Spencer Howard – From Politics to Points: Spencer’s Journey to Luxury Travel Rewards Expert

NOTES

Spencer on LinkedIn

Straight to the Points

Podcast Recommendation: Men in Blazers

In this episode of “Maker Manager Money,” Kyle Ariel Knowles had the pleasure of speaking with Spencer Howard, a credit card loyalty program and travel rewards expert and founder of Straight to the Points (STTP). Spencer’s journey into the world of travel rewards began after a career in politics, where he honed his skills in research and communication. He shared how his background in political science from Notre Dame and his experiences running political campaigns prepared him for the entrepreneurial path he eventually took.

Spencer’s passion for travel and deal hunting led him to create STTP in 2017. He aims to help business owners and everyday travelers demystify credit card points and maximize their travel experiences without breaking the bank. His award-alert newsletters curate the best deals on premium cabin flights, making it easier for subscribers to book luxury travel.

During our conversation, we explored Spencer’s transition from politics to travel writing, his unique approach to building a newsletter, and the importance of engaging with his audience. He emphasized the value of personalized consulting and how he helps clients optimize their points strategies. We also discussed the various credit card strategies he recommends for small business owners, highlighting the benefits of using business credit cards to earn more points.

Spencer shared insights into the growth of his newsletter, which started as a hobby and has now grown to around 10,000 subscribers. He explained the different subscription options, including a premium tier offering more in-depth travel insights. We also touched on the challenges of navigating the complex world of travel rewards and how Spencer aims to simplify that process for his readers.

As we delved deeper into Spencer’s personal life, he opened up about his experiences with mental health, the impact of his parents on his life, and his passion for travel. He shared some of his favorite travel destinations, including Taiwan, and has on his bucket list to attend the Monaco Formula One race.

Spencer’s enthusiasm for travel and helping others experience the luxury of flying business class was evident throughout the episode. He also discussed the tools he uses to manage his business, including MailChimp and Simple Texting, and how he balances work with family life, especially as a new father.

This episode is packed with valuable insights for anyone interested in travel rewards, entrepreneurship, and turning a passion into a successful business. Join us as we uncover Spencer’s story and learn how to use credit card points to create unforgettable travel experiences.

Kyle Knowles:
Welcome to another episode of maker manager money a podcast to inspire entrepreneurs to become entrepreneurs. Today’s guest is Spencer Howard. Spencer is a credit card loyalty program and travel rewards expert and the founder of Straight to the Points, STTP. He’s passionate about helping people, especially business owners, demystify credit card points so they can experience the luxury of traveling in business for first class without breaking the bank. Spencer started Straight to the Points in 2017 to share his passion for travel and deal hunting. His award-alert newsletters curate the best deals on premium cabin flights, taking the guesswork out of using points and miles. He also provides personalized consulting to help people optimize their points strategies. Spencer’s background is unique. Before diving into the world of travel rewards, He worked in politics. He later transitioned to travel writing, contributing to major outlets like The Points Guy. This blend of experience gives him a unique perspective in the world of travel and points. Spencer believes that everyone deserves to fly business class at least once, and he’s here to show us how to make that dream a reality. Welcome to the show, Spencer.

Spencer Howard: Hey, thanks so much for having me, Kyle.

Kyle Knowles: Were there any signs that you would be an entrepreneur when you were younger?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I don’t, you know, I don’t know. I think I played baseball until I was in college. So I was kind of just focused on doing that. It was probably after I stopped playing baseball and got involved in political campaigns. That was my most entrepreneurial, started a political action committee, ran campaign offices. Each campaign is kind of like its own startup. So yeah, that’s a, I think that was probably the start. I just didn’t realize it would go where it has.

Kyle Knowles: You got a degree in political science from Notre Dame and started working in politics for the first six years of your career. How did the political science degree, going to college and starting your career in politics prepare you to be an entrepreneur?

Spencer Howard: loosely. Um, for me, I, I started as a freelance writer getting away from politics. And I think the Poli Sci background actually really helped for that. Cause I was so used to just researching a ton and then trying to distill it down into an understandable format that really helped with the writing. And it’s still kind of the base of what I do now with a newsletter. So that definitely helped. I think also the political side of things where it’s just, you’re always like starting something new. Uh, You know, I think I had 10 jobs in like five years or something. And if you looked at like a normal kind of corporate trajectory, people would be like, what’s wrong with you? Why are you always leaving? But, you know, campaigns end, you go do something else, you go back on a campaign, you repeat, and you just kind of keep doing the same cycle over and over again. So I was just used to that kind of startup mentality, I like to think.

Kyle Knowles: And so would you say that in politics, you’re always trying to sell something too?

Spencer Howard: Uh, in a sense, I mean, I did, so we called it field or voter outreach. So I was on the ground. It’s not the kind of like, I think people think of fancy fundraisers or working at the media. And I was like, Nope, I was like door to door talking to people. And then as I progressed running offices, training people, how to go door to door and talk to people or talk on the phone, whatever. So it was, uh, it was much more of a kind of ground game kind of thing.

Kyle Knowles: And so do you consider yourself an extrovert or was that something you overcame as an introvert?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I say I’m a shy extrovert. I don’t like bothering people, but I do enjoy talking to people. So it does, there’s like a mental shift I have to make, or I did have to make when I was on campaigns. Cause you just talk to tons of people every day.

