What’s in The Points Guy’s wallet?

You see him on TV and watch videos of him flying off somewhere in the plush seats at the front of the plane. “How do you do that?” you wonder. Then you hear that he doesn’t pay for most of his travel, but instead uses his credit card points and miles to travel for free (or almost free).

So, what’s in the wallet of Brian Kelly – founder of The Points Guy – that makes it possible for him to go this way? What credit card is he using to earn all that frequent flyer miles? Take a look at those credit cards he can’t leave the house without.

Find out which cards in your wallet will help you meet your travel goals for 2022 – just download Free TPG app.

As you can imagine, Brian has a lot of business expenses, and having a card that automatically adjusts its bonus earning categories every pay cycle makes things easy. More, Bonus points for American Express members are extremely valuable.

Cardholders automatically earn bonus points in the categories where they spend the most. You’ll earn 4 points per dollar on your first $150,000 in annual expenses in qualifying bonus categories (followed by 1 point for every dollar thereafter). These categories include air tickets purchased directly from airlines; US purchases for advertising in certain media (online, TV, radio); U.S. purchases are made directly from select technology providers of computer hardware, software, and cloud solutions; America buys goods at gas stations; Buy American at the restaurant and buy American for shipping.

Read our full Amex Business Gold card review.

American Express® Gold Card

If you need to know one thing about Brian, it’s that he’s quite the foodie. This card is great for those who love to dine in.

This card earns 4 points per dollar for dining at restaurants worldwide and for takeout and delivery in the US. This card also offers the highest return on spending (8% return, based on Our latest pricing) in this directory. You can also earn 4 points per dollar for spending up to $25,000 at US supermarkets each year (and then 1 point per dollar). Cardmembers also receive up to $120 credits annually with Uber that can also be used with Uber Eatsas annual dining credit up to $120 with select restaurants like Grubhub, Cheesecake Factory and Shake Shack or even wine orders from wine.com.

Read our full Amex Gold card review.

Bill Mastercard®

Most people who pay their apartment rent cannot pay by credit card. When they can, usually have high fees. The Bilt Mastercard does not charge a fee when paying rent and allows cardholders earn points and miles when paying rent. This is also the only credit card that earns money flexible point and there is a fixed path to transfer these points to American Airlines. Along with paying rent, Bilt cardholders can earn 2 points per dollar for travel and 3 points per dollar for dining out. Brian uses this tag all the time.

Read our full Mastercard Bilt card review.

Editor’s Note: TPG founder Brian Kelly is a Bilt advisor and investor. Information about the Bilt card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Business Centurion® Card from American Express

This card is available by invitation only, and you will need to spend about $500,000 per year on your Amex account to be invited to sign up. You’ll then pay $10,000 to open the card and another $5,000 per year to keep the card after that. But the perks it offers are plentiful. While the rate at which you earn points for spending on this card isn’t impressive, the way you can use them is worth considering. When you pay with your points to buy an airline ticket, you’ll get 50% of those points back in full if you book with American Express Travel Service’. That makes points worth 2 cents every time you pay for a plane ticket with points, double the value most others get when paying with points when paying for airline ticket purchases from Amex. Travel. And since these count as purchased tickets, you’ll still earn miles and operate status-eligible on these flights.

Cardholders also have the right to use a personal guide, elite status with hotel brands, elite status with many car rental programs and Elite status with Delta Air Lines. As if that weren’t enough, card members also have meet and greet services upon arrival at select international airports, and VIP arrivals and departures at select airports to get you up to speed. through the lines of entry, ensuring access Centurion Lounge at many airports, Priority lounge membership cardUnlimited visits to Equinox fitness centers, reserve seats at events and more.

In fact, Brian’s wallet itself was a gift from the people of Business Centurion during a previous holiday.

Read our full Review of Business Centurion Card.

Information about the Business Centurion Card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Brian once said this was the only credit card he never saw himself close. He uses it constantly, and there are two main reasons why.

