8. Taking the Overwhelm Out of Points Travel with Dr. Payal Patel Ghayal

Welcome to Point Me to First Class, the only show for employed professionals, entrepreneurs, and business owners who are looking to optimize their higher-than-average expenses to travel the world. I'm your host, Devon Gimbel, and I believe that your expenses are your greatest untapped asset if you know how to leverage them. Ready to dive into the world of credit card points and miles so you can travel more, travel better, and travel often? Let's get started.

Devon Gimbel: All right, everybody. Welcome to today's episode. I am so excited because this is going to be our very first guest interview. There are so many different people I am so excited to bring onto this podcast to share their stories with you. I think we have a fantastic inaugural guest for our very first guest interview on the Point Me to First Class podcast.

She is actually a friend of mine, and we were chatting yesterday. There were so many amazing things that were coming out of our conversation that I felt like we needed to jump right back on and record this for all of you to be able to share so much of her points wisdom with you all. So I'd love to introduce to you today Dr. Payal Patel Ghayal. She is an amazing physician, amazing woman, and I am thrilled to have her share her story with us today. So, Payal, thank you so much for joining me today on the podcast.

Dr. Payal Patel Ghayal: Oh, it's my pleasure. I am such a fan of your work. So this is going to be really fun today.

Devon: Amazing. So I introduced you a little bit, but can you introduce yourself? What do you think is important for us to know about who you are and what you do in the world?

Payal: I am an integrative pediatrician. I live in Los Angeles. I have two crazy boys that keep me very, very busy. I am also a coach, and I coach women. I specialize in coaching South Asian women in high demand careers. I think the most important part, especially as it pertains to points and all this space, is I'm a first generation Indian immigrant.

My parents came to this country before I was born. Born and brought up in LA. You can probably tell from the way I speak sometimes, but part of my journey has been to figure out who I am with the culture that I grew up in and where I am now in my space and even professionally too, right. I am not in survival mode, but my parents were. So I think this will be helpful for the conversation, at least for today.

Devon: Yeah, absolutely. let's just start there. Let's get into that a little bit more because I would love to hear kind of when you talk about your upbringing in this way, what did travel look like for you when you were a kid, when you were growing up? How do you think that experience was influenced by this very particular immigrant experience that you had growing up as a child?

Payal: Yeah, so it'd be two very opposite trips that we would take. Right? One is once a year or every other year, we would have this expensive trip all the way to India to see family and relatives. my parents wanted us to understand our culture, right? So that would be like at least a month long trip to India during the summer. It was very, very hot and monsoon season, so that's a whole different story. Mosquitoes.

But it was on economy. I remember Singapore Airlines. I remember Malaysian Airlines. It was like a day to get there. We were exhausted, but once we got there I could just see my mom's face. my dad couldn't always come because they owned a business, and they had no employees. So we couldn't even go out to dinner with both parents growing up. If it was your birthday, you have to pick who you want to go with because someone had to run the motel. Right.

So I don't know if you know about this, but there's a joke Patel Motel. A lot of Patels went into owning motels, right, because that was like a job that they were like, I'm willing to work hard and take the risk. Anyways. So that's one type of trip that we took, and that was a really big that was the expensive trip.

The other trips were all like driving trips. So I hated going there as a kid. But Vegas from LA in our minivan. I remember they would lay everything. All the seats would be flat in the back. so there's three kids in our family. Then like, camping. Dad would take us camping with his friends. But all of those things were like, we brought food from home, or we figured out a way to save. I don't recall ever really traveling within the United States.

My first time I went to Hawaii was at the age of 35 with my kids, which, first of all, they're growing up completely different than I did. you understand the situation, but that's kind of like what it was like for me growing up.

Devon: Yeah. So I'm curious. When you would take, especially these trips when you guys would go to India, did you ever have any thought about business class or first class? Were you even aware that that existed?

Payal: We were aware that existed because when you go in, you’ve got to pass by all the nice seats where people can sleep, and then you get the cushioned seats where the business is happening, and we’d go to the back and. I think part of it for me, especially being like a first generation immigrant, was like just be grateful that we can even do this. I saw my parents killing themselves to provide for our family, right? Like physical labor on a regular basis. Like night shift every single day for my dad and my mom like staying up and doing all the things.

