I Asked ChatGPT To Explain How To Maximize Credit Card Rewards—and It Delivered These Insider Tips
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Written by
Ethan Steinberg
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Edited by
Amen Oyiboke-Osifo
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Reviewed by
Jasmin Baron
Whether you think that AI is going to save the world or doom humanity, what’s undeniable is that we live in a time when it’s easier than ever to access information and put it to use. This has profound implications for just about every domain of human life, including credit card rewards.
Check Out: Essential Dos and Don’ts for Using Credit Cards Wisely
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Many programs continue to add convoluted rules and restrictions to their programs, and large language models like ChatGPT can help you sort through the fine print and figure out what you need to know.
The Prompt
Given that this is the only time I’ll actually be encouraged to use AI in my writing, I decided to lean in. I asked ChatGPT-4o:
“I need to write an article called ‘I Asked ChatGPT to Explain How to Maximize Credit Card Rewards— and It Delivered These Insider Tips.’ What tips do you think I should discuss? Ask me any questions you need about my financial/credit life to generate the best and most compelling response.”
I still don’t fully understand how $500 billion worth of graphics cards and data centers work together to answer this question, but it’s clear that ChatGPT has been reading CardCritics™ because the advice was spot on.
GPT Says:
The Cardinal Rule: Rewards Never Beat Interest
GPT nailed the first commandment of credit card rewards with a statement so important that you’ll see it repeated in dozens of articles across the internet. Free vacation is an incredibly exciting proposition, but the interest charges on travel rewards cards will compound against you so quickly that it’s never worth carrying a balance just to earn rewards.
Build a Card Ecosystem, Not One-Off Cards
Credit card rewards are like a game of chess, and you always have to see the board four moves ahead to make the correct play now. GPT highlights that you should focus on “trifectas,” combinations of cards from the same issuer or same airline/hotel that have complimentary benefits and earning rates, and even latches on to the idea of a no-annual fee anchor card in your trifecta so you can always keep your points from expiring if you decide to close one of the other cards.
Transferable Currencies Are the Force Multiplier
There is a real, intangible value in flexibility. Unless you fly the same route exclusively between two hub cities, you’re eventually going to need to rely on multiple different airlines to get to all the places you want to go. All of the major transferable points currencies will let you transfer to at least one airline program in each major alliance (Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld), so whichever ecosystem you pick, you’ll have options.
Stack, Stack, Stack: Multipliers + Portals + Offers
Sometimes, the best way to add value to your credit card rewards game has nothing to do with the card itself. Once you start getting in the mindset of “How much cash back or rewards can I earn on a purchase?” you’ll learn there are other ways to do so. Instead of being satisfied earning 2 points per dollar for shopping online, why not use your credit card to buy a discounted gift card to that store, and then use an online shopping portal to earn even more money or miles?
My dog has to eat a special kind of diet food because he stubbornly refuses to drop even a single pound, so every month when I go to reorder, I use this strategy to turn an ordinary 2% cash back on my purchase into something more like ~9% by stacking.
Co-Branded Cards: Don’t Collect Logos — Collect Perks
This is one of the hardest-hitting points that ChatGPT makes, because it capitalizes on one of the most common mistakes we see. I live in Miami, and I know so many people who opened an American Airlines card because “that’s the airline here,” even if they don’t fly more than once or twice a year.
Co-branded airline and hotel cards generally have more limited earning rates and redemption options since you’re locked into a single program, so the calculus really does boil down to: Do the benefits justify the annual fee — whether that means flying enough to enjoy your free checked bags or traveling enough to redeem your hotel free night certificates?
Where Do We Go From Here?
So, what do you think — is ChatGPT ready to replace me? Please don’t answer that; my ego is fragile. AI tools like ChatGPT and other Large Language Models (LLMs) offer a great way to build a knowledge funnel, starting with general principles like these and then diving into specifics and offering more personalization based on user feedback. That being said, if you’re relying on ChatGPT for specific details about a program (such as points expiration dates and card eligibility rules), I would recommend double-checking with a real source to make sure the detailed information you’re receiving is correct.
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