Kyle Knowles: Right. Right. And I think all that writing you did in political science, and then you went from politics to becoming a travel writer. What inspired you to go into travel and to become a writer?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, the, I guess the initial part was I worked at a political job at the U.S. Travel Association and it’s kind of independent, but it was probably the first political job I had that said you should take your time off, take your vacation days, your PTO, go see things. And that was, that was my first time doing that. And so I just threw myself into research cause that’s what I’m good at and tried to figure out the best ways to go different places on cheap fare deals and. stumbled into an article on how do you, that, you know, that mentioned you could use points to travel. And I was like, what is this? I don’t even like, I don’t care about credit cards. What are these points that you get with credit cards? And so it’s fun, funny to think back now, cause it’s so much of my life. But at the time I had no idea what I was getting into, but that was really kind of what set me off on this path of just trying to learn everything I could so that I could travel.

Kyle Knowles: Right. And just going back to politics for just a minute, were there any famous politicians that you were able to meet while you worked in politics in DC?

Spencer Howard: I’m trying to think who I met. I mean, I met, I feel like I’ve met the Clintons and the Obamas and, but that was just, you know, You’re just out and about doing things. I would say pre-presidency for the Obamas. That was back when he was a Senator. Yeah. Just, you know, you just meet people at events. It’s an interesting world. It’s like its own breed of celebrity in DC. I probably couldn’t tell you who, I probably wouldn’t recognize like celebrities in LA, but I could recognize lots of people in DC.

Kyle Knowles: I bet. And where are you from originally?

Spencer Howard: I’m from Kentucky originally. Yeah. Lexington, Kentucky.

Kyle Knowles: So you grew up in Kentucky, went to high school there and then ended up at Notre Dame and then moved to DC?

Spencer Howard: Yeah.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. And you’re still near DC right now? Yep. So you liked it enough to stick around that area?

Spencer Howard: Yeah. It’s a good area. There’s people from all over the country. It’s fun that way.

Kyle Knowles: When and how did you decide to become a founder and entrepreneur?

Spencer Howard: Yeah. I mean, I freelanced for, I guess, five, six years, somewhere in there. Yeah, I think it was about five years. And then, but it was in the middle of that where I started my newsletter just as a hobby. There was actually, I didn’t have any intention of making money off of it. It was just something I enjoyed doing. And I did that for two and a half years, I think. And it was kind of towards the end of that two and a half years where I was like, maybe I could actually make this my day job. Yeah. And it was kind of a leap of faith at the end when you finally decide to do it. Cause there’s, there’s no real safety net there. But yeah, it was after two and a half years, I thought, you know, I’ve got the, I have a big enough audience. I’ve talked to enough of them. I feel like they like what I’m doing and want me to do more of it and will be willing to support that effort. So that was when I really decided to go for it.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. And, and did you already have paid subscribers or no, at that time?

Spencer Howard: It was just a free newsletter. Yeah. It was just a free newsletter and I just. To have lots of conversations, honestly, with different readers and just wanted to get a sense from them before I did kind of take that leap. Would you like to see more of this? And would you be interested in paying? You know, I think I gave like three different price points. I was just trying to get a sense of where they were. Yeah. And then one day just told the world I was doing it and spun it up in two weeks.

Kyle Knowles: So you were doing market research with your subscribers or did you send out an email and say, fill out a form or were you just, you know, one by one just talking to a few of them?

Spencer Howard: Yeah. I mean, probably 20, 30. I’ve always been really engaged with my audience, both on Instagram and via email. So for a long time, I could tell you like of the, you know, when I of the people who’d signed up for the paid version, I knew most of them like, and I could, or if I didn’t know them, I recognize their names cause we’d emailed or I’d seen them something like I was just deep, deep, deep into my audience. And I like it that way. I like kind of knowing who I’m working with.

Kyle Knowles: So. Yeah. And so how many subscribers did you have at the time when you decided to take the job?

Spencer Howard: I think it was about 10,000, I think. Yeah. Something in that ballpark. Yeah. And that was just. Or it’s all been organic growth, honestly. Maybe one day I’ll run some ads, but it’s just, it was just word of mouth and other sites liking what I was doing and sharing it. So I’m very fortunate for that.

Kyle Knowles: That’s really cool. So 10,000 subscribers and then this newsletter was the foundation for what Straight to the Points became.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, it’s a straight to the point really is the newsletter. My website is mostly there just to help you understand what the newsletter is and then have you sign up for the newsletter. It’s a not the normal path in the points world where it’s mostly content and affiliate links, but it’s a way for me to kind of go more in depth with my audience than I would have to do if I wanted to reach tons of people to kind of maximize affiliate stuff.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. And how often are you sending things out each week?

Spencer Howard: It’s three to five times usually. Yeah, it’s, I always tell people, I’m not going to send you something just so that I can say that I sent you something. I’m I’ve liked it. I like it to be more substance than style.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. The value you want to send something valuable. So tell me about the name straight to the points. How did, how did you come up with it?

Spencer Howard: Yeah. Yeah, I, I think I started with the idea that I think there’s just a lot of noise on the internet. And so my, my initial thought was no BS just points, but I didn’t think you could use that professionally. So, uh, but the idea was just, I was just like, I just want to get people to the information they need to book the flights they want to take the trips they want and just like get them there as fast as possible. I’m not trying like. I know when you’re writing online, like with SEO, you’re trying to maximize time on page and all. I’m like, I don’t care about that. I would like you to get through my newsletter in 15 seconds and be booked and ready to go. Like that’s, that’s kind of my mentality. So yeah, that’s where the name comes from.

Kyle Knowles: And then you shortened it to STTP.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, it’s just easier for me to save a lot of cases.

Kyle Knowles: So I like acronyms for some reason. It reminded me of STP stone temple pilots. I don’t know if you’re a fan.

Spencer Howard: I love that. Yeah. Yeah.

