[debbiedowner]

Could you make an onboarding guide for points?

My impression is if you fly for work, you get a lot of employer sponsored points, so it's interesting.

But if I fly 5-10 trips a year personally, why would I try points when I can get 3-5% cash back on my various cards?

[timqin]

Great question. So the corporate travelers actually do not get the most value/benefit from points travel because corporate travelers already fly on business. Flying on business class is just a given. Corporate travelers also do not have as much flexibility with their travel schedule or destinations.

It's really the average consumer who has never flown business class that gets the most value and just 1 credit card bonus offer of 60,000 points can get them that flight. Some sign up offers are 150,000 points or more. To the average consumer, flying on business class is a dream experience.

In terms of math:

When flying on points, you can redeem business class flights at 4-8 cents per point. So if you're earning your points 1.5 cents per dollar (eg. Chase Freedom Unlimited), each dollar you spend can earn you 6%-12% back (1.5 points earned * 4-8 cents per point). You can redeem first class for even more at 12-20 cents per point.

This is just the low end. You also have category multipliers like 3X points earned on travel or 5X points on flights with some cards.

The problem is that these saver fare business and first class flights using points are hard to find and can take a lot of time. So Roame is stepping in to make it easier.

We have a guide on valuing points: https://roame.travel/guides/cents-per-point-calculations

We also have a Points 101 guide for the basics: https://roame.travel/guides/points-101

[abadpoli]

> corporate travelers actually do not get the most value/benefit from points travel because corporate travelers already fly on business. Flying on business class is just a given.

I’m not sure what your background is, but this seems like a starkly false assumption to me. I’ve worked in multiple industries, including consulting (the one most famously known for frequent corporate travel) and I wouldn’t even come close to saying it’s a “given”. Only very high levels executives or the very elite companies fly their employees business class. In my years and years of weekly travel for consulting, my company paid for business class a grand total of 0 times (I’ve flown business a handful of times, but always upgraded with my own points). My colleague has only flown business paid for by the company once on a particularly long international flight.

I think you’re really shooting yourself in the foot by not paying more attention to corporate travelers. Corporate travelers are by _far_ the most likely to have credit card or loyalty points to spend, but it seems like you’re just brushing them off.

[fwip]

> To the average consumer, flying on business class is a dream experience.

Is this true? I feel like the "average" person cares a lot more about their destination than the experience of the flight.

Going to Disney World or the Carribean might be a dream experience, but having a bit more legroom and drinks on your flight is way, way down the list.