So I was like oh great, at least we get to go. So we were just happy to get those little pouches. then the toys. Like, the kids get toys, the cookies. I still have really great memories of it. I don't really think about how tired I was. when you're smaller, you take up less space.

Devon: It's true. So let's fast forward, right, to like you said kind of where you are now. So this is your background. This is your upbringing. Then you grow up. You become a physician, right? You become a business owner as well. I think that there is this idea, I mean I certainly had this idea as a child. I did not come from a background of a lot of financial resources. when I thought about doctors, physicians, one of the things I thought about is those are the type of people that don't have to worry about money. They don't have to worry about where are the next groceries going to come from, or are there going to be presents for a birthday or for a holiday?

So here you are. You've “made it”, right? I think there's this really sort of general assumption around certain professions in this country that when you have reached that level of education, then you've made it, and then maybe you don't have to worry about money anymore. But it doesn't sound like you went through all your training and got your degrees and then immediately saw yourself as having access to this sort of world of travel, this level of travel of business class or first class or lounge access.

So help me kind of understand. How did you get from point A to point B? By the time you had finally become a physician, just what did you think about availability of luxury travel for you?

Payal: Yeah, so that's interesting because despite having made it right. okay, one thing I'm going to tell you, Devon. I don't know if you know this, but brown people put being in medicine on a pedestal. Right? Because to my parents, this was one of those safe jobs where you would always have money, but also like good money. Right? so my career options growing up were doctor, doctor, doctor. Even if no one has been a doctor in my family. I'm the first one to graduate college from my family.

So I had an idea in my head like oh, I made it. I did it. I made it. Of course, all the pressure and all that coaching that went into that situation of all that needing to perform and do well. But once we got there. So, of course, I married a doctor. Look, everything checklist, checklist on paper, right? He was in training when I finished residency. So academically, I was a little bit ahead. So I remember in the beginning for two people, it's not a lot of money that you need. Like you're living on resident salary.

But we still made it to like I remember I'm like I want to go Greece, which was very exciting. I paid for it with my general pediatrics income. He's a cardiologist now. But it was interesting because I kept trying to be like well, what's the deal, right? Like, what day should I book my flight? I mean I didn't think too much about the miles because I hadn't accrued that many miles yet. We didn't have big expenses. Like no mortgage, nothing like that too. So that's how I did that.

But even after having kids, I was like let me look for the best deal. Like oh, look for airfare on Wednesday or whatever. I know that kind of thing that I learned. But I kept holding on to this money scarcity mindset that I saw growing up, even if the bank balance looked a little bit different. Because there was always this like just be grateful that you can go. Or maybe if you go inexpensive, you can go on more, but then you're exhausted by the end of it.

So, to me, it was kind of surprising when you started sharing about this stuff. I was like how are these people going to these places and making this happen? Honestly, I felt overwhelmed by the idea, but I also felt like what a great possibility. Like I'm such a smart woman. I'm sure I could figure it out if I was explained the process in a very simple way.

Devon: Yeah. I want to ask you a little bit more about that because I think that is a very, very common experience. So, number one, I think one of the biggest barriers that people have to really getting into this hobby, especially if they are someone for whom it would be a great fit, is just first of all, not even knowing it exists. Right? It's an enormous barrier to overcome. You don't know what you don't know. it's very challenging to try to take advantage of an opportunity that exists for you when you don't even know about that opportunity.

So you cleared that barrier, right? You sort of started hearing about this world of points travel and started hearing about being able to leverage your expenses to earn credit card points. But then you mentioned something that I think is a really, really common sort of next barrier, and that's overwhelm. So help me understand a little bit. You learned about this world, sort of the idea of travel, especially traveling sort of coupon style by using points and miles was appealing to you, but what was it that you think was creating that experience of overwhelm?

