Points for Normal People by Katie's Travel Tricks

Click MORE to see Ad disclosures
If you've been avoiding Chase Ink cards because you heard about the "lifetime language," or because someone told you Chase is dead, I want to walk you through what I'm actually seeing. There's a lot of half-truths floating around right now, and it's leaving a lot of people confused.
In this episode I break down why I think "lifetime" is a misnomer and what the approval data points tell us about who is still getting approved and who isn't.
RESOURCES
Sign up for my newsletter to get curated miles and points news and first access to new resources: https://katiestraveltricks.kit.com/news 
Chase Ink Guide: https://katiestraveltricks.com/chase-ink-guide/
Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card: https://katiestraveltricks.com/credit_card/ink-business-unlimited-credit-card/
Ink Business Cash® Credit Card: https://katiestraveltricks.com/credit_card/ink-business-cash-credit-card/
Chase Business Card Denials: Strategy Tips: https://katiestraveltricks.com/recent-chase-business-card-denials-strategy-tips/
New Here? 
Hi, I’m Katie from Katie’s Travel Tricks! I am here to help you learn the secrets that my family has been using for over a decade, using everyday expenses and welcome offers to supercharge your points earning. When you learn to do this, you can cover entire vacations every year.
Our family has been to Hawaii, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe — and more — all thanks to strategically earning and redeeming points. We've done this on a limited travel budget and now want to help you do it, too.

More from Katie’s Travel Tricks
🔗 Website 
Instagram
💻 Free Course
💳 Best Current Card Offers
🎒 Favorite Travel Gear

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this podcast are from companies which Katie's Travel Tricks will earn an affiliate commission. Katie's Travel Tricks is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. The content in this podcast is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone...

Click MORE to see Ad disclosures
Significant changes are hitting the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card program starting June 15th, and while there are some nice new perks, others might cost new cardholders as much as $700 in potential value in the first year alone. 
In this episode, I’ll be covering the bad news and the good news. Because these changes have different rollout dates depending on which card you have and when you applied, it can feel a bit complex. But don't worry—I'm walking you through everything step-by-step so you understand exactly what is happening to your points.
RESOURCES
Sign up for my newsletter to get curated miles and points news and first access to new resources: https://katiestraveltricks.kit.com/news 
Sapphire Preferred Refresh 2026 Article: https://katiestraveltricks.com/sapphire-preferred-refresh-2026/
Aeroplan Pay Yourself Back Article: https://katiestraveltricks.com/aeroplan-pay-yourself-back/ 
Guide to Chase Sapphire Preferred: https://katiestraveltricks.com/sapphirepreferred/
Guide to Chase Sapphire Reserve: https://katiestraveltricks.com/sapphirereserve/ 
New Here? 
Hi, I’m Katie from Katie’s Travel Tricks! I am here to help you learn the secrets that my family has been using for over a decade, using everyday expenses and welcome offers to supercharge your points earning. When you learn to do this, you can cover entire vacations every year.
Our family has been to Hawaii, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe — and more — all thanks to strategically earning and redeeming points. We've done this on a limited travel budget and now want to help you do it, too.

More from Katie’s Travel Tricks
🔗 Website 
Instagram
💻 Free Course
💳 Best Current Card Offers
🎒 Favorite Travel Gear

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this podcast are from companies which Katie's Travel Tricks will earn an affiliate commission. Katie's Travel Tricks is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. The content in this podcast is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone...

Click MORE to see Ad disclosures
Welcome back to the final episode of Season 3! This season has been a bit more drawn out than I originally planned, and because the world of miles and points moves fast, I wanted to take a moment to catch you up on all the significant changes that have happened since I first recorded these episodes over the last year.
In this wrap-up, we are covering everything from the Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines merger, to the shifting sweet spots with Finnair and Avios. I'm also diving into some sudden updates and devaluations with Citi ThankYou points, and I'm breaking down the somewhat confusing new Bilt Cash strategies so you can figure out if it's worth your time. Plus, I'm sharing some exciting behind-the-scenes updates about our website and what to expect when we return for Season 4. 
ACTION STEPS & RESOURCES
Compare partner programs (like Qatar Avios vs. Finnair Avios) before transferring any points to ensure you get the best deal.
Call Finnair to book partner awards instead of using the chat, as the chat queue is often full and phone fees are waived for these unbookable-online awards.
Cancel and rebook Finnair partner award tickets instead of changing them to avoid the €50 change fee.
Use our Bilt calculator to see if a Bilt strategy is right for you: https://katiestraveltricks.com/bilt-guide-to-cards-earning-on-mortgage-and-rent-payments/ 
Sign up for my newsletter to get all of my recommendations first! https://katiestraveltricks.kit.com/news 
Email Katie to brag about your latest travel point redemptions: katie@katiestraveltricks.com 
New Here? 
Hi, I’m Katie from Katie’s Travel Tricks! I am here to help you learn the secrets that my family has been using for over a decade, using everyday expenses and welcome offers to supercharge your points earning. When you learn to do this, you can cover entire vacations every year.
Our family has been to Hawaii, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe — and more — all thanks to strategically earning and redeeming points. We've done this on a limited travel budget and now want to help you do it, too.

