How to Look Bougie While Being Broke

How Credit Card Rewards, Points, Miles and Travel Perks Can Give You Premium Experiences Without Premium Money

I like nice shit.

I don't particularly enjoy paying full price for nice shit.

Those two positions might seem incompatible, but fortunately the credit-card industry has spent decades building an unnecessarily complicated ecosystem of points, miles, welcome bonuses, airport lounges, hotel credits and travel perks designed to convince us to carry increasingly expensive pieces of metal in our wallets.

Learn how to use that system properly and some ridiculous things become possible.

You can sit in an airport lounge drinking something you didn't pay $19 for.

You can get on an airplane before half the people standing around the gate.

You can stay in hotels you'd normally scroll past after seeing the nightly rate.

You can potentially turn points into premium-cabin flights that would cost thousands of dollars if purchased with cash.

And you can occasionally walk through an airport looking considerably wealthier than you actually are.

Welcome to the art of looking bougie while being broke.

There is, however, one enormous rule before we go any further.

Rule #1: Don't Pay 25% Interest to Earn 2% Back

This entire game falls apart if you're carrying expensive credit-card debt.

Seriously.

If you spend $1,000 and earn $20 worth of rewards but then pay $100 in interest, congratulations:

You didn't beat the credit-card company.

The credit-card company beat the shit out of you.

Most credit cards with a grace period allow you to avoid interest on purchases when you pay the full statement balance by the due date. If you start carrying a balance, you can lose that grace period and begin accruing interest on new purchases as well. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

So my fundamental rule for rewards cards is simple:

Buy things you were already going to buy.

Earn the rewards.

Pay the statement balance in full.

If you're spending extra money because something earns five points per dollar, you've completely missed the fucking point.

So What Are Credit-Card Rewards?

There are basically three currencies we're dealing with:

Cash back. Points. Miles.

Cash back is the easiest.

Spend money. Earn some percentage back. Redeem it according to the card's rules.

Simple.

Airline miles are generally tied to an airline loyalty program. Delta has SkyMiles. United has MileagePlus. American has AAdvantage.

Then you have the interesting category:

Transferable points.

Programs such as American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Capital One miles can potentially be transferred into participating airline and hotel loyalty programs.

That's where things start getting considerably more interesting.

Why 100,000 Points Aren't Necessarily Worth the Same

This confused the hell out of me when I first started paying attention to rewards.

You see:

100,000 POINT WELCOME BONUS

And your brain naturally thinks:

Sweet. What's 100,000 points worth?

Unfortunately, that's like asking what 100,000 pieces of foreign currency are worth without specifying the country.

Points aren't universally worth one fixed amount.

Their value depends on the program and how you redeem them.

You might use points directly through a card issuer.

You might redeem for cash or statement credits.

You might book travel.

Or you might transfer them to an airline or hotel loyalty program.

For example, American Express allows eligible Membership Rewards cardmembers to transfer points to participating airline and hotel programs. Amex specifically recommends checking award availability before transferring because transfers are final. American Express

Chase similarly allows eligible Ultimate Rewards cardholders to transfer points to programs including Air Canada Aeroplan, United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Singapore KrisFlyer, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy and others. Chase

This is one reason people get obsessed with transferable points.

They create options.

Welcome to the Transfer-Partner Rabbit Hole

Here's where rewards go from:

“Cool, I got $37 back.”

to:

“Wait...you're telling me these points might get me onto THAT airplane?”

Suppose an airline seat costs several thousand dollars in cash.

Sometimes that same seat may be available through an airline loyalty program for a certain number of miles plus taxes and fees.

If your credit-card points transfer to that program, you may be able to turn those points into the miles necessary to book it.

That's the theory.

Reality is more complicated.

Award availability can suck.

Transfer ratios vary.

Programs change redemption prices.

Taxes and surcharges can be substantial.

Transfers may be irreversible.

And the perfect redemption you saw some guy bragging about on Instagram might not exist on the dates you need to travel.

Still, understanding transfer partners is one of the biggest differences between casually earning points and actually using the damn things well.

We'll give that subject its own article because otherwise this one is going to become a doctoral dissertation.

Welcome Bonuses: Where Things Get Interesting

Your normal spending might earn one, two, three or more points per dollar depending on the card and category.

That's nice.

But welcome bonuses can introduce a much larger pile of points at once.

The basic structure is usually:

Open card → meet required spending within specified time → receive bonus.

This is where discipline matters.

If you already expect to spend that amount naturally, great.

If you're buying a $2,400 television you don't need because you're $2,400 short of earning a welcome bonus...

My guy, you have not discovered free travel.

You have discovered shopping.

The goal is to route existing spending through the bonus requirement.

Groceries.

Gas.

Bills.

Travel.

Insurance, where permitted without an absurd fee.

Whatever expenses you were already going to have.

The bonus should change which card pays the bill, not whether you create the bill.

Then There Are the Perks

This is where premium credit cards start making you feel bougie.

Depending on the card, you can potentially receive things like:

Airport lounge access.

Airline credits.

Hotel credits.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credits.

Free checked bags.

Priority boarding.

Hotel status.

Rental-car benefits.

Travel protections.

Companion certificates.

And various statement credits.

Suddenly you're walking into the airport, using PreCheck, entering a lounge, eating breakfast, charging your phone, boarding early and checking a bag without paying for it.

