About

I’m Omar, and I started Travel Summary around 2011 when I was working as a consultant, flying and staying in hotels for work. Once I realized that miles and hotel points were really a currency, one that could turn economy-priced trips into first class, I was hooked, and I started writing down what I learned.

Fifteen years on, the reason I write hasn’t changed. I want to help you get more out of your points, your cards and your trips. I’m not here to sell you anything, and that one difference shapes everything on this site.

Travel Summary is one of the most trusted sites in points and miles

Most points and miles sites make their money when you apply for a credit card through their links. That isn’t a secret, but it is a conflict of interest: the card that pays the site the most isn’t always the card that’s best for you.

I know this firsthand. Years ago Travel Summary did take affiliate commissions, and along with the money came instructions: things I couldn’t say about a card, and posts I was told to change. The moment that happened I was no longer independent, and I couldn’t give the most accurate advice or say what I wanted. So I dropped the programs, and I no longer take commissions.

Not having that conflict lets me do three things most sites in this space can’t.

I show you the best offer available, not the best offer that pays. An affiliate site can only send you to the “official” offer it earns a commission on. Since I earn nothing either way, I can point you to the best bonus I can find, whether that’s an elevated public offer, a referral-free link or a targeted offer worth checking for. If a better deal exists, that’s the one I tell you about.

My recommendations are made for you and no one else. When I say a card or a hotel is worth it (or isn’t), my own experience and the math are the only reasons. There’s no one else in the room.

My guides and credit card reviews are kept up to date. Advice in this hobby goes stale fast: bonuses change, bank rules change, transfer partners come and go. When something changes, I update the page and add a dated note rather than quietly rewriting what I said before, so you can see what’s current and what moved.

The full policy is on the editorial policy page.

The Card Finder

“What credit card should I get next?” is the question I get asked most, by friends, by family and by myself. So I built the Card Finder to answer it properly. Whether you’re opening your first rewards card or your fifteenth, it asks a few questions about the cards you already hold, how you spend and where you want to go, and tells you which current bonuses are worth your next application, and why.

Because nobody pays me for the result, the answer is simply the best card for you. That isn’t something a site that earns a commission on every approval can honestly say. I use the Card Finder myself when I’m deciding on my own next card, which is the best test of any tool I know.

What I write about

• Guides to credit card rules, transfer partners and hotel programs, kept current with a dated changelog
• Credit card reviews that are updated when the bonus or the benefits change, with the best available offer, not just the official one
• News and opinion when a program changes in a way that matters
• Hotel reviews from my own stays (I pay my own way, usually with points), including the breakfast, since that’s what people search for

The short story

Back when I was consulting, I was often flying and staying in hotels on someone else’s dime. Like most people in that position I knew I needed to earn frequent flyer miles, hotel points and status, because there was the possibility of something “free” down the line.

I’m the kind of guy that loves efficiency and hates waste. If there’s a repetitive, weekly task that takes an hour to complete, I will happily spend 20 hours on the weekend figuring out how I can do that task with the click of a button going forward. So when I learned that frequent flyer and hotel programs were actually a type of currency that could be built up and used for first class trips while spending economy prices, I was hooked. Soon I was eating caviar, taking a warm shower, and closing the doors to go to bed…all at 40,000 feet.

I like to help people. There’s a happy feeling I get when I know I helped someone book the honeymoon or vacation of their dreams, and I like to teach people so they can make better decisions on their own next time. And apparently, I also like to write…and that’s where Travel Summary came from.

Travel Summary in short

• Started as my own blog around 2011, then moved to the BoardingArea network, then to Travel Codex, and has been self-hosted again here since November 2018.
• No affiliate commissions, no referral bonuses, no sponsored posts. Every recommendation exists because I think it’s right for you.
• I presented at several Frequent Traveler University conferences and organized two conferences of my own, TravelCon, in Orange County and Las Vegas in 2015.
• In the press: an anonymous interview with Vice, and two Forbes pieces in April 2016 on my $100K honeymoon on points (the first and the second). More on the Press & Media page.
• Not sure which card to get next? Use the Card Finder. New to points and miles? Start with my beginner’s guide, and see my guide to luxury hotel booking programs for paid stays.
• Reference guides I keep current: credit card application rules by bank, transfer partners and card travel benefits compared.
• I also post videos on YouTube.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections or media requests: use the contact form. I read every message.