I saw a video this week with a “finance influencer” walking her followers through a $2,500 bag she had just bought. She called it a business representation expense, which is its own conversation for another day. I almost have a “miminski” (a heart attack) when she said the points from that purchase would cover about $2,500 in business travel, and she said it as ADVICE! As the smart move. As the reason the purchase made sense.

However, even if points were dollar for dollar, even if that $2,500 bag really did hand back $2,500 in travel, points still shouldn’t be the first reason to recommend a purchase or a card. A business decision gets evaluated by whether the business needs the thing, whether the cash is there to pay for it without carrying interest, and what the terms of the card are. Points sit at the bottom of that list, if they belong in the list at all. But they are not even dollar for dollar. She spent $2,500 to get back somewhere around twenty-five to fifty dollars in travel value, depending on the card. The trip barely makes a dent in the bag.

And think about who’s handing out those points. Credit card companies are businesses too. They have shareholders, profit targets, and a whole department that models exactly how much they can afford to give back in points while still making money on every swipe, every annual fee, and every balance that doesn’t get paid off. Do you think they’re giving you something for free? They’re not. The points program exists because it makes them money, not because they like you.

What This Looks Like in Business

I hear this logic constantly, and it gets more common around the holidays, when every card pushes bonus points for exactly this kind of spending, and every feed is full of people recommending purchases because of what the points will “give back.”

An owner hears a card earns extra points this quarter and buys equipment earlier than planned, or buys more of it, because the points make it feel justified. Someone recommends a specific card to another business owner not because of the rate or the terms, but because of the points, as if that’s the deciding factor in a business financial decision. A purchase that wouldn’t have made sense on its own gets waved through because someone did the math on points and skipped the math on value.

And it’s not only business cards. Some owners run business expenses through a personal card because it earns better points, which means the business debt is now sitting inside personal debt, and neither the owner nor their accountant has a clean number for what the business really owes.

That’s the actual craziness here. Recommending a credit card or a purchase based on points treats a rewards program like it’s a financial strategy, when it was never built to be one, and never could be one even at its best. Points are a marketing tool a business built to make money off you, not a return the business can count on, and not a reason to put one decision ahead of another.

What To Do Instead

A few things I would tell any business owner hearing this kind of advice, especially heading into a season full of “buy it, you’ll earn points” recommendations.

1. Remember who’s on the other side of the points program. The card company is a business, and the points are priced to be profitable for them first.
2. Points are never the first reason to recommend a card or a purchase, dollar for dollar or not. Interest rate, terms, and whether you can pay it off in full come first. Every time.
3. Calculate what the points are actually worth in dollars before anyone factors them into a decision. Most cards run somewhere between one and two cents per point. Think about that before you say yes.
4. Ask if the purchase makes sense without the points. If the answer is no, the points are immaterial in the decision.
5. Keep business spending on business cards. A personal card’s points are not worth mixing personal and business debt.
6. Any cash you are tempted to spend chasing points would do more for the business sitting in a high yield savings account, earning real interest instead of a rewards estimate.

Cafecito Takeaway

Points are not dollar for dollar. They never have been. But even if they were, recommending a $2,500 purchase because of what it will earn you is still not financial advice. A purchase justified by its points still has to make sense without them, and a recommendation built on points still is not a real recommendation.

This is the exact reason why business owners need to be careful about who they take financial advice from. An influencer says they live it in their own business. Fine. Can you track that? Do you know, firsthand, what their numbers actually look like, or are you taking their word for it because they have followers and a ring light. Have they built the education to back up what they are recommending, and have they done it with real clients whose businesses they have seen up close, not just their own feed? If the answer to any of that is no, you do not actually know if this person knows what they are talking about, and your business is not the place to find out.

So, remember, that item that you purchase is not paying for anyone’s business travel! The next time someone, including the voice in your own head, recommends spending money because of the points it will earn, stop before making any decisions and take the points out of the equation. Would you still make the purchase or recommend it?