None of that means you're rich.

It means you read the fucking benefits page.

Airport Lounges: The Ultimate Fake-Rich Experience

Nothing says:

“I have my financial shit together.”

quite like walking past an airport restaurant charging $26 for eggs and disappearing behind a frosted-glass door.

Airport lounges are one of the most visible premium-card perks.

American Express has Centurion Lounges.

Chase has Sapphire Lounges.

Capital One has Capital One Lounges.

Airlines operate their own lounges such as Delta Sky Clubs, United Clubs and American Admirals Clubs.

Then there's Priority Pass, which connects participating lounges around the world.

And we've already gone down this rabbit hole.

→ Read: Part I — Airport Lounges for Normal People: The Basic-Bitch Guide to Getting In

Once you understand that, you can graduate to:

→ Read: Part II — Airport Lounges for Rich People: When the Lounge Becomes Part of the Vacation

That's where things get fucking ridiculous.

Annual Fees Aren't Automatically Bad

This is probably going to piss off both sides of the credit-card internet.

One group sees a $500+ annual fee and immediately says:

“WHO THE FUCK WOULD PAY THAT FOR A CREDIT CARD?”

The other group has seventeen premium cards and has constructed an Excel spreadsheet proving their $11,000 in annual fees somehow generated $48,376.19 of “value.”

Calm down.

An annual fee is simply a cost.

The question is whether you're receiving enough real value that you would otherwise use to justify it.

For example, Capital One's Venture X currently has a $395 annual fee and offers primary cardholders Capital One Lounge access plus participating Priority Pass lounge access, among other rewards and benefits. Capital One

Does that automatically make the card worth $395?

No.

Does it automatically make the card a bad deal?

Also no.

You have to do your own math.

Don't Fall for Coupon-Book Math

This is one of my biggest problems with how premium cards get discussed online.

Suppose a card gives you a $100 credit toward something you have never purchased in your entire life.

Someone will say:

“That's $100 of value!”

No, the fuck it isn't.

If I wasn't going to spend $100 there anyway, it's not worth $100 to me.

Maybe I'd value it at $30.

Maybe zero.

The proper way to evaluate a premium card is based on your actual behavior.

Would you use the lounge?

Would you check bags?

Would you use the travel credit?

Would you pay for Global Entry anyway?

Would you stay at those hotels?

Would you use that airline?

If yes, assign reasonable value.

If no:

$0.

Congratulations. I just saved you a spreadsheet.

Don't Spend $1 to Earn Three Cents

This deserves its own section because rewards can fuck with people's brains.

Suppose your card earns extra points at restaurants.

That does not mean:

“We should go to dinner because I'm earning 4X!”

You're spending $100 to earn a few dollars worth of potential rewards.

Stay home and you've saved $100.

The points should be the byproduct of spending, not the justification for spending.

That's the difference between using rewards cards and letting rewards cards use you.

Don't Open Every Card You See

Another mistake:

You discover points.

Then you discover welcome bonuses.

Then suddenly you want every premium card on Earth.

Slow the fuck down.

Opening credit accounts can affect your credit profile. Issuer eligibility rules vary. Annual fees add up. Minimum-spend requirements can overlap. And managing twelve cards becomes considerably less entertaining when twelve statements show up.

Build a system that makes sense for your spending and travel.

Maybe that's one cashback card.

Maybe it's one transferable-points card.

Maybe you're heavily invested in a particular airline.

Maybe you're a lunatic with multiple premium travel cards because you actually use the benefits.

The number doesn't matter.

The math does.

The Real Flex Isn't the Card

A metal credit card feels fancy.

Airport lounges feel fancy.

First Class feels fancy.

Luxury hotels definitely feel fancy.

But none of those things tell you whether somebody has money.

A person carrying a $700 credit card could have $100,000 in the bank.

They could also have $37 in checking and a minimum payment due Thursday.

The card isn't the flex.

Getting useful value without fucking up your finances is the flex.

My Rule: Make the Card Work for You

I don't care how prestigious a card supposedly is.

If the benefits don't match the way you live, it's a shitty card for you.

If you're paying a huge annual fee for travel benefits while barely traveling, you're probably subsidizing everyone who does.

If you fly one airline constantly, an airline card might make sense.

If you're an airline free agent, transferable points might make more sense.

If you don't give a shit about travel?

Cash back may beat this entire complicated circus.

And that's perfectly fine.

The objective isn't to collect credit cards.

It's to extract more value from money you were already going to spend.

How to Actually Look Bougie While Being Broke

Here's the whole article condensed into one strategy:

Spend normally.

Pay your bills in full.

Collect rewards.

Understand your benefits.

Use credits only when they replace spending you would've done anyway.

Learn transfer partners.

Use points strategically.

Don't chase status for the sake of status.

And every once in a while, use those rewards to do something that would normally make you look at the cash price and say:

“Absolutely fucking not.”

Then sit in the lounge.

Eat the free food.

Take the premium flight.

Enjoy the hotel.

Post absolutely nothing about how much it cost.

And allow everyone around you to assume you've made significantly better financial decisions than you actually have.

That's how you look bougie while being broke.

⭐⭐⭐⭐☆

Would've been five stars.

But the lounge didn't have Cheez-Its.

Three bags.

Minimum.