May 20, 2025 • 32 mins
Ever wondered how people afford champagne and lie-flat seats at 35,000 feet?
Hint: It's not always their wallet—it's their credit card strategy.
In this episode, Melissa Joy, CFP®, sits down with travel pro and entrepreneur Bry Keith to reveal how to turn everyday spending into extraordinary travel experiences using credit card points. Bry shares how she went from corporate finance and tech to helping clients fly business class for pennies on the dollar—sometimes squeezing 5–10x more value out of their points.
You’ll learn:
✈️ The #1 mistake most travelers make when using points (and how to avoid it)
💳 How to build a card portfolio with “main dishes” and “side dishes” for max value
🏨 Ways to elevate your entire trip—lounge access, hotel upgrades, TSA PreCheck, and more
🌈 Special travel tips for LGBTQ+ travelers navigating safety and inclusivity abroad
🚀 What it’s really like to leave corporate life and build a business around your passion
Whether you’re points-curious or already deep in the rewards game, this episode will help you travel smarter, better, and often—without breaking the bank.
🎧 Ready to level up your travel game?
Listen now to unlock the secrets of luxury travel on a budget.
#WomensMoneyWisdom #TravelHacks #CreditCardPoints #SmartTravel #FinancialFreedom #LuxuryForLess
Resources:
Website: https://www.bryguides.com/
1:1 Consult Tool: https://www.bryguides.com/pointsconsulting
Points Deal Finder Tool: https://www.bryguides.com/pointsdeals
MasterClass: https://www.bryguides.com/masterclasslaunch
The previous presentation by PEARL PLANNING was intended for general information purposes only. No portion of the presentation serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from PEARL PLANNING or any other investment professional of your choosing. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy, or any non-investment related or planning services, discussion or content, will be profitable, be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Neither PEARL PLANNING’s investment adviser registration status, nor any amount of prior experience or success, should be construed that a certain level of results or satisfaction will be achieved if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. PEARL PLANNING is neither a law firm nor accounting firm, and no portion of its services should be construed as legal or accounting advice. No portion of the video content should be construed by a client or prospective client as a guarantee that he/she will experience a certain level of results if PEARL PLANNING is engaged, or continues to be engaged, to provide investment advisory services. A copy of PEARL PLANNING’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available upon request or at https:...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Melissa Joy (00:01):
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
And I'm here to help you makethe most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
Just a quick note before wedive in.
The information that we share ismeant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
own financial professional forguidance that fits your life.
And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:44):
are my own and those of myguests, and they don't
necessarily represent those ofany organizations that I'm
affiliated with.
For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
How do you have the best summertravel, get the best summer
travel deals?
(01:04):
How do you travel with yourfinancial hat on?
That is what we're going to becovering today.
I've got a great guest.
I'm joined by Bri Keith, who isthe founder of Bri Guides, a
travel concierge service thathelps people turn points and
miles into premium travel.
After a decade in New York Cityworking in finance and tech, he
(01:26):
now travels the world whilehelping clients save thousands
and use their points to explorethe world in comfort.
Bri, welcome to the podcast.
Bry Keith (01:34):
Thank you so much for having me, Melissa.
I'm so excited to be here.
Melissa Joy (01:38):
Well, I can't wait to have this discussion.
Full disclosure.
I like traveling in comfort.
It's probably because I, youknow, kind of grew up doing due
diligence trips and financial,you know, like on other people's
dime, and I learned that luxurydoes feel a little different.
So I can't wait to hear how tokeep somewhat of a budget in
(02:00):
mind as you kind of upgrade yourtravel experience.
Bry Keith (02:03):
It certainly does.
And I think once you get ataste of what it's like up at
the front, it's hard to go back.
And you know what I do and whatI help clients do is help
unlock those luxury experiencewith the credit card points they
already have.
And oftentimes very smalltweaks in your strategy and
where you're spending and thenhow you're redeeming those
points can unlock those types ofexperiences for less than
(02:24):
you're already spending on justbooking economy.
Melissa Joy (02:26):
Well, this is perfect, because I think people
often well, first question isshould I do the travel point?
Credit cards?
And I think it depends.
If you're just looking for thevery least cost for your credit
cards, then that may not be thebest option because there is
often an annual fee.
But what do you tell peoplewhen they start with that
question, even before we get tothe points themselves and how to
(02:49):
maximize them?
Bry Keith (02:50):
Yeah, so if you are, it depends on your goals, right
?
So every person is going tocome with different, you know
goals and objectives, but if youare going to want to turn your
credit card points into the most, and particularly into luxury
travel, I would certainly youknow recommend going with one of
those travel-based credit cards.
(03:10):
And while they do have annualfees oftentimes, a lot of these
cards will have different typesof credits or redemptions that
make those fees worth it very,very quickly.
And I particularly recommendones where you can have those
points and then transfer thosepoints to external partners and
most of those.
That's where you're going toreally start to unlock the most
value from these credit cardpoints and rewards.
Those cards are usually goingto have an annual fee associated
.
Melissa Joy (03:30):
Well, and here's one point is I know the credit
card companies in theirengagements and cooperation with
the point kind of dealers,let's say they know that a lot
of us are kind of not engaged ornot as proactive, so they're
making money first of allbecause, not everybody pays
their credit card statement offat the end of every month.
(03:53):
One of the things I say whenpeople ask about points is like
are you able to pay it offBecause being motivated to put
more on your cards?
If you can't, let's talk aboutit after.
We figure that part out, andyou need to take a break from
those points getting.
Once you go there, though, youneed to understand how to use
the points, because I assumethat there is inflation when it
(04:15):
comes to the points as well aswith our currency.
Is that right?
Bry Keith (04:19):
That's absolutely correct.
So every year you know programs, look at flights and how things
are and you know what it takesto book.
The same experience goes up inthe number of points each year.
So I usually recommend topeople you know if you have
something you're thinking about,do not hoard your points right,
because next year and in yearsdown the road it's going to cost
a lot more points to unlock thesame experience that you're
(04:40):
doing right now at that samelevel of points.
Melissa Joy (04:42):
Yeah, it'll cost more points.
The prices go up and, with someof those you know, kind of
engaging, moving around thepoints but also taking your
benefits and using them, youneed to know what those benefits
are first.
Right, like you've got to readthe fine print.
How do you recommend people dothat?
Bry Keith (05:00):
I think it really depends on what is going to give
you the ultimate return onhappiness for you personally.
Right, some people are going toreally get excited about, you
know, sitting at the front ofthe plane and being in business
class.
Other people are going to wantto turn those points into.
You know, maybe luxury hotelstays, and what you know I help
my clients do is basicallyfigure out you know what are the
(05:21):
goals that you have, right, andthen let's get you in the right
strategy that's going tosupport those goals.
So, for someone that wants toearn, you know, points that they
put towards hotels, there arecertain credit cards and
transfer alliances that we'regoing to want to have that
person earning points in.
That's going to help themunlock that.
For someone that wants to dothat with flights, we're going
to want to be strategic aboutwhere they're flying from and
(05:43):
which airlines are their kind ofpreferred airlines, so that
they're earning points sort ofin those areas as well, so that
when it comes time to redeemthose points, we have those kind
of transfer windows open sothat they can get the most bang
for their buck from their pointsand, ultimately, the type of
experience that they're going towant to have.
Melissa Joy (06:00):
Perfect.
So this I already.
I'm thinking, ok, what's mostimportant to me?
I mean, all things being equal,luxury across the board sounds
amazing, but if you're one ofthose people who's like I, can
be packed in like a sardine onthe flight because it's just
eight hours, but I really wantto maximize the look and feel
and neighborhood of the locationI'm staying in.
These are kind ofself-reflective questions that
(06:23):
you should assess over time,right?
Bry Keith (06:25):
Absolutely, and I think you know as a rule of
thumb, you know there are goingto be slight tweaks in your
strategy, but the overallstrategy I would say for most
people, if they want to earncredit card points right that
they can put towards travel, isto start earning points in what
I would call a transferablepoints currency, and so some of
the big ones that you wouldthink about would be Amex, chase
, capital, one, built Rewardsthose are some of the more
(06:47):
popular ones Citi as well, andthat's going to give you just
more flexibility and optionswhen it comes time to redeem
those points.
Melissa Joy (06:55):
So you're not starting with the brand of
either the airline or the hotel.
Bry Keith (06:59):
Instead, you're starting with a flexible kind of
identity in terms of the brand,yeah, and the way I kind of
think about your strategy and ananalogy that I use are kind of
like your main dishes and yourside dishes, right.
