Welcome to the Hurdy Gurdy Travel Podcast! 🎻

Justin and co-host Darren explain the sudden Comenity/Bread Financial shutdowns—what likely triggered them, how to de-risk, and smart pivots to keep earning points & miles.

Breaking news: a War on Happiness report: sudden account shutdowns, why they maybe happened, and why it was absolutely worth it. Accounts closed, no email, no warning, just mass confusion and zeroed credit limits. Miles and points drama for sure!

00:00 👋 Intro: low-cost travel with points & miles
00:45 🧱 Comenity/Bread shutdowns—what happened
01:51 🎙️ Darren’s experience & takeaways
03:16 🧩 Card benefits & stacking (what still works)
05:50 🤯 Surprise closures & service headaches
13:18 🧪 Likely triggers & risk factors (patterns we saw)
22:46 🛡️ De-risking playbook & future considerations
26:41 😮 Most surprising elements
28:44 📣 Announcements & speaking engagements
30:29 🧰 Rewards tools & CardPointers shout-out
31:15 ✈️ Meetups: travel & points community
32:40 🧠 Maximizing ongoing card benefits—safely
39:30 🧭 Navigating shutdowns without losing momentum
48:18 📚 Lessons learned from past deals
52:55 ✅ Closing notes & what’s next

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Stay tuned for more tips, strategies, and stories to help you optimize your travel, rewards, and lifestyle. 🚀🌍💳

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