Afleveringen
-
On a previous Coffee Break episode, we talked about the Frequent Miler origin story – Greg’s story. This week, we'll learn about Nick's origin story with the Frequent Miler team.
(00:47) -Super quick recap of next 5 years from the start of the blog
Greg posted a "Help Wanted" for full time employee, which you can read here
(02:21) - How Nick got into miles and points
(12:09) - Nick discovers Frequent Miler at an FTU
(13:58) - Greg and Nick meet in person at another FTU
(16:37) - Nick's wife convinces him to apply for the Frequent Miler position
(17:10) - More details about Greg's help wanted post and the hiring process
(20:42) - Greg was hoping to find someone who knew more about redemption than he did
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
(00:00) Intro: There are a multitude of ways to fly to Hawaii using miles and points (and even many ways to get a deal on cash tickets). On this week's show, we discuss ways to fly to Hawaii from around the US from as few as 10K or 13.5K points each way.
(01:06) New FM intro
(03:22) Card Talk: Sonesta World Mastercard
https://frequentmiler.com/sonesta/
-Card Details
-What are points worth?
(16:00) What crazy thing . . . did Marriott and Starbucks do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/link-marriott-starbucks-accounts-to-occasionally-earn-double-stars-minimal-bonus-points/
(19:51) Mattress running the numbers: Wyndham Rewards Hotel Pass https://frequentmiler.com/wyndham-rewards-selling-30-night-hotel-pass/
(27:48) Award Talk
(27:55) New Reasonable Redemption Value for Hotel Points https://frequentmiler.com/what-are-hyatt-points-worth/
(30:29) Aeroplan promotion with Miles4Migrants) https://frequentmiler.com/earn-7500-aeroplan-points-with-a-100-miles4migrants-donation/
(34:19) 15% transfer bonus from Citi to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles https://frequentmiler.com/citi-thankyou-offering-15-transfer-bonus-to-cathay-pacific-asia-miles/
(27:03) Enterprise Rent-A-Car Status Match https://frequentmiler.com/enterprise-status-match-giving-status-through-february-2026-match-from-hotel-airline-car-rental-programs/
(30:29) Amex referral bonuses now as high as 45,000 points for targeted cardholders https://frequentmiler.com/amex-referral-bonuses-now-as-high-as-45000-points-per-referral-up-to-100k-per-year-per-card/
(42:44) Main Event: Best Ways to fly to Hawaii https://frequentmiler.com/best-ways-to-fly-to-hawaii-from-the-us-mainland/
(43:04) Cash deals
(43:30) Delta companion certificates
(44:55) Alaska Companion Fare
(46:13) Southwest Companion Pass
(47:32) Vacation packages
(49:15) Award deals: Economy
(49:24) United flights via Turkish Miles & Smiles for 10K each way
(50:48) Finnair Avios for American Airlines (15K) or Alaska Airlines (13.5K)
(52:52) Alaska Mileage Plan for Alaska from 15K
(53:35) Singapore Krisflyer for central/Western US to Hawaii (13-14K)
(54:33) Using Alaska miles to fly AA for 17.5K from Dallas and west coast
(55:32) Use United to fly United from 11.1K from the west coast
(56:42) Aeroplan for 12.5K from the west coast to Hawaii on United
(58:00) Qatar Avios for 13K one way from the west coast
(59:00) Flying Blue for Delta from 18K
(59:16) Virgin Atlantic for Hawaiian Airlines for 20K each way from the west coast
(1:00:16) JetBlue for Hawaiian Airlines for 20K each way from the west coast (1:00:48) American Airlines miles for AA from 20K each way
(1:01:39) Southwest Airlines when cash fares are cheap
(1:02:00) "First class" flights to Hawaii with miles
(1:02:57) Turkish miles for United: 15K miles each way
(1:05:35) Finnair Avios for American Airlines" 38K miles each way
(1:07:00) Alaska Miles for Alaska from 40K miles each way
(1:07:21) Hawaiian miles to fly Hawaiian: 40K one way or upgrade from 25K. Possibly more availability with status or as a cardholder.
(1:09:25) Virgin Atlantic miles to fly Hawaiian: 40K one way from the west coast
(1:09:48) Alaska Mileage Plan for American Airlines: 35K one-way from as far east as Dallas
(1:10:10) Air Canada Aeroplan for United for 25K from the west coast
(1:10:50) Qatar Airways Avios for American or Alaska for 38,750 Avios from the west coast
(1:11:50) Example for how to find award availability
(1:19:33) Question of the Week: Is reselling a good low-energy way to generate points?
Music credit: Annie Yoder
-
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
-
(00:00) The Wall Street Journal reported friction in the relationship between Wells Fargo & Bilt. What was reported and what do we make of the details? Find out in this episode of Coffee Break.
(01:16) What the Wall Street Journal Article says
(02:01) Digging into article details a bit about the Bilt / Wells Fargo relationship (06:34) Fraud and Money Laundering Concerns
(09:44) The Wells Fargo and Bilt response
(10:34) WSJ article key points quick summary
(11:12) Our take about what this all means
Visit frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media..
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Greg and Nick have been consumed with last-minute travel the last week and a half so it's great timing for them to summarize 10 important tips for last-minute award travel.