So for your main dishes, whereyou're doing most of your
spending and the cards you'reputting that on, it makes sense
to have that in a transferablepoints currency, particularly if
you're not 100% sure on yourstrategy.
Right, because then you haveoptions to transfer those points
(07:22):
to different airlines or todifferent hotels or use them
right kind of in your creditcards tool.
Then the side dishes if youknow you live in, let's say,
newark, new Jersey, right, andthat is a United hub, then we're
going to want to, you know,maybe open cards that are going
to have you know the rightbenefits or the right perks.
Maybe you know you want freecheck bag and opening like a
United credit card that mightget you that option as well free
(07:45):
check bag and opening like aUnited credit card that might
get you that option as well.
So it's thinking about what arethe perks that matter to you
and then aligning you know cardswith the right lounge access
cards with you know the righttransfer partnerships to those
things so that you can getultimately, the type of travel
day that you, that you, wouldlike.
Melissa Joy (07:58):
So I am about 40 minutes from the Detroit Metro
Airport and there's twodifferent terminals.
One is the Delta terminal and Iwill not fly on the other
airlines unless it's anemergency, because there's just
a different experience there.
But then that would be a sidedish like Delta priority.
But we also need thattransferability, is that right?
Bry Keith (08:17):
Yeah, and Delta is a really interesting use case too
because you know it's one ofthe best you know airlines in
the United States.
For sure I think they have areally premium.
you know quality of service andearning and redeeming Delta
points is really great, butDelta does tend to be priced a
lot higher than theircompetitors, particularly in the
point space.
So a lot of folks come to me,you know, with Delta branded
(08:38):
credit cards and then when itcomes time to book a trip to
Europe, they might not haveenough points to do that,
whereas if they had instead hadthe same amount of points in
Amex which is, you know, a Deltapartner, right, we can then
transfer those points from Amexto Delta or to a dozen other
airlines.
And some of the times you know,if you're wanting to fly, let's
say, from Detroit business classto France, right on Delta,
(09:00):
that's going to cost a couplehundred thousand points.
But if we take, if we havepoints in Amex instead, we can
transfer those points to AirFrance or another kind of
carrier and book that forusually under 100,000 points.
So the value that you get fromhaving points in a transferable
points currency can reallyunlock a lot more luxury rewards
(09:20):
when it comes time to finallybook.
But that's where that cardstrategy matters, and making
sure that you're earning pointsin a place where A it's flexible
to transfer out and then B canget you the rewards that you
particularly want.
Melissa Joy (09:32):
Now you're saying transfer.
You're not going shopping onthe actual rewards page for the
Amex card or like I have atChase Rewards business line,
where it's like generic rewards.
You're actually transferringthem to the place that you're
going to be purchasing and thenshopping.
Is that correct?
Bry Keith (09:52):
Yeah.
So there's a couple differentways to think about this, right?
So the first thing that we wantto do is we want to optimize
how we are earning our pointsright, and that's making sure
that we're in the right cardsand that we're optimizing our
spend based on, you know, thiscard might get three X on
restaurants, so we want to beusing that card there Right.
Then it comes time to redeemthe points.
So we've been good, we open upthe right cards, we got the sign
(10:14):
on bonuses, we're doing a greatjob, you know, earning lots of
points.
We have hundreds of thousandsof points and it's time to book.
This is where it comes time toredeem the points Right, and
this brings us to a commonmistake that people are making.
And now there's obviouslyexceptions to this, but the
common mistake that people aremaking is actually booking
directly in their credit cardstool.
So now, sometimes this makessense.
(10:37):
This makes sense usually fordomestic flight purchases.
You know you mentioned in ChaseChase has pretty good rewards
in terms of when you're bookingwith one of those cards.
Usually you get 1.25 or 1.5X ifyou have a you know you
mentioned in Chase, chase haspretty good rewards in terms of
when you're booking with one ofthose cards.
Usually you get 1.25 or 1.5 Xif you have a, you know, a Chase
Sapphire card.
But where you're going to getthe most bang for your buck,
particularly on longer haul orinternational flights, is by
taking the points from yourcredit card provider and
(11:00):
transferring them out toexternal partners.
So, this is where I help clientsa lot, right, because usually
you can get you know two, three,four, five.
I've helped people get over 10Xtheir points value by doing
this one step right.
And so what is going to happen?
If you book in your creditcards tool, it's going to be
tethered to that cash price,right?
And so let's maybe use anexample right, let's go back to
(11:21):
that.
And so let's maybe use anexample.
Right, let's go back to that.
You're flying to France and youwant to fly in business class.
Well, a business class flightto France is going to be, you
know, let's say, $3,000, $5,000,right, round trip, all things
in.
So if you would book that inyour Chase or your Amex tool,
that would be 300,000 or 500,000points right, because it's
(11:42):
tethered to that dollar amount.
Now, if you would take thosesame points and transfer them to
Air France and book directlywith Air France, you're often
going to find that that price issignificantly lower.
Again, you can routinely findthose for less than 100,000
points.
So if you are transferring outand booking for 100,000 points,
what would have cost three or500,000 points?
You're getting three to fiveextra points value just by doing
(12:05):
this one step when you redeemyour points.
And these are the deals thatI'm an expert in finding in and
help clients find all the time.
Melissa Joy (12:10):
Okay, I'm ready to hire you.
So when people are ready forthat trip they've got it all
laid out.
They've also been collectingtheir points.
What do you end up doing?
Are you like logging in withthem, giving them a list of
instructions, shopping on theirbehalf?
Or how does the travelconcierge work his magic?
Bry Keith (12:28):
Yeah, so there's.
There's two different thingsthat I do that are my main kind
of business objectives.
First, if you're new to creditcard points and miles, you're
not really sure where to start.
You want to just get on thephone and chat with me I do, you
know.
One on one consultations wherewe figure out what the right
strategy for you is right.
What are the travel goals thatyou are wanting to optimize for?
Are they, you know, luxury?
Are they, you know, volume?
Where are you living?
(12:48):
Because all of these things aregoing to impact the strategy.
Then, once you have and haveearned all of those points that
you, you know, want to use andthen put towards travel and you
say, all right, we're ready,we're going to France, let's do
it, or Italy, or wherever may be, all you do is there's a form
on my website and you just go inand you fill out that form and
(13:08):
you enter your date, destinationand points balance, and then
what I will do is I will go outand scour all the different
channels, because sometimesthese deals can be a little
tricky to find Right becauseyou're looking at a lot of
different programs.
There are some aggregator tools,but it's a little bit confusing
, particularly if you're notwell versed in the space.
So what I help clients andcustomers do especially people
that are just busy, that don'thave the time to learn how to do
(13:30):
this I help, I go out and Ijust find the best possible deal
and then I circle back, givethem a few options and
ultimately together coach themhow to move the points and then
transfer and book this flightfor a much better deal.
Melissa Joy (13:43):
That's money well spent.
I love the concept because ifyou're just doing, you know, one
trip A feels intimidating.
Also, the level of complexity,the degree of difficulty at
least for my own self-interest,sounds like it's well worth
paying for a service.
Yeah, so many cases we evaluatethat and say pay for it please.
Bry Keith (14:05):
Yeah, and look, and if people want to learn too, I
have a whole masterclass that Ibuilt that has 12 hours of
content that you can learneverything that I know.
If you want to, you know, spendand invest the time.
That's certainly something thatyou know people can do as well
if you're interested.
But I find, particularly forthe concierge service, these are
, you know, busy people thatunderstand the value of their
(14:25):
time and they look at how manyhours that they are going to
spend digging into and lookingfor and finding a good deal on a
trip and realizing that withwhat their hours are worth,
these are busy professionals.
These are business owners.
These are people that just knowthe value of their time and
know that it's better spent onother things and also want to
(14:50):
just book with confidence,knowing that they're going to
get the best possible deal whenit comes time to travel that is
so valuable for a large subsetof people.
Melissa Joy (14:56):
I think people are often told you know, with
travel we used to have travelagents and professionals that
typically booked because it wasyou know you couldn't just log
in.
Professionals that typicallybooked because it was you know
you couldn't just log in.
And nowadays it's moredifficult to see where those
travel professionals are.
But they're out there and theycertainly bring value in areas
like this.
Bry Keith (15:15):
Yeah, and it's been interesting, right, you know,
with the age of the internet,you know there's been a lot of
changes right, and now we haveall of this information sort of
at our fingertips, and so whathas sort of gone the other way
now is that how do you cutthrough all of that noise when
it comes time to plan a trip orfind a deal or things like that,
and so that's an area where youknow working with people that
(15:38):
are experts in certain parts ofthe field can help you kind of
cut through the noise of theendless amounts of information
that we're constantly drinkingthrough a firehose whenever we
log online to try to figuresomething out ourselves.
