Overview of Are Credit Card Points Still Worth It? and More Listener Q&A
Chris Hutchins argues that credit card points and miles are still worth it for many people, despite rising annual fees, more complicated “coupon book” perks, and ongoing devaluations. The key distinction: premium cards can be harder to justify, but the broader points ecosystem still offers strong value through flexible redemption options, better earning rates, and especially much larger welcome bonuses than typical cashback cards.
Main Takeaways
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Premium card complexity is real, but it’s not the whole points market.
- Many lower-fee points cards remain simple and strong earners.
- The “coupon book” complaint is mostly about high-end cards like the Sapphire Reserve and Amex Platinum.
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Devaluations hurt, but don’t eliminate value.
- Even if transfer partners devalue, points still have a cash-out floor.
- Many programs let you redeem around 1 cent per point or better in travel portals or cash-equivalent redemptions.
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Points cards often beat cashback cards on raw earning power.
- A 2x points card can function like a 2% cashback card.
- If you sometimes redeem for higher-value travel, points can outperform cashback by a lot.
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Welcome bonuses are the biggest reason points cards win.
- The ROI from bonuses on points cards is usually far higher than cashback card bonuses.
- Chris’s rule of thumb: if a bonus is worth less than $1,000, it usually isn’t that interesting unless the card has strong long-term value.
Why Chris Still Likes Points
Flexible redemption is powerful
He emphasizes that many points can be redeemed like cash:
- Capital One: effectively 1 cent per point via travel statement credits
- Amex: can cash out via Schwab at 1.1 cpp for up to 1 million points/year
- Bilt: 1.25 cpp through the portal
- Chase: generally 1 cpp, sometimes better in certain portal offers
Transfer partners still create outsized value
Chris says he’s seeing strong award availability in:
- Europe
- Japan
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- South America
He’s seeing redemptions ranging from 1.5 to 5 cents per point in some cases, especially for premium cabins.
Cashback vs. Points: His Practical View
When cashback makes sense
Cashback is best for people who:
- Want simplicity
- Don’t want to track transfer partners or credits
- Prefer one easy card with no ongoing management
His preferred “simple” cashback-style options
- 2% cards: Citi Double Cash, Wells Fargo Active Cash, Fidelity
- 3%+ cards: harder to find now, and some old favorites got worse
Cards he still thinks are better than plain 2% cashback
- Capital One Venture: 2x on everything, but with travel redemption flexibility and protections
- Bilt: effectively more valuable than a cashback card if you can use the housing and travel features
- Bank of America Preferred Rewards cards: can still be excellent, but only if you meet the large asset requirement
Specific Card Commentary
Bank of America / Merrill Preferred Rewards
- Used to be a standout for cashback at:
- 2.625% everywhere
- 3.5% on travel/dining
- But the top-tier asset requirement increased from $100K to $1M, making it less realistic for most people.
Robinhood 3% card
- Interesting in theory
- Chris is skeptical because of reports that it may not work well for taxes or certain business-like spending
Navy Federal Flagship
- A surprisingly good cashback-style card:
- 3% on travel
- 2% on everything else
- $49 annual fee
- Main limitation: you need to qualify for Navy Federal membership
Bilt Palladium
- Chris views this as one of the best “cashback-like” cards, even though it’s technically points
- Base earn can be effectively 2.5%+
- Can get even better with housing payment optimization and Bilt status
Best Starter Strategy for Beginners
If starting over from scratch, Chris would keep it simple:
- Start with one low-fee card
- Pick a big welcome bonus
- Choose a card that fits your real spending
- Avoid high annual fees at first
- Learn whether you prefer:
- travel portal redemptions
- transfer partners
- or just treating points like cashback
His top starter pick right now
- Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Big welcome bonus
- Strong category earn rates
- Good beginner-friendly transfer partners like Hyatt and United
Other good beginner options
- Capital One Venture
- Simple 2x everywhere
- Bilt card
- Especially attractive if you pay rent or mortgage in a supported way
Tool recommendation
- He suggests using PointsPath as a browser extension to compare cash vs points bookings.
How He Thinks About Annual Fees
Chris says many people do pay high annual fees, but usually because:
- the first-year bonus is huge
- the credits and perks offset the fee
- they can downgrade or cancel later
His personal approach
He spends over $10,000/year in annual fees, but only because he believes he gets that much or more back in value.
Example: Chase Sapphire Reserve
He walked through how he values the card’s perks:
- Apple TV+
- dining credits
- DoorDash credits
- Lyft credit
- Peloton credit
- StubHub credit
- travel credit
- lounge access
- travel protections
- higher earn rates on travel and dining
His point: a card can be worth it if you genuinely use the credits, but you should be honest about what each perk is actually worth to you.
Military Members: Best Possible Setup
For military members and spouses whose annual fees are waived:
- Chris says the answer is essentially “open as many valuable cards as possible”
- Since fees are waived, the strategy becomes maximizing:
- free night certificates
- lounge access
- recurring credits
- status benefits
He notes that the key is to be thoughtful about application order and issuer rules.
Pairing Cards by Category
For gas spending
Chris says gas-specific cards can be useful, but only if:
- your gas spend is high enough
- the rewards are not overly capped
- the points are actually usable
He is skeptical of high-earning but niche programs like Wyndham Business Earner if the points are hard to use.
For RV rentals
- Many cards won’t classify RV rentals as travel in a useful way
- Travel insurance protections often don’t apply
- A travel card with broad 3x travel earn may be better than an RV-specific optimization
On airline-specific cards
Chris warns against using airline cards as “everything cards” unless the airline ecosystem is truly valuable to you.
- They often earn poorly outside the airline itself
- You can get locked into a weak points program
Priority Pass and Lounge Access
Chris is increasingly skeptical that Priority Pass is still the best lounge solution.
Why
- Priority Pass lounges often have long lines
- Airline-branded and credit-card-branded lounges are becoming more common
- Many major cards now include access to better lounge networks
Better alternatives if you want lounge access
- Capital One Venture X
- Bilt
- Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite
- Airline-specific lounge cards if you fly one airline often
Managing Cards With a Partner
Chris explains that for couples:
- you don’t need to make everything perfectly separate
- the big question is whether each cardholder gets the same value
Key rule on referrals
For Amex especially, referral offers may not match public offers.
- Sometimes the referral offer is worse
- Always compare before applying
Authorized user nuance
Not all benefits transfer to authorized users:
- lounge access may require extra fees
- status often stays with the primary cardholder
- free night certificates typically belong to the primary cardholder
Special case: Bilt
Bilt is unusual because points and status accrual can be directed strategically, which makes it especially useful for couples.
What to Do With a Big Points Balance If You Want to Cancel a Card
This came up for people holding large balances, especially Amex points.
Best general advice
- Keep at least one card alive in the ecosystem if possible
- Downgrade to a no-fee or low-fee card if needed
Amex options
- Blue Business Plus: no annual fee, keeps Membership Rewards alive
- Amex Green: lower-fee fallback
- Amex checking: may keep points alive, but limits usefulness
Where Chris would move Amex points
If forced to transfer, he would most likely favor:
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Why not Delta
- Delta’s dynamic pricing often values points around 1.1 cpp
- Chris prefers to keep flexibility and buy Delta flights with cash, earning points and status in the process
Final Verdict
Chris’s bottom line is that credit card points are still worth it if you’re strategic:
- use low-fee or manageable cards
- treat points like a flexible currency
- chase high-value welcome bonuses
- don’t overvalue credits you won’t actually use
- keep an eye on annual fees and downgrade paths
For people who want zero friction, cashback is still a valid choice. But for most travelers willing to do a little optimization, points continue to offer better upside, better bonuses, and more flexibility.
Notable Recommendations
- Best starter card: Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Best simple alt: Capital One Venture
- Best if you pay rent/mortgage: Bilt
- Best 2% cashback-style cards: Citi Double Cash, Wells Fargo Active Cash, Fidelity
- Best lounge value if you want Priority Pass: Venture X or BofA Premium Rewards Elite
- Best points ecosystem for beginners: Chase, due to simpler partners like Hyatt and United
Action Items
- Compare your current card’s annual fee against the value of perks you truly use
- Check whether your spend is better suited to:
- cashback
- simple points
- or transfer-partner optimization
- Before canceling a rewards card, confirm how to preserve the points balance
- If you’re new, start with one low-fee card and one strong welcome bonus
- Use a tool like PointsPath to learn award-booking options without overcommitting