons
- MyVegas Rewards) - Get points for Vegas
Pay1040.com) - Pay taxes with credit card
- ID.me) - Discounts for teachers/military
Optimizing Your Points
Credit Cards
- American Express® Gold Card)
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card)
- All the Hacks Card Signup Site) - Thanks for using this! :)
Podcasts
Geobreeze Travel podcast:
Episode 7 - How to Stack Points and Rewards Programs with Angel Trinh) (@pennywisetraveler))
- Episode 56 - How to Earn More Points on a Teacher's Salary with Zac Hood) (travelfreely.net))
Full Show Notes
How people on a smaller budget can earn enough points for travel (03:05)
Outsource buying, how participating in buying groups can work to your advantage (05:14)
When sourcing items, do buyers usually pay more the item costs? (07:04)
Buyer’s groups: are they reliable? (08:36)
Using multiple Chase cards to earn more points (11:10)
Bringing electronic and medical devices to Latin America (11:55)
Chris & Julia walk through an extreme example of how valuable ‘stacking’ can be along with ways to automate the process (13:40)
The unbelievable benefits of stacking through dining portals (14:54)
Using Cashback Monitor (18:45)
Julia’s favorite app for stacking deals in Las Vegas (23:53)
Chris highlights the “crazy amounts” of point stacking deals (26:39)
Specific places to search online for timely deals to help organize your point balances (28:52)
Why it’s important to understand the 5/24 rule and its exceptions (31:54)
Julia Menez’s go-to cards and her advice for travelers who are just beginning to accumulate points (35:16)
Amazing points redemptions (40:02)
Buying points, is it worth it? (50:55)
When paying taxes on a credit card might make sense (52:54)
Hacks for military and their spouses (57:49)
Julia's hotel upgrade template (59:56)
Where to find Julia Menez online (1:01:50)