Payal: Well, it's just not knowing, right? So especially in medicine, we are so obsessed with knowing all the possibilities, right? If this is not it, then it's something else. Then it's something else. Then it's something else. Right? we try to rack our brain around what are all the possibilities? Here it felt like I didn't even know what the pathway looked like, right? There was not even any kind of flowchart that I could like, in my brain, follow, right? There probably is.

there's things that you can explain, but, to me, it was almost like you're a smart girl so I guess I used to should myself. I love talking about the shoulding. I'm like that's basically should equals could plus shame. So if you guys have heard me say this already in my space, you'll know I say this. But I was shoulding myself. Like you're so smart. You should be able to figure this out. so it almost felt like comparing to other people was like I'm not doing enough, or I'm not like I don't want to say smart enough, but just creative enough to figure out what would work for me. then I was like forget it.

Devon: Because what were you seeing that you were comparing yourself to?

Payal: Well, I was seeing some friends be like oh, yes. I booked this trip to this magical tropical place. I had this money on my credit card, and I transferred it to the hotel thing or the flight. So I still don't understand it 100%. Well, actually, I don't even know if I understand it 20% at this point, right? But I was like how do they do that? But I also felt like I don't have time to figure it out.

Devon: Yeah, that's the other one. Yeah. I see that this so often with people is that, again, once you kind of clear that first hurdle, that first barrier of even being introduced to this world and wanting to learn more about it, I think exactly what happened to you. You either immediately slam up against overwhelm in terms of oh, my gosh. There's so much information out there, but I don't actually know how to put it together in a logical sort of linear way so that I can take the next step.

Or the other thing that happened to you, which is you see sort of how people at different levels or different stages of their own journey with points are doing things. I do think it is so common for us to always use what other people are doing as sort of the benchmark. Right?

Well, like you said, I saw someone transfer points to an airline, get a screaming deal on business class tickets and book a hotel. since it's not obvious to me how to do that immediately then I must be the one who's not getting it, or I must be the one who can't figure this out. As if anybody should ever have just magically figured anything out on their own, right? We don't figure out anything until someone teaches us or helps us or supports us, or we fumble around and figure it out ourselves.

one of the things that I really love about your story and why I thought you would be so perfect to come on here as one of our first guests is that I think that so many people are going to be able to relate to that. So many people who really want to interact with this whole world and experience how fun it can be to travel on points, they slam up against some of these challenges in the beginning.

many people, like yourself, they've got some stuff going on in their lives. You are a full time professional. You're running a house. You're running a family. You also are a business owner. So even though sort of the idea of traveling in this way is appealing, a lot of people don't exactly have another 40 hours of time on their hands every single week to devote to learning how to do this.

so take us kind of on the next step of what happened for you because the fact is that you didn't give up, right? You didn't just look at what other people were doing and think that because you didn't know how to do that yet. That it wasn't worth it for you and just walk away. In fact, you've already booked one of your first travel experiences using points, right? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Payal: How did I get there? I want to say that first and foremost, I had to believe that anything was possible for me. I know we're talking about points and stuff like that, but there's a certain belief you have in yourself that sparks that. for a long time, I just felt defeated in general, especially when you feel bogged down by just being mom and a professional and all the things. So once I had that well, maybe I can do it too. I say this hashtag why not me? Which is one of the things that got me to Bora Bora, a whole different story that's on my podcast.

But I was like okay, let me try this, right? Is it possible I can try this without having to get an A plus on it? So Devon's totally nodding her head right now because she knows she's coached me on this A plus thinking before, but can I just try it? maybe it's not the best option, but at least it's something.

so I started playing, and I think allowing yourself to play. Right? I think as adults, we forget the art of playing because we're so busy with the to do list and the hustle, right? So we see our children playing. We see other people having fun. We want to have fun. So I was like you know what? I'm just going to have fun with this.

I was traveling, and I always heard the other women. I love that it's all these women traveling in amazing spaces. They would talk about oh yeah, I'm going to go in first or business or whatever. That's all I fly. in my brain, I'm like oh, I can't do that. That is for them, right? In this situation, it was interesting to me that those women were white, and I'm not. so there was a different kind of extra level of thinking I had in my brain.