Kyle Knowles: They’re awesome. Walk me through the process of subscribing.

Spencer Howard: So if you land on straight to the points.co it’s mostly just about getting you to sign up. I’ll tell you about the newsletter, which. For those who are not familiar with award travel and haven’t used airline miles or credit card points to book flights, uh, booking award tickets, especially in business and first class is pretty tough. If you’re trying to find multiple seats, I am just laying out all the dates that you can book. That’s the, that at its simplest. And then the second piece to that is I explain how you use those points. There are tons of different ways to book each individual alert. It’s just a matter of playing the arbitrage game and understanding why to use one program versus the other. Uh, and these days with so many banks offering transferable points that transfer to different airlines, this is where I think people start to, I don’t know, they fall asleep or their heads explode. One of the two, but my, my, my goal is to make that process easy. So I lay out all the specifics so that you can just see what it is. And then I explain like why you would do one thing versus another based on your situation. So if I have like chase points or Amex points, like it might change which program you want to, or airline program you want to book with. So. Yeah, you, there’s an explainer on the website, but that’s kind of the gist of what you get in the email. And it’s, it’s just kind of, uh, my older brother calls it, uh, idiot proofing the process. I feel like it’s a little aggressive, but I kind of sent a precursor of the newsletter to him when we were booking a family trip. Uh, to Japan. And so I sent him all the steps and he, uh, he told me that I idiot proof the process. So he, he did it really easily. And that was, uh, kind of the start of it. But I honestly, I’ve since had, um, other readers tell me the exact same thing. So it’s just, it’s just kind of removing the guesswork and the confusion. Airlines don’t make these programs easy to understand intentionally. So I’m here to make that easy.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, they don’t want you to take advantage of them. And there’s so much fine print, and it’s just hard to work through it. I mean, I got to the point, because I’ve got three or four different cards. And I’m like, maybe I’ll just use the Apple one because I get 3% back off of everything. And that just seems very strict, you know, very clear to me. But I do like the idea. I love to travel. And I like the idea of luxury travel. So I want to figure this out. And I think straight to the points.co is the perfect place to, to help someone figure that out. So you have kind of a starter, you can log in and kind of just get the free start getting free notifications. And then you have a premium subscription, are there different levels of premium or

Spencer Howard: It’s the same thing, but you can choose to go monthly. Monthly’s $14.99 a month. And then there’s annual at $99 per year. Much better deal for those of us who like a good deal. Um, yeah, my, my goal has been to make it a, an affordable option. I’m not trying, I’m trying to make sure that I can make a living, but also make it accessible. And that’s, to me has been like a nice happy balance right there. But yeah, it’s, yeah, I’m trying to make it something that people don’t have to think too much about.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, I love it. And that price point is perfect $99 a year. And then do you are you able to if you have a premium subscription, are you able to say, I don’t really want to travel to, I don’t know, Japan, I’m more interested in Europe, so that you’re not getting alerts for something that you’re not interested in.

Spencer Howard: So at this time, I send everything to everybody. Okay, most of the and Most of the reason for that is that I think people want to go lots of places and it’s not like, I want to go to France today. I’m not going to go anywhere else. It’s kind of like, well, I also want to go to Japan, so I’ll go there this time. And then the next time when something for France comes up, I’ll go there. And then in other cases where say you want to go to So even if I’m not sending you something directly to Italy, once you’re there, there are lots of cheap airlines. You can just get a quick flight over. You can take a train. Hell, you could do like two stops. You could stay in Paris for a little bit and then move and move on to Rome or something. So it’s, I try not to restrict people too much. Similar on their departure airport. You know, I live in DC, but I don’t want to restrict people too much. New York has a lot of flights, a lot more flights. And so I often get my own ticket up to New York so that I can get my, you know, ticket to the Middle East or Asia or Europe or wherever. So it’s, I try to explain that in the newsletter too, for people who are not quite used to what we call positioning flights. But yeah, I think that just, it helps people kind of see what’s going on versus just kind of, Oh, I only want this. Um, I think sometimes the context helps.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, no, I love that explanation. And it totally makes sense. It was probably a bad question on my part, because now it’s a great if you get it, if you get a deal, and you think I don’t want to go to Japan, and then there’s a deal and you’re like, I want to go to Japan now. Yeah, it looks like it’s very affordable, and I have enough points or whatever saved up. So my understanding from visiting website and kind of clicking around, and just being a freemium member, My understanding is there some way for you to, I don’t know, maybe when you become a premium member, fill out a bunch of information and we’ll kind of tell you who you are as far as travel, and then you can pick kind of three different, between three different credit card strategies. Do you want to talk about that process and the three credit card strategies?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, so those are so two things. The onboarding form is a way for me to get to know everybody. I want to know where people are kind of dying to go. Japan, if you’re curious, is always the most popular and it has been since the day I first surveyed people like four something five years ago. It just it’s always the top three. So

Kyle Knowles: What are the other two in the top three?

