The Points Guy: Travel Rewards Reviews

by Rashed.hossain

I am a loyal TPG fan for many years. Follow blogs, reviews, ideas, and articles regularly. I was very excited to try this product but it’s not usable and not useful at this point in time. This is after 30 minutes test drive ThePointsGuy

Pros
Decent interface
Unique features not observed in other trackers
Award explorer can be a great tool
Quick links to card benefits, transfer partner details are very helpful

Cons
1 Big issue - This is not production ready given most of the key features don’t work or incorrect in many cases. Many Technical issues
2 Big issue - This is designed for only individual usage. I can not maintain more than one bank account from the same bank not can I maintain multiple award account from the same program ! Great for single users but family people will likely want to manage their spouse’s and children’s accounts to keep track of everything in one place. This is a fundamental design flaw. For example, I can not add 2 Hilton or Marriott accounts unlike award wallet where same program can be added multiple times with various family members and tag them under different names. I can see the data privacy issue but makes memes it useless for family tracking. I need to know when my kids points expired or take ownership of my spouses points etc.

by Aflogger

This has been glitchy for day one several weeks ago. Initial issues with installation and then after a successful installation and adding accounts, some accounts would not sync. Deleted and re-added some several times before getting them to work. Then after app updates, when forced to re-enter my password, it would not be accepted. This happened with two separate app updates. After successfully logging in through other options listed, all seemed OK. Yesterday, I noticed my AA account wouldn’t sync and after a couple of hours waiting I deleted and re-added; did this at least 3 times with no success on a sync. Also noted after these attempts that my Marriott account was not syncing either. 24 hours later still no sync for either. Deleted the Marriott account and re-added; no luck. On the two previous update issues I sent support a message from within ThePointsGuy and no response. Yesterday I sent a ticket about the sync issue and no response. My tickets on ThePointsGuy update don’t show in the support section and the ticket from yesterday which was showing earlier this morning now has disappeared as well. To me it seems as if ThePointsGuy needs much more debugging before it is ready

by Lightly Salted

I was excited about ThePointsGuy and initially it showed promise. However, the problems with syncing to accounts make it largely worthless to me. As many others have noted it can be impossible to sync to accounts with 2FA turned on. I have tried repeatedly but have still had no luck with some of my major accounts. This was acceptable while ThePointsGuy was in beta, but really inexcusable for a full release.

After repeated attempts at using ThePointsGuy I finally concluded it was mainly good for reading TPG articles. Sadly those have gone downhill as well with repeated obviously paid promotional articles that call into question the integrity of their recommendations. (For example the recent article on Crocs was completely cringeworthy.) I used to love TPG but I am increasing going elsewhere for points and travel advice, and there are better apps for managing points and trips.

by Matteo30

I had such high hopes for ThePointsGuy! I have a lot of credit card points (Chase) built up from the pandemic and I was hoping ThePointsGuy would tell me the best way to use them. But after linking my bank details, I can’t even see the credit card points I have. ThePointsGuy only show points you have built up with airlines. How can I transfer my credit card points to the airlines? Which airlines can I transfer to? Is doing that a better value than booking travel through Chase’s travel portal? I was hoping to get answers to these questions. Also, the award travel search gives me very confusing results. I searched for a trip to go from NYC to Italy and it showed me results for Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. But no carriers like United or Lufthansa. You’re telling me that Singapore Airlines flys from NYC to Italy? I hope there are some big revisions coming soon because right now, ThePointsGuy seems like the Points Guy blog articles wrapped in a native app 😔

by Francekitkat

I love this concept so much. I track things manually, so this would be wonderful. I especially love the award search (would be amazing if it showed live availability!). But, United never connected (3 - 4 days later) and Chase connected but my points never loaded. I keep getting errors with my Amex account (it will work for awhile and then stop). I messaged support a few days ago but never got a response.

Also, bummed I can’t add multiple accounts from the same bank.

The concept is great but execution falls short right now. Fingers crossed for continued iteration. I’ll keep it for the award search but will continue to track points manually for now.

by _CLL_

Hopefully ThePointsGuy will improve. So far, I haven't seen fixes for big issues, and I've seen several things stop working that used to work.

