“Is it worth all the hype?”

You’ve seen the blogs about destinations unheard of, the influencers who fly first class only to flash their special travel credit cards, the TikToks that keep popping up saying all-time-high credit card points with unheard of welcome bonus offers, the guilt-tripping content you see from travel experts who say you’ve been living under a rock.

At some point, you ask yourself, is chasing points worth it?

The answer is: it’s only for you to decide.

How do you truly know? We compiled four key points you might want to reflect on before entering the points game.

Travel frequency and the desire to travel

Travel for us is defined as flying between destinations on a commercial airline.

If you’re happy road tripping all over North America, then maybe having one travel credit, giving you a car rental high status, might be worth considering. Otherwise, travel points redemptions for car rentals are not so great.

If you want to travel often, at least twice a year, where at least one trip leaves the North American continent, then using points should be considered for your next travel plans.

Again, you need to ask questions such as:

• Do I want to fly for my next trip? If so, do I want to splurge, but not spend thousands of dollars to go down the drain during a 6 hour flight?

• Do I want to visit other continents, especially places such as Asia and Africa, where air fare is costly?

• Do I want to stay at nice accommodations and feel pampered to an extent?

• Am I going to take a lot of cruises and want to save money flying to the port of departure and returning from the end of a cruise trip?

• Do I want to make my honeymoon light on the wallet?

• Will I become a digital nomad or take a gap year between work and travel in my lifestyle?

Only by answering these questions will the idea of points come naturally to you.

Credit card usage

Credit cards are a key pillar in points collecting and travel perks. If you say no, maybe you might want to rethink your points strategy. Unless you are sent to several places a month and can earn points on those business trips, then credit card earnings are your only way to go

You might argue, why not debit cards? Debit cards give you only meager travel rewards, the rate you earn would take years for your first trip. Probably by the time you want to redeem, the bank may have changed their travel loyalty points system, or the airline or destination you want to go may have changed.

Now if you need to use cash or debit to keep your financial health intact - we respect you for it!

The last thing we want is someone going into debt just so they can go to Cabo or Bora Bora.

Many travel rewards programs are tied to specific credit cards. If you use a credit card that offers travel points as rewards for your everyday expenses, and you pay off your balance in full each month, you are basically earning the “travel gold” that can help offset major costs for your next vacation.

Credit card fees justification

We’ll make this quick. and simple. If you cannot justify savings will outweigh the high annual fees you would have spent on travel costs, such as the NEXUS application fee, travel insurance savings, free luggage, lounge access, and certain perks, then you need to have an honest conversation with yourself if this is the right move or not.

Why do we mention this? Well, higher annual fee cards offer the best ROI on earning. The fee you pay is minuscule to your points earning potential. Think of it as pay to earn a boost, and if you can make the most of the earning acceleration period, your credit card fees are no match to your travel redemptions.

Now it is also important before apply to check your credit score.

You tasted the forbidden fruit of Luxury

We get it and there is nothing to be ashamed of. You worked hard so you deserve a little reward but does rewarding your self at $5,000 or more per trip justify flying in business class for 6 hours. Does spending 500 Euros per night in Paris justify your stay even though you could have done it for free with points?

Beyond Redemption was also built on our desire to travel on luxury for less. Only through travel loyalty programs with high value redemptions allows to stay at high-end locations for a fraction of the cost.

Turning paid time off into an adventure:

Do you feel that every vacation from your nine to five ends up being a stay cation, because flights would eat up time off pay? Then hotel and airline points are definitely worth considering.

We at Beyond Redemption know the grueling feeling when you get the call from Human Resources that you need to take your vacation or lose it. As a result, you take it, but you spread it out on Fridays throughout the summer. You might also just take your leave, but you end up staying in Canada and continue to work. Now that’s just depressing! Even though deep inside you wish you went to some place where you can tell stories to your friends at work and at your next hangout, you just take a deep breath and put it on the back burner.

Travel rewards liberate you from this, allowing you to flexibly spend your PTO. Some of us would use it to upgrade our restaurant spend at nicer establishments, while others would just take more money and invest it into RRSP, TFSA or such accounts.

In the end…

Travel rewards are your liquid gold in travel, it shields you from spending all your money on flight and hotel. If you’ve spent your whole vacation allowance on flights and hotels, only to visit your location, living off sketchy street food items and McDonalds, you might need to rethink how you approach travel.

While these are questions to think about, you need to reflect on whether this is the right move. We highly urge those who travel often to think about how to maximize lucrative airline and hotel loyalty programs. They are your next best friend after the “bestie” you are flying with to the Maldives, who is jealous that you flew at a low cost.

Still unsure if this is the right avenue for you? We’d be happy to chat and explore what you are thinking. Our exploratory calls are there for you to see your options and test the waters before diving deep into the points game.