I needed to get to Europe for a wedding. Two round-trip tickets were pricing around $3,000…
I needed to get to Europe for a wedding. Two round-trip tickets were pricing around $3,000—a pricey way to start a trip. I'd heard the whispers—people flying "for free" with credit cards—so I decided to see if that was real or just internet lore.
I already knew cash-back cards, so I figured this would be easy to pick up. Travel rewards were another planet. Acronyms everywhere. Charts, rules, transfer partners. I spent nights buried in Reddit threads, The Points Guy articles, and any blog I could find, while bugging an old friend who spoke "points."
At first, nothing clicked. I booked the wrong thing, missed better options, and learned the hard way that "availability" moves. Then it started to make sense. I stitched together a simple system, kept notes, and booked us to Europe in premium economy with points—just taxes and fees. There was real value here, it only took weeks of reading and headaches.
That win felt great, but it exposed the problem: the game rewards insiders. Friends and family asked how to do it, and there was no way to explain it. Too many gotchas. Too much jargon. Most people tap out before they see value.
So I pulled together a small team, and we built Practical Rewards. We translate card-speak into plain English, show the exact math, and give straight answers—even when that means "don't get this card." We build tools that do the heavy lifting for normal people with normal lives. Some folks like researching and squeezing every last drop. Others want a card they never have to think about again. Our job is to help each person find what fits—because there's money on the table either way.
Banks keep it complicated; we keep it practical—so you can grab the value without a dictionary or a spreadsheet degree. That's Practical Rewards.
Your helpful friend in card form. We ask a few quick questions about your spending, travel, and hassle tolerance—then suggest cards that fit your lifestyle. No hype, no 10-card spreadsheets. Just "here's what makes sense for you" with a one-sentence reason why.
Annual fees aren't scary when you see the real math. Plug in your monthly spend and perks; we show your true annual cost after credits, protections, and earnings—so you know if a card pays for itself (or not).
Learn at your pace, in your order. Pick topics (cash back, points, transfers, lounges) and choose how deep to go—quick overviews or detailed guides. We explain the why behind every tip so you actually understand the system.