The Biggest Travel Credit Card Mistake Beginners Make
The Points Guy's Brian Kelly warns new cardholders about a common misstep that undercuts the value of travel rewards cards.
New travel credit card holders frequently leave significant value on the table by mishandling their rewards, according to Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy, a leading consumer resource on travel hacking and loyalty programs. Kelly shared his top insight with MarketWatch as rising airfare and hotel costs push more consumers toward rewards cards as a way to offset travel expenses.
The most common error beginners make, Kelly explained, is fixating on a card's annual fee without calculating whether the card's perks and rewards redemptions justify that cost. Many new cardholders see a $95 or $695 annual fee and either avoid premium cards entirely or cancel them before extracting enough value, effectively paying for benefits they never use.
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Kelly emphasized that understanding redemption strategies is as important as earning points in the first place. Points accumulated but never redeemed — or redeemed for low-value options like cash back when travel transfer partners offer far greater returns — represent a missed opportunity that quietly erodes the financial case for holding the card.
The advice arrives at a moment when travel inflation continues to pressure household budgets, making the calculus around rewards cards more consequential than in prior years. A well-managed travel card, Kelly argued, can meaningfully offset costs, but only when cardholders actively engage with annual credits, lounge access, and transfer partner programs that are bundled into higher-fee products.
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