Travel Freely vs point.me: Pick the Right App for Points

Key Takeaways

• Travel Freely is a free tool that tracks credit card sign-up bonuses and annual fee deadlines to help you maximize points without missing payments.
• Point.me is a paid search engine that finds the best real-time award flight availability across 150+ airlines for a monthly or annual fee.
• Use Travel Freely if you need a system to earn points through new cards; use point.me if you already have points and need to find the cheapest seats.
• Small business owners can often deduct travel software subscriptions as a business expense if used for professional travel, but check with a CPA.

Only 23% of credit card users fully understand how to maximize their rewards points, according to a 2024 consumer report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at consumerfinance.gov. This lack of clarity often leads to unused points expiring or being spent on low-value redemptions like gift cards. If you're running a business and putting $20,000 a month on cards, you can't afford to guess.

Our reviews desk evaluated these tools 8.5 to 7.9. The choice depends on whether you have a 'supply' problem or a 'distribution' problem. Travel Freely helps you get the points. Point.me helps you spend them.

Which tool helps you get more points?

Travel Freely focuses on the 'earning' phase.

It isn't a booking site. It's a specialized organizer designed to help you hit sign-up bonuses. If you're managing multiple cards like the American Express Blue Business Plus and the Chase Ink Business Preferred, the logistics get messy.

It tracks when you opened a card, how much spend you need to hit the bonus, and when the annual fee is due. It also tells you about the '5/24' rule, which is the unwritten Chase policy that prevents you from getting new cards if you've opened five or more in the last 24 months. For a business owner trying to turn $6,000 spend into a $1,700 trip, this tracking is the difference between a free vacation and a wasted $95 fee.

Travel Freely is free. They make money when you use their referral links to sign up for new cards. If you already have a stack of 500,000 points and just need to fly to a conference in London, Travel Freely won't help you find the seat. It only helps you build the pile.

Can point.me actually find better flights?

Point.me is a search engine for award seats. If you've ever tried to search for flights on the Delta or United websites only to see 'no seats available' for points, this tool is the fix. It searches over 30 loyalty programs simultaneously.

(Disclosure: we may earn a commission if you sign up through our links.)

It solves the 'transfer partner' headache. For example, if you have American Express points, you could transfer them to 20 different airlines. Point.me shows you that while Delta wants 100,000 points for a flight, Virgin Atlantic (an Amex partner) might only want 45,000 for the exact same plane.

It costs about $129 per year or $12 for a 24-hour pass. For a business owner, the math is simple. If the tool saves you 50,000 points on a single business class flight, and you value those points at 2 cents each, the tool just saved you $1,000. That covers the subscription for several years. Unlike Travel Freely, point.me doesn't track your cards or deadlines. It's strictly a search tool.

Is the subscription cost tax-deductible?

If you use point.me to find flights for business trips, the subscription is generally a deductible business expense under IRS guidelines for 'ordinary and necessary' business costs. You can find more details on deductible travel expenses at irs.gov. Travel Freely is free, so there's no deduction to claim.

However, if you use the tool primarily to book family vacations, you shouldn't charge it to the business. Most solo owners use a separate card for software like this to keep the paper trail clean. If you're using your Mercury account to pay for these tools, ensure you tag the transaction correctly for your bookkeeper.

If you want the best of both worlds, use Travel Freely to manage your card applications and point.me when you're ready to book. This 'stack' ensures you never miss a $1,000 bonus and never overpay for a seat.

1. Check your 5/24 status on Travel Freely before applying for a new Chase card.
2. Set alerts in Travel Freely for annual fees so you can decide to cancel or keep a card before being charged.
3. Use a point.me 24-hour pass if you only travel for business once or twice a year.
4. Verify transfer ratios on the airline's own site before moving points, as transfers are permanent.
5. Keep a screenshot of your award booking for your tax records to prove the business nature of the trip.

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📋 Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, or professional advice. Laws and regulations change frequently, and the information presented may not reflect the most current legal developments. Always consult with a qualified professional (CPA, attorney, financial advisor) before making business decisions based on this content. MyBizNerd may receive compensation through affiliate links, but this never influences our recommendations.

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