I'm like dude, my people were just grateful to do whatever, right? But am I going to keep myself small? Because if I keep myself small, I'm doing exactly what my community does. We keep ourselves small. We don't speak up. We don't advocate. So this was me advocating for myself in my own head. Payal, you can go and sit in a nice seat too.

So I ended up booking I guess it was domestic. So it was business class from LA to Orlando, and I was going to meet the gals before our live event. Also, I invited myself to that, which was a whole different amazing thing that I did. so I was like okay. I justified it at that time with oh it's an overnight. It's like a red eye. It's a Payal, you get the worst sleep on the plane, whatever. So I booked it like that. Took my pillow because you know why not thinking I was going to sleep.

But it kind of felt awkward, like going into the plane and the beginning. I did look around. Something that you said on your podcast was I want more women to be sitting in the front of the plane, but also more women of color. I can tell you that day I was the only woman of color sitting in the front. I come in, and I'm like I don't know where the charger is. I don't know. for the longest time, I didn’t even asked the person next to me because I felt so uncomfortable.

I'm like dude, you're a freaking doctor. You're a physician. You're an amazing coach. Like you make over six figures in your business that you just created. So I was like what's the worst that can happen? You feel something, embarrassed or whatever it is? So I asked the person next to me. I'm like where's the charger for the phone? She's like oh, okay, you don't know where it is. Then she helped me. then we started talking, and we had this great conversation. She actually was totally into my work.

I realized that I have been keeping myself small and holding myself back because I kept telling myself that that space is for other people. all I had to do was say hey, you're just going to try it, and you'll see what happens. I was so grateful that I tried it because I wanted to show my kids, I wanted to show other people who look like me that we can belong everywhere. You just have to get out of your own way, which is the work that I love to share on a daily basis.

Devon: I think that is such a critical, critical point. I mean I am all for, like you said, the fun of points. There's so much fun to be had in points, and I think that's one of the best things about it. But I really believe that points is about so much more than just, for me personally, like my individual experience booking one flight for myself and really enjoying it. I think that points really offer to so many people this opportunity for access because there are so many spaces, like you mentioned, not just on airplanes, but everywhere in our lives and in the world that have not always and still continue to not always be open, welcoming, inclusive to all the people.

I think these are the things that we notice, certainly you as a woman of color, I'm sure have had a different experience, or me as a North American woman growing up not having the experience of being a person of color. We did not have, even though interestingly, we both grew up in Southern California. I had mentioned this to you before I grew up in Orange County. That we probably have had, in some ways, very different life experiences, right?

I think this is so critically important that not just me now as a woman who grew up child of a single mother, we're not financially resourced. My experience now of having access to some of these spaces and what I can then show my own children. You, as a woman of color, not having access to some of these spaces, having that experience for yourself, of what is it like for you to just literally sit in that seat, right? To sit in that seat and to have that space and to look around and notice, wait a minute. We're not there yet, right? Like figuratively, we are not there yet where we can look around and see all of the people in all of the spaces.

so, yeah, I'm going to come on this podcast and talk about all the fun stuff with points all the time. I'm also going to talk about the stuff that I think points makes available to us, to us individually, to us as a group of people. I really am curious to hear from you having had that experience for yourself is what would you say, I think specifically to other people of color, who maybe have not yet had that experience of flying in certain cabins of the plane if they want to. What would you say to those people in terms of just one piece of advice?

Payal: It's time to take up space guys. I think that this has been the most magical time in my life because I learned that I matter. The more that I minimize myself, everyone else will too, right? It's not their intention to. This is not me against them. This is you against your past self. I almost get emotional about this, right, that I have created this life for myself. it was because I decided that I matter. I'm going to get out of my own way. That I'm going to show myself the love that I deserve that I'm looking for the world to give me. The world is not going to give you that. You take what is yours. Right?

You're not taking from someone else's pie. This is your own pie. You're just not eating much of it. Eat it, enjoy it, love it. I'm not a weight loss coach. So, you know, but that's really what I want to say to all of you guys. If I can do it, you can do it. I tell all my clients that. I've come this far, and I'm so open about my journey in my life because I know a lot of us, we suffer in silence. Not traveling fancy is not suffering, but believing that you're not worthy is suffering.