Melissa Joy (15:48):
Well, since you're an expert on luxury travel, do
you have any suggestions on waysto enhance your experience
beyond the initial booking ofthe flight and booking of
lodging?
Are there other ways you canupgrade your experience that
people may be missing out on ifthey're just kind of taking the
standard travel planning routethere, ways you can upgrade your
experience that people may bemissing out on if they're just,
you know, kind of taking thestandard travel planning route?
Bry Keith (16:09):
yeah, absolutely.
I think the biggest way thatyou can really improve the
quality of your travel is justby opening the right cards,
right and so there's a handfulof cards that are going to get
you really robust um rewards, um, particularly in the luxury
perk space.
So, like, like what I wouldconsider maybe one of the top
(16:29):
perks, so that one would be theAmex Platinum.
And so there's a bunch of othercards that have these kind of
perks as well.
But, like the Amex Platinum,you're going to unlock, you know
, lounge access right, which isgoing to, you know, every time
you're at an airport and ifyou're flying out of you know
Detroit, you're going to haveaccess to that.
You know Delta lounge.
You know, with, with that card,when you get to the airport,
(16:49):
you know that card is going toalso give you TSA pre check
included.
You're going to have a clearmembership so you're not going
to have to take your laptops outor your shoes off.
You're going to zip throughsecurity pretty quickly.
You're going to go to thelounge.
You're not going to be sittingthere paying, you know, $30 for
the worst airport sandwichyou've ever had in your entire
life.
There is going to be a full,delicious buffet of food and
free flowing champagne.
(17:10):
If you're at JFK, there is aspeakeasy bar where you get,
like, an espresso martini withthe 1855, the year Amex was
founded, like on there.
So and the thing is is once youhave a card like this and once
you have that like if the otherweek I was flying somewhere and
my flight got canceled, right,there was a technical issue on
the aircraft and you knowthey're like sorry, like we're
(17:32):
going to have to put you on thenext flight and so I was able to
rebook very quickly, becauseanother pro tip always travel
with whatever airline you're ontheir airline app downloaded on
your phone, because the momentthey announced that I logged
into the phone, change theflight done before, before I
even got off the plane.
But then I was like, all right,well, now I have three hours to
kill.
What, what shall I do?
And it's like, okay, I'll go tothe lounge where there's free
food and, you know, free alcohol, right, so it takes, when bad
(17:56):
things happen, you're justsitting in a level of comfort,
right.
And then a lot of complimentarythings as well, and so, like
the MX Platinum for example,you'll get automatic gold status
at Hilton and Marriott, right,and so at Hilton, that means
like an upgrade, oftentimes,right, and that means you know
(18:16):
better treatment when it comestime to, you know, show up at
the property.
So these simple things likejust opening a card and you know
shifting spend accordinglyacross them and having the right
cards that are going toultimately help you, kind of
build this.
Melissa Joy (18:43):
I lost you for a second.
I'm sorry.
We have a thunderstorm comingthrough here, but it's recording
on your end, so we would havelost what you said.
Bry Keith (18:51):
I think it's okay, but if you need me to say
anything, I can restate it.
Melissa Joy (18:54):
No, no, that's perfect, but we'll pick it up
from here.
Um, so I want to pivot for amoment and you specialize in
travel advice for LGBTQ clients.
You specialize in travel advicefor LGBTQ clients.
Can you talk to the differencesand considerations that may be?
You know kind of need to be onyour mind or want to be on your
(19:14):
mind when you work with yourniche clientele?
Bry Keith (19:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
You know I am a member of theLGBTQ plus community.
I absolutely love the tightknit community that we are all
over the world.
But unfortunately, you know, intoday's political climate, you
know there are a lot ofchallenges and considerations
that us LGBTQ plus folks need toconsider that you know our.
(19:37):
You know counterparts thatmaybe are not a member of the
community don't need to thinkabout.
There are many, many countries,dozens of countries around the
world where it is illegal to begay, that you could be thrown in
jail, you could be, in somecases, put to death, right just
by being who you are.
So, understanding theimplications, you know, are the
(19:58):
laws friendly?
Is it okay to be?
You know, out and myself, andyou know, if you're traveling
with a partner, is it okay tohold hands in public?
Are we putting ourselves atrisk?
Is, and you know, if you'retraveling with a partner, is it
okay to hold hands in public?
Are we putting ourselves atrisk?
Is there, you know, a potentialrisk of safety?
These are all kind ofconsiderations that you know us
LGBTQ plus folks need to bethinking about when it comes
time to, you know, book, traveland go to certain destinations.
(20:20):
So it's constantly somethingthat you know is important to
understand, and you know Itravel quite a bit, you know for
the type of work that I do, andso I get to experience on the
ground.
You know how things are, howsafe I felt.
You know how you know the locallaws kind of impact, you know
how you're able to kind of befree and express yourself, and
(20:40):
so these types of considerationsdo really matter.
You know, for you know clientsin this space as well and
something that you know weconstantly need to be thinking
about, you know when it comestime to book trips, and also at
home too.
Melissa Joy (20:53):
Yeah, I'm sorry that it's necessary to have such
vigilance, but also appreciatefor the people I care about and
the Pearl Planning communitythat there are resources like
yours that are able to talkabout both how to be safe but
also how to have the bestexperience.
Bry Keith (21:12):
Yeah, I think you know what we're seeing is.
You know there's a lot ofthings going on right now in the
political sphere as well, but Ithink the hospitality industry
as a whole has been very, youknow, open and welcoming.
You know of the LGBTQ pluscommunity and I look at a lot of
like the large, you know, usbased chains and they have, you
know, remained firm in theircommitment and support of, you
(21:35):
know, these diverse diversityand inclusion programs.
Melissa Joy (21:37):
So you know, I've noticed that as well.
Bry Keith (21:40):
Yeah, so you know that's that's a positive trend.
I think you know that, for andwe'll continue to monitor the
space as time goes by.
Melissa Joy (21:49):
Excellent.
Well, you have transitionedfrom a financial career to doing
this travel, concierge, adviceand, dare I say, creator content
as well, full time.
Tell me about that transitionand how did you think the career
would be?
And and how is it like?
What's the perception versusreality when it comes to your
(22:13):
entrepreneurship?
Bry Keith (22:14):
Yeah.
So maybe I'll go back andexplain a little bit about my
past.
So I I went to college, Istudied, you know, finance,
accounting and German actually.
So I spent a little bit of timeliving and working in Europe
and Germany and that's where Ireally kind of caught the travel
bug and worked for, you know,large corporations.
I helped two organizations gopublic.
(22:36):
I spent a decade living andworking in New York City, you
know, working in finance andcorporate finance, which was an
amazing time and experience inmy life.
I really enjoyed that.
But I always had this nagging,you know, bug and passion for
travel.
And so I was, you know, workingreally, really hard, spending a
lot of hours.
You know, new York is a it's apressure cooker right, and so,
(22:58):
you know, in that space I wastraveling a lot to kind of just
take a break and take a breather, and so in doing so, new York's
expensive right.
So I became an expert in theseprograms out of necessity, so
just to fuel my own travels andlifestyles, like, okay, I bet
there's a way I can do this andsave money.
And so I became obsessed withpoints, programs, finding great
deals, and after doing that Istarted helping friends, right,
(23:22):
and the turning point came whena group of friends and I wanted
to visit South America.
Right, we were going to go toPatagonia, buenos Aires and Rio
de Janeiro for Carnival, and theflights are going to the
flights that we wanted theflight path, because we all had
to get back for work.
We're going to be reallyexpensive.
It was going to be like $2,000.
And I was like wait a minute, Ibet I can find us a better deal
, because the trip almost gotcanceled.
(23:42):
Oh, no, yeah.
And so then you know,fortunately I was able to find a
really great deal.
I was like, hey, does everyonehave like 30 40,000, like chase
or Amex points?
And they're like, yeah, so I'mlike jump on a conference call,
we're gonna book it right now.
And so I walk everyone throughit.
We booked the things and thenthey're like wait a minute, like
how did we do that?
I feel like I just stole thisflight.
Smart, right, we are optimizingfor how we can get the most bang
(24:05):
for buck or value of our pointsand in that particular deal, I
think we got four or five x thevalue versus booking in our card
school, which would have been,you know, for that particular
example, two thousand dollarswould have been like two hundred
thousand points, um, so yeah,you know, and such that, you
know, I asked them, you know, isthis something that you would
like be interested in, like,would you pay for the service?