First, Capital One mile has consistently gained in value over the past few years. In fact, you can use them with some of your favorite hotel and airline programs to travel for free, you can also use your miles to pay yourself back with how to delete travel purchases you paid for by card. This includes things like paying for a boutique hotel that doesn’t participate in the rewards program as well as Use the Blade to get a helicopter ride from the airport to downtown New York to avoid traffic jams. The card earns 2 miles per dollar on all purchases and even more when buying travel from Capital One travel.

Read our full Capital One Venture card review.

Unlimited pursuit of freedom

Some credit cards earn extra points at the supermarket while others earn extra points when you pay for hotels. But this is a great card for all “other” purchases without earning any bonus points. This could be everything from a garage to buying a pack of stamps.

With the Freedom Unlimited card, you get 5% cashback on your pre-booked travel Final reward3% back on Eating (includes eligible takeout and delivery), 3% cashback at the pharmacy, and an unlimited 1.5% cashback on all of those “other” purchases. Plus, the card has no annual fee. Also, if you have Premium credit card with Chaseyou can Turn your cashback earnings into Ultimate Rewards points for use with travel partners.

Read our full Review of Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Citi Prestige® Card

Sorry, this card is no longer open to new subscribers. That’s too bad because it has some amazing perks and earns points fast. This includes 5 points per dollar at restaurants, airlines and travel agencies. That’s a 9% return on spend (based on Our latest pricing) and these are the categories where Brian spends a lot of money.

Cardholders also earn 3 points per dollar at hotels and cruise lines, and benefits include receiving a Free Wednesday night when booking a hotel through Citi’s travel platform plus travel credit up to $250 per year. It’s the top of credits for your TSA or Global Entry Pre-Check application fee and cell phone insurance this will automatically apply if you are paying your monthly bill with this card.

Read our full Citi Prestige review.

Information about Citi Prestige has been independently obtained by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Ink . Business Preferred Credit Card

This card offers a great return when spent on the business expenses that come with running a business like TPG.

Cardholders earn 3 points per dollar when they spend their first $150,000 annually on travel, purchases, transportation, advertising on social media sites and search engines, and on services internet, cable and phone. Paying for ads and the internet to keep the site running are both essentials – and making lots of points on these costs is a bonus.

Although it is a business card, this card has the same value Final bonus points like the other Chase cards mentioned above, which means it’s easy to accumulate them quickly and redeem them for free or near-free travel at exceptional value.

Read our full Ink . Business Priority card review.

Platinum Card® from American Express

It is true that many of the benefits on the Amex Platinum Card mirror the benefits of the Business Centurion Card discussed above. Benefits on this card include use lounges at many airports, up to $200 in hotel credits annually, monthly credit to use with Uber and Uber Eats and elite status with both Marriott Bonvoy and Honorable Hilton programs.

However, the reason this card is in Brian’s wallet every day is getting closer to home: For as little as $175 per year, you can add up to three authorized users to your account (see rates and fees). This means Brian’s parents can each get their own Platinum Card, providing them the hotel’s elite status and access to airport lounges when traveling on your own. Pre-registration is required to enjoy some of these benefits.

Read our full Amex Platinum Card review.

Chase the debit card

At some point, everyone needs cash. This could be to buy Pad Thai from a street vendor in Bangkok or just for a tip during a hotel stay, but you’ll need some cash in your pocket on these occasions.

While Brian has a Sapphire Banking account with Chasethere are some rules you should look in choose a bank if you are a tourist. First make sure you won’t pay fees for using ATMs that are not owned by your bank. Next, make sure you won’t pay extra withdrawal fees in other countries. A good ATM/debit card won’t charge you access to your money.

However, The Points Guy has all the information you need to get started with chasing your points and miles. If you are new to points and miles, go to our beginner’s guide to find more about.

Additional reporting by Liz Hund.

For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.