ThePointsGuy had never connected successfully with Chase (that's a pretty huge problem), it no longer connects to Marriott, United requires a fresh sign-in and two-factor authentication every single time, and Hilton points totals report but are never accurate and up to date. AMEX and Delta are the only programs I use that currently report properly.

I would say it would be much better if there were a way for couples to track their points together, but until the current app features actually function, there isn't much point in talking about new features. At this point, ignoring ThePointsGuy for a few months, then deleting it if it is no better seems the best strategy.

by Ahtigers10

ThePointsGuy looks and feels great and will be a really great app if they can iron out the bugs. Unfortunately right now it doesn’t work as intended. Some credit card and airline accounts simply won’t connect. Still can’t get Southwest synced and Barclays only imports one of my 3 cards with them and it’s the wrong version of the card (I have the Aviator Red card but it shows up in ThePointsGuy as the Aviator which is very different.) My synced accounts won’t update… Chase is showing the wrong number of Points for a week now. And the expense analysis is showing completely wrong information. These features will be awesome when they work but right now ThePointsGuy is not usable.

by Scotticus326

I’m a loyal TPG reader and love the idea behind ThePointsGuy. It has the potential to be among my most-used apps by helping me keep straight the benefits of each card in my wallet and guiding me to maximize my rewards. However, as of this review, the abundant flaws make it pretty useless. There are bugs galore (which support has acknowledged they are working to fix). The “cards” feature isn’t sophisticated enough to recognize, for example, an airline transaction as a charge by a specific airline on that airline’s co-branded card vs. just a general airline purchase (which often makes the difference of which card is best to use). In one case, ThePointsGuy says my “best card” for certain categories is one with absolutely no benefits in that category at all (even though I have several other cards with varying degree of earnings in that category). When I attempt to change categories of transactions, I usually get an error. So, GREAT idea here, it’s just not ready for prime time. I look forward to a much improved version soon. (NOTE: This review is not based on the beta version as many other reviews here are. I’ve only used the post-beta release.)

by Spunky Effingham

1. Won’t connect to many programs (Southwest, American, Barclays, Wyndham, etc.) 2. Took 20 tries, literally, to get Chase Consumer connected. 3. Doesn’t work correctly with Chase Business if you have the business/consumer cards combined. Pulled only 3 of my 7 cards. 4. Doesn’t count Ultimate Rewards points. Counts Citi Thank You, and Amex Membership Rwds, but not Chase UR? UR is my points ‘bank’, my points ‘hub’. Not counting those defeats the purpose of the entire app. I have to change my rating one day, as I have spent countless hours trying to use ThePointsGuy and make it relevant. But vs. Award Wallet this is a wannabe app. Good Luck, but my patience and effort is almost nil at this point.

by WVC

The content portion of ThePointsGuy is fine, although I can get this through the website and RSS feeds. The features that allow me to optimize my credit card spending and my miles and points would be very useful, but I can’t bring myself provide my banking and loyalty program credentials. They say “bank-level security,” but just saying that is insufficient reason to trust it. It’s too bad, because a lot of this functionality could be provided without having to provide credentials. If I could simply tell ThePointsGuy the *kinds* of credit cards I have, that would be enough to help me optimize spending, since they should know the various bonuses and multipliers that apply. In addition, if I could simply tell ThePointsGuy the loyalty programs I’m a member of, and what elite level I am, that would go a long way to helping me optimize my miles and points for awards. But to supply credentials — that’s a step too far.

by Elle1411

I was super excited when ThePointsGuy came out and I think it could be amazing if they worked out some issues. I have two Chase cards and it never syncs them. The bonus tracker doesn’t work and nothing about any of my accounts or loyalty programs is updated. It tells me that my accounts are synced, but nothing ever gets updated. I’m still looking at points and balances from 2.5 months ago. I like the home page with articles and deals and the Award Explorer is pretty good but that’s about all that works for me. I feel like this could be an app I use almost every day, but for now I just read the articles on it. Hoping things get resolved soon because I think ThePointsGuy could be really useful and cool.

by Enricapelv

I previously gave four stars and flagged glaring issues with credit card syncing, which are so consistent that I’m forced to lower to three. I have four Chase credit cards and the transactions report is just not accurate. Some transactions are missing, others are miscategorized (thus messing up the points calculation, rendering it useless). I went back and forth with support for a few days but their response time is long, and they didn’t seem to figure out what exactly needed fixing.