And they're like, absolutely.
(24:25):
And then when they told youknow what they would pay or what
they thought the service wasworth, I was like, oh, my
goodness, like we have abusiness here and so, yeah, very
, it was very exciting stuff.
And then it's been like areally interesting kind of fun
journey right of you know,building up the, the processes
right.
And I would say, you know,entrepreneurship is hard, right,
there's a period where you'rekind of like balancing, you know
(24:47):
, your your normal work and thenyour kind of side hustle work,
and that is a really intense,challenging part of life.
And I think, you know,fortunately for me, you know, I
had a lot of traction, you knowpretty quickly and was able to
kind of like make the decide, tomake the move, and you know
that has afforded me a lot ofreally amazing opportunities to,
(25:07):
you know, be a little moremobile and travel and have some
kind of more flexibility.
I would say the the challengingthing is when, when you are an
entrepreneur and kind of on yourown, there's no one telling you
what to do, so you have to bevery motivated.
You have to work, you know,really, really hard.
You have to have the vision,but then you also have to be the
execution, your marketing, yourfinance, your everything right
(25:28):
and you are learning everythingnew for the first time.
And so that's where I thinkit's really important to
surround yourself with eithermentors that have been there, a
really strong support system,particularly for me.
I travel a lot, you know, whileI'm doing all this, so like
having a strong support system,you know, back home as well, is
really, really important.
And then I would say in general, just the with entrepreneurship
(25:51):
, the highs are higher and thelows are lower.
right, you know it's a littlebit of a wild ride and to me the
journey is worth it andextremely rewarding, but it's
not for the faint of heart.
So I would try before you fullycommit, and I would say you
know, if you're thinking about,you know, making a big change in
your life, test it out first.
You know.
If it's a move, maybe go andspend a couple weeks there.
(26:12):
If it's, you know, launchingnew business like, see if
there's demand, make sure thatyou know the thing that you want
to do.
Don't spend months and monthsand months building it right and
then launch it to have no onebe interested.
Right and I think that's that'ssomething that I learned very
quickly in this journey is don'tdo anything that people aren't
asking for.
Right, and if you know thatdemand is there and you know
that people are going to benefitfrom it, then the challenging
(26:34):
part becomes distribution.
And you know we're veryfortunate in this age of social
media right, where you know anyidea that's you know good or you
know has, you know, grabbedpeople's attention is a great
way to spread, and I've beenvery fortunate that social media
has helped me spread the wordon on the services that I offer
as well.
Melissa Joy (26:51):
Well, it is hard work.
Speaking as an entrepreneurmyself, and especially if you're
achievement oriented I mean youneed to replace an income that
was a paycheck then you knowit's always.
You can always compare yourselfto someone that you're doing
better than.
But there's also always thosebeats where you're like but I'm
nothing compared with this.
And so there is this constantevery day feels different, but
(27:13):
also, you know it's up to you tomake it work.
But then when you find success,it can often be recurring,
which is is really powerful.
Bry Keith (27:38):
Yeah, and it think you know that's really important
and I would say, you know,before launching an
entrepreneurial endeavor likeunderstanding you know, what are
the things about you that makeyou tick, what are the things
that are going to be supermotivating, what are the things
that are you know, maybe thethings that you're not good at,
and then being not being afraidto outsource those to someone
who that is the thing thatlights them up.
So I think all of that isreally important.
Melissa Joy (27:59):
Well, I can tell you're an entrepreneur at heart
and I think for so many people Ifind you know, society today is
like everybody needs to workfor themselves, and there are
great pathways to both be a W-2employee and maximize your
travel with someone like Bri.
And then there are also peoplethat are just born to run a
business and they also have theright idea at the right time,
(28:23):
and both of those can be true,and it's not the same for
everyone, so you don't have tolook at everybody else and
decide how you need to be.
Bry Keith (28:29):
Yeah, and I would just say be careful about you
know what we see online.
I think a lot of what we see,particularly on social media, is
that people are not going to beable to see what they're doing.
(28:51):
There's pros and cons, right,there's highs and lows as well
to to this journey, um, but yeah, it's uh, you know, just be
careful what you're consuming.
Actually, I might've cut outthere.
Melissa Joy (29:08):
Let me know if you want me to redo that one, you
did You're good, though I it itcaught up at the end.
Okay, great, sorry.
Sorry, it's this room.
Bry Keith (29:16):
No, actually that one might've been me Cause I got
the spinny wheel that time?
Melissa Joy (29:19):
Okay.
Well, Sherita can fix it.
Do you want to go over just thatlast part again about kind of
the so as we think about youknow that are each of our
entrepreneurial journey.
What I know, too, is that it'sa completely different world,
that I think it's opening peopleup to possibilities.
But you're also living in.
You know the edited images ofamazing bride guides travel
(29:44):
around the world.
We look and compare ourselvesand, as we know, comparison can
sometimes be the thief of joy.
What is your caution when itcomes to the honest pathway for
an entrepreneur versus the wayit looks from the outside,
looking in.
Bry Keith (30:01):
Yeah, I think what's really important is to be
radically honest with yourself.
you know, make sure that youknow, before launching an
entrepreneurial journey like amI okay with the ups and downs
and the waves of the?
You know there's going to beweeks where I'm not sure where
the next piece of business iscoming from.
And you know, if you're, youknow, hiring a team and doing
that there's going to be prettysignificant.
You know ups and downs, right,and so knowing what are the
(30:25):
things about you, is that youknow a life that would would
leave me happy.
Am I in a place where I canfeel good and centered in doing
that is really important, right?
And for some people that isthat's going to light them up,
that's going to excite them, andother people are going to hear
that and that's going to terrifythem.
So, depending on which side ofthe coin you are, like, go with
(30:45):
who you are right, because atthe end of the day, like knowing
who you are and having thatsort of you know, radical self
acceptance is going to be themost important thing, because we
all bring something special andunique.
And just be careful to in thisage of social media, because a
lot of what you see on there isa highlight reel and, like you
(31:05):
said, comparison is the thief ofjoy is such a great quote.
I love using that all the timebecause the way that some of
this is described is is built tois to have you always feel like
you're missing out, right,someone else is going to have
this or that or whatever thething is.
And so figure out what'simportant to you, whether it's
in travel or in life in general,and then optimize for those
things.
And so, you know, for manypeople, travel is one of those
things that makes them reallyhappy.
(31:25):
For me, it was, so you know I'mbuilding a life that's
optimized for that, and you knowit's really fun to get to help
other people do that as well,right, and what really motivates
me about this is that, like,travel has always been a really
amazing place where I can go andlearn about a new place and
experience different cultures.
And, you know, take a breath orbreather right.
(31:47):
And travel has been somethingthat's been really important to
me, too, as I process bigchanges in my life dealt with
difficult, you know, things thatyou know have happened in my
personal life.
It gives you a moment to take astep back right and look at who
you are, where you are and whatreally matters, and so the
ability to kind of you know dothat has been really, you know,
fun and exciting and helpingothers do that helps me get out
(32:09):
of bed really excited every day.
Melissa Joy (32:11):
I working in a helping profession is so
rewarding, it's so fulfilling,and I was reminded as you talked
about that you know kind ofradical candor.
When I first opened PearlPlanning, the first value that
we came up with was courageousauthenticity and, you know, just
having the courage to say whenthings are going great and also
when things are difficult was apathway that's necessary in
(32:35):
financial planning but also inrunning a business and in life,
so go ahead.
Bry Keith (32:41):
No, it's really important and I love that.
That's such a really amazingperspective and, yeah, it's just
so important right Foreverything that we do.
Melissa Joy (32:51):
Well, I know that people who have listened are
like tell me more, how do Ifollow you?
Give me all the tips.
So how do um take their fandomfrom the podcast into the real
world?
Bry Keith (33:05):
well, the first place to find me is on instagram
, that's at bry guidesb-r-y-g-u-i-d-e-s.
So that's where I'm you really,you know, communicating with
folks the most right, um.
So that's the the best place tofirst go and find me, and then
there you'll find links to allthe other things, and I'm not
sure if we'll put in the shownotes, but yeah, we certainly
will.
Okay, great, the other twoplaces that would be really
(33:26):
helpful is I have a points dealfinder tool where you just kind
of fill out your date,destination and points balance
which we talked about, or, ifyou're, you know, relatively new
together to figure out what theright strategy is for you.
So you know, thank you againfor this opportunity.
