News

For $3M you could own the Miami home of “The Points Guy”

a pool in a house

We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com and CardRatings. This relationship may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.


Travel blogging royal, The Points Guy, has his Miami home up for sale, and it’ll set you back a few…Million.

Dollars, not points, a few million dollars 😉 I actually stumbled upon this while reading Curbed last night and found it utterly fascinating.  Why? Because it illustrates what chasing your dream and hustling can achieve. BoardingArea and The Points Guy have been two of go-to points and miles sites for years. Both sites are founded by individuals who embody the American Dream. I know Randy Petersen, founder of BoardingArea/Flyertalk/InsideFlyer/Freddie Awards and he’s one of the nicest human beings you’ll ever meet, you’d never guess he has created 4 of the pillars of the points and miles space. Brian Kelly, the found of The Points Guy, I haven’t met, but let’s just call a spade a spade, he’s created an absolute leviathan in the space and has inspired countless bloggers by becoming a huge success story. Check out the multi-million dollar Miami pad of The Points Guy himself.

According to tax records the house was purchased in early 2014

I’d guess this wasn’t long after The Points Guy was sold off to BankRate…

a screenshot of a phone

It hit the market roughly a year ago asking nearly $4M…the curbed article published this list price.a black text on a white background

EWM is now listing the property for $3M  click to see the full listing with tons of pics.

a house with palm trees and a fence

If you follow Brian Kelly on instagram he has this “shower test” that he’s always insta-storying about. He’s 6’7 so a lot of showers fail the test of being high enough for him to fit under…his own shower certainly passes the test.

a bathroom with a glass shower and a wood bench

 

*pics courtesy of EWM

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with blue lines and white text

Learn More

Affiliate Link

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


4.8
4.8/5
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

  • $300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 
    • That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel℠. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel℠ purchases within your first year
  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
    • The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 10% Anniversary Bonus
    • Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
  • Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
  • $95 Annual Fee

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

12 Comments

  • Andre March 14, 2018

    I don’t think his house makes him a “snake oil salesman”, but I find that TPG’s own articles and reviews (he has many other bloggers now) are out-of-touch. This confirms that feeling that I had. Although he may have started in the miles and points game and has expertise, he clearly has the funds to pay out of pocket for experiences that people who come to these blogs cannot. I mean when he got stranded in Bali during the volcano he had a private jet fly him out of the area. I guess I appreciate bloggers who live the life of flying premium products and the cheap. I guess I haven’t felt that way about him in the past year.

    • Andre March 14, 2018

      on the*

  • Christian March 14, 2018

    I have nothing against TPG and I read his blog but I do have to say the self promotion and the referral links have really gotten out of hand! As for the house and the price, good for him if he can buy low and sell high. I think a lot of people have profited from the real estate market so why shouldn’t he.

  • AlohaDaveKennedy March 14, 2018

    Don’t know that the house is overpriced – over in Miami we have plenty of people with Homer Buckets filled with cash looking to buy houses, condos, storefronts, boats and exotic cars.

  • Raffles March 14, 2018

    Remember that Brian sold TPG to Bankrate a number of years ago for a rumoured $15m.

    Bankrate owns creditcards.com (and Million Mile Secrets now) and is purely interested in card sales.

  • Earl Lee March 13, 2018

    I don’t think anyone is a “snake oil salesman” just because they are making money off their blogs. You can’t force people to sign up for credit cards.

    One thing is clear is that the house was WAY overpriced. Even at it’s current price it’s probably over priced and doesn’t look like there is much interest.

    It’s comical that he tried selling it for $3.95 million!

  • Evan March 13, 2018

    Houses are really cheap in the States. Or in Miami at least – you’re getting a lot of house for your buck.

  • DaninMCI March 13, 2018

    Just because somebody makes money on affiliate links, etc. doesn’t make them as rich as that. Some people already had money before “the game”. I suspect Lucky is like that and has enabled him the freedom to work at this “business” and make money. I’m not judging just suspecting. TPG seems like a nice guy.

  • Wayne March 13, 2018

    No we know why you bloggers are shamelessly pimping those credit card links

  • Christopher March 13, 2018

    In my opinion TPG is a snake oil salesman. I would recommend every single blog on Boarding Area before I’d even think about referring someone over there.

    Know that I know what kind of house he has I respect him even less and confirm my suspicions that he’s just in it for money, not helping people.

    I know I’m a cynical asshole but real life example I have on multiple occasions steered people to your blog and gary’s And Dan’s away from TPG because you guys seem in it for the right reasons.

    Anyone who tries to hawk Capital One Venture Cards as the best travel card has no credibility to me

    • Miles March 13, 2018

      Christopher – thanks for referring people! I do really enjoy trying to get readers the best deal, closer to their dream trips, and illustrate that much of the world is within reach if you just know how to use the system to your advantage.

    • colleen March 13, 2018

      “Know that I know what kind of house he has I respect him even less and confirm my suspicions that he’s just in it for money, not helping people.”

      Please explain. You repect him less because of his house, and his house ownership shows he’s just “in it for money”. What are most working folks in it for? Would you respect him more if homeless?

      If you have some explanation other than ust petulant jealousy, I’m happy to hear it.

      I don’t like the blog myself, nor care for him for many reasons. But FGS, you just seem to hate him because he’s successful. Do you think people don’t benefit from his blog?

      Credit him as today’s PT Barnum. He’s a great marketeer and self-promoter. Just because we’re not, malicious thoughts aren’t justified.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.