Devon: Yeah, absolutely. So let's talk about some of the nuts and bolts. So you finally decided okay, wait a minute. I don't have to actually be an expert from day one in this world of points travel in order for me to start exploring it. So I think so much of your story is about giving yourself permission, right? Giving yourself permission to be a beginner, like you said. Giving yourself permission to not get an A plus, plus the very first time that you go and try to book yourself a trip on points. Giving yourself permission to have a travel experience that for a long time either wasn't available to you or you just didn't think was available to you.

But what did it actually look like for you? I'm so curious to hear. What credit cards do you have? What was your first step? Tell me a little bit more about there's a big difference between learning bit about points travel and then actually going out, applying for a credit card, earning points, and booking a trip. So tell me a little bit about what does your credit card portfolio look like right now? If you have a favorite rewards credit card, what is it?

Payal: Okay, so I wanted to start simple. So yesterday, Devon and I were talking because he was on my podcast. For me, it was if I could just pick one. so when I started my coaching business, I kept hearing everyone talk about the Amex Platinum card, right? I was like okay. I'm looking. I'm like oh my God, there's an annual fee.

you know when you're starting out new and fresh in something that's different than what you're used to, right? So in medicine, it was exchange time for money check. We get our paycheck, right? But here in the entrepreneur space, I didn't know if I was going to be making money for a while, right? So I had to be okay and willing to take a chance on me. so I was like all right, I'll start with the Amex Platinum card.

I did have a lot of big expenses because as a coach, and Devon knows this, we spend a lot of money on coaching ourselves too, right? So I will say, I'm like I have two coaches. I have my business coach, my personal coach. so there was a lot of big amounts that I was spending. I also like to normalize spending money on personal development and mental health, because especially my community, we're willing to spend money on weddings, gold, bags, houses, Tesla. that's a whole different episode. But I just wanted to say okay let's try here.

So I started with that, and I racked up points. I kept doing that, but I think it was actually during the pandemic. So there wasn't much travel happening. So when I did start traveling, I was like maybe I can use this. The other thing that I love about it, which I think my kids will tell you what they love about it, is now they've been introduced to the idea of a lounge. It used to be like the United Lounge because their dad's from Jersey, and we used to use United a lot before. We live in LA now.

But the whole idea of a priority lounge. They're like what is this food, snacks. They just enjoy it. I like seeing that joy in their face. Not because I'm like oh, I'm spoiling them. I'm not. They're very grounded. that's just the way I parent. a lot of the parenting and the coaching I do in that space. But I want them to experience hey, these are nice things. If you want nice things in your life, then you have to earn the money and then you can have them, which requires for you to learn how to read and write and improve your handwriting and things like that. So this is kind of my way of parenting them. You want this? Good. This is how much this cost. So the lounge is the other thing I kind of really love.

So I started with the Amex and then I also have an integrated peds like tele practice. so in that space I went into it and got the Chase. I can't remember which one it is right now, but you can probably guess, Devon, which one I got for my Chase.

Devon: Well, there are three amazing Chase Inc. business credit cards, so I'm sure that you have one of those. But I love hearing again your story about just picking one place to start. Again, I think so many people get a little bit overwhelmed in the beginning because if they are looking at people who have a little bit more experience in this hobby or even someone like me where obviously I've been doing this for a number of years. I have more than one rewards credit card.

I think it's so easy for people to kind of make the leap between saying I might be starting from scratch. Like I might have no points earning credit cards. in order to do this “right” or in order to do this the way I see other people doing it then I need to have 15 rewards credit cards or points earning credit cards right off the bat. Right? Then it does become very overwhelming. How do you pick which one? How do you know how these things work together?

So I think this point, especially for people who are just kind of getting their feet wet, right? They're just kind of starting to walk into this pool of points travel. Starting with one card, just one great points earning card, is such a smart move. I always tell people you can get fancier when you want to. You can make this, trust me, as complicated, or you can have as a large credit card portfolio as you want to. You don't have to start there.