(33:47):
I'm really excited to hopefullychat with some of the folks
that are listening and, yeah,it's amazing what you can
accomplish with credit cardpoints and miles once you start
to understand these systems anduse them to your benefit.
Melissa Joy (34:05):
And, yeah, I'm excited to help people
experience the world and comfort.
Well, I can feel you openingthe curtain for us.
Thank you.
I've learned so much in ourconversation and so much so that
I bet we'll have you backsometime if you're open to it.
So thank you so much forjoining us.
Bry Keith (34:12):
I would love that Always happy and thank you so
much for this opportunity.
It was great speaking with youtoday.
Melissa Joy (34:28):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
Wisdom Podcast.
If you found value in thisepisode, the best way you can
support the podcast is toforward an episode to a friend
or leave a review.
Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
resources and links mentioned.
Welcome to the Women's Money Wisdom Podcast.
I'm Melissa Joy, a certifiedfinancial planner and the
founder of Pearl Planning.
My goal is to help youstreamline and organize your
finances, navigate big moneydecisions with confidence and be
strategic in order to grow yourwealth.
As a woman, you work hard foryour money and I'm here to help
(00:21):
you make the most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
And I'm here to help you makethe most of it.
Now let's get into the show.
Just a quick note before wedive in.
The information that we share ismeant to educate and inspire,
not serve as personalizedfinancial advice.
Everyone's situation is unique,so be sure to consult with your
own financial professional forguidance that fits your life.
And just so you know, theopinions shared in this podcast
(00:44):
are my own and those of myguests, and they don't
necessarily represent those ofany organizations that I'm
affiliated with.
For more important disclosures,please go to our webpage at
pearlplancom.
Now let's get started.
How do you have the best summertravel, get the best summer
travel deals?
(01:04):
How do you travel with yourfinancial hat on?
That is what we're going to becovering today.
I've got a great guest.
I'm joined by Bri Keith, who isthe founder of Bri Guides, a
travel concierge service thathelps people turn points and
miles into premium travel.
After a decade in New York Cityworking in finance and tech, he
(01:26):
now travels the world whilehelping clients save thousands
and use their points to explorethe world in comfort.
Bri, welcome to the podcast.
Bry Keith (01:34):
Thank you so much for having me, Melissa.
I'm so excited to be here.
Melissa Joy (01:38):
Well, I can't wait to have this discussion.
Full disclosure.
I like traveling in comfort.
It's probably because I, youknow, kind of grew up doing due
diligence trips and financial,you know, like on other people's
dime, and I learned that luxurydoes feel a little different.
So I can't wait to hear how tokeep somewhat of a budget in
(02:00):
mind as you kind of upgrade yourtravel experience.
Bry Keith (02:03):
It certainly does.
And I think once you get ataste of what it's like up at
the front, it's hard to go back.
And you know what I do and whatI help clients do is help
unlock those luxury experiencewith the credit card points they
already have.
And oftentimes very smalltweaks in your strategy and
where you're spending and thenhow you're redeeming those
points can unlock those types ofexperiences for less than
(02:24):
you're already spending on justbooking economy.
Melissa Joy (02:26):
Well, this is perfect, because I think people
often well, first question isshould I do the travel point?
Credit cards?
And I think it depends.
If you're just looking for thevery least cost for your credit
cards, then that may not be thebest option because there is
often an annual fee.
But what do you tell peoplewhen they start with that
question, even before we get tothe points themselves and how to
(02:49):
maximize them?
Bry Keith (02:50):
Yeah, so if you are, it depends on your goals, right
?
So every person is going tocome with different, you know
goals and objectives, but if youare going to want to turn your
credit card points into the most, and particularly into luxury
travel, I would certainly youknow recommend going with one of
those travel-based credit cards.
(03:10):
And while they do have annualfees oftentimes, a lot of these
cards will have different typesof credits or redemptions that
make those fees worth it very,very quickly.
And I particularly recommendones where you can have those
points and then transfer thosepoints to external partners and
most of those.
That's where you're going toreally start to unlock the most
value from these credit cardpoints and rewards.
Those cards are usually goingto have an annual fee associated
.
Melissa Joy (03:30):
Well, and here's one point is I know the credit
card companies in theirengagements and cooperation with
the point kind of dealers,let's say they know that a lot
of us are kind of not engaged ornot as proactive, so they're
making money first of allbecause, not everybody pays
their credit card statement offat the end of every month.
(03:53):
One of the things I say whenpeople ask about points is like
are you able to pay it offBecause being motivated to put
more on your cards?
If you can't, let's talk aboutit after.
We figure that part out, andyou need to take a break from
those points getting.
Once you go there, though, youneed to understand how to use
the points, because I assumethat there is inflation when it
(04:15):
comes to the points as well aswith our currency.
Is that right?
Bry Keith (04:19):
That's absolutely correct.
So every year you know programs, look at flights and how things
are and you know what it takesto book.
The same experience goes up inthe number of points each year.
So I usually recommend topeople you know if you have
something you're thinking about,do not hoard your points right,
because next year and in yearsdown the road it's going to cost
a lot more points to unlock thesame experience that you're
(04:40):
doing right now at that samelevel of points.
Melissa Joy (04:42):
Yeah, it'll cost more points.
The prices go up and, with someof those you know, kind of
engaging, moving around thepoints but also taking your
benefits and using them, youneed to know what those benefits
are first.
Right, like you've got to readthe fine print.
How do you recommend people dothat?
Bry Keith (05:00):
I think it really depends on what is going to give
you the ultimate return onhappiness for you personally.
Right, some people are going toreally get excited about, you
know, sitting at the front ofthe plane and being in business
class.
Other people are going to wantto turn those points into.
You know, maybe luxury hotelstays, and what you know I help
my clients do is basicallyfigure out you know what are the
(05:21):
goals that you have, right, andthen let's get you in the right
strategy that's going tosupport those goals.
So, for someone that wants toearn, you know, points that they
put towards hotels, there arecertain credit cards and
transfer alliances that we'regoing to want to have that
person earning points in.
That's going to help themunlock that.
For someone that wants to dothat with flights, we're going
to want to be strategic aboutwhere they're flying from and
(05:43):
which airlines are their kind ofpreferred airlines, so that
they're earning points sort ofin those areas as well, so that
when it comes time to redeemthose points, we have those kind
of transfer windows open sothat they can get the most bang
for their buck from their pointsand, ultimately, the type of
experience that they're going towant to have.
Melissa Joy (06:00):
Perfect.
So this I already.
I'm thinking, ok, what's mostimportant to me?
I mean, all things being equal,luxury across the board sounds
amazing, but if you're one ofthose people who's like I, can
be packed in like a sardine onthe flight because it's just
eight hours, but I really wantto maximize the look and feel
and neighborhood of the locationI'm staying in.
These are kind ofself-reflective questions that
(06:23):
you should assess over time,right?
Bry Keith (06:25):
Absolutely, and I think you know as a rule of
thumb, you know there are goingto be slight tweaks in your
strategy, but the overallstrategy I would say for most
people, if they want to earncredit card points right that
they can put towards travel, isto start earning points in what
I would call a transferablepoints currency, and so some of
the big ones that you wouldthink about would be Amex, chase
, capital, one, built Rewardsthose are some of the more
(06:47):
popular ones Citi as well, andthat's going to give you just
more flexibility and optionswhen it comes time to redeem
those points.
Melissa Joy (06:55):
So you're not starting with the brand of
either the airline or the hotel.
Bry Keith (06:59):
Instead, you're starting with a flexible kind of
identity in terms of the brand,yeah, and the way I kind of
think about your strategy and ananalogy that I use are kind of
like your main dishes and yourside dishes, right.
So for your main dishes, whereyou're doing most of your
spending and the cards you'reputting that on, it makes sense
to have that in a transferablepoints currency, particularly if
you're not 100% sure on yourstrategy.
Right, because then you haveoptions to transfer those points
(07:22):
to different airlines or todifferent hotels or use them
right kind of in your creditcards tool.
Then the side dishes if youknow you live in, let's say,
newark, new Jersey, right, andthat is a United hub, then we're
going to want to, you know,maybe open cards that are going
to have you know the rightbenefits or the right perks.
Maybe you know you want freecheck bag and opening like a
United credit card that mightget you that option as well free
(07:45):
check bag and opening like aUnited credit card that might
get you that option as well.
So it's thinking about what arethe perks that matter to you
and then aligning you know cardswith the right lounge access
cards with you know the righttransfer partnerships to those
things so that you can getultimately, the type of travel
day that you, that you, wouldlike.
