🤑 Earn More Points, Waste Less Money - The Points Guy

THE POINTS GUY

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Welcome back to TPG Business Brief — where we help make sure your spending works as hard as you do!

In today’s edition, we’re settling debates, learning an important points rule and looking at some essential cards for business travelers.

Here’s the rundown:

📒 Can you really have expense controls and great rewards?
✈️ 125,000 points versus 125,000 miles
🤓 The golden rule of points

EXPENSE MANAGEMENT

Expense management and rewards: Can you have both?

Many business owners gravitate toward a robust expense management platform like Ramp, Rippling or Brex to maintain control over their employees’ spending.

But few stop to weigh what it costs them in missed rewards to use these platforms instead of a rewards credit card. You probably wouldn’t ignore points and miles earned on your personal card. So why do it for your business, where expenses are even higher?

Platforms like Rippling and Brex do offer some rewards, but when traditional business cards offer anywhere from 2 to 10 points per dollar spent on key categories (like travel and advertising), the rewards gap can be massive.

The real question isn’t “Which expense platform should we use?” It’s “How much control do we need, and what are we giving up to get it?”

For some companies, a hybrid strategy — integrating rewards-rich cards with existing accounting tools — delivers the best of both worlds.

Before you commit to a system, make sure you’re not sacrificing value for control.

CARDS

Your choice: 125,000 points or 125,000 miles

Right now, there’s an easy way to get either 125,000 hotel points or 125,000 airline miles (or both!).

But before I tell you how, let’s quickly discuss why you should even want these rewards.

While transferable credit card rewards like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards points are usually the best option to build a strategy around, there are two specific loyalty programs — one hotel, one airline — that are practically inescapable for business travel.

Those would be Marriott Bonvoy and Delta SkyMiles.

Hence, it is always good to have:

A strategic stockpile of these rewards
The ability to easily earn more of them when you need to
Elite status in these programs

Now, here’s how you can check all of those boxes:

Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: From now until Oct. 29, new cardholders can earn 125,000 bonus miles after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. That’s the best offer we’ve ever seen on this card, with 15,000 more miles than previous offers!

Why we love this card:
This is not just a Delta business card — it’s the ultimate Delta business card. You get all the perks of a premium travel card (think lounge access, a head start on elite status and more) plus a variety of valuable benefits that can easily offset the $650 annual fee (see rates and fees).

Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card: From now until Oct. 22, new cardholders can earn 125,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership.

Why we love this card:
Not only do you get strong earning rates on Marriott purchases and other categories important to business travelers, you also get automatic Gold Elite status and a head start on reaching the next level. Plus, you earn a free night award (worth up to 35,000 points) each card renewal year, which can offset the low $125 annual fee (see rates and fees).

So which do you prefer, 125,000 points or 125,000 miles? Just don’t miss your chance to get them, since these elevated offers are only available for a limited time.

POINTS AND MILES

Golden rule of points: Use ‘em if you’ve got ‘em

So you’re stacking up some big rewards on your business expenses. What now? What’s the plan for using them?

If you don’t have one, you really should make one.

Points and miles add incredible value to your life, but it’s a big mistake to treat them like long-term savings. Why?

Devaluation is inevitable.
They don’t earn interest (well, OK, some might).
Programs change or shut down.
Deals you aspire to get may never come.
Life gets in the way (just consider this cautionary tale).
They can even expire if your account sits idle for too long.

If you feel like you’re a bit of a points hoarder, here are some tips to help you get off the sidelines and start enjoying your hard-earned rewards.

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Advertiser Disclosure:

The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don’t cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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