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Behind the Curtain of Travel Loyalty Programs, Bilt Rewards, Venture X & Family RV Travel with Richard Kerr
In this episode we speak to Richard Kerr who is the Director of Travel Rewards for Bilt Rewards. He gets a little nerdy with us and pulls back the curtains a bit into the other side of travel loyalty programs. What goes into developing a great program and how it may be different than you think.
We also dive into Bilt Rewards including how it works and why it is different than other “rent payment” services that have come before. We also talk family RV travel on the heel of Richard’s recent 40+ day RV trip and discuss the brand new Capital One Venture X card including what we like and some of the questions we still have about this premium card.
Episode NotesÂ
2:28 – Talking Atlanta & Braves World Series Win
7:39 – Richard’s long stories background in points & miles
If you love the podcast and would like more content be sure to join our Diamond Lounge. There are weekly shows about spending, award bookings, an expert interview show with outside guests and a Diamond member spotlight show plus a Facebook and Discord group to chat and share tips. We will have quarterly group meet ups when the pandemic is over as well (first one scheduled for August!).
Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Mark Ostermann is a father, husband and miles/points fanatic. He left the corporate world after starting a family in order to be a stay at home dad. Mark is constantly looking at ways to save money and stay within budget while also taking awesome vacations with his family. When he isn't caring for his family or taking a weekend trip, Mark is working towards his goal of visiting every Major League Baseball ballpark.
Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
2 COMMENTS
I agree with Richard. I don’t see the hype surrounding this card when the best way to earn (and take advantage of the annual credit) is by way of a travel portal.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this hobby during the pandemic is how much I HATE dealing with travel portals. It’s all good…until it’s not.
There aren’t words to describe how much I hate dealing with these folks when things go wrong. I know folks hated the Expedia backed, Chase portal but I can tell you that dealing with cxLoyalty isn’t fun either.
They’re the folks behind the ThankYou portal and unless you enjoy dealing with incompetent people after hours of waiting on hold, you’re not going to be happy with these folks either.
I have honestly walked away from points due to me from cancelled routes because my sanity was worth more than the points.
I’d rather jump off the Empire State Building with hopes of getting my eyelids caught on a rusty nail than to deal with the customer service behind these travel portals.
I think there are a lot of people that feel that way. If Cap One, and Hopper, somehow figure out a better experience that could change things but we won’t know for several months if that is the case.
I agree with Richard. I don’t see the hype surrounding this card when the best way to earn (and take advantage of the annual credit) is by way of a travel portal.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in this hobby during the pandemic is how much I HATE dealing with travel portals. It’s all good…until it’s not.
There aren’t words to describe how much I hate dealing with these folks when things go wrong. I know folks hated the Expedia backed, Chase portal but I can tell you that dealing with cxLoyalty isn’t fun either.
They’re the folks behind the ThankYou portal and unless you enjoy dealing with incompetent people after hours of waiting on hold, you’re not going to be happy with these folks either.
I have honestly walked away from points due to me from cancelled routes because my sanity was worth more than the points.
I’d rather jump off the Empire State Building with hopes of getting my eyelids caught on a rusty nail than to deal with the customer service behind these travel portals.
I think there are a lot of people that feel that way. If Cap One, and Hopper, somehow figure out a better experience that could change things but we won’t know for several months if that is the case.