Spencer Howard: Uh, it’s usually Italy, France, the UK are in the top. Like, so I have, yeah, you can pick three different ones. And in the, in each section as your top one, like your top priority or second or third, you see the same five places Australia slips in there. But yeah, it’s, it’s really interesting to kind of see how, well, lots of things change. Some things do not in the, the interest in travel, there’s certain hotspots, which is great. But yeah, so the card strategy thing I think is really important. That kind of goes back, this is like getting back to basics. Do you want to use points to travel? You have to earn the points. And most people are not frequent travelers, like they’re not on the road as a consultant. And that doesn’t really matter anymore. Credit cards are kind of the game. That’s where you can earn most points. Even consultants earn a lot of their points with credit cards. And so figuring out where to start I think is important. And so I tell people there’s kind of three main approaches. They kind of keep it simple. You get one to three cards. They’ve got good bonus categories based on where you spend money. And then you just never think about it again. I know a lot of business owners who spend tons of money on their cards just to run the business. That’s a great strategy. You don’t have to think about it, but you’re still earning a lot of points. The middle ground, I call it, it’s kind of like a hub and supplement. You kind of build a hub, maybe four or five cards. Uh, again, focusing on the bonus categories, maybe you look to some specific benefits from them and then you just supplement with a new signup bonus from a new card every so often. You’ll never earn points faster than when you’re getting a new card signup bonus. That’s just, you know, that’s a numbers game. And then finally, there’s the maximalist approach for people who want to go deep down the rabbit hole and get every signup bonus possible. And friends of friends of mine that do this, it’s just kind of like they hit a signup bonus from a new card and they get a new card and they just repeat. So it’s, again, it’s, it’s kind of a choose your own adventure game. You just have to decide where you want to play and you can set up a strategy from there.

Kyle Knowles: And which of these three types are you, I’m assuming you’re maximalist.

Spencer Howard: I was when I first started. Yeah, I was, I got really into it, but in some ways that helped me learn. Everything I needed to, needed to know to help others. Now I would say I’m more in the like middle category. Yeah, it’s, it’s a little easier to manage. And I’m, I’m busier these days.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. So as, and it seemed like there’s advantages for business owners. Why is that?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I mean, one, I think there’s just more spend. If you have to spend to run a business, I’m not saying you should, I’d never want anyone to spend more than they have to. I’m not saying you should just be spending money. But if you’re spending the money anyway, I would like you to get the most out of it. And so with business credit cards, there’s often different bonus categories that maybe the personal credit cards don’t have. So like the chase, uh, Inc business preferred card has three X on digital, uh, or like social media ads. So if you’re running ads, you can be earning three X instead of one X or two X. Like why not? And that’s, I think there’s just, there’s different cards like that. The MX business gold also has several bonus categories that are in four X. And so it’s just an easy opportunity to earn a lot more points without changing what you’re doing.

Kyle Knowles: I see. And then, so these alerts that you send out aren’t just about deals for travel, but they’re also about deals with credit cards?

Spencer Howard: Generally try to avoid kind of swarming people with more credit card info. There’s so much of that that’s published online right now. I answer questions. I do kind of one-on-one consulting sessions and I’ll flag if there’s something particularly important. I try to kind of ease up on it though. That’s probably the biggest kind of marketing side of the points and miles world where people are always kind of inundated with credit cards. So I try to have a lighter touch on that.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. That makes sense. So if I’m a new entrepreneur or business owner, can you tell me what the two to three credit cards you recommend a small business owner get? I know you mentioned the Chase

Spencer Howard: Yeah, the ink business. Yeah, the ink business prefer, there’s three different ink cards. So the ink business preferred earns 3x on travel, on digital ads. your like phone bill or internet, stuff like that. I think that’s a really good one for most business owners. You’re just going to hit those bonus categories. I think the Amex business goal is another one where it’s, you can earn Forex again on digital ads, but also gas and going out to restaurants. And they have some select ones for like software from certain companies and things like that. But it’s, again, it’s just like matching up whatever your spend is. So I always tell people it’s not, you know. What is the best card? It’s kind of like, what’s the best card in your situation for what you’re going for at this time? And that can change cards. I did cards I use now that I didn’t use to use, you know, they, they shift and that’s just, you know, it’s just travel patterns too. It’s don’t pay for a credit card unless you’re getting the value out of it. And so, yeah, kind of. Be thoughtful about it.

Kyle Knowles: And is there a site that would, would tell you kind of these comparisons and kind of the fine print of where are you going to get maximum points or.

Spencer Howard: Sure. So I have a best cards page on my website with short reviews. You’re getting a sense here straight to the points kind of idea. Like I want a very quick kind of reviews and rundowns on the benefits. So I have those on my site and I update them every time there’s a change, uh, in an offer. Generally the bonus categories don’t change. It’s just the signup bonus that’s going to change. Um, so that that’s a quick way just to kind of get a glance at like, what are your benefits? What are your bonus categories? What the annual fee is, stuff like that.

Kyle Knowles: Okay, that’s very, very helpful. First of all, I want to talk about the way you spend your time, your workday. How do you spend the majority of your workday?

Spencer Howard: That’s a great question. A lot of emails, uh, responding to readers, but that’s the fun part. Um, it’s yeah, a lot of it’s research, figuring out what we’ve sent recently that we should send, uh, so that we can kind of mix it up. Some regions are tougher than others. So I’m sometimes you’re spending a lot of time just looking for an opportunity to send an alert for Asia right now has been. Broadly speaking, like Southeast Asia has been really tough for a while. So there are days where you just kind of search, search, search and nothing really shows up and that’s just how it goes. But yeah, it’s a lot of coordinating. A friend of mine helps me with that research now. And so we work together trying to figure out what we should be tackling that day. When I’m in full swing with Instagram content, I do that. I’ve taken a little break. I have a one-year-old right now, so I’ve tried to. make a little more time for family life. Is this your first child as well? Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations. Thank you. Yeah. It’s a lot of fun. Um, and then I also have an agency side of my business where I do, um, hotel bookings, cruises, luxury trains, stuff like that. So any kind of requests I’m getting for that stuff fits into the day as well. And then occasionally somebody reaches out and wants, you know, a quote for an article. So I was working on that right before we jumped on today.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, it looks like you’ve been featured in Forbes and other magazines. What are some of the other magazines and news news channels that you’ve been on?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I think trying to think CNBC, um, Bloomberg at one point travel and leisure. Yeah. It’s been kind of interesting over the years to just pop up in places, even funnier when you just get referenced and you don’t know what’s coming. Yeah.