Three stars because the potential for this product is so great, but I can’t rely on it because it doesn’t work as intended yet. I’m sure with more iteration there can be excellent improvements!

by Movie King

I love the tpg app, and I even had the old app that was discontinued.

A few possible additions to ThePointsGuy could be a place where you can submit questions about CCs or points or flights.

Also, I love the option to view the flight award chart, but it would be more helpful if it contained a date range to include peak vacation times where flights are definitely more expensive. For example, during thanksgiving weekend the range of points you can expect to pay is higher.

by AlexMarques92

Long time reader & Really love that ThePointsGuy is usable now and I love how I can add on all my royalty programs and cards here! Although, not a fan of the layout for booking a trip. Would prefer to see how much the flight would cost after points are factored in (unless we have enough points), and it looks like the results just kick you to the airline to book on your own without maintaining destination details or anything.

But overall, I like ThePointsGuy , just wish the trip section was more powerful, but I understand it’s largely in beta so there’s hope! Haha

Love you folks!

by Ew40604

I just downloaded and already LOVE ThePointsGuy. Really great design and works well so far. Would highly recommend to anyone with multiple travel credit cards. I do have two requests that would make it even better:

1. Please add the ability to add Amtrak Guest Rewards account

2. In the Cards section, ThePointsGuy recommends how to earn the most points for each type of purchase. I don’t believe it takes into account the value of points though (for instance, 1 Delta Skymile is worth more than 2 Hilton Honors points). Would be great if it included the value of each type of point to recommend how to earn the most value per purchase instead of just the most points.

by Stephuck

Overall I do really enjoy ThePointsGuy and the articles that I read from it. I really appreciate the "Bonus Tracker" that helps keep tabs on your current standing with introductory point thresholds. I feel like it's app could be so great, just needs some fine tuning.

Is there a was to differentiate between for example the "Holton Honors" points and the "American Express" points if you have a Hilton AMEX card? On mine it's showing my "total points" being double what they truly are because it thinks my Hilton and AMEX cards are different values.

by AlexxBranam

For a brand new app, the interface is amazing. I love that you can connect several accounts without having to wait for each one to load.

My only suggestions so far are that I don’t see the option to add rental car rewards and that I would like the ability to add more than one account from a bank. Ex. Personal credit card account and a separate business credit card account with different logins.

Other than that, I’m super impressed and love seeing all of my points balances in one place!!

by Austinreuter

I was so lucky to come off the waiting list for TPG app today and have been waiting for so long since Brian at TPG announced his app. I’ve been in the “credit card rewards” life for a few years now and the biggest problem I have had is keeping track of which card and/or loyalty program is offering the best bang-for-my-buck at any given time in the year. And ThePointsGuy does that.

After entering in my credit cards (all Chase mind you) and loyalty programs, ThePointsGuy not only gives me a current value for all my points, it also intelligently tells me where I missed more earning potential for each category of purchase. Additionally, it has an amazing “award explorer” that will give you the best estimate point redemption for any air travel given the loyalty program you’re enrolled in. As of this moment it does not search actual award charts as it only bases it off published and estimated redemption values, however it is a great starting place when it comes to award travel.

It still needs a little help with some bugs, most notably that my app seems to log me out every other time I launch ThePointsGuy , but given its still in the “invite only” phase I expect that to be patched up before the full release. I am truly excited to see where TPG continues to go with ThePointsGuy!

by EmmaMichaels

You have to have signed up for early access to use ThePointsGuy . My invite finally arrived in my inbox. I knew TPG app would make all my dreams come true with the Rewards Explorer feature. No more spreadsheets! After syncing all your credit card and rewards programs, the Rewards Explorer will allow you to explore flight routes in different booking classes based on your combined credit card and rewards program points. It knows which cards allow you to transfer points to which rewards programs and what the transfer ratio is. For example, I now know I have enough points to fly one-way in business from LHR to SEA because it took into account my Amex points and my BA avois. I can transfer my Amex to BA and book the trip. Not only that, but it also includes routes that you can book on airlines that you aren’t signed up for yet. Amazing!

