In this TGIF Two Girls Investing Friday episode, Colleen continues a conversation with guest Jaya while Jess is away, focusing on credit card points strategies. Jaya explains she never carries a credit card balance and emphasizes that welcome offers work best when you pay in full, since interest can erase rewards value. They discuss minimum-spend requirements, typical bonus ranges, and using planned expenses (not extra spending) to earn points, including having spouses apply separately to double welcome bonuses. Jaya shares how she booked a Bora Bora overwater bungalow for five nights for about $738, plus flights using points, and outlines using transferable points and timing transfers only when ready to book. She covers managing annual fees via a travel budget, leveraging first-year-free offers, and calling banks for product-change offers to earn additional bonuses while maintaining credit history.

00:00 Podcast Intro

00:34 Episode Setup With Jaya

01:03 No Balances Rule

02:11 Welcome Offers Strategy

03:28 Bora Bora Points Win

05:23 Earning Fast Without Overspending

07:03 Planning Future Trips

08:18 Europe Booking Tactics

10:00 Cancel Downgrade Credit Impact

11:00 Annual Fees And Product Changes

12:53 Beginner Tips And Takeaways

13:43 Guest Plug And Wrap Up

Colleen hosts TGIF Fridays without Jess and interviews Jaya, a Yukon-based traveler and mom of four, about using points and miles to reduce travel costs. Jaya emphasizes first understanding the value and redemption options of existing points (e.g., statement credits vs bank travel portals), then choosing cards with category multipliers, and eventually using transferable points via programs like RBC Avion and American Express. She discusses transferring points to airline partners, timing transfers only when ready to book, and using welcome offers by meeting minimum spend without carrying balances. Jaya shares booking a Bora Bora overwater bungalow for $738 for five nights (vs $2,000/night) using 271,000 Marriott points, plus flights using points (including 85,000 points per person). She covers annual-fee strategy, first-year-free offers, product changes, and keeping the oldest card open for credit history.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:29 Why Travel Points Matter

03:44 Maximizing Your Current Points

07:19 Transferable Points and Flight Strategy

09:50 Everyday Spend Multipliers

11:48 Ethical Amex Use and Transfers

14:18 Part One Wrap and Teaser

15:11 Part Two Welcome Back

15:56 No Balances and Welcome Offers

18:58 Bora Bora on Points Breakdown

23:02 Planning Future Trips and Europe

27:12 Card Churning and Credit Score Tips

29:37 Annual Fees and Product Changes

33:12 Beginner Advice and Closing

In this TGIF Two Girls Investing Friday episode, Jess & Colleen chat about lingering winter weather and concerns about snowmelt flooding. They share embarrassing money stories, including late-night postpartum purchases, which leads into a discussion on how small app charges and forgotten subscriptions can add up. They recommend regularly reviewing phone subscriptions and note that companies may refund accidental renewals. They also discuss saving money through meal planning, highlighting the Mob app that builds grocery lists from selected recipes, and mention online grocery shopping for budget control. Finally, they address recent market volatility tied to disrupted oil supply during a war in Iran, emphasizing long-term investing, dollar-cost averaging, buying opportunities during corrections, mindset and language shifts ("down" vs. "lost"), risk tolerance, diversification, and teasing future episodes on starting with Wealthsimple, beginner mistakes, and money myths.

00:00 Podcast Welcome

00:34 Back After A Break

00:44 Cold Weather Catch Up

01:37 Embarrassing Money Story

04:52 App Spending Adds Up

07:15 Meal Planning App Hack

09:39 Grocery Shopping Strategies

10:41 Market Dip And Mindset

11:39 Stop Predicting Markets

12:31 Volatility Is Normal

13:48 Stay the Course

14:19 Headlines and Fear

15:16 Mindset and Language

17:21 Time Horizon and Diversification

19:43 Risk Tolerance Check

20:41 Market Manipulation Talk

24:22 Buy the Dip Mindset

25:03 Next Episodes and Wrap