Kyle Knowles: And is it because people are subscribers and then they, they say, Oh, let’s just reach out to Spencer.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I think part of that. And then I also, when I was freelancing, I wrote for, I would, I would guess the largest point sites in the world. The U S has the largest point sites and I wrote for the largest ones in the U S so I assume, yeah, just kind of, it got my name out there for sure. That definitely helped.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, I know that I don’t know if you know who Bob left sets is, but he has a newsletter. And he’s in the music industry. And he has some very interesting people subscribe to his newsletter, famous people. And and do you find that too? Do you find even famous or maybe you find people that are actually could afford luxury travel, but they’re still playing the game?

Spencer Howard: I don’t know about famous. Definitely people who can afford luxury travel. I think that’s, it’s kind of a misunderstood aspect. To earn the points and to get the credit cards to earn the points you have to have the spend and you also have to have, excuse me, you have to have the credit score and the income to get the credit cards in the first place. It doesn’t mean that you can’t play it with a kind of lower income, but it’s a lot easier when you’re making more money. So I have a lot of readers who are also my clients on the luxury travel agency side of things. They book their business or first class flights with, uh, the points and they take their family to Europe. And then when they get there, they book whatever hotel they want with cash. And they want to, I mean, there’s just more options when you’re not using points for hotels. So they kind of get the experience they want and I help them do that on the other side. So it’s a fun combo. I actually really like seeing that kind of come together.

Kyle Knowles: That’s really cool. And so can you access the agency side of your business from a straight to the points.co?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, there’s a hotel booking tab in the menu at the top of the page. And then there’s, yeah, so there’s a self booking portal where you can kind of check out what’s available with extra like VIP perks. And then there’s an option just to send me a note through the form there and just let me know what you’re looking to do. So yeah, it’s fun.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. And what are some of your favorite tools to use as a business owner?

Spencer Howard: Well, I have to say MailChimp because I’ve been using MailChimp for so long. Shout out to MailChimp. I just kind of understand how to exist within that platform now. Sometimes friends are like, Oh, have you ever thought about switching? I was like, absolutely not. Are you kidding me? Like we have kind of a, it’s like a professional marriage at this point. I like, I know the ins and outs and I don’t want to have to mess with that. That’s the biggest one. I also use a tool called simple texting. Um, so when premium members get an alert, I also send them a text just because I know a lot of people turn off notifications for their, uh, emails because they’re sick of seeing work emails pop up. So my way of kind of breaking through that noise was to say, Hey, if you want, it’s optional, you just, but if you enter your cell phone number, uh, I will text you when it’s ready.

Kyle Knowles: So when a new, when a new, uh, alert is out.

Spencer Howard: Yeah. So like today I sent, um, it’s like jet blue award space to Europe. And so as soon as I send out the email, I go over and send out a text as well. So that just like lets people know, Hey, check your email. Yeah. That’s another big one. I’m trying to think if there’s anything else that really stands out. My, my good friend, Tim built the membership platform like portal for our website. So it’s in house, but he gets all the credit for building that. Yeah. So those are the three that’s like the three that’s where my life is. I guess you could say I spend my time, uh, in those three spaces.

Kyle Knowles: And then an email, I guess.

Spencer Howard: And then the email, yeah, from going from MailChimp. Yeah, right.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. It’s funny because one day, is it your son or your daughter?

Spencer Howard: That’s my daughter.

Kyle Knowles: Your daughter. Your daughter will ask you what you do for work and you’ll say, I send emails and she’ll think, well, I could do that. It sounds like an easy job sending and receiving and reading emails.

Spencer Howard: Yeah. It’s funny. And I guess you could say the other tools I use are like my phone, because when I, my, most people show up at the airport and they just like try to get checked in and get ready for the flight. And then they go on the flight and they don’t think, and I get to the airport and it’s like, all right. Now I need to document everything I do with photos and video and I get on the plane and I frantically try to get photos and video before other people get into the cabin so that they don’t, so that I can keep them out of the, so it’s, uh, yeah, it’s like, I don’t really take vacation. I just travel. It’s, it’s a little bit different, um, for me, but I love every second of it.

Kyle Knowles: And do you do, uh, do you just post straight from your phone or do you do any editing or anything on your computer?

Spencer Howard: Yeah. I mean, photos, I just all from my phone, um, videos I’ve started to use CapCut. Um, I keep hearing that’s been just a great tool for people and a friend of mine flagged it. So I started trying that with videos. I’m not a very good video maker at this point, but I’m trying, you know, it’s, uh, it’s the, it’s the, it’s the mode of consumption that people want these days. So I’m, I’m learning.

Kyle Knowles: Have you tried CapCut on your phone?

Spencer Howard: That’s that’s where I use it. Yeah. I’ve only done short video. Um, and I just keep it on my phone. I don’t have like the paid version of it at this point, but I’m not trying to do anything particularly fancy with it. Yeah. I mostly I’m just trying to like show the flight and show what it’s about and show a hotel and what it’s about. Um, yeah, so far keeping it simple, maybe one day I’ll graduate to do more interesting things.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. I just think CapCut’s fantastic. And it’s amazing that you can make a video on your phone. while you’re traveling while you’re on the go. I mean, I’ll go on a walk and I’ll make a video just on my phone while I’m walking. It’s a CapCut. It’s fantastic. It’s really cool. So what book, movie or TV character is most like you?