Melissa Joy (07:58):
So I am about 40 minutes from the Detroit Metro
Airport and there's twodifferent terminals.
One is the Delta terminal and Iwill not fly on the other
airlines unless it's anemergency, because there's just
a different experience there.
But then that would be a sidedish like Delta priority.
But we also need thattransferability, is that right?
Bry Keith (08:17):
Yeah, and Delta is a really interesting use case too
because you know it's one ofthe best you know airlines in
the United States.
For sure I think they have areally premium.
you know quality of service andearning and redeeming Delta
points is really great, butDelta does tend to be priced a
lot higher than theircompetitors, particularly in the
point space.
So a lot of folks come to me,you know, with Delta branded
(08:38):
credit cards and then when itcomes time to book a trip to
Europe, they might not haveenough points to do that,
whereas if they had instead hadthe same amount of points in
Amex which is, you know, a Deltapartner, right, we can then
transfer those points from Amexto Delta or to a dozen other
airlines.
And some of the times you know,if you're wanting to fly, let's
say, from Detroit business classto France, right on Delta,
(09:00):
that's going to cost a couplehundred thousand points.
But if we take, if we havepoints in Amex instead, we can
transfer those points to AirFrance or another kind of
carrier and book that forusually under 100,000 points.
So the value that you get fromhaving points in a transferable
points currency can reallyunlock a lot more luxury rewards
(09:20):
when it comes time to finallybook.
But that's where that cardstrategy matters, and making
sure that you're earning pointsin a place where A it's flexible
to transfer out and then B canget you the rewards that you
particularly want.
Melissa Joy (09:32):
Now you're saying transfer.
You're not going shopping onthe actual rewards page for the
Amex card or like I have atChase Rewards business line,
where it's like generic rewards.
You're actually transferringthem to the place that you're
going to be purchasing and thenshopping.
Is that correct?
Bry Keith (09:52):
Yeah.
So there's a couple differentways to think about this, right?
So the first thing that we wantto do is we want to optimize
how we are earning our pointsright, and that's making sure
that we're in the right cardsand that we're optimizing our
spend based on, you know, thiscard might get three X on
restaurants, so we want to beusing that card there Right.
Then it comes time to redeemthe points.
So we've been good, we open upthe right cards, we got the sign
(10:14):
on bonuses, we're doing a greatjob, you know, earning lots of
points.
We have hundreds of thousandsof points and it's time to book.
This is where it comes time toredeem the points Right, and
this brings us to a commonmistake that people are making.
And now there's obviouslyexceptions to this, but the
common mistake that people aremaking is actually booking
directly in their credit cardstool.
So now, sometimes this makessense.
(10:37):
This makes sense usually fordomestic flight purchases.
You know you mentioned in ChaseChase has pretty good rewards
in terms of when you're bookingwith one of those cards.
Usually you get 1.25 or 1.5X ifyou have a you know you
mentioned in Chase, chase haspretty good rewards in terms of
when you're booking with one ofthose cards.
Usually you get 1.25 or 1.5 Xif you have a, you know, a Chase
Sapphire card.
But where you're going to getthe most bang for your buck,
particularly on longer haul orinternational flights, is by
taking the points from yourcredit card provider and
(11:00):
transferring them out toexternal partners.
So, this is where I help clientsa lot, right, because usually
you can get you know two, three,four, five.
I've helped people get over 10Xtheir points value by doing
this one step right.
And so what is going to happen?
If you book in your creditcards tool, it's going to be
tethered to that cash price,right?
And so let's maybe use anexample right, let's go back to
(11:21):
that.
And so let's maybe use anexample.
Right, let's go back to that.
You're flying to France and youwant to fly in business class.
Well, a business class flightto France is going to be, you
know, let's say, $3,000, $5,000,right, round trip, all things
in.
So if you would book that inyour Chase or your Amex tool,
that would be 300,000 or 500,000points right, because it's
(11:42):
tethered to that dollar amount.
Now, if you would take thosesame points and transfer them to
Air France and book directlywith Air France, you're often
going to find that that price issignificantly lower.
Again, you can routinely findthose for less than 100,000
points.
So if you are transferring outand booking for 100,000 points,
what would have cost three or500,000 points?
You're getting three to fiveextra points value just by doing
(12:05):
this one step when you redeemyour points.
And these are the deals thatI'm an expert in finding in and
help clients find all the time.
Melissa Joy (12:10):
Okay, I'm ready to hire you.
So when people are ready forthat trip they've got it all
laid out.
They've also been collectingtheir points.
What do you end up doing?
Are you like logging in withthem, giving them a list of
instructions, shopping on theirbehalf?
Or how does the travelconcierge work his magic?
Bry Keith (12:28):
Yeah, so there's.
There's two different thingsthat I do that are my main kind
of business objectives.
First, if you're new to creditcard points and miles, you're
not really sure where to start.
You want to just get on thephone and chat with me I do, you
know.
One on one consultations wherewe figure out what the right
strategy for you is right.
What are the travel goals thatyou are wanting to optimize for?
Are they, you know, luxury?
Are they, you know, volume?
Where are you living?
(12:48):
Because all of these things aregoing to impact the strategy.
Then, once you have and haveearned all of those points that
you, you know, want to use andthen put towards travel and you
say, all right, we're ready,we're going to France, let's do
it, or Italy, or wherever may be, all you do is there's a form
on my website and you just go inand you fill out that form and
(13:08):
you enter your date, destinationand points balance, and then
what I will do is I will go outand scour all the different
channels, because sometimesthese deals can be a little
tricky to find Right becauseyou're looking at a lot of
different programs.
There are some aggregator tools,but it's a little bit confusing
, particularly if you're notwell versed in the space.
So what I help clients andcustomers do especially people
that are just busy, that don'thave the time to learn how to do
(13:30):
this I help, I go out and Ijust find the best possible deal
and then I circle back, givethem a few options and
ultimately together coach themhow to move the points and then
transfer and book this flightfor a much better deal.
Melissa Joy (13:43):
That's money well spent.
I love the concept because ifyou're just doing, you know, one
trip A feels intimidating.
Also, the level of complexity,the degree of difficulty at
least for my own self-interest,sounds like it's well worth
paying for a service.
Yeah, so many cases we evaluatethat and say pay for it please.
Bry Keith (14:05):
Yeah, and look, and if people want to learn too, I
have a whole masterclass that Ibuilt that has 12 hours of
content that you can learneverything that I know.
If you want to, you know, spendand invest the time.
That's certainly something thatyou know people can do as well
if you're interested.
But I find, particularly forthe concierge service, these are
, you know, busy people thatunderstand the value of their
(14:25):
time and they look at how manyhours that they are going to
spend digging into and lookingfor and finding a good deal on a
trip and realizing that withwhat their hours are worth,
these are busy professionals.
These are business owners.
These are people that just knowthe value of their time and
know that it's better spent onother things and also want to
(14:50):
just book with confidence,knowing that they're going to
get the best possible deal whenit comes time to travel that is
so valuable for a large subsetof people.
Melissa Joy (14:56):
I think people are often told you know, with
travel we used to have travelagents and professionals that
typically booked because it wasyou know you couldn't just log
in.
Professionals that typicallybooked because it was you know
you couldn't just log in.
And nowadays it's moredifficult to see where those
travel professionals are.
But they're out there and theycertainly bring value in areas
like this.
Bry Keith (15:15):
Yeah, and it's been interesting, right, you know,
with the age of the internet,you know there's been a lot of
changes right, and now we haveall of this information sort of
at our fingertips, and so whathas sort of gone the other way
now is that how do you cutthrough all of that noise when
it comes time to plan a trip orfind a deal or things like that,
and so that's an area where youknow working with people that
(15:38):
are experts in certain parts ofthe field can help you kind of
cut through the noise of theendless amounts of information
that we're constantly drinkingthrough a firehose whenever we
log online to try to figuresomething out ourselves.
Melissa Joy (15:48):
Well, since you're an expert on luxury travel, do
you have any suggestions on waysto enhance your experience
beyond the initial booking ofthe flight and booking of
lodging?
Are there other ways you canupgrade your experience that
people may be missing out on ifthey're just kind of taking the
standard travel planning routethere, ways you can upgrade your
experience that people may bemissing out on if they're just,
you know, kind of taking thestandard travel planning route?
Bry Keith (16:09):
yeah, absolutely.
I think the biggest way thatyou can really improve the
quality of your travel is justby opening the right cards,
right and so there's a handfulof cards that are going to get
you really robust um rewards, um, particularly in the luxury
perk space.
So, like, like what I wouldconsider maybe one of the top
(16:29):
perks, so that one would be theAmex Platinum.
And so there's a bunch of othercards that have these kind of
perks as well.
But, like the Amex Platinum,you're going to unlock, you know
, lounge access right, which isgoing to, you know, every time
you're at an airport and ifyou're flying out of you know
Detroit, you're going to haveaccess to that.
You know Delta lounge.
You know, with, with that card,when you get to the airport,
(16:49):
you know that card is going toalso give you TSA pre check
included.
You're going to have a clearmembership so you're not going
to have to take your laptops outor your shoes off.
You're going to zip throughsecurity pretty quickly.
You're going to go to thelounge.
You're not going to be sittingthere paying, you know, $30 for
the worst airport sandwichyou've ever had in your entire
life.
There is going to be a full,delicious buffet of food and
free flowing champagne.
(17:10):
If you're at JFK, there is aspeakeasy bar where you get,
like, an espresso martini withthe 1855, the year Amex was
founded, like on there.
So and the thing is is once youhave a card like this and once
you have that like if the otherweek I was flying somewhere and
my flight got canceled, right,there was a technical issue on
the aircraft and you knowthey're like sorry, like we're
(17:32):
going to have to put you on thenext flight and so I was able to
rebook very quickly, becauseanother pro tip always travel
with whatever airline you're ontheir airline app downloaded on
your phone, because the momentthey announced that I logged
into the phone, change theflight done before, before I
even got off the plane.
But then I was like, all right,well, now I have three hours to
kill.
What, what shall I do?
And it's like, okay, I'll go tothe lounge where there's free
food and, you know, free alcohol, right, so it takes, when bad
(17:56):
things happen, you're justsitting in a level of comfort,
right.
And then a lot of complimentarythings as well, and so, like
the MX Platinum for example,you'll get automatic gold status
at Hilton and Marriott, right,and so at Hilton, that means
like an upgrade, oftentimes,right, and that means you know
(18:16):
better treatment when it comestime to, you know, show up at
the property.
So these simple things likejust opening a card and you know
shifting spend accordinglyacross them and having the right
cards that are going toultimately help you, kind of
build this.
Melissa Joy (18:43):
I lost you for a second.
I'm sorry.
We have a thunderstorm comingthrough here, but it's recording
on your end, so we would havelost what you said.
Bry Keith (18:51):
I think it's okay, but if you need me to say
anything, I can restate it.
Melissa Joy (18:54):
No, no, that's perfect, but we'll pick it up
from here.
Um, so I want to pivot for amoment and you specialize in
travel advice for LGBTQ clients.
You specialize in travel advicefor LGBTQ clients.
Can you talk to the differencesand considerations that may be?
You know kind of need to be onyour mind or want to be on your
(19:14):
mind when you work with yourniche clientele?
Bry Keith (19:17):
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
You know I am a member of theLGBTQ plus community.
I absolutely love the tightknit community that we are all
over the world.
But unfortunately, you know, intoday's political climate, you
know there are a lot ofchallenges and considerations
that us LGBTQ plus folks need toconsider that you know our.
(19:37):
You know counterparts thatmaybe are not a member of the
community don't need to thinkabout.
There are many, many countries,dozens of countries around the
world where it is illegal to begay, that you could be thrown in
jail, you could be, in somecases, put to death, right just
by being who you are.
So, understanding theimplications, you know, are the
(19:58):
laws friendly?
Is it okay to be?
You know, out and myself, andyou know, if you're traveling
with a partner, is it okay tohold hands in public?
Are we putting ourselves atrisk?
Is, and you know, if you'retraveling with a partner, is it
okay to hold hands in public?
Are we putting ourselves atrisk?
Is there, you know, a potentialrisk of safety?
These are all kind ofconsiderations that you know us
LGBTQ plus folks need to bethinking about when it comes
time to, you know, book, traveland go to certain destinations.
(20:20):
So it's constantly somethingthat you know is important to
understand, and you know Itravel quite a bit, you know for
the type of work that I do, andso I get to experience on the
ground.
You know how things are, howsafe I felt.
You know how you know the locallaws kind of impact, you know
how you're able to kind of befree and express yourself, and
(20:40):
so these types of considerationsdo really matter.
You know, for you know clientsin this space as well and
something that you know weconstantly need to be thinking
about, you know when it comestime to book trips, and also at
home too.
Melissa Joy (20:53):
Yeah, I'm sorry that it's necessary to have such
vigilance, but also appreciatefor the people I care about and
the Pearl Planning communitythat there are resources like
yours that are able to talkabout both how to be safe but
also how to have the bestexperience.
Bry Keith (21:12):
Yeah, I think you know what we're seeing is.
You know there's a lot ofthings going on right now in the
political sphere as well, but Ithink the hospitality industry
as a whole has been very, youknow, open and welcoming.
You know of the LGBTQ pluscommunity and I look at a lot of
like the large, you know, usbased chains and they have, you
know, remained firm in theircommitment and support of, you
(21:35):
know, these diverse diversityand inclusion programs.
Melissa Joy (21:37):
So you know, I've noticed that as well.
Bry Keith (21:40):
Yeah, so you know that's that's a positive trend.
I think you know that, for andwe'll continue to monitor the
space as time goes by.
Melissa Joy (21:49):
Excellent.
Well, you have transitionedfrom a financial career to doing
this travel, concierge, adviceand, dare I say, creator content
as well, full time.
Tell me about that transitionand how did you think the career
would be?
And and how is it like?
What's the perception versusreality when it comes to your
(22:13):
entrepreneurship?
Bry Keith (22:14):
Yeah.
So maybe I'll go back andexplain a little bit about my
past.
So I I went to college, Istudied, you know, finance,
accounting and German actually.
So I spent a little bit of timeliving and working in Europe
and Germany and that's where Ireally kind of caught the travel
bug and worked for, you know,large corporations.
I helped two organizations gopublic.
(22:36):
I spent a decade living andworking in New York City, you
know, working in finance andcorporate finance, which was an
amazing time and experience inmy life.
I really enjoyed that.
But I always had this nagging,you know, bug and passion for
travel.
And so I was, you know, workingreally, really hard, spending a
lot of hours.
You know, new York is a it's apressure cooker right, and so,
(22:58):
you know, in that space I wastraveling a lot to kind of just
take a break and take a breather, and so in doing so, new York's
expensive right.
So I became an expert in theseprograms out of necessity, so
just to fuel my own travels andlifestyles, like, okay, I bet
there's a way I can do this andsave money.
And so I became obsessed withpoints, programs, finding great
deals, and after doing that Istarted helping friends, right,
(23:22):
and the turning point came whena group of friends and I wanted
to visit South America.
Right, we were going to go toPatagonia, buenos Aires and Rio
de Janeiro for Carnival, and theflights are going to the
flights that we wanted theflight path, because we all had
to get back for work.
We're going to be reallyexpensive.
It was going to be like $2,000.
And I was like wait a minute, Ibet I can find us a better deal
, because the trip almost gotcanceled.
(23:42):
Oh, no, yeah.
And so then you know,fortunately I was able to find a
really great deal.
I was like, hey, does everyonehave like 30 40,000, like chase
or Amex points?
And they're like, yeah, so I'mlike jump on a conference call,
we're gonna book it right now.
And so I walk everyone throughit.
We booked the things and thenthey're like wait a minute, like
how did we do that?
I feel like I just stole thisflight.
Smart, right, we are optimizingfor how we can get the most bang
(24:05):
for buck or value of our pointsand in that particular deal, I
think we got four or five x thevalue versus booking in our card
school, which would have been,you know, for that particular
example, two thousand dollarswould have been like two hundred
thousand points, um, so yeah,you know, and such that, you
know, I asked them, you know, isthis something that you would
like be interested in, like,would you pay for the service?
And they're like, absolutely.
(24:25):
And then when they told youknow what they would pay or what
they thought the service wasworth, I was like, oh, my
goodness, like we have abusiness here and so, yeah, very
, it was very exciting stuff.
And then it's been like areally interesting kind of fun
journey right of you know,building up the, the processes
right.
And I would say, you know,entrepreneurship is hard, right,
there's a period where you'rekind of like balancing, you know
(24:47):
, your your normal work and thenyour kind of side hustle work,
and that is a really intense,challenging part of life.
And I think, you know,fortunately for me, you know, I
had a lot of traction, you knowpretty quickly and was able to
kind of like make the decide, tomake the move, and you know
that has afforded me a lot ofreally amazing opportunities to,
(25:07):
you know, be a little moremobile and travel and have some
kind of more flexibility.
