Editorial Policy

Who writes WanderWise, what gets checked before anything publishes, how we get paid, and what we will never do.

Last updated: September 2026

The short version: One disclosed pen name writes this site. Every card term is verified against the issuer's own page before publication and re-checked on a schedule. We make money from affiliate commissions and a $29 report, we say so on every page that carries a link, and no brand can buy a placement. We do not publish invented trips, testimonials or statistics.

Who Writes This Site

WanderWise publishes under a single byline: Ruth Calloway, which is the pen name of WanderWise's editor. We say that plainly rather than letting readers assume there is a separate person behind the name, and we do not attach a stock photograph or an invented biography to it. One byline means one standard you can hold to account. Read the editor bio and methodology.

Content frontmatter drives the byline on every article, review and destination guide, and the byline links back to that bio.

How We Verify

Before a claim about a card or loyalty program is published, it has to pass all of the following:

Issuer pages are the source of truth — annual fees, earn rates, sign-up bonuses, statement credits, insurance coverage and foreign transaction fees are checked against the issuer's own application page and benefits guide, never against another publisher's summary.

Award pricing is checked at the program — transfer ratios, transfer times and award levels come from the loyalty program itself. Where a program prices dynamically, we say so instead of quoting a figure that will be stale within weeks.

Valuations show their arithmetic — a cents-per-point figure is published alongside the cash fare, the points price and the taxes and fees used to calculate it.

Changes are logged and dated — devaluations, award-chart cuts and transfer-partner removals go into our Points Devaluation Tracker with the date they took effect.

No invented experience or social proof — we do not publish fabricated trip reports, customer testimonials, reader letters, ratings or statistics. If we cannot source a number, it does not go on the page.

Dated Updates

Rewards content goes stale fast, so articles carry an “Updated” date next to the byline showing when the content was last re-verified — not merely when it was first published. That same date is emitted in the page's structured data, so search engines see the same freshness signal you do. An article with no update date has not been re-checked since its publication date.

Cards and programs that move frequently are reviewed on a rolling schedule; anything flagged in the devaluation tracker is reviewed when the change lands.

How We Make Money

WanderWise earns revenue in exactly two ways: affiliate commissions paid by card issuers and travel partners when a reader applies or books through one of our links, and sales of the $29 one-time personalized travel rewards report. Using an affiliate link never costs you more, never reduces your sign-up bonus, and never changes your terms.

Commissions do not determine what we recommend. Several cards we recommend pay us nothing, and we keep recommending them. No issuer, bank, hotel group or travel brand can pay for a placement, a rating, a review or a mention, and no outside party reviews content before it publishes. The complete breakdown — including the affiliate networks we belong to — is in our affiliate disclosure.

Editorial Independence

Recommendations are made on the merits of the card for the reader described, using:

Analysis of the card's fees, earn rates, benefits and redemption options against its direct alternatives.

Suitability for travelers 55+ — including the things this audience actually uses, such as trip cancellation coverage, primary rental car coverage and reachable phone support.

Real-world usability: whether award space exists, whether the points can be moved where they need to go, and how long transfers take.

When a better option appears — including one that pays us nothing — we change the recommendation.

Disclosure Placement

Affiliate disclosure appears on every page that carries affiliate links:

In the body of every article containing affiliate links.

Beside card application buttons and comparison tables.

In the footer of every page, linking to the full disclosure.

Inside personalized reports, next to card recommendations.

Corrections

Card terms change, programs devalue, and we get things wrong. When we do, we fix the page and date the fix rather than quietly editing it. If you spot an error — a fee that moved, a partner that was dropped, arithmetic that does not hold — email hello@wanderwiseguide.com and it will reach the editor directly.

Changes to This Policy

We update this policy when our practices change. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision; material changes are noted there.