What Kind of Points Traveler Are You?
Four people can earn the same pile of points and do wildly different things with it. One just knocks some of the cost off a beach week they were taking anyway. Another makes their regular trips a notch nicer. A third saves everything for the honeymoon. And a fourth goes straight for the lounge and the good seat. Not one of them's wrong. They're playing different games, and the fastest way to waste a pile of points is playing somebody else's instead of your own.
So before we hand you a single card, let's figure out which game you're playing. Answer five quick questions and we'll name your type, plus the cards that actually fit it.
Surprise: 100,000 points just landed in your account tonight. First instinct?
Pick the one that feels most like you.
Why bother naming it?
Points and miles aren't one hobby. They're a dozen hobbies wearing the same coat. The person saving up for a honeymoon and the person trimming the cost of every work trip are playing completely different games, with different cards and different ideas of what counts as a win.
And ignore anyone who tells you there's one "right" redemption, that economy flights are a waste or luxury hotels are the only real use. A redemption works if it gets you what you wanted, full stop. Skip this step and you can end up with a wallet of cards that don't serve you and points you're scared to spend. Nail it and every card choice gets easier.
Your why is the feeling you’re chasing. Paying less? A trip that's a notch nicer? The one big trip you keep putting off? Lounges and the good seat? There's no wrong answer, and yours won't look like anybody else's.
And you're allowed to be a blend. Plenty of us are Big Trip Savers with a Splurger streak, or Everyday Travelers who save up for one big trip now and then. Even one trip can carry more than one why. Every redemption gets its own, and yours shifts over time, so check back in every so often.
Once you know your why, everything downstream falls into place: which points to collect, which cards earn them, and which shiny objects to happily ignore. That's the whole game.
Ready for the how? See the best first card for every type, browse all guides, or open the Card Explorer.