I would say the the challengingthing is when, when you are an
entrepreneur and kind of on yourown, there's no one telling you
what to do, so you have to bevery motivated.
You have to work, you know,really, really hard.
You have to have the vision,but then you also have to be the
execution, your marketing, yourfinance, your everything right
(25:28):
and you are learning everythingnew for the first time.
And so that's where I thinkit's really important to
surround yourself with eithermentors that have been there, a
really strong support system,particularly for me.
I travel a lot, you know, whileI'm doing all this, so like
having a strong support system,you know, back home as well, is
really, really important.
And then I would say in general, just the with entrepreneurship
(25:51):
, the highs are higher and thelows are lower.
right, you know it's a littlebit of a wild ride and to me the
journey is worth it andextremely rewarding, but it's
not for the faint of heart.
So I would try before you fullycommit, and I would say you
know, if you're thinking about,you know, making a big change in
your life, test it out first.
You know.
If it's a move, maybe go andspend a couple weeks there.
(26:12):
If it's, you know, launchingnew business like, see if
there's demand, make sure thatyou know the thing that you want
to do.
Don't spend months and monthsand months building it right and
then launch it to have no onebe interested.
Right and I think that's that'ssomething that I learned very
quickly in this journey is don'tdo anything that people aren't
asking for.
Right, and if you know thatdemand is there and you know
that people are going to benefitfrom it, then the challenging
(26:34):
part becomes distribution.
And you know we're veryfortunate in this age of social
media right, where you know anyidea that's you know good or you
know has, you know, grabbedpeople's attention is a great
way to spread, and I've beenvery fortunate that social media
has helped me spread the wordon on the services that I offer
as well.
Melissa Joy (26:51):
Well, it is hard work.
Speaking as an entrepreneurmyself, and especially if you're
achievement oriented I mean youneed to replace an income that
was a paycheck then you knowit's always.
You can always compare yourselfto someone that you're doing
better than.
But there's also always thosebeats where you're like but I'm
nothing compared with this.
And so there is this constantevery day feels different, but
(27:13):
also, you know it's up to you tomake it work.
But then when you find success,it can often be recurring,
which is is really powerful.
Bry Keith (27:38):
Yeah, and it think you know that's really important
and I would say, you know,before launching an
entrepreneurial endeavor likeunderstanding you know, what are
the things about you that makeyou tick, what are the things
that are going to be supermotivating, what are the things
that are you know, maybe thethings that you're not good at,
and then being not being afraidto outsource those to someone
who that is the thing thatlights them up.
So I think all of that isreally important.
Melissa Joy (27:59):
Well, I can tell you're an entrepreneur at heart
and I think for so many people Ifind you know, society today is
like everybody needs to workfor themselves, and there are
great pathways to both be a W-2employee and maximize your
travel with someone like Bri.
And then there are also peoplethat are just born to run a
business and they also have theright idea at the right time,
(28:23):
and both of those can be true,and it's not the same for
everyone, so you don't have tolook at everybody else and
decide how you need to be.
Bry Keith (28:29):
Yeah, and I would just say be careful about you
know what we see online.
I think a lot of what we see,particularly on social media, is
that people are not going to beable to see what they're doing.
(28:51):
There's pros and cons, right,there's highs and lows as well
to to this journey, um, but yeah, it's uh, you know, just be
careful what you're consuming.
Actually, I might've cut outthere.
Melissa Joy (29:08):
Let me know if you want me to redo that one, you
did You're good, though I it itcaught up at the end.
Okay, great, sorry.
Sorry, it's this room.
Bry Keith (29:16):
No, actually that one might've been me Cause I got
the spinny wheel that time?
Melissa Joy (29:19):
Okay.
Well, Sherita can fix it.
Do you want to go over just thatlast part again about kind of
the so as we think about youknow that are each of our
entrepreneurial journey.
What I know, too, is that it'sa completely different world,
that I think it's opening peopleup to possibilities.
But you're also living in.
You know the edited images ofamazing bride guides travel
(29:44):
around the world.
We look and compare ourselvesand, as we know, comparison can
sometimes be the thief of joy.
What is your caution when itcomes to the honest pathway for
an entrepreneur versus the wayit looks from the outside,
looking in.
Bry Keith (30:01):
Yeah, I think what's really important is to be
radically honest with yourself.
you know, make sure that youknow, before launching an
entrepreneurial journey like amI okay with the ups and downs
and the waves of the?
You know there's going to beweeks where I'm not sure where
the next piece of business iscoming from.
And you know, if you're, youknow, hiring a team and doing
that there's going to be prettysignificant.
You know ups and downs, right,and so knowing what are the
(30:25):
things about you, is that youknow a life that would would
leave me happy.
Am I in a place where I canfeel good and centered in doing
that is really important, right?
And for some people that isthat's going to light them up,
that's going to excite them, andother people are going to hear
that and that's going to terrifythem.
So, depending on which side ofthe coin you are, like, go with
(30:45):
who you are right, because atthe end of the day, like knowing
who you are and having thatsort of you know, radical self
acceptance is going to be themost important thing, because we
all bring something special andunique.
And just be careful to in thisage of social media, because a
lot of what you see on there isa highlight reel and, like you
(31:05):
said, comparison is the thief ofjoy is such a great quote.
I love using that all the timebecause the way that some of
this is described is is built tois to have you always feel like
you're missing out, right,someone else is going to have
this or that or whatever thething is.
And so figure out what'simportant to you, whether it's
in travel or in life in general,and then optimize for those
things.
And so, you know, for manypeople, travel is one of those
things that makes them reallyhappy.
(31:25):
For me, it was, so you know I'mbuilding a life that's
optimized for that, and you knowit's really fun to get to help
other people do that as well,right, and what really motivates
me about this is that, like,travel has always been a really
amazing place where I can go andlearn about a new place and
experience different cultures.
And, you know, take a breath orbreather right.
(31:47):
And travel has been somethingthat's been really important to
me, too, as I process bigchanges in my life dealt with
difficult, you know, things thatyou know have happened in my
personal life.
It gives you a moment to take astep back right and look at who
you are, where you are and whatreally matters, and so the
ability to kind of you know dothat has been really, you know,
fun and exciting and helpingothers do that helps me get out
(32:09):
of bed really excited every day.
Melissa Joy (32:11):
I working in a helping profession is so
rewarding, it's so fulfilling,and I was reminded as you talked
about that you know kind ofradical candor.
When I first opened PearlPlanning, the first value that
we came up with was courageousauthenticity and, you know, just
having the courage to say whenthings are going great and also
when things are difficult was apathway that's necessary in
(32:35):
financial planning but also inrunning a business and in life,
so go ahead.
Bry Keith (32:41):
No, it's really important and I love that.
That's such a really amazingperspective and, yeah, it's just
so important right Foreverything that we do.
Melissa Joy (32:51):
Well, I know that people who have listened are
like tell me more, how do Ifollow you?
Give me all the tips.
So how do um take their fandomfrom the podcast into the real
world?
Bry Keith (33:05):
well, the first place to find me is on instagram
, that's at bry guidesb-r-y-g-u-i-d-e-s.
So that's where I'm you really,you know, communicating with
folks the most right, um.
So that's the the best place tofirst go and find me, and then
there you'll find links to allthe other things, and I'm not
sure if we'll put in the shownotes, but yeah, we certainly
will.
Okay, great, the other twoplaces that would be really
(33:26):
helpful is I have a points dealfinder tool where you just kind
of fill out your date,destination and points balance
which we talked about, or, ifyou're, you know, relatively new
together to figure out what theright strategy is for you.
So you know, thank you againfor this opportunity.
(33:47):
I'm really excited to hopefullychat with some of the folks
that are listening and, yeah,it's amazing what you can
accomplish with credit cardpoints and miles once you start
to understand these systems anduse them to your benefit.
Melissa Joy (34:05):
And, yeah, I'm excited to help people
experience the world and comfort.
Well, I can feel you openingthe curtain for us.
Thank you.
I've learned so much in ourconversation and so much so that
I bet we'll have you backsometime if you're open to it.
So thank you so much forjoining us.
Bry Keith (34:12):
I would love that Always happy and thank you so
much for this opportunity.
It was great speaking with youtoday.
Melissa Joy (34:28):
Thank you for listening to the Women's Money
Wisdom Podcast.
If you found value in thisepisode, the best way you can
support the podcast is toforward an episode to a friend
or leave a review.
Go to pearlplancom and thepodcast link to get all the
resources and links mentioned.
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