Spencer Howard: Oh, God, I actually have no idea. I’m gonna have to sit here with like dead space for about three minutes to figure this out. Who is like me? That’s a really, I once got called Sheldon with social skills from Big Bang Theory, and I don’t really know what that means, but no, it’s just- I don’t know Big Bang Theory, so I don’t know if that’s a compliment or- He’s just like super nerdy and he knows a lot of stuff, but he’s not always the most socially aware. I see. But my friends tell me I just know a lot of like stuff that no one should ever know. And so, and it just kind of stays in my head. So I think that may be why, but yeah, we’ll go with that.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, I like it. Probably all the research you do and all the data you’ve been looking at and things like that. You’re probably a geek out on all that kind of stuff.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I really do. Anything and everything travel.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. What’s one thing you’d like to change about yourself, Spencer?

Spencer Howard: I’ll be more patient. I’m kind of always in a rush. And I think that stems from working in the political world where everything is 24, seven and a million miles an hour, and it needs to be done yesterday, even if it doesn’t really. So I’m, I’m still trying to learn that for myself now that I kind of decide when things happen in the business.

Kyle Knowles: So just pulling back, maybe not being in such a rush or yeah.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, I think I have a tendency to feel like everything needs to be done now. And so I just like, I’m just always pushing. Um, but also, you know, when you’re trying to grow a business, you have to be really patient and I’m not. So there’s, you know, I’m like, Oh, we could do this better. We need to do this better. We need to do this better. I’d like to also do this. And it’s, you know, there’s that con I’m not really good at acknowledging like, Hey, we did this really well. I’m I’m as soon as that happens, I’m like, great next. So.

Kyle Knowles: That makes sense. And it seems like a lot of entrepreneurs that I’ve interviewed are like that, because it’s it’s so there’s such an urgency to it, right? If there’s five things broken on your website, you want to fix today, right? There’s updates to be made, you want them done today. And so you’re constantly running through this to do list probably in your mind. And I can understand why.

Spencer Howard: Yeah. Or it’s written down next to me and I’m staring at it, but it’s, yeah, it’s one of those things where it’s, I feel like if you, if you like heard the internal monologue, you’d be like, man, is this business going okay? And I’m like, it is actually, it’s just that I just immediately dismiss everything that’s going well and don’t think about it. And I should probably like take a beat and like, you know, celebrate some smaller wins and, um, Yeah, it’s my wife and I now at the end of the day, we all, we, we try to share like our small win of the day to help me. It’s been helpful for me to like, realize that good things are happening too.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. That sounds like a good gratitude practice. So what’s the book that you recommend the most to people?

Spencer Howard: I don’t, I’ll be honest. I haven’t read a lot lately. I mean, if I were to be completely honest, any podcasts or other kinds of. And so, you know, what’s funny is I’ve been asked about podcasts before, and like, I still listen to political podcasts, even though I’ve moved out of it. I listen to political podcasts. I guess there’s a Premier League, if anybody watches English football, called Men in Blazers. And then the P1 podcast, which is a Formula One podcast. Yeah. Otherwise it’s, uh, trying to think what’s the other, the rest is politics. That’s another pull. It’s like a political show. I know. I wish I had some like insightful, like business stuff, but I think when I listen to podcasts, I’m just trying to like step away. And, um, and apparently I step away to politics, politics and sports just for entertainment, I guess. No, well, we used to call politics sports for adults.

Kyle Knowles: So I like that. I like that a lot. And did you play soccer growing up then?

Spencer Howard: Only until high school, just really enjoy it. I still watch baseball too, but that’s, uh, I haven’t really listened to baseball podcasts. I don’t know why. Um, but yeah, it’s, uh, that’s how I relax. I guess formula one races that when they’re in Europe or at like 7 00 AM in the U S and Uh, I’ve been doing that since, I don’t know, I’ve been watching F1 since I was, I guess in 1993 to 1992 or 1993. Um, it’s now really big. Everybody knows the Netflix show drive to survive, which is fun for me. Cause for years, people didn’t know what I was talking about and now they do.

Kyle Knowles: Now they can have conversations with you. Exactly. Yeah. So who is your premier league team?

Spencer Howard: Well, they’re not in the premier league at the moment. It’s Leeds United. They’re in the, in the championship. We’re currently second. So hopefully getting promoted, you know, got a long way to go, but hopefully we’ll get promoted.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. Awesome.

Spencer Howard: Yeah. Do you, do you follow?

Kyle Knowles: I follow soccer in a general sense. I played till I was 40 years old, but yeah, it’s more of a general thing. And I really get into it when the world cup comes around every four years.

Spencer Howard: The world cup is a fascinating, I just think the energy around it is amazing.

Kyle Knowles: It’s just amazing that there’s an event that the whole world tunes into.

Spencer Howard: Yeah.

Kyle Knowles: I think that’s exciting. And, you know, exciting for different countries and hasn’t been so exciting for the United States. No. Hopefully someday. Yeah, for sure. What are you passionate about? What brings you joy?

Spencer Howard: I mean, at this point, travel, uh, which is both kind of, it’s like a double edged sword. Like I’m obsessed with travel. It is absolutely my hobby and passion, but now I work in it. And so it’s like, where, where does, where does one end and the other begin? Like I was saying, I haven’t, since I started writing about points and miles and travel in 2016, I haven’t just taken a, like a vacation. every single trip has involved work. And I’ve traveled so much more than anyone has a reasonable expectation to do. I think it’s three months of the year for the last seven years, like each year. I mean, like that’s insane, but it’s been a lot of work. Um, so that’s my passion these days. And I don’t know, at some point my daughter will have passions and I’m sure those will become mine too.