More from Katie’s Travel Tricks
🔗 Website 
Instagram
💻 Free Course
💳 Best Current Card Offers
🎒 Favorite Travel Gear

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this podcast are from companies which Katie's Travel Tricks will earn an affiliate commission. Katie's Travel Tricks is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. The content in this podcast is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone...

Click MORE to see Ad disclosures
Last episode I went deep on MileagePlus®, and today I'm following it up with the other half of the United puzzle: how to book United flights even when you don't have United miles, and when it might make sense to book that way even if you do. We're walking through Avianca LifeMiles®, Air Canada Aeroplan®, Singapore KrisFlyer, JetBlue TrueBlue® (through the new Blue Sky partnership), and a quick note on what happened with Turkish Miles&Smiles® after their December 2025 devaluation.
I'll cover the pros and cons of each program, share the workflow I actually use when I'm pricing a United route across partners, and give you my honest ranking for short flights, medium flights, and Hawaii trips. Everything in this episode is also going up as a blog post, and if you want the most current info going forward, my Saturday email is where I put it first.
ACTION STEPS
Sign up for my newsletter to get all of my recommendations first! https://katiestraveltricks.kit.com/news
RESOURCES
Here is our article on this topic with charts and tools to help you decide which United partner is best for your specific situation: https://katiestraveltricks.com/how-to-book-united-flights-with-partner-miles-even-if-you-dont-have-united-miles/ 
New Here? 
Hi, I’m Katie from Katie’s Travel Tricks! I am here to help you learn the secrets that my family has been using for over a decade, using everyday expenses and welcome offers to supercharge your points earning. When you learn to do this, you can cover entire vacations every year.
Our family has been to Hawaii, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe — and more — all thanks to strategically earning and redeeming points. We've done this on a limited travel budget and now want to help you do it, too.

More from Katie’s Travel Tricks
🔗 Website 
Instagram
💻 Free Course
💳 Best Current Card Offers
🎒 Favorite Travel Gear

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this podcast are from companies which Katie's Travel Tricks will earn an affiliate commission. Katie's Travel Tricks is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. The content in this podcast is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone...

Click MORE to see Ad disclosures
If you fly United — or even if you're just thinking about it — this episode is your starting point for understanding their MileagePlus® program from the ground up. I'm covering how dynamic pricing and saver awards work, the full United credit card lineup and what cardholder pricing actually means for your bookings now, ways to stack your earnings with the MileagePlus X app, and one of my favorite United features that no other major airline offers: miles pooling for families and friends.
This is part one of a two-part series. Next time, I'll show you how to book United flights through partner programs like Avianca LifeMiles®, Air Canada Aeroplan®, and Turkish Miles & Smiles® — which is especially helpful if you have Amex®, Capital One®, or Citi® points. All the links and resources I mention are in the show notes below!
ACTION STEPS
Download the MileagePlus X (MPX) app and spend a few minutes browsing the stores and earn rates to decide if the e-gift card strategy makes sense for you.
Link your Lyft® and United MileagePlus® accounts if you have an upcoming trip — or wait until you know you'll have two Lyft rides within 30 days to earn the 1,000 bonus miles. https://promo.united.com/offers/lyft 
Set up a family miles pool now if you have family members with small United balances, even before you need it — so the 72-hour waiting period is already behind you when you're ready to book.
RESOURCES
How to maximize Instacart Benefits: https://katiestraveltricks.com/new-chase-instacart-benefits-how-to-maximize/ 
Seats.aero and PointsYeah.com (for setting up award alerts after booking a United flight)
United.com miles pooling setup page: https://www.united.com/en/us/mileageplus/miles-pooling 
MileagePlus Shopping portal: https://shopping.mileageplus.com/ 
MileagePlus Shopping browser extension: https://shopping.mileageplus.com/button/ 
MileagePlus Dining program: https://dining.mileageplus.com
United℠ Explorer Card: https://katiestraveltricks.com/portfolio-items/united-explorer/
New Here? 
Hi, I’m Katie from Katie’s Travel Tricks! I am here to help you learn the secrets that my family has been using for over a decade, using everyday expenses and welcome offers to supercharge your points earning. When you learn to do this, you can cover entire vacations every year.
Our family has been to Hawaii, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe — and more — all thanks to strategically earning and redeeming points. We've done this on a limited travel budget and now want to help you do it, too.

More from Katie’s Travel Tricks
🔗 Website 
Instagram
💻 Free Course
💳 Best Current Card Offers
🎒 Favorite Travel Gear

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this podcast are from companies which Katie's Travel Tricks will earn an affiliate commission. Katie's Travel Tricks is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. The content in this podcast is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available. Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone...