Financial Feminist - 226. How to Play the Travel Credit Card Game to WIN with Janelle on a Jet

Episode Date: April 14, 2025

If you've ever scrolled through Instagram wondering how your favorite creators are jet-setting to Paris, sipping cocktails in Bali, or scoring first class seats—all “for free”—and thought, "How the hell are they doing that?”, this episode is your step-by-step guide. I sat down with one of my closest friends (and the first person I text whenever I’m stumped on how to use my points), travel and credit card expert Janelle Rupkalvis. She’s saved over $100,000 on luxury travel using credit card points and miles, and today, she's sharing exactly how to play the credit card game—and win. We’re talking about how to find the best travel deals, the most common credit card mistakes (and how to avoid them), how to redeem points the smart way, and the exact tools Janelle uses to unlock five-star experiences without the price tag. This episode is perfect if you're new to travel hacking or if you’ve got a ton of points and zero clue what to do with them. We’re talking business class, tropical destinations, travel insurance, sign-up bonuses—and yes, how to make credit cards work for you, not the other way around. Janelle’s Links: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janelleonajet  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@janelleonajet  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@janelleonajet  Mastering SkyMiles course waitlist: https://ashleygetsaround.kit.com/a1c49dce16  Resources: Award travel search engine: https://seats.aero/  Search and compare award flight options: https://www.point.me/ How to Travel More in 2025 with Brian Kelly (The Points Guy): https://herfirst100k.com/financial-feminist-show-notes/213-how-to-travel-more-and-well-in-2025-with-brian-kelly-aka-the-points-guy/  Read transcripts, learn more about our guests and sponsors, and get more resources at https://herfirst100k.com/financial-feminist-show-notes/226-how-to-play-the-credit-card-game-to-win-with-janelle-on-a-jet/ Our favorite travel and cash-back credit cards, plus other financial resources: https://herfirst100k.com/tools Looking for accountability, live coaching, and deeper financial education? Check out our exclusive community! Join the $100K Club: https://herfirst100k.com/100k-pod Not sure where to start on your financial journey? Take our FREE money personality quiz! https://herfirst100k.com/quiz Special thanks to our sponsors: Squarespace Go to www.squarespace.com/FFPOD to save 10% off your first website or domain purchase. Rocket Money Stop wasting money on things you don’t use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com/FFPOD. Quince For your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from Quince. Go to Quince.com/FFPOD for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Netsuite Download the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning at NetSuite.com/FFPOD. Masterclass Get an additional 15% off any annual membership at Masterclass.com/FFPOD. Indeed Get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at Indeed.com/FFPOD. Gusto Run your first payroll with Gusto and get three months free at gusto.com/ffpod. ZocDoc Visit Zocdoc.com/FFPOD to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. ResortPass Visit Resortpass.com and use code FFPOD to get $20 off your first ResortPass experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Financial feminists, if you've been watching me and all of the Instagramers, you love traveling for free using credit card points and you're like, how do I actually do this? This is the episode for you. Hi, financial feminists. Welcome to the show. I'm thrilled to see you as always. My name is Tori. I'm a money expert, a multimillionaire, and I fight the patriarchy by making you rich. And today I not only have a friend, good friend of mine on the show, but it's such a good conversation. I would recommend first going and listening to our episode with Brian Kelly, who is the points guy, we released that a little bit ago.

This is a great companion guide to that episode because we are talking about credit card points, how to accumulate them, how to get more of them, but also how to use credit card points to actually travel for free or severely discounted. We're talking being able to use these points, redeem them in a way that can get you anywhere from Paris to Japan to even just across the country. And yes, business class seats, first class seats, but also just your regular old economy

if you want to go that way too. I will say before I do her whole official intro, Janelle is the person I go to for advice. The amount of times I have texted her and been like, hey, I have this amount of points in this place, what should I do? And she actually helped me redeem my first ever business class flight to Europe in 2022. So we're talking about exactly how to do this.

If you've heard people talk about traveling for free, traveling for discounts, and you're like, but how do I redeem these points? How do I make sure I'm getting my money's worth? How do I not waste them? This is the episode for you. Janelle is a travel expert and confidence advocate who has mastered the art of exploring the world smarter and bolder. Leveraging strategic travel hacking and credit card rewards, she has saved over $100,000 on travel while curating luxurious adventures on any budget. With nearly 200,000 followers on all her social platforms, Janelle combines savvy strategies

with captivating storytelling to empower others to see the world and live confidently. This episode is so valuable as a jumping off point. So again, if you're someone who has been interested in the credit card game and using credit card points and perks for travel, we're talking about everything from how to choose the best credit card for you to the travel hacks that no one is sharing with you that you've probably never heard before. This is a great episode to share with somebody you love,

especially your travel partner, whether that's your best friend, your mom, your life partner, and a special thanks to Spotify Studios in New York for letting us tape on location in New York City. Without further ado, let's get into it. But first, a word from our sponsors. This episode of Financial Feminist is sponsored in part by Squarespace, Quince, Gusto, Rocket Money, Indeed, and NetSuite. Build a beautiful website to get your message out into the world with Squarespace. Squarespace was the first purchase I made for my business way back in 2016, and it's still one of my number one recommendations for business owners or individuals

building a website. Go to squarespace.com slash FF pod to save 10% off your first website or domain purchase. Treat yourself to everyday luxury at an affordable price with Quince. I just bought myself a brand new winter coat from Quince, not even with a gift card with my own hard-earned cash. That's how much I love Quince. Go to quince.com slash FF pod for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. Did you start a subscription to watch that one TV show or that movie that you just couldn't find anywhere else, but you now just got the bill because you forgot to cancel? Rocket Money's got your back. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to rocketmoney.com

slash ffpod. Take the headache out of payroll with Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll at gusto.com slash ffpod. Get a $65 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com slash FF pod. Download the CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at netsuite.com slash FF pod. Our next ad is with somebody that I have been looking to partner with forever. Like I have tried to work with them because I love them so much. It's ResortPass everybody. If you do not know what ResortPass is, basically what happens is you get to access

luxury hotel amenities. So the fancy pools, the spas, the cabanas without needing to stay overnight. It is one of my favorite travel hacks. You go over to ResortPass and you can use the really nice fancy infinity pools at the all-inclusive resorts where you get free food for like less than a hundred bucks a day. I have done this in

Mexico. I was staying at an Airbnb and they didn't have a pool. So I literally went with Christine and we had an amazing day at a very nice all-inclusive resort where I got to lounge by their pool. And also included in the resort pass was like a five course luxury French meal with wine pairings. Day passes start at just $25. So if you're ready to upgrade your day, head to resortpass.com and use code FFpod for $20 off your first booking.

That's resortpass.com code FFpod because even one day away can feel like a true getaway. code FFpod because even one day away can feel like a true getaway. What do you do and why is it so important? I am a travel and lifestyle content creator. I was previously an engineer and I switched into this space because I just found that there were so many women who wanted to learn how to travel, how to live confidently and be in their own body. I'm a tall plus size woman.

We'll talk about it. It is hard to one, be just a tall plus size woman, but then live confidently, and be in their own body. I'm a tall plus-size woman. We'll talk about it. It is hard to, one, be just a tall plus-size woman, but then also to travel and be in different places where you're in countries where the average size woman is five feet tall. And so talking about these experiences and just making people feel less alone online, I found was so important.

So I transitioned into this space about two years ago, full-time. I love it. Was there a particular trip where you caught the travel bug, where you're like, oh, this is what I want to do? When I went to Iceland in 2018... I remember that trip, I think. So I went twice. And so I went back. So the first time I'd found a crazy flight deal, it was direct from Minneapolis.

I was in Minneapolis at the time, based. Direct from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, and it was like under $300. And I was like, I was in Minneapolis at the time, based, direct from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, and it was like under $300. And I was like, I used to fly from Michigan when I went to school there, back home for like $400. How am I going to Iceland for this? So I went and my mind was blown. I had never been a hiker before, hadn't really gotten into the outdoors, because if you've

ever been in the Midwest, it's flat. There's nothing there. There's nothing there to hike. People go on hikes and it's a nature walk. Yeah. And so I didn't really understand it. And I went and I was like, this is insane. I've never seen a place like this.

I've never experienced a place like this. Just all these world wonders. And that just made me want to see more of the world and figure out how to do it on a budget because I had just graduated college. I didn't have a lot of PTO. I didn't have a lot of money to go around. I just bought a house, so I was like,

how am I gonna do this? And that is what led me into the world of travel, travel hacking, and just wanting to explore more. Yeah, a good chunk of my questions today are about basically proving the myths wrong. So maybe let's start with that one, that travel period is expensive, or is unobtainable for people. And even if we

want to put you know general travel but specifically like international travel is way too expensive I can't do it. Like prove me wrong tell me why that's not true. There are so many ways to do it. One there are great flight deals out there. They exist there are lower cost carriers that go. There's been like Norris Airlines. There's been Wow Wow is now no longer a thing but there are. But even Iceland Air, did you fly Iceland Air? No, I flew Delta. But Iceland Air has great deals. They have great deals. If you're not in the points and miles space, which we'll get into that I know too, but there are so many cash deals that exist as long as you

instead of you have to start planning your trip backwards from what the traditional planning is. Okay, let's pause there because I that's my favorite thing to do too. So when we talk about planning backwards, what do you mean? I mean let the flight deals pick your destination. Rather than being like I want to go to Mexico on this week, these specific days, blah blah blah, it's gonna be so hard to find a flight that is cheap or you know within your budget necessarily. Or that isn't a middle seat, you know, or just you know you're on a long flight and it's terrible and it's way overpriced and you don't have any pick of how and when you leave. Yeah, you're taking like the worst flight route to get there.

Instead, you have a 12 hour layover and it's not even the fun one. Right. You're like, why am I stuck in this middle of nowhere airport? No, but this way, like if you let instead, if you open it up and say, I want to go somewhere warm in the month of March, and I want to go to a beach. And then you see what flight deals come out, and you let those pick your destination. You are going to save so much money by doing it this way, because the second you start putting on dates and you are so finite with it, like, I get it's hard to plan if you're going with a group, but it is so much easier if you just say, hey, like, let's go the week of Thanksgiving. Let's go somewhere. And we'll figure something out,

and we'll see what comes up. And then when that flight deal comes, you book it. So that's one way to save money and make travel more affordable and attainable. Well, that's what I did with Christine for Friend Moons every single year. And it also opened up our possibilities of where we wanted to go, because there were so many places that I wanted to go eventually, but I wasn't like, I have to go to New Zealand in the year of our Lord 2022. But it was, oh, I found this incredible deal to Fiji,

and then we can get to Fiji, from Fiji to Australia, New Zealand pretty easy. So yeah, I cannot recommend that more because it opens you up a ton to places that you didn't even expect or that you thought, oh, I'll do that in 10 years. But the second thing is like, yeah, you're so right. If you say, I want to go to Rome in June,

June 1st, like good luck. Yes, you were so limited. You're so limited. And it's also, it's probably more expensive because everybody else is going too. And so like, I had to go, had to go. I got to go to a wedding that my partner's family was having in July in Europe.

And it was like, okay, it's in Italy. In July, any flight from Seattle to Italy was bonkers expensive. So what I had to do was fly us into Frankfurt and then find a flight, Ryanair or whatever, from Frankfurt to Italy. And so that was like my way of making something that we had to do slightly more flexible and cheaper. Yes. So that's a version that you can do too, when you know you have to be somewhere, especially like Europe, where it's like, just get to Europe and then you can take a train, you can take a quick flight and you can go to wherever you're at. Prioritize getting the cheapest long haul flight that you can into the closest area that you can. I'm helping a friend book a flight to Tokyo right now.

The flights are actually crazy in the points and miles world to get to Tokyo. And I was like, well, actually, why don't you try and fly into Seoul? There's so many more options to fly into Seoul, South Korea. It is a very quick flight from Seoul to Tokyo. She's even interested in maybe doing a day or two there. But I was like, that's an option versus, you know,

paying so many more points and miles for this business class seat that she's looking to get just to go to Tokyo. Direct, yeah. Direct, like you can have, you can be a little bit more flexible with it. And we do the same thing with Europe. I take cheap flights like that are directing to Amsterdam or Paris all the time.

And then I use that as my jumping off point to go somewhere else. So that is a great way to do it. If you are not in the space to get a credit card that earns points and miles and focus on the cash deals. But then obviously points and miles, we both have gotten into that world. And it is, that opens your eyes to, I think,

just different experiences that you would never even think would be attainable to afford. So you can use it towards economy flights. There are some amazing ways to use it. If you want to utilize your points and miles that way, which is what I did for probably the first five years in my travel world. Or even to just get across the US. Yeah.

We're both Seattle girlies who happen to be in New York right now. And it's like, OK, that's typically not a cheap flight. That's sometimes a $700, sometimes a $1,000 flight. Yes. So OK, points, miles, especially if you have to go last minute, that helps you get to where you need to be without a huge expense. Points and miles are amazing for both the bucket list destinations that you plan to hear out, but also last minute flights when you don't maybe have or want

to spend the capital of like $1,200 because you have to get somewhere for some whatever reason whether you know you need to hop on a flight tonight or in the next week. This is a great way for you to be able to save that cash and spend it elsewhere and use these points that you've accrued. So you're my favorite friend to reach out to about any sort of travel deal, especially with points and miles. And you helped me book my first big girl business class flight. Yes! So I had not flown business class prior to working with Janelle,

and I was going to Europe with my partner. This was 2023, I think. I think so. Yep. And I was just like, hi. So I generally have an idea of where we want to go. Help me. I have these points. What do I do with them? Truly.

Can you walk me through, like, how do we actually do that? Like, how do we find flights for points? And what kind of good deals are we looking for? Yes. So there are actually so many amazing resources that are out there now. Yep. So back when I like started these resources were very, very new and I didn't really hear about them. They were kind of in the beta phases and now they're really helpful. So there's like pointme.com. That's a great one. We use that to help book your flights. We

are using pointme. Another one is seats.aero that I use. And basically what these sites are is instead of having to go to every airline's site and being like, what are the points and miles to fly from here to here? And then you have to go to all their partners too, because the points are different with different partners. You know, it's cheaper to book. Or go through like the four days around where you're trying to go. And you've got to go back and forth and use this calendar tool and you have to do it with every single airline. Now, there are these sites that aggregate all of these results or a lot of these results.

It's not all of them. It's not perfect, but it saves you so much time. So now you go into these sites, you log in and you all say, I want to go from the West Coast to Europe, or I want to go from Seattle to Europe, or I want to go from Seattle to Asia. Or you can really fine tune. You can either leave it really broad or you can really get down to the details. You can say, I want to do plus or minus 14 days.

I have a really wide range of plus or minus one day. Like, I only have a little flexible range. And you can look at economy, premium economy, business, first class. And it's just a really easy way to see what's out there with my points and how can I book it. Because I think what a lot of people do with points when you first start getting into it is you go,

let's say you've got a Chase credit card. You go into the Chase Travel Portal and you look at what the points are for that. Those points are based on the cash rate of the flight. So it actually, if you are, one of the best ways to use your points is by transferring them out of the Chase platform and into these airlines,

which is what we did to book your flights. Well, and I have to pause this there because it's, I think, the number one mistake people make. Because they get into points and they see, okay, I have 100,000 chase points. Like, ooh. What can I do with these? Exactly. And it's like, oh, cash back. I'll just make my points cash back. Oh, God, please know cash back cards are for cash back. Chase travel points should, I mean, unless you're

you absolutely need them for like an emergency or something, please do not. Like that's such a waste of points. You're going to get so much more value out of those points by using them for travel. And travel outside, like you were saying the transfer. Don't book the Air France flight inside Chase. Transfer them to Air France and then book it through Air France. For example, like if you're in the Chase travel portal

and the flight is $800 cash, it's going to cost you 80,000 points to book that flight. Now, let's say you go and look at the, let's say it's a Delta flight. We often book Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic. And so you can go to Virgin Atlantic site and they're way cheaper than by booking it with Delta. And you say, what is this flight from Seattle to Paris on Virgin Atlantic miles? And for economy, it could be as low as like 20,000 miles.

So instead of paying that 80,000, you transfer those points out. There's sometimes even transfer bonuses. You can earn more miles when you're transferring your points over. So they'll give you 50% more kind of more miles when you transfer. Most of the bonuses are like 20, 30%. Occasionally they are 50. Sometimes there are 100 built at one time, heading 100% transfer bonus to Air France. The Flying Blue program is such an incredible use of points. So I was like, I will use these points. I use them all the time for amazing business class and economy class flights. Through them, I saw 100% bonus.

I normally would never recommend just transferring your points blindly. But when you have deals like that, it makes so much more sense to be like, and I've already used the program so much. I know that there's a lot of availability. 100% bonus is enough for me to say, send those points on over.

Yeah. And I think it's easy to see you or I, especially in that first flight, you know, I'm in business class, these are lie down flat seats that would normally cost $4,000 a piece, $8,000. I'm on Qatar, TikTok or like Qatar Airlines and what's the other one? Emirates where it's just like, you know these insane

I just moved Qatar back on Monday. Yeah, the Q suites from the Maldives. Oh, they're massive right? So they're like full beds and like was it shower? Was this a shower? No, that's Emirates Yeah, yes, like it's so easy to look at these and they're $15,000 flights and you're like this is no I could this nor would I, like I would not spend $15,000. No, no. For like a 14 hour experience, that's kind of nuts to think about. Yeah, but I would spend 80,000 points, which is what I did come back from the Maldives. Like, I was like, done, booked. Versus like using that Chase travel portal example, that was 80,000 points for probably like an economy ticket to Paris, you know, it's like, no, I I'm gonna use these points and transfer them out of the portal and

Book them use them to book a way better experience and things that my not that my money can't buy But I don't want to spend my money to buy like that's where I think as I've evolved from my early 20s Budget backpacker travel, you know, I was taking whatever economy flight the cheapest things I could get both points and cash Three different flights. Yes, and now I've evolved in my 30s And I've really loved the luxury travel kind of space and using my points maybe less often So I'm not I was using doing weekend flights to Europe because I had no PTO Right now I'm like, okay, I can go and take these flights spend a little bit more time in these places I don't want to get there comfortably and that now becomes a part of the travel experience.

Your travel experience isn't when you land, like it is truly when you step into the airport, you go to the lounge, you get a drink, you have a meal, you maybe take a shower on your layover. You've gone through TSA pre-check and clear, so you don't have to stand in a huge long line. Yes, it's not stressful, like you're just, you're so much more at ease and it just becomes fun all of a sudden.

Versus being like, oh my God, we have to sit in the airport. We've got to find a spot that's quiet. I've got a call I need to get on or whatever. Or I've got work I need to do. Or I just don't want to like sit in this chaos of people, you know, boarding announcements and all this stuff. So it truly becomes so much more of a fun experience. Totally. Yeah, I love it.

So you made a video about the 10 mistakes you see when people use points for travel. Sounds like we've already talked about one of those of transferring or not transferring and booking it within the portal itself. Can you walk me through a few of these mistakes you see people make? Definitely the first one.

I mean, we just talked about this, but not transferring your points out of the portals is the number one mistake. I see, I did it when I was in like I did too. I didn't want to in the beginning. I think everyone does it. And I will say using your points is never a mistake. If you are using your points for an experience or flight, however you do,

even if it wasn't the best redemption, that is still an experience that you got out of it. So I don't want people to harp too much. Like we all look back and say, oh, I can't believe I did X, Y and Z thing. Well, I use my points a lot, too, with the the higher, you know credit cards like the Chase Yeah, Sapphire Reserve or the Amex Platinum like you can book hotels using points But you're getting a bunch of perks with yes, you know So like if I'm gonna stay at a Four Seasons, I'm actually gonna book that through Chase And I'm gonna book that through the portal because you can't transfer points to Four Seasons, first of all.

But the second thing is like, I'm getting free breakfast, I'm getting like a hundred dollar credit. A late checkout, like all of these other benefits. So there are like new, there's nuances to all of this. So just don't stress too much if you've made these mistakes or you're like, oh, this is more like an eye opening thing. So I think number one is not transferring your points out, but then two is only looking at US airlines.

So I think because most people, I'm sure your listeners, are a lot of US-based people, we tend to think of our world as like Delta American, United as the big three. That's what we're gonna look at flights, like that's who we're gonna go search and look for. Maybe Southwest. Yeah, maybe Southwest. So when we're talking like international, like longer stuff,

I guess I don't really fly Southwest. I don't either. I've flown Southwest a long time. I know, it's been a minute. I like to pick my seat. So yeah, which I guess you're going to be able to do that now soon. But regardless, like most people think of these like major US airlines when they're going to do it.

But these airlines are all a part of these massive, these massive partnerships. So there's Sky Alliance, Sky Team, Star Alliance, One World. And these alliances are full of these partner airlines where when you transfer your points, like I was talking about earlier, Delta might be charging, let's say, 65,000 points for a round-trip economy flight to Europe. You might be able to go to Virgin Atlantic

and get that same flight for 25, 30,000 points, maybe even less. I've gotten stuff for like 18,000 points. It's like nuts. So I think that's the number two mistake that I see is not using these other programs that we're maybe not familiar with. Like, I remember when I first started traveling, I had never even heard of Qatar Airlines. And they're like one of the top airlines in the world.

Like, we don't think about that though, because we're just kind of in a little bubble here, like traveling. And now I'm like, Qatar is amazing. I will fly them any day of the top airlines in the world. We don't think about that though, because we're just kind of in a little bubble here, like traveling. And now I'm like, Qatar's amazing. I will fly them any day of the week. But I think we're a little bit more timid to approaching these other airlines. Like, is it a good airline? Do we know if we can trust it?

And there's a lot of resources out there to learn about it. So use those resources. Google's just a great tool. What does this aircraft look like? Like, what is the business class? The Airbus 3, whatever. Yeah, and looking at the seat to see kind of some differences there and look at these partners.

So even, and when I say look at the partners, I think one thing I want to clarify is that you're not necessarily flying the partner. You can book that same Delta flight that through Virgin Atlantic using those points. So it's the same exact flight. You're just booking it separately. Now, sometimes there are other flights that you can book that are operated by them, but like I'm talking about the same physical plane that you are stepping onto just for less points. So that is, I think the number two thing that I would say is start expanding yourself.

And I think the tools like Seats.Aero and PointMe are really great resources for you to start learning about these different transfer partners, because they'll tell you, hey, if you have these credit cards, here's how you transfer them over, and you're going to book this United flight through, you know, their partner, Lufthansa or something. Right. I just flew in Lufthansa for the first time. Very impressed. Yeah. Their lounge, they have a lounge in Frankfurt.

Yes. Have you been to that lounge? No, I haven't flown in Lufthansa yet. It's insane. That lounge was nuts. Anytime you're able to fly a business class flight and you're flying through the home airport of that airline, it's going to be, the flagship lounges are so good. Well, because I flew Condor, speaking, okay, so you're a Delta girlie,

I'm an Alaska airlines girlie, it's the biggest thing we disagree about. I love Delta, I wanna be very clear, Delta, you can sponsor me too, I don't care. I just will never fly United and I will say that on air. On air. On record. United, I have so much beef with you. It's okay.

The New Orleans incident of 2018. We do not talk about it. I had the same incidents with Alaska, which is why I'm here. Oh no! I have nothing but lovely things to say. Anyway. I'm so happy you have that experience. And I'm so happy you love Delta, because I do too. But the thing with like, you know, you're talking about Delta partners, it's the same thing for me with Alaska is I, that flight that, I almost said my partner's name, hold on.

That flight that my partner and I took to Europe this year to go to Frankfurt so we could then go to Italy, that was on Condor. And I had never heard of Condor and was in business class and I used Alaska Points. That was their partner airline. I didn't actually even transfer it over to Condor. I just booked it through Alaska. With points you already had there from earning from normal flying.

Yeah. And they, you know, you can say, oh, it's with our partner airline Condor. And I was like, okay, we'll see. And like, it was a lovely experience. Yes. Like, honestly, I think sometimes these other airlines, you know, we're so used to just like the American version of these like first-class flights and whatnot. Oh my gosh, you start flying an Asian or a Middle Eastern airline. Insane.

Oh, you are pampered. Oh, they're picking you up in like a limo and they're taking you to, you know, to the gate via private security. Literally like, oh, do you want a massage before your flight? And you're like, yes, I do. Yes. You like set your drink down and they're like, Oh, what else can I get you? Are you okay? Was this lovely? Like you need something else? And I'm like, no, I'm good. I just was like, I just took a sip of water. I'm okay. This episode is packed with information and we are just getting started. After the break, we are diving into the myths around credit cards and credit scores, the perks and drawbacks of annual fees, how credit cards act as an additional layer of protection while you're

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Quince. Go to quince.com slash FF pod for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order. That's Q U I N C E dot com slash FF pod to get free shipping and 365 day returns quince.com slash FF pod. Okay. So if I'm a listener though, I'm hearing both of us talk about this and like they know my background of how much money I make. They're probably like, oh yeah, she's probably doing okay. But I think there's a belief and even like my dad is here sitting in. And one of the things that like I've talked to My parents about is my mom always says well, we don't travel for work Tori Yeah, so like we can't earn that many points like you do or like, you know, I don't need the business class

I just want the economy and I'm never gonna have enough points. So like Debunk the it's just for business travelers. That's why you're able to do this or it's just because you have a lot of money That's why you're able to do this. Or it's just because you have a lot of money, that's why you're able to do this. Can anybody do this? Yes, especially like number one, if you have a good credit score, you are able to do so much that opens so many doors because you are able to start earning through sign up bonuses, opening credit cards. There's a big myth that opening credit cards is going to just tank your credit score.

But it's the exact opposite. Using credit cards responsibly will actually increase your credit score. As long as you exact opposite. Using credit cards responsibly will actually increase your credit score. As long as you're not opening them every three months. Right. Honestly, it'll take a temporary dip, and it goes back up because what you're doing is you're also increasing your available credit.

So your credit usage is going down, which will increase your credit score. That is financial expert approved. So therefore, I think that's where some of these people think that, oh my God, I can't do that. I'm literally sitting at home. But what are you spending your money on? Now, let's say it's groceries or let's say it's going out to eat or let's say it's just, I like to online shop.

Find credit cards that match your spending habits. Then you're going to be earning points towards your next trip that you want to take just by doing your normal spending habits. I think one of a great credit card for people who are in their 20s, who are dining out, maybe living in a bigger city, and spending money on a lot of food and groceries, which is what I like to spend my money on, is the Amex Gold Card.

The Amex Gold Card, you're going to earn a bonus, basically, on all of those purchases, which will then help you earn points towards your next trip. So you don't have to be traveling to earn these points. Now, there are cards that give you extra bonuses towards specific travel stuff, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Platinum Card, where you're earning, like, 5X on travel stuff. And those are great for people who are traveling a lot

because you're going to earn those benefits, and the benefits of the card are tailored towards a lot of heavy travelers. So if you're not doing it, those cards won't make sense. But it doesn't mean there isn't a card out there for you that makes sense for you. Yeah, and I also want to say too, like similar to your story,

when I first started in my twenties, I couldn't get the crazy metal card that offered me a bunch of benefits, nor should you try, because typically you're not going to get approved. Your credit's not long enough, your credit score might not be there. So it's just like, it's almost like training wheels.

You build yourself up. So my first card, and I still recommend it, is a Capital One Quicksilver card that has a dollar and a half or 1.5% cash back on everything. So that was great. I got used to using that card. I got used to saying, oh, I can redeem this for statement credit

or for gift cards. Great, my credit score started building. I understood, okay, I understood. Okay, I can upgrade the card as my life upgrades too. And so I would then got the Alaska Airlines card, then I got the Chase Sapphire Reserve, then I got the Amex Platinum, and that was like over many, many years.

And I will also say too, it's just like personal finance where it's easy to listen to this and just go, that's way too complicated, or it's because Janelle knows so much, and like, of course you do, but like, you and I are regular girlies at the same time. This is all learned over time. Totally.

And again, you don't have to, you can make it as complicated as you'd like. If you just want to just book through the portal, yeah, it's not the best use of place, but sure. If you don't want the, it's really not that complicated, but if you don't want any sort of complication, I don't want somebody listening and going like, oh, it's because they know something I don't want the, it's really not that complicated, but if you don't want any sort of complication, I don't want somebody listening and going like,

oh, it's because they know something I don't. Not really. It's just like personal finance. It's the belief that, oh, they're investing and they know something I don't. No, this is all learned and taught. And there's resources out there to learn. And it's not an all or nothing game. Like you don't have to just either do everything

or nothing at all. There's so many mid levels. And I've transferred through those different steps throughout my phases of life. Like when I first started out, my first travel credit card was the Delta American Express Platinum card because my coworker recommended it to me.

I waited for a good sign of bonus. And I was like, he explained the benefits to me. And I was like, oh, that makes sense. That was my first foray into the world of travel credit cards. I held that card and only that travel credit card for like two plus years. I had another card that I had had

as my like starter credit card. My parents helped set me up with when I went to college and just kind of figured that out. But that was my first travel credit card and I didn't touch travel credit cards for another two plus years after that. And then I went and opened the Chase Sapphire Reserve card. That was my next card.

I went from, you know, the Delta MX Platinum. At the time, I think it was maybe a $200 fee card, but I was able to use the benefits on it, because I was flying Delta. But I went from that to the Chase FR Reserve, which is considered a more elite card, but I had built my credit up, and I had felt like, wow, I understand these benefits and these programs a bit more.

I didn't open another card for probably another one to two, probably one year after that. And then I started opening a few more when I figured out what my travel style is, too. I was like, wow, okay, I'm flying. I want to access lounges, so therefore I'm going to open a card that gives me that lounge access.

I'm spending a lot of time in Hilton properties because I was traveling for work at that point. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna open a Hilton credit card so I can earn more points. You start learning what your lifestyle is and tailoring your credit cards and your finances and those sorts of things to that lifestyle. And then you earn points on top of that.

It becomes a little bit more passive because you are learning the program as you go. Don't try and climb the mountain in one day. Before we move on to other questions, I want to define a couple of things so everybody knows we're on the same page. So quick definitions are lovely. You say sign up bonus.

What does that mean? A sign up bonus is when you are applying for the credit card, they will have a specific bonus. It'll be, let's say, anywhere from 50,000 points to 200,000 points. If you spend X amount of dollars in X months, sometimes it's like $3,000 in six months, you will receive these points. That is what a sign up bonus is. So how do you take advantage of the sign up bonus?

How do you make sure you hit that? So it depends on per bank. Capital One does a great job of actually like has a little tracker in the app and whatnot. Otherwise you can just pay attention to your, you can pay attention to your statements and kind of keep a mental track or a spreadsheet, that sort of thing. I try to like make sure that I'm,

I put all my spend on those cards. So I'm getting it like right away and I'm not, you know, missing the deadline, put a reminder in your calendar too, like maybe two or three weeks before this deadline is going it right away and I'm not missing the deadline, put a reminder in your calendar too. Maybe two or three weeks before this deadline is going to hit and make sure you can call the bank and be like, hey, have I hit the bonus yet? Or have I hit the signup requirements yet? And I know people who've had luck actually getting extensions before too.

So you can always call. My whole motto is if you don't ask, the answer is no. And I will say, as your resident personal finance expert, do not sign up for the sign up bonus as an excuse to spend more money. No, no. Right? Do not get the sign up bonus thinking like, oh, OK,

I need to spend like crazy. No. But you can be strategic on when and how you sign up for a credit card. So can you talk about that? Yeah. Let's say you were doing a home renovation. You're going to be spending a lot of money on that.

Find a card that fits those bonus categories. Let's say the Capital Inventor X, you're gonna earn 2x points on everything, every dollar you spend. I'm gonna open that up around a big purchase like that. Or I need a new laptop and I've been needing it for years. So I'm gonna sign up for the credit card now. I'm gonna put my $1,800 loadout over MacBooks, cause now they're so expensive. I'm gonna put my $1,500 MacBook on there. I already know I have the money, right? You're not signing up for something and just being like...

You're not signing up to go into debt. That's not the point of this. Right. So you're doing it strategically though. So that way you're closer to the sign up bonus because you've planned accordingly. You were strategic with that. Or maybe it's on Christmas presents

or a trip you're about to take too. You know, a lot of these credit cards have perks when you're traveling where it's 0% transaction fees. You're not paying for that when you're going abroad. Or maybe you only have Amex cards right now, but Amex isn't necessarily accepted in all places. It's getting a lot better. But you might want a visa now for when you travel abroad,

so you have access to visa when you are trying to put your hotel on this card or pay for a meal abroad. So you can still get those points, not pay the transaction fee. Yeah, totally. Annual fees. I think we feel the same way, which are that usually annual fees are worth it. But can we talk about what annual fees are and when it does make sense to pay the annual fee?

An annual fee is something that comes up on your anniversary of your credit card or like when you sign up for it. Some cards waive the annual fee the first year, but it is a defined amount of money that you are paying to be a card holder. It's $95 or it's $795. Some of these, one of the ones I have is $800.

But you get to decide, you know, it's basically like the cost of all of the benefits of the card. The number looks scary when you're first looking at it. And a lot of people think push away any cards that have an annual fee immediately. And I think that's a huge mistake. Don't let them scare you. Yes. Because even some of the lower annual fee cards, they're going to give you, so I like

looking at the hard benefits that you're going to get. Let's say it is a clear membership or it is TSA pre-check. Those are things that you can say, I'm earning or it's a $200 flight credit, like maybe the annual fee is $300. Okay, that in my mind brings my annual fee down to $100. Now let me look at all the other benefits. Do those other benefits make the $100 worth it? Well, I get one free checked bag every flight. How many times am I checking a bag?

Okay, that now brings my annual fee down to X. Maybe it's, maybe now I'm down to zero. And then I look at all the other benefits on top of that. And it's like holding this card actually helps me in a lot of different ways that I wouldn't have expected. I'm at an airport even if it's twice a year and I spend $35 on a Caesar salad and a water when I could go to the lounge. Right and I don't have to worry about it. I've got a comfortable space, a quiet space to work, those sorts of things.

But then there are the soft benefits that I don't think get enough. Yeah, let's talk about those. They don't get enough air time. Credit, they really don't. So number one, like one of my favorite ones is trip cancellation insurance, trip delay insurance, and delayed baggage.

Yep, huge. Wow, my Minnesotan accent came out there. Oh, it was cute though. Yeah, baggage. Baggage. It comes out sometimes. Less baggage. Oh, it was cute though. Yeah, okay. Because ours is not bag. Maybe that's why I feel so normal there a little bit because there's accents all around. There are.

It's like bag versus bag. Big bag. Yeah. Anyways, some of these benefits are great. So a story that I love to tell is that I, we were going to Palm Springs for a bachelorette party. This is a group of like 10 plus girls. We'd rented this massive house.

I put it on my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. Well, the week that we are headed to this, was an Airbnb non refundable at this point the week We're headed there the Brides family has a health event And so she we were canceling the bachelorette party which so much money. Yes for ten people Yeah, it was like ten or eleven girls and people are like, oh my god Like are we still going because we still have to pay for this house and I was like right? No, we don't have to pay for this house actually like if people still want to go of course, like take the trip You took the time off whatever but I was like you don't have to worry like I will be able to get this money back

Because one of the benefits is the trip cancellation insurance So it's not only just for me Like if I had a health event it is is for me, any of my traveling companions, or their family members. So what we had to do is I had to fill out a little form online stating what had happened with Chase. They sent me a form where my friend had to bring it to the doctor of her family member. They filled out this very simple form. It was like two pages, just kind of like, you know, what had happened. This is real.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not making it up. That's signed by the doctor, you know, making sure that we're not like being fraudulent here. And I submitted that to Chase and they sent me a check. Like, it was that easy. I had to prove, there was one other step. I take that back.

All I had to do was go through Airbnb first. So you have to prove that like, Airbnb is not refunding me. Here's the proof that they're not refunding me. And then they sent me a check. And so that was a check for almost $3,000 for this thing. And so I thought about that. My annual fee, I think the card, the annual fee for the card at that point was maybe around $500. And I was like, this has paid for that card for like, four years, six years now at this

point, just from that, that one single benefit. We've used it for when our bags are delayed. If the airline, let's say that they are saying, oh no, we're only giving you X amount of money, like once you submit your receipts, you can then go to your credit card and say, hey, this is what the airline didn't pay for, but these are expenses that I had to incur on my trip, and you can submit that to them.

So those are like the soft benefits that people don't think about because no one ever wants to plan for when things go wrong with travel, but they do go wrong. Things just happen, bags get delayed, weather stuff happens, and airlines won't cover you. Like if there's a trip delay due to weather, you're not covered, but your credit card will cover you in many cases. So looking at those benefits and making sure...

Car insurance is the other big one too. You're renting a car, you don't have to take additional car insurance. And again, same thing. You think, oh, that's not going to happen. And it probably won't. But let's say it does. And you're in the middle of Costa Rica with car towing. We needed it in Italy. Really? Yeah.

We were driving to the Harry Styles concert in Italy, his last one. And it started hailing. Just like in the middle of July in Italy. And it starts hailing. And we brought the car of July in Italy. And it starts hailing. And we brought the car back, and they were like, yes, the hail damage? And we were like, yeah, we saw that. So we were able to submit stuff through the credit cards.

And there's just so many protections that way they don't think about. There's other ones that aren't even travel related. I know Brian Kelly is also going to be on this podcast, if he hasn't already been. Yeah. Hasn't already been. But he was just posting this week, his son Dean took a marker to the back of one of his chairs that he had just bought.

But under, I think it was Capital One, they have a purchase protection or one of the credit cards. They all have a lot of these similar benefits. He had bought it within the last 90 days. So he's like, I actually am going to submit this and I should be able to get this replaced because it was within the- Even if it was like my fault. Yeah, loss or damage within that time period. So some of those things like make sure when you are signing up for these cards, spend a little time like actually looking at these benefits.

The way that you access a lot of these benefits is you have to put your trip on this credit card. That's you can't just like pick like, oh, I have the Chase credit card. I'm going to use this benefit. No, like I put my that Airbnb on the Chase credit card, which allowed going to use this benefit. No, like I put my, that Airbnb on the Trace credit card, which allowed me to use the benefit. So when you are booking your trips, be very mindful about what card you're putting it on based on these benefits. So that's why it's important to read them, understand them, have a general understanding. I know it seems like a lot at once, but then when you go to book, just like refresh yourself really quick.

Oh, like what's the best card to put this on? Or even when something goes wrong and you're like, cool, I put everything on here so I know I'm good. Yeah. Oh, I need insurance. I probably can get that. I probably have that. This is what happened to me.

My phone got stolen in London. Oh my gosh. I didn't know that. Right from under me. Oh yeah. Brand new phone. Had bought a brand new 15. I did something stupid, but it's also, you know what?

I had it on the table in front of me and I didn't know this was a thing, but a person came up to me in a mask and put a piece of paper down on the table and the piece of paper was saying, it was very long, but it was like, oh, I'm asking for money or whatever. And little did I know they had grabbed the phone under it and I didn't realize it until about five minutes after it happened. But because I had just bought the phone and I had put it on a credit card, You get lost or damaged cell phone insurance up to I think like $800 So it didn't cover the full cost of the phone, but like it really close It makes the instance feel like a lot less heavy. Yeah, it's like wow

Okay, this is just a really frustrating experience and it made that a little bit lighter Yeah, so I you know could get a new phone and replace it Yeah, without being like I just get a new phone and replace it without being like, I just paid for two phones and that was so, so stupid. In like a month. Yeah, truly. I was like, back at Costco AT&T being like, I'm back again.

I'm so sorry. Did you miss me? Yeah, I'm back. You get more money off of me. But it even just happened to my mom. My mom was supposed to be going to Ecuador and we had family friends she was going with and he had a really, really serious health incident. And like she bought third party travel insurance and I think she's very

glad she did that. But if she had, you know, one of these like, you know, especially like the fancier credit cards, easy peasy. Well, that's where when you're looking at like the cost of these credit cards. So let's say you are someone who buys travel insurance for your trips, you can now think, okay, how much does that travel insurance cost me per trip or per year? And then when you look at the annual fees, you can start understanding how much the annual fee is maybe not as expensive as you thought when you look

at what it can give you. Right. When we come back after a word from our sponsors, we're talking about the travel hacks no one's talking about, the best way to communicate with airlines when you're trying to get free shit, and yes, you can get some free shit, and why it might matter more than you think to become loyal to one airline. Stay tuned.

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slash ffpod. Yep, three months of payroll, benefits admin, and more totally free. Again, that's gusto.com slash ffpod. Again, that's gusto.com slash FF pod. OK, what is the travel hack that no one talks about? Oh, this is a good question. I've got it. Talk to me. Asking for points. Thank you. I was hoping you were going to say that. I ask for compensation.

She really, really does. I call hoping you were gonna say that. I ask for compensation. She really, really does, guys. I call myself the queen of compensation. No! Because if there's compensation to be had, I will be getting it. Oh, and if you think I'm bad, you're next level. My partner will give me shit sometimes, because he's like, you're asking again,

and I was like, Janelle, Janelle would ask. If you don't ask the answers, no, again. And I'm not demanding it, like, that's the thing. You have to go into this being like... And you're nice. You're not like, give me my goddamn points. No, you're nice. No, I sit there and like, let's say my flight was delayed by three hours.

I will text Delta or I'll use, they have a... Twitter even. Yeah, you can use Twitter sometimes. I don't use that. I used, that used to be a way bigger thing. That's where I used to go. Yes. Now I more so I'm texting them or they have like a,

they have a complaint spot on their website, which is actually really useful. I think a lot of people think that that's a black hole. There's a box you can check and you say like, I want a response. They're so good. I have status, so I don't know if like, mine gets processed quicker or if I get treated differently, but regardless, they're so good at it.

I get calls from them being like, hey, we saw your complaint. We want to talk about this. I actually, most of the time, the last time this happened was like a week ago and I was on a Delta flight when I got the like, I got the voicemail when we landed. And I was like, okay, that's fitting. I was on another flight.

But I'll ask and just say, hey, my flight was delayed by three hours. This, you know, it was a major inconvenience. And I just explained either, I explained the situation. I don't embellish, I don't lie. I'm just like, you know, sometimes it's just an inconvenience. Sometimes I, my ride, I had a ride schedule that, you know. You missed a meeting.

Yes, I flew out for this meeting that I now miss, which has happened before. And I'll just explain the situation at the end. I ask, is there any compensation available for this inconvenience? And I wait for them to come back. And then a lot of the times they're coming back with 5,000 points, sometimes it's 20,000 points,

which is crazy. Like one time I had a three hour delay out of Paris or Amsterdam. And it was during the it was during there was some strikes going on with air traffic control in Europe. And it was out of a different airport, but it affected all the airports than I was at. And they came back and they're like 20,000 points for three hour delay. I was like, and she gets to use those points to go to Paris again.

Yes. Yeah. In one year I had earned, I did this like math. I had, I started tracking it because it had been so much in one calendar year. I had earned 204,000 points by just complaining, by complaining about things that happened. I shouldn't say complaining. Submitting real things that happened. And this is just with Delta. I'm talking about points with Delta, not even like hotel stuff that goes wrong. Like specifically like my Delta,

and I'm flying a lot, so I have a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. And again, I want to be clear. She's not being a Karen, right? She's not just being like, making stuff up or like going crazy about like, oh, I didn't get my drink in time. No, no.

It's like, oh, the in-flight entertainment didn't work. I was just going to say, I've done that before, especially on longer flights. But it's like, no, I would like a movie on this six and a half hour flight. And my seat back thing didn't work. Or I need to submit this email and the Wi-Fi did not work. Yes, I submitted all of that stuff.

And a lot of times, these are customer service bonus miles. There is no policy that says that they owe you these miles. But they want to keep you happy, especially at some of these airlines that are like, They're massive billion, billion, billion dollar corporations that can spare- If you try this with like spirit, it's probably not gonna work.

No, it's not gonna work. I've not tried, I don't fly them, but- It's not gonna work. But, you know these are- Bitch, I'm sorry. Yes. But if you are flying these other, bigger airlines and you are flying them,

even if you don't have status, you will get some of these miles. I do think status can help because they want to keep you happy if you're flying them a lot. Yeah. You know, but it's not that you're going to get nothing out of this. I mean, some of these airlines even have policies.

So both Alaska and Delta have a very unique policy domestically in the US. So a portion of that 204,000 miles I was talking about, 45,000 or 43,000, it's in Brian Kelly's book the number is the exact one that that number that I got the 45,000 Let's call it was from bags being delayed from getting to me and by delayed I mean it took 20 minutes to get to baggage claim. Yeah, so they have a guarantee right that if your bags aren't To you after you know gate. I think it's gate dock to its door open door open. Thank you That's the difference. There's a difference. Okay door open to you getting your to... It's door open. Door open, thank you. That's the difference. That is the difference.

Okay, door open to you getting your bags. It's 20 or 25 minutes. 20. Okay. So... Both Alaska and Delta have this. If it's 22 minutes, she gets points. She gets money.

Yeah. I submit it every time. I stop timing it. I used to time it. Yeah, they know it's so smart. Just submit it. And if they go, no, I got here in 18 minutes. Okay, whatever.

Alaska's program is a little bit different. You have to actually talk to someone at the airport when it is. You do, which I didn't realize until I was home. They make it a lot harder. Delta's is a very simple form. It is like, what's your name? What's your sky mouse number? What flight did you take? Boom.

And it'll tell you immediately. So I do this in the Uber home every single time. I used to time it. And then I realized the system is literally doing it for me. Why do I, why am I bothering to set a timer? They'll tell me if they did it or not. And they're not wrong. It's not like, it's when the bag is being scanned, you know?

Like this is a very automated system. So I just submitted every single time and you know, maybe it was 19 minutes, maybe not. I don't know, I'm not timing it. I'm still either getting the miles or not. And I would say nine times out of 10, it'll depend on your airport, what time you're flying and stuff.

Nine times out of 10, I get the miles. So I had a follower this week who had reposted that she had used this tip from me. And she had posted a screenshot of her trip and the miles being deposited into her account. She earned 5,000 miles for the round trip ticket, because it's each way that you get it. And she had only earned because she doesn't have status,

and maybe it was a short trip. She'd only earned like 700 and something miles from the actual trip itself and then earned 5,000 because of the bags. Wow. Which is incredible to be able to just like rack these up. So that's also where when you're looking at some of these credit cards that have the free check bags, if you're paying for the bags and you are doing it, like if you're looking and you're like, oh, I should check a bag for the miles, but you have to pay for it,

it's probably not worth it because it's a gamble whether you're going to get it or not. But if you have a free check bag, now I think about it, I'm like, oh, I should check a bag for the miles, but you have to pay for it. It's probably not worth it, because it's a gamble whether you're going to get it or not. But if you have a free checked bag, now I think about it, I'm like, oh, cool, I'm going to check my hairspray and some things, even if I'm packing most of my stuff in a carry-on, I'll throw a few things in a bag and check it. Worst case scenario, it doesn't make it to me. If it gets lost, whatever, I'll still get the miles.

Like, if it gets lost, I'm going to get the 2,500 miles, and then some, because I'm going to text them and ask them and be like, hey, my bag was delayed for two days. Like, is there any compensation available for me? Another mistake that I see a lot of people make is they'll go and either upgrade their credit card. They'll get an email from Chase and be like, oh, upgrade your credit card. Spend $2,000 and you'll get 30,000 points. You don't have to upgrade.

You can actually just apply for that other credit card outright and it'll have most times a higher signup bonus than if you were to upgrade it. I think that's a huge mistake. It's like going from like the preferred to the reserve for example. Don't keep the preferred, open up the reserve. Don't like upgrade your card. Yes and now Chase has some, Chase specifically has some really weird rules around banking or with like the credit card sign up bonus stuff, there's like a 524 rule. We're not gonna get into that because that is like

really down in the weeds. But maybe let's not talk about Chase. Capital One, you're going from the venture to the venture X. You know, that's a little bit easier one to talk about because they have less rules around their sign up bonuses. But they'll send you an offer. And you oftentimes, I would say, do not take that offer and instead sign up for the Venture X card,

then let's say, and then you're going to cancel your venture once it's open, if you don't want that card anymore. But like, I have multiple cards that are in the same family. So the Delta, the Delta credit card family. I have the Gold Business, which, honestly, is actually not that great of a card. I wouldn't recommend it, but I got that one years ago. So now I just hold it because it's been in my wallet for so long.

So credit longevity, I keep that one. But the Delta Platinum card and the Delta Reserve card, those are both, again, in the same Delta family. But I am earning so many different benefits from that. And I was able to earn the sign-up bonus for both of those cards. And then you can get into the business credit cards, too. So my gold card is actually a business credit card. And most people think you have to have some like crazy LLC

for this. If you're selling stuff on Facebook Marketplace, you can go ahead and sign up. You got a side hustle? Business credit card. Right. And it makes your taxes so much easier, by the way, because anything that's a business expense

goes on the business credit card. So when you're filing your taxes, you're like, look at all these expenses that I have. Right there in one place. Yeah. So those are some other things that I think people, you know, they see the, oh, I'm going to upgrade it. It makes sense.

There's so many great benefits on it, but you don't actually have to upgrade and you can often hold multiple cards in that same card family. Well, my one of my favorite things you've gone viral for is checking a tote bag. I did. That was a little bit of like a marketing ploy. Oh, totally. It's rage bait. It's such rage bait in the comments. It was fun because I'd like I've talked about this program. Honestly, every time I feel like I talk about it, there's these videos that go viral.

But it's a joke, right? So she literally, there's this video of just like on the carousel is just this little tiny tote bag. And it's one of the tote bags too that looks like it's been very well loved. Oh yeah. It's just like. It's been to the grocery store multiple times with me.

And the person's just like putting a tag around it very seriously. And then he started just cracking up with me because I go up to the counter and I was like, I need to check this bag. And he was like, There's nothing in it. It's a tote bag. What are you doing? I was like, no, I'm serious. I explained and he was like, oh my gosh, this is so funny. I was like,

I'm making a video on it. Like, do you mind being like, you know, just like his hands and stuff in the video? But it's like, it's a good way of learning, you know? Yeah, pissed a bunch of people off. Yeah, it went very, very viral. People are like, this is abusing business seven. I was like, Delta literally markets this program. It's also a joke.

I'm giving Delta free marketing telling people that we can do this. I'm sorry, I'm marketing the program better than they are. So it was funny. I love that one, though. It's just, you know, and I mean, some people like some people really take it far and will check like empty Amazon boxes. But like I think about it, I'll bring like a duffel bag with me. Like if I go shopping or something, I now always bring a collapsible duffler backpack.

I actually brought it here to the studio today. I didn't realize I was gonna need it, but I was like, oh, actually I wanna bring X, Y, and Z stuff. Pulled out my little thing. And so if I go shopping, I'll put my dirty laundry. I always bring a tote bag actually in my luggage, because especially in New York, I'm like, I need to carry my laptop.

I need to do a water bottle. You just like have no idea. So you have that, you check it, boom, it gets your destination, and you are able to get these 2,500 miles more often than not. Yep. Okay, so we keep saying status for an airline. Explain, like, I'm five years old, what airline status means. And again, seems like, oh, it's just rude business guys in suits. That's what everyone wants to think it is or does think it is.

You can earn status without stepping on a plane with certain programs, which is wild to think about. It can be through credit card spend. It can be through shopping through the shopping portals. American Airlines is very popular in the points and miles community for their program because you can earn status without stepping on a plane. Alaska is doing that now, too. Yep. Delta switched their program. A lot of people hated the changes that Delta made for their program, because you can earn status without stepping on a plane. Alaska's doing that now, too. Yep.

Delta switched their program. A lot of people hated the changes that Delta made to their program. I actually have a hot take on it. And I think they've made it easier to earn the lower tiers of status. They've made it harder to earn Diamond, which is their top level of status that you can earn.

They have an invite-only program above that. But that's, you know, like, we're not talking about that for us. That's Mark Cuban. I don't even get that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mark Cuban has a private jet. It's not Mark Cuban. Yeah. You know, like, we're not talking about that for us. That's Mark Cuban. I don't even get that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mark Cuban has a private jet.

It's not Mark Cuban. Yeah, you know, it's like those, it's like the CEOs who are like spending, you know, $150,000 on this airline per year. Who are on like four flights a week. Yes. But you, like, by holding two of Delta's credit cards, the reserve card and the platinum card, which if you're flying them a lot, like I am, I hold both of those cards, which is another thing we should maybe get into about some of the credit card stuff.

By holding the Delta reserve card and the Delta platinum card, you are, they have these I hold both of those cards, which is another thing we should maybe get into about some of the credit card stuff. We did. By holding the Delta Reserve Card and the Delta Platinum Card, they have these things called status boost, and you are going to earn, I forget, I'd say the $2,500 or $5,000 total. So, by holding both of those cards, I'm basically earning enough to have silver medallion status without stepping foot on a plane. Yeah. So, and a lot of programs are like that.

Then you earn- Yeah, the Alaska Airlines card, they just started that last year. And so what I did was I travel enough. I travel quite a lot, but not like you. So I was getting to the end of the year and going, Oh, I'm like 3000 miles away exactly from status. And what status gets you is anything from, okay, lounge access, checked bags is probably the most common one. Priority boarding. Priority boarding. Every time you fly, you're getting more points and miles for that. TSA pre-check, clear.

This is such a minor thing. Alaska, you're not paying me to say this, but you really, really should. I've been trying for a very long time. But they give me, if you have, I think it's gold status with Alaska, which is 40,000 miles a year, you get a little chocolate on board and it's only for people with that status or higher and they always look at you and they're like, Victoria, thank you for being. I'm like, you're welcome. Thank you. And I like, I don't know why travels hard.

I look forward to that chocolate. It's like a really nice chocolate bar. And then I sit there and I eat it with my with my pretzels. And so it's a nice little chocolate pretzel. And I just recognition is exactly. And the best thing is like I get premium seats for free. So I get a premium upgrade no matter when I fly for free. You're automatically in like in for Delta's Comfort Plus, whatever.

It's like the premium economy seats. I get upgraded immediately after booking into those. And then I'm on the list for first class. There's upgrade certificates that you can use to put yourself in there for certain flights. I'm flying home from New York with an upgrade certificate. I flew too and I'm flying home from New York with an upgrade certificate. So I'm in first class, I don't have to worry because of that. For drink certificates, like just little things that make your life easier when it comes to travel.

You have dedicated phone lines. I think that's another underrated one. Huge, massive. When things go wrong, you need the... My number one tip for when things go wrong is get your flight rebooked. Like if you're canceled or delayed or whatever. And so when you have status, there are people who are sitting there and are looking at this and they're going to work through the list of people who need to get rebooked. And they're going to start with the people who have top status.

Now you can be standing in line at the airport and doing all of that too, but there are other people behind the scenes that are actually doing this. So oftentimes I will already have an agent who has either placed me on hold for a certain flight or has rebooked me and they're giving me options because of status. So that's another area where it can really benefit you. And they'll put me, they're like, oh, I've held you on this flight,

you're on, because there's maybe only a standby seat available, but you're confirmed on this one. And they'll just work with you to keep you flying them happy. Yeah. And I think, again, with earning status, my number one tip is become loyal to an airline. work with you to keep you flying them happy. Yeah. And I think, again, with earning status, my number one tip is become loyal to an airline. So you're Delta, I'm Alaska. But I fly Alaska even when it's slightly more inconvenient,

because I know that's going to get me to status quicker. And when things go wrong, they'll take care of you. Exactly. So if you're bopping from airline to airline, if you're in your early 20s and you've got to do that to travel fine But I will say it makes travel a lot easier once you start saying, you know, this is my this is my preferred airline This is who I'm gonna fly unless it's like they don't have a route or unless it's extremely inconvenient Right and when you become loyal to an airline, they're gonna become loyal to you

Yeah, and even when it out of my Delta even when it is inconvenient, let's say I have to take a layover there instead of a direct flight, but I know I'm going to be probably in first class. I can enjoy the lounge. I have a way more productive day at the airport because I'm flying and I'm able to pull my laptop out and not feel like I'm sitting in between all of these people and I like him with such a nuisance.

Well, when you're bigger girls, too. Oh, yeah. And I have broad shoulders. Oh, yeah. That is the worst experience when I'm next to this 6. Oh yeah, I'm just, that is the worst experience when I'm next to like this six foot five dude and I'm just like, I can't breathe. It's awful.

Yeah, and then I'm just like, you know, someone reclines their seat and all of a sudden my like laptop is in my chin and I'm like trying to work. And so those sorts of things just make the life, your life so much easier and better. Totally. Still waiting on that sponsorship from Alaska Airlines, but in the meantime,

here's a word from our podcast sponsors. They allow us to do this show that's so valuable for free. And we appreciate you staying and listening to those ads. After the break, we're talking more about credit cards and then doing a little rapid fire to end our time together. I run a multi seven figure company and I don't do it alone. A lot of people don't realize I have a whole team behind me, not just for this podcast, but also for our programs and our operations. There's so many parts of our business that couldn't run without my team.

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support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash FFPOD. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. So I have this dream and I'm going to announce it right now so that I have to do it. I want to do a cooking intensive in Italy for like at least six weeks. I want to go to Italy. I want to learn how to cook. But the thing is, as great of a home cook as I am, my knife skills need work.

So I'm going to masterclass to better my knife skills so I don't make a fool of myself at this dream cooking intensive. With Masterclass, you can learn from the best to become your best. It's the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200 of the world's best for just 10 bucks a month billed annually. And you can access Masterclass on your phone,

computer, smart TV, or even in audio mode. So I can be chopping vegetables and learning from some of the most incredible chefs while I'm in my kitchen. So whether it's learning from folks like Martha Stewart or Harold Schwartz or Whitney Wolf-Hird, you can find all of them and more on Masterclass. Right now our listeners get an additional 15% off any annual membership at Masterclass.com slash FF pod. That's 15% off at masterclass.com slash FF pod, masterclass.com slash FF pod. Okay, one last question about credit cards. And then we'll do a rapid fire. But if I'm trying to decide between airline specific card versus general bank card,

or like hotel specific card versus general bank card, or like hotel-specific card versus general bank card. What's the logic there? What would you rather go with? I would start first with a general bank card, because you have more. So a Chase and an AMEX, a Capital One. Yes, like their version of the card. So not a co-branded card is what the other ones are called.

So you're going to start with those, because you have more flexibility with your points because of the transfer partners. You can transfer them to airlines. you can transfer them to hotels. You can, so you don't have to, if you have a Delta credit card and you're putting your spend on it, you only have Delta miles. So when we're talking about, oh, that Virgin Atlantic deal that you saw, you're not able to transfer your Delta miles over to Virgin Atlantic.

But if you held the Amex card and you put all of your spend on the Amex card or some of your spend or whatever, you can transfer those points to Delta, you can transfer them to Virgin Atlantic. So it gives you flexibility for when you want to use your points. So I would always start there, but then when you do become loyal to certain brands or you find yourself staying in these hotels

or airlines or whatever a lot, it is helpful to open their own card. It gives you a lot of specific benefits just for that airline or that hotel, both in benefits when you're actually staying there or flying them, but also earning benefits that you're gonna get to totally that's great Chanel you and viral for eating backpacker meals at a five-star resort in the Maldives and the internet interneted and just Absolutely gave you so much shit for it.

They love or hate it, you know? Okay, but what does this tell us about how and when we spend money traveling? So you're in this five-star resort pool and you're eating ramen. Yeah. And people were so angry about it. Yeah. But tell me, like, not only why are you doing that, but like, how can we relate that to our own travel experiences? What can we learn from that experience?

It's figuring out like what works within your budget. I want to go on these nice experiences more often. And what that means is that I can't spend $10,000 on a trip, which you will spend if you go to the Maldives for a week, because prices there are crazy. So to supplement that, we brought backpacker meals, because we knew we had a hot tea kettle that we could use. No microwave, just a hot tea kettle. So we brought ramen, we brought backpacker meals because we knew we had a hot tea kettle that we could use. No microwave, just a hot tea kettle. So we brought ramen, we brought backpacker meals and people were like, why did you go to Maldives if you can't afford it?

It's not that I can't afford it, I'm choosing to spend my money in other places. Yep, and she also went out for a nice meal. But if we were doing that every single night. The dinners every night were $400. Cause the Maldives, they ship the food out, right? Cause very little of the food there, I don't think any of the food goes.

No, they don't have crops. Right, they don't have crops. So if you're getting a steak in the Maldives, they ship the food out, right? Because very little of the food there, I don't think any of the food goes. No, they don't have crops. Right, they don't have crops. So if you're getting a steak in the Maldives, that is not from the Maldives. No, everything is imported. And then there's all these taxes. It's called the plus plus, it's a service tax, and an actual tax from the government. It's 26% going up to 26% on top of the prices. That's how you start adding up all of these things.

So the price is already like high, like a cocktail's $36. And then you have to add the 26% on top. So it's not including, you know? And so it's like, wow, I want to see this place. I think it's so smart. And it proves, and it's why I love following you, is it proves that like, you can have these luxury, lovely experiences or whatever luxury means to you

and also decide you know what the reason I can do this is because there's other places I'd rather not spend my money. Yeah it's just like I take the train to the airport and fly business class. Yes! Like it's the same concept of where I'm I was in the bus in Paris after getting off a flight yeah in business class. Yeah and it's just choosing where I was in the bus in Paris after getting off a flight. Yeah. In business class. Yeah. And it's just choosing where I want to spend my money. And that allows me.

So because we brought backpacker meals, instead of having to be a little bit frugal at dinner every single night and like, Oh, we're going to split this meal and not have any drinks or whatever. We were able to then, when we did go out, not have to worry about it because we didn't spend it every single day. We didn't spend all of his crazy money. We were able to just, and honestly, sometimes you don't want to. I just don't want to have to go and have a sit down meal

every time. And so then my other option is ordering room service. No, I can have some ramen in my five star resort pool. And I love it. I'm having a great time. That stuff doesn't bother me. It might bother certain people. And they're going to choose not to do that.

And they might choose to save in other ways. But I look at the way the things that the way I think anybody listening totally gets it. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's what I want to do you know with my money and I don't regret it. We've done it twice now. This was our second time in the Maldives and we brought the back. And she was like, ha ha ha.

I'm going to piss everybody off again. Yes. I brought we do reviews of them. We're like reviewing our backpacker meal and the five star in the Maldives. And so we got a whole rating system this year. Taste, texture, yes. Yes. And so it's just like figuring out what works for you.

Just like every personal finance is personal. So you have to figure out what makes sense for you, your lifestyle, what's important to you. My parents, for example, they've never been into like fine dining, going out to eat. Like that's not how they want to prioritize their money. And so they'll spend their money on other things and that's totally okay. I'm a big foodie. I love going out to restaurants and trying new things,

but I'm going to prioritize them. Like let's say we're in Italy. I want to go to this Michelin star restaurant in Italy. So then maybe I'm just going to have like a croissant for breakfast then, you know, and that's how I'm able to afford those things. And just figure out what works for you. Well, I'm not going to get, you know, the Uber to the airport. I'm going to use like a croissant for breakfast. Then, you know, and that's how I'm able to afford those things. And just figure out what works for you. I'm not going to get, you know, the Uber to the airport.

I'm going to use public transportation and that's fine. Exactly. Exactly. So I love finding ways to make things work for you. And you don't have to follow like the traditional model of what everyone else does. You know, people go in there, think outside of the box and, and find something that works for you. Yeah. Make it work for you. Okay. You are six two. Six you. Okay, you are 6'2"?

Six feet. Six feet with no shoes. So basically, any time you see me in public, I'm minimum 6'1". Yeah, okay. Six foot tall, plus size woman. Yeah. Who makes her living on the internet. Yeah. And similar to me, you get a lot of shit for it. Oh, yeah. Why is it important for you to represent fat or plus size girls, especially with travel and content creation?

And what ways do you receive discrimination when you're traveling that maybe somebody in a smaller body wouldn't? I think one of the biggest ways that I see discrimination, and it's not necessarily intended that way, but people think that fat people don't want to do active things. So like, oh, this paddleboard isn't inflated properly. So actually it's sinking because it's under inflated, which would be fine for maybe normal people, but like my body needs a fully inflated paddleboard to go on it.

Or like this kayak, they're like, oh, you're going to go on the single kayak and do not do a double, like those sorts of things or robes in hotel rooms We're staying in these five star resorts now the one in the Maldives or the towels the doubt I don't wrap this morning at my hotel room like those sorts of things and instances happen all the time and you kind of have To you I don't say you have a thicker skin about it But like I know I'm going to Vietnam the women the average height of a woman in Vietnam like five two is five feet Yeah, five feet tall. This is when I went This whole suit was made custom made in Vietnam and so I'm going there and they're like, oh you're like you're gonna have to pay

a little bit more because Which you know, like if you're there's a whole fashion industry conversation we can have about that, but I get it there I'm going to a small shop. They're building their prices off of the average person which is probably between five foot and five four That lives there. Yeah, not tourists problem, right? Exactly, but even the tourists, you know, like there's not a lot of American tourists that are necessarily going there So I understand that there I was like, yeah, no problem Like I was still able to get a great deal great experience I haven't personally received a lot of like mean. And I think when I have received comments.

In person at least. Yeah, in person, online. That's a whole other story. Online is every second. But in person, they will say things more matter of factly. More matter of factly. More matter of factly of like, oh, you're in a bigger body. We need you to go in this thing.

Yeah. Oh, you're a big girl. And I'm like, I know I am. Yeah. I'm towering over you. It's not a judgment, it's fact. Yes, it is. And so they'll say things,

but I think we can sometimes internalize that so much and feel bad about it. But instead of saying, no, that is a fact. Thank you for finding me the solo kayak that I can go on. The thing that's going to make this trip successful. Yeah. And so I think making sure that you are in a good mindset to just accept those things that are fact versus when I go to Amsterdam, I'm short there. The Netherlands are tall, so I'm like, oh, this is amazing.

So every country is a little different. You just kind of don't know what to expect, but don't feel bad for asking for what you need. One of my favorite tips is when I go to resorts that are higher end resorts where they have the robes already in the hotel room. Spa robes. Yeah, I call down to the spa and ask them

because a lot of times the spa has a wider selection. The standard robe they just throw in the room is. And they put everybody in bigger robes at the spa, typically, too. Yeah. Because they're comfy. Yeah. So I call down.

And I'm like, or I'll stop by the spa when I'm going to the resort. And I'm like, oh, do you guys have a larger size robe that I can bring up to my room? And if they have it, I've had no issues with them accommodating it. So those are some of the things that I've experienced. But online, people are just, I think,

it's important to show up online and showcasing that we can do things in bigger bodies. And we don't have to be ashamed about it. We can be confident with it. We can take up space. And that is so important to me to talk about, because people feel like, you know, they'll, I get comments about like, I'll get comments in videos that say, oh, did you need a seatbelt extender for this? So what if I did? Like, I'm safe. Well, and that's one of the things I love,

and I wanted to bring that up. It's like, I've seen multiple videos of you. Yeah. Just asking for it. Hi, flight attendant. Can I have a seatbelt extender, please? Like, there's no shame, there's no, I'm so sorry. I don't need to be quiet

and meek about it either. And like, it's crazy, those videos go really viral. And part of it makes me happy that people are seeing this and that's why it's going viral. But in the same breath, it also makes me sad that that simple act is so hard for people. I want to normalize that. I want them to feel like you don't have to be ashamed

for asking these things. You are taking care of yourself and doing what you need to do to experience these things. And that is not care of yourself and doing what you need to do to experience these things. And that is not only okay, like you should be doing that. It's an accommodation and accommodations are so needed for the vast majority of people. Yeah. Whether you have a disability, whether you are in a bigger body, like these are the things that are so important.

And in the content creator space, I receive, you know, a lot of hate online. So many videos go viral. You and me both, girl! Sometimes I limit my comments, because I just don't want to deal with the influx. I want to be able to focus on the comments that are beneficial. So I'll limit them to just people who follow me

and people I follow, so then I'm able to actually answer questions. That's more so why I limit them. And it just gets an effect. It's also OK if you're just like, I'm done hearing people call me a fat cow today. I'm good not hearing that for the 17th time today. I'm over it.

But then sometimes I have fun with it. And I think I get a lot of comments in person when people meet me or DMs that say, I love how you handle the haters online, because I don't need to back down to them. I can clap back. It's a way for me to showcase my humor and wit with my audience, too.

And it's really fun that way to showcase and just have it show that it's not that serious. So then- You also have to, you don't have to take it. No. Like if you are coming into my space, it's like you're coming into my home and I've invited you into my home.

And if the moment you step foot on my welcome mat and you go, you're unlovable and you are so ugly and disgusting and fat, what do you think I'm gonna do? I'm gonna slam the door in your face. You're not coming, I'm not serving you food. I'm not here to make you comfortable. If you come in and that's the energy

you're bringing immediately. And the notion that people like, I hate when people are like, you should just expect this when you are online. Like, oh, we're just expecting that people are gonna be assholes and we're just allowing that. There's no HR for our jobs. No, I am HR. I'm legal.

I am HR. Marketing and sales. I'm everything. So I'm going to handle this how I see fit. And especially if you're coming to me with that energy, I'm going to match you at that energy. And if you can't handle it, then don't come at me with that energy. Right. It's just fun to poke at these people back because I think sometimes I feel like they're invincible on this side of the screen. Because they're anonymous. Yeah. And it's worth shutting people down.

Like they've so many content creators who have reached out to me saying like they appreciate what I post about with these haters. And they're like, I've stopped creating or I don't create as much because I'm getting this hate. And they're showing that it's normal. And unfortunately, it's normal. But like that these attacks, even though they're trying to come at you as a personal attack it's actually not personal at all like they are doing this to everyone they do not like themselves and that's what's going on yeah yeah it's more about them than me and so I think just like having fun with the as much as you can and then when I when I don't have the capacity or bandwidth for it we limit those comments

we're shutting that shit down yeah okay. OK, rapid fire, you ready? Yeah. Favorite card and why? Oh, my favorite card is the Amex Platinum card because I'm a bougie traveler who wants lounge access. And I want to earn more points on my travels so I can fly business class. That is one of my cards as well. Yes.

Worst card and why? Mm. I mean. Say some names. Say call people out in the trailer. Okay. I think like any card, if like, if we're talking like the Home Depot credit card, like those sorts of things, you know, where it's like, okay, instead use a card. Yeah, don't be opening those cards. Store credit cards are awful.

And they're usually those perks are not worth it. Like they're usually super predatory. I have a whole section in my book about the Victoria's Secret card. Yes, that was a huge one. And they prey on 18-year-olds who now just have their own credit for the first time or the ability to sign up for a credit card without a co-signer. And they don't know it's a credit card because they're not being open and honest. They're like, it's a rewards card.

And there's been so many people in our community who have signed up for one of those cards and went into debt because they had no idea. Yeah, that this is what they're getting into. Yep. I think some of the other worst ones are like, it's not even necessarily the card itself, but it's the sign-up bonus when you're going for it. So I think every card in the travel space

can have a time and place, depending on your life, your credit, what you're willing to take on. But when you are signing up for something that has a 20,000-point sign-up bonus, wait until they're elevated. Yeah. You know, those sorts of things. Most overrated card in your opinion. Mmm... Is it bad if I say it's also the MX Platinum?

Oh, no, I also agree with that. Like, I think it's... I love that card and I also am like... I think it's overrated because a lot of people sell it in the sense that like it is the best card, blah, blah, blah. For most people, it's actually not. That's why I think it's overrated. It is great for people.

I am like fully in the Chase Sapphire Reserve camp again. I signed up for that card and was like, oh, okay. And then signed up for the Amix platinum. Love that until they stopped letting you bring a guest in to lounges and the lounges are so like, I think they gave way too many people that card post pandemic. And so it doesn't feel... Well, a lot of people are talking about it more too. I think they gave way too many people that card post-pandemic. And so it doesn't feel... Well, a lot of people are talking about it more too.

So there was a lot of gatekeeping in the travel space, and that's why people like the points guy have done so well because they're actually putting this stuff out there. And other content creators that are out there that are talking about it. So now people were able to get this card and now they're changing all of the benefits because they're like, oh shit, people heard about this card

and now our lounges are full. We can't... Every single time I've been to the lounge in Seattle're like, oh shit, people like heard about this card and now like our lounges are full. We can't, like now we have the... Every single time I've been to the lounge in Seattle in the last six months, ooh, maybe one exception, there has been a line out the door. And I'm like, what's the point of this? Exactly, so that's where I think maybe the girl boss is a bit too close to the sun.

Truly. So I think that, you know, that card is also my, it's my personal favorite because of my travel lifestyle, but it's also probably the most overrated for most people. Best underrated travel destination. Ooh, oh my gosh, Vietnam. Yeah. I'm obsessed with Vietnam.

It's on my short list. Anywhere in Southeast Asia, I think is incredible for a lot of reasons, the people, the culture, the food, but also the US dollar goes really far there. And that is a privilege that we have as people who are earning the US dollar. You can go there and you feel like you are just, yeah, you're like, Oh my God, I'm going to get a massage every single day because they're $12 for an hour long massage. I'm not kidding. I went to the spa every single day. Same thing in Taipei. I did like, I got my hair done

in Vietnam. I got Botox in Vietnam. I got the suit made in Vietnam. I am built by Vietnam right now. Built? Made in Vietnam. Yes, I am made in Vietnam right now. But I love Southeast Asia for those sorts of reasons, because it's just experiences that you wouldn't get if you are going to fly like to Florida.

Let's say you're not going to get that same experience with your money. So finding, when we're talking about like finding cheap flights earlier, okay, so you find a flight deal to Vietnam, that's maybe $600 in economy round trip. You could have flown that to Florida, but now when you get to Vietnam, you're staying in a nice hotel for $50 a night. Truly $50. Yeah, it's like, we're not exactly, a meal there, like in there,

what I would, like the best way to describe it to American travelers that haven't been abroad much is like a fast casual type of restaurant. There are these places where you sit down, they have a very short menu and you order like, oh, they're the bun cha or the banh mi and they make it really, really well. It's two US dollars. So like you can truly go to Vietnam on such a small budget.

If you stay in hostels, you can even, you know, decrease your daily budget needs. And I just, I love that destination so, so much. Yeah. Best like packing hack. Number one, pack an extension cord. I pack, that's like my number one thing that I pack. For like phone chargers and stuff?

Yeah, just, I mean, like, especially if you're on a trip with girls or your partner, like you never know what this extension cord, or what the outlet scenario is gonna be and then so I have an extension cord That just sits in my travel bag that has USB USB-c all these things and like sometimes it's like the not only is it not convenient, but maybe it's like really wobbly So you gotta like you can't put in your laptop charger in this one So I like got my little extension cord that I plug in that's my number one thing

I pack and I mean packing cubes. I think a lot of people talk about those. Those are great. Put an air tag in all of your bags. Yeah, there's one thing I can tell everyone to do is have an air tag and make sure you change those batteries. But when your bag is lost, it's like such a peace of mind to be able to know where it is. Or like one time I was on a flight, and I knew that my bag didn't make the flight before the flight took off. Because I could see that my bag was further, and it was a snowboarding trip. So I was already on my phone looking up like, oh, where can I go when I land to go buy more snowboarding gear? And it's just now airlines are going to be able, airlines are starting to be able to use that air tag information to actually locate your bag.

