The Story Behind the Altitude
How a single credit card sign-up turned into an obsession with maximizing every point and mile.
It started with a $95 credit card and a 50,000-point welcome bonus. That single decision led to a business class flight to Tokyo, a week at a luxury resort in the Maldives, and a complete rethinking of how I approach travel.
I'm not a finance professional or a travel industry insider. I'm just someone who discovered that the travel rewards system is incredibly generous to those who understand it — and frustratingly opaque to everyone else.
Velvet Altitude exists to bridge that gap. Every article, review, and guide on this site is written with one goal: to give you the exact information you need to earn and redeem points and miles for maximum value, without the jargon or the fluff.
What We Believe
Honesty Over Commissions
Yes, we earn affiliate commissions when you apply for credit cards through our links. But we'll never recommend a card just because it pays us more. Every recommendation is based on genuine value analysis. If a card isn't worth it, we'll tell you.
Math Over Hype
We don't do clickbait. Every valuation, comparison, and recommendation on this site is backed by real calculations. When we say a point is worth 2¢, we'll show you exactly how we got there.
Accessibility Over Gatekeeping
Travel hacking shouldn't be an exclusive club. Whether you're a complete beginner or an experienced points collector, our content is designed to be clear, actionable, and free of unnecessary complexity.
Affiliate Disclosure
Velvet Altitude earns commissions from credit card issuers when you apply through our affiliate links. This is how we keep the site running and our content free. However, our editorial opinions are our own and are not influenced by compensation. We only recommend products we genuinely believe provide value to our readers.
The offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which Velvet Altitude receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Velvet Altitude does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers.
Get in Touch
Have a question about points and miles? Want to share your own travel hacking story? We'd love to hear from you.
[email protected]Ready to start your travel hacking journey?
Read the Beginner's Guide