Credit card points and rewards consulting

Points-based travel research and booking service

Chris Koerner on The Koerner Office Podcast — The Credit Card Side Hustle No One Talks About

Research and help book flights and other travel for people who have accumulated large points balances but lack the time or expertise to find high-value redemptions. Customers submit a trip request, pay a deposit, receive researched options, and pay a flat fee once the trip is booked.

Problem: Points holders cannot efficiently search many airline and hotel programs, do not know how to transfer points, or fear redeeming points at a poor value.

For: People with substantial points balances, including higher-income travelers and families seeking business-class flights, complex itineraries, or luxury hotel stays.

Steps

1. Build expertise by studying points-and-miles resources and practicing searches on hypothetical trips.
2. Create a request form that lets travelers describe their points balance, destination, dates, cabin, party size, and other constraints.
3. Let prospective customers submit the form for free so you can determine whether their request is serviceable.

Examples

• A hypothetical family-of-four Jamaica trip was described as potentially costing 23,000 points, used as an example of a case study that could demonstrate research skill without an actual booking.
• A researched Turkish Airlines deal for flying United to Hawaii was not booked, but the published research generated nearly 100,000 impressions and a few bookings.
• A customer example involved 800,000 Amex points, departure from Dallas-Fort Worth, four travelers, business class to Europe in September, nonstop flights, and a limit of 200,000 points per person; Seats.aero's AI assistant was described as able to search for that type of deal.
• The service was managing 35 active trips with two hired points experts and was described as having a possible capacity of more than 100 trips per month after streamlining its processes.

Credit card rewards consulting for business owners

Chris Koerner on The Koerner Office Podcast — The Credit Card Side Hustle No One Talks About

Help business owners optimize the credit cards they already use to earn more rewards from existing spending, then help them redeem those rewards for travel. The core service is a one-time consulting package with a strategy, implementation support, and trip planning.

Problem: Business owners feel they are leaving money on the table because they earn too few points from their spending or do not know how to redeem their points for sufficient value.

For: Business owners spending at least $20,000 per month on credit cards, especially blue-collar, construction, medical-practice, and other local-business owners who spend heavily but do not actively optimize their rewards.

Steps

1. Learn the fundamentals of credit card rewards using publicly available blogs, courses, and AI tools until you can explain earning strategies, transfers, and redemptions.
2. Practice on your own spending and by researching hypothetical trips; you can take a booking research process up to the point of payment without actually purchasing.
3. Start with simple cases such as replacing a business owner's 1% cash-back card with cards better suited to the owner's spending categories.

Examples

• The founder's parents' private medical practice spent about $40,000 per month on a local-bank card earning 1% cash back. A 50/50 Capital One and Chase strategy, combined with a personal Chase offer that doubled points at year-end, generated well over one million points in the first year and funded a resort trip in Cap Cana with an oceanfront room and butler that was described as a roughly $9,000 trip with nothing paid out of pocket.
• A construction-company example involved spending about $60,000 per month on lumber; the claimed approach was to use one suitable card rather than repeatedly pursuing sign-up bonuses.
• A business owner spending about $60,000 per month on an Amex Business Platinum was earning one point per dollar despite valuing the card's perks. The proposed alternative was to use cards earning two points per dollar generally and three points per dollar on advertising.

Credit card points consulting sold as a one-time package

Chris Koerner on The Koerner Office Podcast — The Credit Card Side Hustle No One Talks About

Teach or advise customers about credit card points through a remote service that can be run from home and marketed through inbound inquiries.

Problem: Customers lack knowledge about credit card points and need guidance from someone who has researched the subject.

For: People who want to learn about credit card points, including average internet users with no prior expertise.

Steps

1. Research credit card points using blogs and Claude.
2. Build enough knowledge to understand the subject better than most people.
3. Create a one-time credit card points package.