So also get that. The place that you think in like five years is gonna pop off. Mm-hmm. Ooh, this will be like the Croatia of today. Yeah. You know? I loved Croatia before it was cool. Yeah, and now it's really like, it's really popped off. It was the Game of Thrones effect.

Dad, I don't know if you know this, Croatia is like the hot place to go now. Yeah. And we went on a Mediterranean cruise when I was 13, and I was like, this is the best place I've ever been in my life. I loved it. And now everybody's there.

I think the next place is Turkey. I'm sure. I love Turkey so much. It was such an underrated destination. I always really wanted to go. I brought my dad and my partner with. Did anybody get a hair transplant? No, but I was like, I thought it was such a trope and then you get on your flight to leave Turkey. No, you get on the flight and there's like 10 people.

Not even the flight. When you're walking around the city, everyone just has the bandages. It's so normal. If you ever wanted to get one, go there. Just like in South Korea, I'm headed there in April, people get this salmon sperm injected in their skin. It's this new thing. And you have all these dots on your face. Apparently a friend just got it done over there. She was like, oh, it's so normal to walk around here because everyone gets it done. Whereas you walk around here and they'd be like, what is wrong with your face? It looks like you just got run over by like a, I don't know, someone's tread on.

You know, it's so it's crazy. But I think Turkey is going to be the next destination because it shares the Mediterranean with Greece and whatnot. And so like you're getting that same experience of like the Mediterranean. Without the Santorini craziness. Without the Santorini prices, without the Santorini crowds. Yeah. And the food is so good. It's so much more affordable.

Yeah. I just can't wait to go back. I love it so much. I haven't been, but my theory is going to be like Latvia, Romania. Yeah, I can see that. Like, I think those are some of those countries that are just like beautiful and pristine, but also need a lot of our love right now because they're close to Ukraine.

And so I wouldn't be surprised if we get a couple of those. Yeah, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, to some of those places. I think that are gorgeous destinations that just haven't had maybe the tourism money or investors even to kind of like bring more Western travelers over there. Well, that's a larger problem we talked about on the show before of like trendy travel, right? And then it's just absolutely overrunning some places. And especially people who are not considerate, who don't tip well, who are the classic Americans that we think of when they go and travel these places. and it's like it's really important

Whenever we travel to show up to respect cultures to not just like Support big corporations while we're there but like local businesses and everything So I think that any country that ends up like getting on the map, okay great, but like they've always been there Yeah, yeah And like that your dollar means so much to them in these places Yeah, because like tourism can is a big livelihood in a lot of these locations for how people make their money And they don't leave their countries necessarily all that often because it is much more Expensive for them and also harder for them to get visas to a lot of these places So that's a whole other portion of it

But I think that like again you're going you need to be respectful responsible And know that like we have a lot of privilege And share some of that with the locals when you can tip really well Yes, tip really well almost always and they just appreciate it my I hosted a group trip in Bali and we had an incredible Guide he was so amazing and at the end, you know, we'd talked to him We got to know him over the like eight nine days We were there and he really wanted a guitar. He had been telling us about this. So we all tipped him really, really well at the end,

and we told him, we're like, please use this to go get your guitar. And he did, like two days later, he sent us a photo, and he went and bought this guitar, and we like have chills talking about it. I was just gonna make a little teary, that's really sweet. And he was just like, he... Everybody's people, everybody's human.

Yes, and he just, you know, had mentioned that this was like something that he really wanted to do and get into, and hobby that he wanted to have and just had never had the money to really spend on himself. It wasn't accessible. Yeah. And so we all made sure like we piled up all of this money and we're like, so he had enough tip money that he could use it the way he normally intends to use it, but then could

also buy his guitar. Yeah, which is fantastic. Yeah, it was. Okay. Anybody listening who's intimidated, overwhelmed by either points, by traveling, by international travel, what is your last thing you have to say to them? You have to start somewhere.

You travel anxiety, flight anxiety, anxiety over just the complicated systems, visas, all that stuff. It is difficult and it's okay to be overwhelmed by it at first, but know that there are so many resources out there today to learn how to do this. I think about my parents' generation who didn't have the internet at the time to be able to learn these things. Like now, if I have a question, I Google it. You know, there's probably a blog post somewhere of someone talking about this,

having a similar experience. There's a video from you. Yeah, there's all of these resources. Go on a TikTok and search your, you know, like your question or your travel destination and I think you know with flight anxiety Specifically there are the tools like if you my mom had a lot of flight anxiety So she didn't travel for a number of years really unless she absolutely had to and we wanted to go to Bali as a family And she my dad brother and I booked it together. My mom was on the fence She did end up booking it and she was so scared about the flight there. We got her global entry

We got her PSA pre-check which comes with global entry clear lounge access. We flew premium economy. We were able to upgrade our ticket That's another way to do all that But even if you don't upgrade your ticket like just being able to have some of these little luxuries can help reduce your anxiety So much gives you it doesn't feel like this big buildup. Yeah, you've got a quiet space. You've got a quiet space to like, the lounge is less chaotic. So think about like what makes you if you're an anxious traveler. What really like does make you anxious?

Is it the lines? Is it the loud chaoticness of the airport? It definitely is for me. I don't have flight anxiety, but I hate... As much as I travel, you'd think I'd like it by now. I like it a lot better with all the other fun things. Yeah. Like those are the only things now that have made it doable for me. I don't think I could travel this often because I hate, hate, I don't sleep on

planes. I can't. And so it's just like, anytime I'm on a plane, I'm like counting down the hours. You're like just looking at the plane map. You're like, are we almost there? I'm like, oh my gosh, we're still 20 minutes outside the city we left. But when you're in a nicer seat, even just slightly more room, or you're not in the middle seat, right? And you had maybe a meal before, so you're not stressed about, oh my gosh, I got to buy

the $14, I don't know, popcorn. $14? You mean like $25? Yeah, sure. I was like, you're giving them a lot of credit, geez. $14, I don't know $25 Sandwich. Yeah, like it is. It's so much easier and it's not perfect No, it's easier and go in knowing that it won't be perfect things will happen

Things will be delayed always happen and be calm because yelling at the gate agent, you know isn't going to help They're they're just trying to help you. Yeah, in fact, so just remember some of these tips That's we're having and learning about this before you go like about your credit card benefits and things can help you. In fact, so just remember some of these tips. That's what we're having and learning about this before you go, like about your credit card benefits and things can help you stay calm during these situations. Like now when my bag gets lost, I'm like bag, bag. Now when my bag gets lost, I look at it as like, I'm like, oh, I guess it's a shopping spree on Delta.

On daddy Delta? Yeah, daddy Delta is paying for this. I'm like, oh, they lost my bag on my way to Europe for the Christmas markets trip I had to buy a new snow boots a new coat like all of these things. You're like, oh shoot I have to go shop And it takes time out of it time out of your trip that you weren't going to maybe Have you weren't planning on spending but you just try to find some of the small wins in it and I'm like, oh cool

I just got like a partially new wardrobe Thanks to this, you know and just you try to find the small joys. And I think it really makes you, traveling has really made me appreciate those small things. So even now when I'm home, I appreciate my own bed. Getting fresh flowers, I appreciate being able to cook my own meal and use some of these things that I've learned while I've been traveling. So I think it just makes me really grateful overall. And I love that about travel.

So try and remember that nothing is perfect in life, but try to find those little moments. And again, I think these things that we've largely viewed as, yeah, it's just for guys in suits. It's for people who are multi, multi, multi millionaires. These things are accessible to you. It might not be tomorrow and it might not be first class shower on a plane, but it might just be, you know what? I can get this free or very discounted flight

to go home for Christmas every year. Yeah. Spend time with family, be with loved ones, make memories. It's accessible. It's more accessible than you think it is. And it's really fun to start seeing some of these travelers and people out. I love going into a first-class cabin, seeing younger women in there especially, because I started traveling and I was probably starting to hit first class at like 24 because I got crazy and wanted to hit diamond status immediately after I got silver and then went straight to diamond on Delta. And so I was getting upgraded

into these first-class cabins and you're next to these old guys in suits that are you know whatever and people kind of think that you don't belong maybe but as I as we see more and more people learning about these things, you're seeing these cabins filled up with just so much more diversity. And it's just so great to see. I love you. I love your work. Where can people find more about you? My name is Janelle Onajet on all social platforms, J-A-N-E-L-L-E.

I'm on TikTok. I'm on Instagram. I'm on YouTube. So you can find me there. I would love to have you a part of this community I talk a lot about travel DM me your questions. Let me know you listen to this episode Screenshot it put your story tag me. I love getting feedback from these types of podcast episodes I'm so grateful that you had me on this podcast. We've been meaning to do it for a while I know not even in Seattle. We both live in Seattle and we're doing this in New York Yeah, I mean, I guess that really does make it like a travel podcast, right?

Yeah, it kind of is. So there you go. Yeah. So thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. Thank you so much to Janelle for joining us. And thank you for your friendship, Janelle. I don't know if you're listening back to this episode, but hi.

Thanks, buddy. Appreciate it. Thank you for sharing your expertise with everybody. You can find Janelle at Janelle on a jet.com or at JanelleOnAjet on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram. She shares so many incredible tips on her social media, including flight deals, strategies for plus size and curvy travelers, but also is just such an inspirational resource. Every time I see her on a flight somewhere, I'm like, where's she going? What's she doing? I want to watch. So check out Janelle wherever you can. Thanks so much, Financial Feminist, for being here. We appreciate your support of Feminist Media and the show. Please share it with somebody that you think would also find it valuable.

You can follow us at her first 100k on Instagram, on TikTok, on all of those places, or her first 100k.com slash quiz to get a brand new free personalized money plan. Last but not least, if you are in a market for a credit card and you're wondering which ones I use and love, you can go to herfirsthundredk.com slash tools to see my recommendations. It's a great way to continue supporting our work and you can find more information about those credit cards if they're a good fit for you. Again, at herfirsthundredk.com slash tools. We'll link it in the show notes too. Thank you for being Financial Feminist. Thank you for being here.

We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Thank you for listening to Financial Feminist, a Her First 100K podcast. For more information about Financial Feminist, Her First 100K, our guests and episode show notes, visit financialfeministpodcast.com. If you're confused about your personal finances and you're wondering where to start,

go to herfirst100k.com slash quiz for a free personalized money plan. Financial Feminist is hosted by me, Tori Dunlap. Produced by Kristen Fields and Tamesha Grant. Research by Sarah Shortino. Audio and video engineering by Alyssa Midcast. Marketing and operations by Karina Patel and Amanda Lafue. Research by Sarah Shortino, Audio and Video Engineering by Alyssa Midcast, Marketing and Operations by Karina Patel and Amanda LeFeu. Special thanks to our team at Her First 100K, Kaylin Sprenkel, Masha Bakhmageva, Sasha Bonar, Ray Wong, Elizabeth McCumber, Darrell Ann Ingman, Shelby Duclos, Megan Walker, and Jess Hawks.

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