So I think it's so great to hear from someone who is exactly at the phase of learning and using points that you are, which is a fantastic phase. I think there is so much that is so exciting about being a beginner in this hobby because you get the joy of all of the firsts. The first points earning credit card that you get, the first big sign on bonus that you earn, the first points redemption. I think those firsts are so amazing.

so I love how you're able to talk about your experience and make it relatable to other people who are kind of in that same phase as you, to hear the reassurance, that you can pick one card. Then when you're ready, if you're ready, you can always add on to that. You happened to pick a really fantastic card. I think especially on the business side, the American Express Business Platinum Card, I think, is a phenomenal card for a lot of business owners to have.

I think you bring up this great point too about it's not just about the points you earn, but some of these credit cards have some really fantastic perks and benefits, like the lounge access. So tell me, what are your thoughts now about having to pay an annual fee for what is one of the premium travel credit cards? Because you mentioned at first you had a little bit of trepidation about having to pay that, but what are your thoughts about it now?

Payal: Guys, you can actually write it off. So that was kind of like a revelation for me. I think when it came to money, I think all those has to do about talk about business money, right? Like our relationship with money. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking about it like finances, investments. That wasn't interesting to me. I found it boring because there was all these words that I didn't understand and APR and percent, all this stuff, right.

when I understood that no, this doesn't have to be boring. This could be fun because I like traveling and I like nice things. So then I'm going to learn how to utilize these spaces or whatever it is. But for me, it was important to be okay let's try it. then when I tried it, I stopped putting pressure on myself to do it right. So I don't know if I answered your question because I got into my own little.

Devon: Yeah, you did. It was fantastic. I'm curious to hear from you because you've mentioned these two different businesses that you have. I am, of course, an enormous advocate. If you are a business owner, whatever that business looks like, of getting points earning business credit cards. I think that it is such an easy way to earn so many points quickly. But you haven't talked about the personal side. Do you have any points earning credit cards that you use for your personal expenses?

Payal: Yesterday, my mind was blown when Devon explained the difference between the points earning cards and then the cash back card. so until now, we've been putting everything on money cash back on our Costco Visa. But I'm like we're going to open up the point earning cards because we do pay a mortgage. We do have these other expenses. Not as many in that the cars are paid off and stuff, but I'm like wait a second. We'd like to also take advantage of that. I think this is going to be fun.

He's a little bit more of like, not a little bit, big time risk adverse and control freak. Okay. Physician, cardiologist, I mentioned that. So he's like how do you know? How do you know? This way we know we're getting the money back, right? So I love that I can be like here's the data. Listen to this person. She's a total badass. She's amazing. also let's play with it. We have Chase. So we could go either the Amex personal or whatever the Chase. I'm just going to pick one, and there's no one perfect right answer.

Devon: Exactly. I think that is such an important point to make. I want everybody to hear that. There is no one right answer. I think there are so many fantastic options for points earning credit cards, both on the personal side and the business side. one of the ways that we figure out what are the best cards for us is by just getting into it, by picking one, using it, seeing what it's like for us in terms of the rate at which it's earning points or what we can do with those points in terms of using them for redemptions down the road, and using that information to then help us make the next decision.

So one thing that I think, Payal, your story is so great at that I really just want to reiterate is that for those of you out there who, again, are kind of in the beginning of your points journey, and you have noticed that you have been very reluctant to take that first step. You've been really reluctant to just apply for your first points earning credit card because of this idea that you don't want to make the wrong choice or a bad choice.

Please listen to me. Listen to Payal and her story, and let us reassure you that you cannot make a completely horrible wrong choice that's going to ruin everything for you. It's just one choice that's going to give you more information and give you more data.

So I love hearing, Payal, you're such a great example of you don't have it “all figured out”, right? Like you're not coming on here saying oh these are my 15 different points earning credit cards. This was the exact order I got them for all these reasons. if you're not doing it like me, then you're not going to be able to get a lot out of this hobby. You're someone who, right now, you have two different business credit cards for two different businesses. You haven't yet gotten even into that whole range of personal credit cards, and you're still having fun with it, and you've still booked yourself a trip using your points.

