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Point Me To First Class · Monday, August 10, 2026

Calculator Prioritizes Recurring Expenses Over New Card Bonuses for Points Earning

Devin Gimble's Hidden Travel Budget Calculator is designed with a conservative approach, focusing on the ongoing points earning from recurring expenses rather than solely on new card welcome bonuses. He believes that for many users, optimizing spending categories offers the most significant, yet often overlooked, potential for earning points.

personDevin Gimble

The tape

2 quotes
Because I think, honestly, for many of you, your recurring expenses are going to be the driving force behind a significant amount of your ongoing points earning. And that if you've only earned points up until now from new card bonuses, you're likely not fully tapping into the points earning potential that's available to you.
Devin Gimble
I did build in the assumption that you are likely opening a few new cards a year and earning some welcome bonuses. But overall, I actually tried to have a bias on the side of underestimating your points earning potential and being conservative in the numbers and the values that it provides to you.
Devin Gimble
Heard on Point Me To First Class — “180. Estimating Your Points Earning Potential: What Your Expenses Are Worth, published Monday, August 10, 2026. Heardvine summarizes and quotes with attribution and timestamps, and links to the original everywhere.
Transcribed via Gemini audio transcription · $0.01