by Dougeee

Great app! I had a few technical problems early on but I understand that this is a bet version and they have since been resolved. I would suggest that the feature allowing you to check which card is best to use for a certain store or category should be more prominent. It is only located with a single button on the “Cards” tab and when I test it from home I only get a popup suggesting one business that is a mile away from my current location. I think there should be drop down list of locations nearby to choose from. This feature should also have its own tab in ThePointsGuy since I believe it would be heavily used. I would also suggest adding the ability to automatically add or sign up for different card offers like the quarterly bonus categories for the Freedom Flex or the different vendor offers for AMEX and Chase. I still like the easier access to the TPG articles and calculation of points accrued and missed but I suggest adding all of the aforementioned features to make ThePointsGuy the best in the “points and miles” business. I hope you strongly consider my suggestions. Thanks!

by Sandman1318

ThePointsGuy was working beautifully. I had entered all my loyalty programs and credit cards and all my balances were displayed. But then came the recent disaster of an update. I am no longer able to login as I receive a message saying my login credentials are wrong. When I request a password reset, I’m told instructions were emailed to me though I receive nothing. I tried multiple times and yes, I checked my spam folder but nothing! So I set up a new account using a different login method. But now, several accounts such as Chase will not load my info. And the worst part is that I’m repeatedly prompted to login over and over again. I think you guys have some work to do.

by Mnjeff

As others have noted, LOVE the functionality (ThePointsGuy notified me of expiring miles I was not aware of). Love the ability to price flights and get recommendations for which accounts to move miles to/from for free flights. Love the feedback on best card to use when.

I also applaud TPG for transparency in what ThePointsGuy can/cannot do. Having said that I’m frustrated that
1) no response yet to my first trouble ticket (app doesn’t support 2FA on Amex - asked for work around other than turning 2fa off)
2) won’t log me into AA (just a message saying we are still connecting)
3) keeps asking me to validate Wyndham account (connected - then requested validation. Now in validation loop)

Very excited about what ThePointsGuy will be and do once initial teething pains resolved

by Oneillgm

I enjoy ThePointsGuy and find it very beneficial. I like that it allows me to manually add, versus link, my airline and hotel points and account status. I wish it would allow the same manual input for credit cards. I appreciate all the efforts to keep linked account data secure, but allowing a choice to manually enter the same info without putting sensitive information at risk would be a plus.

I know there are disadvantages with manual feeds as I won’t be informed of special targeted offers, but that should be a choice I bear.

by Shamrock 2808 Heavy

Awesome app. Very stable for initial launch. Only issue I’m having is that the Marriott Bonvoy program will not sync. I’ve let it work for almost a day and it ThePointsGuy still says that it’s working to connect.

So far that’s the only hiccup. Looking forward to watching ThePointsGuy evolve.

by Jmoody1293

I’ve been waiting for an app like this for so long. Just wanted to submit feedback that my capital one miles are showing zero when I actually have a few thousand. I’m also having trouble connecting my Chase account.

For a future iteration, it would be so cool if we could see our personalized offers like AmEx has and those were taken into account for our recommendations on which cards to use

by Rambologny

It was easy to sync all of my cards and loyalty programs and being newer to the points and miles space, ThePointsGuy has really helped me organize where I should be focusing. I was using the wrong card for groceries, for instance, so now I’m earning twice the points on purchases I was already making! Can’t wait to book my first trip on points!

by Rod Sau

It is easy and not overly time consuming to link all of my accounts. I liked the points maximizing reporting although it would be nice to add a toggle or input for signup bonuses. I also liked the points estimator for future trips. Love the layout and the amount of information presented. Worth the wait!

by Worst Movie

Love ThePointsGuy so much already. A couple bugs here and there but great nonetheless. I love being able to quickly see my points and the best way to use them. The feature that tells you what credit card to use based on your location is amazing. I’d love to be able to set this up as a shortcut and quickly access it from the Home Screen. Can’t wait to use this even more!

by CTaylorMJ

Have been waiting on their new app for quite some time! Very pleased with what they have put together. Had no issues connecting multiple banks, cards, and loyalty programs. Favorite feature is being able to see all my cards in one place - quickly knowing which to use in various situations. Excited to explore the award travel features down the road.

by <3<3<3zzzzz

Syncs more seamlessly than another app I used previously. Please add ability to sync more than one account of each type so I can check family balances (I can transfer chase points to mine OR hubby’s account). Also I have a business login for chase Ink as well as a personal sapphire account. Haven’t merged them yet 🤨