So I think this is just such a phenomenal example of all you need to do is take one step. It's enough to get you into this hobby, and I think that's so fantastic. before we wrap up today, I have one more question for you because I just think it's fun to learn about people in this way. Now that you are in this world, you see that it's possible, which I love. You see that it's available for you. This is now becoming more of a reality for you to see yourself in these types of spaces and experiencing this type of travel.

I'm really curious to hear, do you have a dream points trip that you really want to take? Whether it's sometime soon or this could be just eventually. Is there anything that's on your wish list that you would love to do with points?

Devon: That's the best question. I love that I'm the first guest, guys, because I'm so special. But my dream trip that I want to take is the Maldives. If you know me, you've heard me talk about turquoise water 24/7, above ground bungalow. I've done Bora Bora, and that was really magical. I was like oh but Maldives is far, and it's like a longer flight, and it's all this stuff, right? But I'm like no, but if you're in a seat that you can sleep in and you can relax. Anything in Europe, I also want to do. Like I want to do a month in Europe like every summer now. I think this is just going to be my new norm. As a business owner, I can create my own life, but most importantly, as a woman who just decides ahead of time this is who I am. I am a person who creates magic for me and my boys.

Devon: I love that. I have some great news for you. Maldives and Europe are both two amazingly accessible points trips to take, both in terms of flights as well as hotels. So this dream, my friend, is going to become a reality for you, think probably a lot quicker than you even imagine. I cannot wait to continue following you on your points journey, of course, helping you however I can because want to see pictures of you and your boys and your fantastic European vacation, and you and your lie flat seat on the way to the Maldives sooner rather than later.

So thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast. Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom. I appreciate it so much. for those of you who are interested in just hearing more about your story, if something that you've said today has resonated with them and they want to hear more of you, please tell us where can people find you?

Payal: So there's a couple of places. If you're a podcast person, I have a podcast called Live Awakened, and it's life coaching for women. then I have a website, PayalGhayal.com. if you're into social media, which I'm on it all the time and in a good way, not necessarily just browsing, but also creating content. So on Instagram, you can find me at PayalGhayalMD and my personal Facebook page. Just like Devon, I have a private page for women. We talk about using our voices and advocating for ourself. It's called Be Your Own Number One Advocate, but I'll send all this stuff to Devon.

Devon: We'll link everything up in the show notes so everyone will have a very easy time finding you. Payal, thank you so much for being here with us today. I have loved this conversation, and I cannot wait to have you back on another episode for a points update so we can hear even more about the fantastic things that you're doing with your points. Thank you so much for being here.

Payal: Thank you.

Devon: Hey, how many of you can relate to Payal’s story, especially where she talks about being excited about the possibility of turning her expenses into points for travel, but very quickly feeling overwhelmed about how to learn the actual steps of earning and using points and doing it well? Are you also worried that points travel is something that's just for the people who already seem to have it all figured out and feel like you'll never get there on your own? Or have you tried to start putting the pieces together only to get stuck in the massive amount of information out there and gotten confused about how to pull it all together for yourself in a way that doesn't feel like you've just taken on another full time job?

Here's the thing. Getting tons of value from your points and taking the trips that matter to you doesn't have to be confusing, overwhelming, or take tons of time. you definitely don't have to be a points expert before you can start earning points and booking incredible travel. But what you may need is a guide. That is exactly why I created Points Made Easy, the only online course that teaches you everything you need to know to start leveraging your expenses for amazing travel now. We only open for enrollment a few times a year.

So if you want to fast forward to the part where earning points is a breeze and you can easily book trips for yourself and your family, turning your points into thousands of dollars saved in travel, you have to get on the waitlist for Points Made Easy. Enrollment for the next round of Points Made Easy opens Friday, May 17^th.

To learn more about Points Made Easy and get your name on the waitlist so you'll be the first to have access to join the course when we open the doors, just go to www.pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy. That's www.pointmetofirstclass.com/pointsmadeeasy.

Thank you for joining me for this week's episode of Point Me to First Class. If you want more tips on turning your expenses into travel, visit pointmetofirstclass.com to learn more. See you next week.