Kyle Knowles: Well, I love it that you, uh, your passion is also your job.

Spencer Howard: I love it. Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. So where is the most amazing place you’ve ever traveled to?

Spencer Howard: Hmm. I mean, there’s a lot. I always tell people Taiwan because I don’t think it’s thought of as much. I think, and in fact, a lot of times when I tell people I love Taiwan, people will say, I love Thailand. And I’m like, Also a great place, but a different place. Um, so I’ve been trying to like spotlight Taiwan as much as I can. I’ve been several times, uh, to Taipei and even like down to the, uh, Southern, Southern tip. There’s a city called Kaohsiung. I’m probably mispronouncing that. Um, but I did, I’ve done like a train trip, uh, through the entire country and yeah, it’s just, it’s a beautiful place. Amazing food. People are friendly. Yeah. Totally worth the trip if you, if you decide to go to Asia.

Kyle Knowles: And where is a place that you definitely absolutely have to go to before you die that you’ve never been to?

Spencer Howard: Monaco for the formula one race, just because it’s just a spectacle. Like I’m probably not going to be one of the yacht owners, but I think it will be fun to just like see all the yachts and people doing whatever it is they do there. I think it’s just a fascinating event.

Kyle Knowles: That sounds amazing. Are you working on anything specifically exciting right now related to the business or in your personal life?

Spencer Howard: Yeah, in the business where I’m trying to grow the agency side of things, I didn’t really talk about it for years. It was just kind of an add on for any of my, uh, newsletter readers, if they wanted some, you know, extra perks while they’re traveling and they wanted to get a nicer hotel experience. And I’ve just in the last year kind of started to kind of promote that, I guess, like people didn’t even know I did it who had been in my audience for years. Um, so now that they do know, it’s fun to kind of. Yeah, it’s just, it’s fun, honestly. It’s a, it’s a way to make stay hotel stay special. It doesn’t have to just be a place where you put your head down at night. So I love hearing from, from my clients who are also generally my subscribers, um, and how much fun they’ve had at a hotel. Cause we’ve been able to personalize something, whether it’s a, a birthday cake or, you know, the welcome amenities being exactly the kind of thing they would like, because I’ve asked them about it. So it’s fun. Um, yeah, I’m loving seeing that grow.

Kyle Knowles: Sounds really exciting. So what’s your biggest goal right now?

Spencer Howard: Just help more people get on planes and travel in business class and then go have cool hotel experiences. I mean, that’s, that’s been my goal from day one is just like get people on the plane and a, and a comfortable and a comfortable seat. Let people kind of enjoy the journey instead of just the destination. And yeah, that’s, uh, just want to keep doing more and more of that.

Kyle Knowles: And is there a total subscriber count that would, that would make you feel better than you feel now? Or are you just happy with the organic growth as it comes?

Spencer Howard: I like the organic growth. I think I would like to be able to help more people do it, but also just, there’s always tweaks you want to make. And sometimes you like, you need to hire somebody to help you make the tweaks. And so grow growth is a way to be able to afford that since I’m not like a venture backed startup. So yeah, as I as I grow, I’m able to kind of invest more into the business and improve it. And yeah, then there’s probably things I haven’t even thought of. So I’m sure there’s lots of things I’ll tweak as I go.

Kyle Knowles: And are you eventually interested in selling, selling it to someone? I’m sure maybe people have offered you.

Spencer Howard: No, no one’s ever offered to buy it. Um, but I mean, it does happen in this space. Sometimes it’s, I haven’t heard of one recently, but it’s not really, it’s never been on my mind. It’s all just, I’m very like customer focused, I guess you could say. It’s just like, I’m trying to find the best way to deliver something to people. And like the tweaks you see for me now are generally where I’m like, well, this make it more easily understood. Like that, those are the only things that I’ve really thought about. I feel like, um, it’s just like, how can I keep helping more people with this?

Kyle Knowles: Okay. Now turning to some more personal questions. When did you cry the hardest?

Spencer Howard: That’s a great question. I mean, if we want to be really personal, probably like high school when I like suffered from like severe depression. Um, and that lasted for a long time, but that was probably the, uh, the hardest. Yeah. When I was like figuring out what was going on and the fact that I was dealing with it, it was also in like the early two thousands in a, in a world in which mental health is kind of like, what, what’s that? Especially for like people who play baseball, like where you’re supposed to just be tough and like show no emotion ever. Um, so yeah, I don’t know. That was probably the, it was probably the hardest.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. And what did you do to, to overcome that or what are you doing now to take care of your mental health?

Spencer Howard: I like to go to the gym. I like to lift. I also went to a lot of therapy. Um, but yeah, and it was, I mean, it’s interesting now thinking back, like I started a mental health advocacy group in college. Cause I didn’t think we were doing a good job at the school of helping people. Um, but it was also just kind of like, nobody wanted to talk about it. I used to have people like. I had guys like pull me into their dorm room to like, ask me about things. Cause it was like, they had to close the door. You couldn’t like just ask somebody in the open. So it was, uh, I think I was asked by our student newspaper magazine once, like, why am I like talking about going through this stuff? And I was just like, well, somebody has to, so yeah.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah, thanks for sharing that with me. It’s really awesome that you were someone that people could talk to about it and that you were open about it and and just, you know, vulnerable about it. So thanks for thanks for sharing that. Who had the most significant impact on your life?

Spencer Howard: I mean, probably my parents, I mean, if we’re honest, like, um, I mean, I mean, along the same lines, my parents were very supportive, even if they didn’t really know what to do. And that’s not an easy thing to watch your child suffering. So there are a lot of parents who probably would not have handled that very well. So kind of give them credit for that. And that’s the kind of support you need to figure it all out and progress and, you know, keep going with life.

Kyle Knowles: Yeah. Thankful for good parents. That’s, that’s really cool. What’s something that most people don’t know about you?

Spencer Howard: Well, that, but I was like, I don’t know. I don’t talk. I think friends from back in high school knew, but that’s about it. Um, what don’t, what do people not know about me? I don’t know. I’m pretty open with people, honestly. Like, I don’t know. My musical taste is kind of odd to some people. They don’t expect it.

Kyle Knowles: Give me the deeds.

Spencer Howard: Yeah, they just don’t expect me to listen to like metal. I don’t think it’s like I just look kind of plain. No tattoos. My friends who listen to metal all have tattoos. And then I’m just over here just like, very plain. Yeah, it’s not what people think all the time.

Kyle Knowles: But name some bands.

Spencer Howard: Um, that’s a great question. I’m trying to think of who I’ve been listening to lately. Five Finger Death Punch was one I’ve listened to recently, an old album I was listening to. It’s just like, it’s great for lifting. If you want to go lift heavyweight, it’s just really good energy. Now on the flip side, and it makes no sense, I also kind of like the indie singer songwriter things. And so, you know, like one of my friends, he’s a I don’t know if he’s, he’s on sabbatical, we’ll call it. He’s, but he’s a musician. And so I like listening to his stuff. But it just, it makes no sense. And people are always confused whenever I end up talking about music, I guess.

Kyle Knowles: That’s awesome. So I have a band I discovered just yesterday, actually, they’re called WISP. W-I-S-P. They’re a female, I think it’s a female, at least a lead female singer, kind of metal band. They’re, they’re heavy. I would say hard rock, but check them out when you get the chance. Are you a musician yourself?

Spencer Howard: No, no, I’ve never, I’m good at some things and that wasn’t it. Yeah. I also never really had the interest to play music. I think I found music later than some people. I also really, I’ve kind of loved grunge rock and stuff like that. Um, I always said I like lyrics that have meaning. Um, you can get a sense of when I started to like, listen to music in high school. Um, but it was like, it was, I thought music was like a great way to express what you’re dealing with when you didn’t, when you don’t have the words to do so. So that was kind of how I got into music.

Kyle Knowles: So listening, but not, not actually playing musical instruments.

Spencer Howard: I’m an appreciator. I’m an appreciator of music.

Kyle Knowles: So, uh, just to, to end here, Spencer, I’ve just got a lightning round of questions and a couple of ending questions, but let’s, let’s go for this lightning round. Your favorite candy bar.

Spencer Howard: Ooh, 100 grand.

Kyle Knowles: Favorite musical artist.

Spencer Howard: Pearl jam.

Kyle Knowles: Favorite cereal.

Spencer Howard: I’m trying to think I haven’t had cereal in ages, probably peanut butter crunch back when I was a kid.

Kyle Knowles: Mac or PC?

Spencer Howard: Mac for years before it was something that people actually used. At least it made fun of.

Kyle Knowles: Google or Microsoft? Google. Dogs or cats?

Spencer Howard: Dogs.

Kyle Knowles: Phantom or Les Mis?

Spencer Howard: That’s a great question. But honestly, I don’t honestly have no idea. I have no idea. I’ve never really, I feel like I saw the movies years ago. Let’s just go with Phantom because I don’t know.

Kyle Knowles: Okay. It makes sense. You can say neither if you wanted to.

Spencer Howard: Well, I feel like you got to choose a side. This is like pick a side.

Kyle Knowles: No one in my family is into musicals except me. So last two questions for you, Spencer, what’s the worst thing about being an entrepreneur and then what’s the best thing?

Spencer Howard: I’ll lead with the best, like to be positive, but it’s, you get to do what you care about. Um, at least that’s the kind of entrepreneur I am. I wanted to do something I really was interested in the worst part. I think it’s also the best part is like, it’s up to you. It’s like, there’s no one else to make the decision. You get to make the decision. If it goes right. Great. If it doesn’t, it’s on you. So it’s, it’s, I know not everybody loves that, but I think on the whole, it’s a positive, but I understand that there’s a lot of pressure. It’s just up to you to do it.

Kyle Knowles: I love that answer. I think that’s a really, a really cool answer. And it is, it’s, it’s, uh, There’s no one to blame except the person who started the business, right? And you don’t have a budget. You don’t have a title. You don’t have all these other trappings that people that work in corporate have. And you have to make it happen if it’s going to happen. So I love the answer. Well, Spencer, it’s been such a joy. Talking to you, thanks for being vulnerable, and thank you for giving such insight into loyalty travel and credit cards. And I’m your next subscriber, so I’ll be subscribing this weekend, and I look forward to going on this journey with you, and hopefully I’ll be doing some luxury travel in the next year or two.

Spencer Howard: Love it. Thanks so much for having me, Kyle. It’s been great. Oh yeah, a friend of mine, when I first launched this, she, I think she made like a TikTok video in support of me, but she was, do you remember the, there was a commercial, like an ad campaign to like get people to donate to a cause, but it was like Sarah McLachlan’s, like the background music in the arms of an age. So she did that and she was like for only 27 cents a day. It was so funny. I need to go find that video. Like we’ve been good friends. it was she’s like I don’t have a following this is just for like our group of friends who like are in like in this world and they were all going to join because they’ve been on my newsletter for ages like truly I like I make friends with my readers like I just like I’ve been friends with these people for ages but yeah it was just so funny only 27 cents a day you can help feed Spencer like it was