(01:17) - Standing ovation for the annual challenge! (Mailbag)
(06:43) - Annual Challenge recap and overview
Watch the Stage 1 recap video here: https://youtu.be/bMt_NfuuINI?feature=shared
Watch the Stage 2 recap video here: https://youtu.be/gyJPtTZN1EE?feature=shared
Watch the Stage 3 recap video here: https://youtu.be/HTmEAicB3dw?feature=shared
(34:15) - Curve overview (Card Talk)
Find out more here: https://www.curve.com/en-us
(37:56) - Hilton SLH integrated testing phase (Award Talk)
(40:26) - Preferred Hotels / Choice devaluation (55K to 87K) (Award Talk)
(42:34) - Aero plan credit card & elite members status match to iPrefer Titanium (before June 28) (Award Talk)
(44:18) - Book Oman Air w/ Flying Blue miles (Award Talk)
(44:30) - Book El Al with Virgin points (Award Talk)
(44:51) - Points Path adds support for Air Canada & Alaska Airlines (Award Talk)
Main Event: Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel(47:00) - General advice
(52:38) - Great awards often open last minute (ex: Lufthansa first)
(57:16) - Diversify. Having different types of points and miles helps.
(58:28) - Become adept at award search tools. Huge time saver.
(1:00:26) - Don’t rely entirely on award search tools. They don’t catch everything (no Virgin Atlantic on a couple, no BA / QR Avios, didn’t see LifeMiles for my redemption, etc)
(1:03:41) - Consider keeping stashes in programs you use often. This only applies if you have a lot of points and miles, but it could help avoid a failed transfer.
(1:05:27) - Watch out for transfer times
(1:08:10) - Get a good VPN. I wonder if some of my problems could have been averted if I’d used one all along.
(1:11:22) - Know that Aeroplan’s contact center isn’t 24/7. This can be a big pain when you’re overseas.
(1:12:37) - Beware the phantom menace. Tons of Swiss space that isn’t real.
(1:17:02) - Have some tricks up your sleeve. This could alternatively be called "persistence pays off". Don’t give up right away. Examples include searching Avianca’s site multiple ways, forcing a stopover with Aeroplan to get a flight to show up, booking a refundable something as a backup, etc.
(1:20:10) - How do you go about finding activities while you travel? (Question of the Week)
-
Greg and Nick are busy returning home from a jam-packed week competing in our 2024 annual team challenge "Flying by the Seat of our Points". For this coffee break episode, we've highlighted a portion of the final livestream from Kuala Lumpur where the team reflects on the highlights (and lowlights) of their individual journeys.
You can find out all kinds of details about this challenge here: https://frequentmiler.com/2024-annual-challenge/
-
This episode is a little different because Greg and Nick are busy competing with eachother for the Flying by the Seat of our Points Challenge!
If unfamiliar, every year we put together a team travel challenge designed to force us to reach challenging and entertaining goals with our points and miles, and showcase what can be done with these tools. It's a fun way to stretch the limits of points and miles and show you all what that actually looks like.
For this year's annual challenge, Stephen and I have given Greg, Nick, and Tim surprise destination assignments for a travel challenge testing our team's last-minute travel booking skills. The first "domestic convergence" destination was revealed on Monday night during a live checkin on YouTube where the contestants learned of a domestic location they'd need to reach by Wednesday 6pm local time, when we had another live checkin to reveal another series of surprise destinations. By the time this challenge wraps up, we'll have had 4 live checkins.
For this podcast episode you'll watch and listen to a summary of the first two checkins, the Monday night reveal of our domestic launch point, and the Wednesday night reveal of each contestant's individual international assignments. You'll also hear our contestants review the booking decisions they made to meet their first assignment, and you'll hear stephen and i break down our scoring decisions. This recap will bring you up to speed so you can head over to our YouTube and catch the third live checkin which will have just wrapped up by the time this podcast goes live, and will tell our contestans of their final destination assignment.
Check out this link for more! https://frequentmiler.com/2024-annual-challenge/
-
(00:00) - You know that sinking feeling when you know things are going wrong? With a brand new travel challenge just launched last night, we've got our past travel challenge snafus in mind.
Coffee Break: Our worst travel challenge moments(02:53) - 40K to Far Away
Learn more about the 2019 40K to Far Away Challenge here.
(03:09) - Greg: Train breaks. Bus breaks
Read Greg's story about his South African misadventures here.
(06:18) - Nick: Asleep on bus, can’t enter Bangkok, bike ride to nowhere
Read about Nick's misadventures during 40K to Far Away here.
(11:20) - 3 Cards, 3 Continents
Read more about the 2022 3 Cards, 3 Continents Challenge here.
(11:46) - Nick: Canyoneering
(12:48) - Greg: Air Canada married segment problem, then wouldn’t let me check in
Read more about Greg's married segment problem here.
(16:22) - Party of 5
Read more about the Party of 5 Challenge here.
(16:52) -Greg (and Nick): Santiago, arriving at the Ritz w/out a backpack
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Nick has loved LifeMiles for a long time but Greg has traditionally been less convinced. Recent changes make Greg curious to hear more about Nick's long-time love of LifeMiles. Can Nick convince Greg to become a fan?
(01:33) - On Ep 255: Strategizing Hilton cards, credits, and free nights,
Greg’s podcasted plan left people with questions about family language for Hilton cards (Mailbag)Find episode 255 here.
(05:12) - Hilton cards with new welcome bonuses (Mattress Running the Numbers)
Learn more about the Hilton fee free card here.
And learn about the Hilton Surpass card here.
(12:27) - Southwest now on Google Flights (Award Talk)
(16:09) - Finnair Avios now combinable (Award Talk)
(18:20) - AA NOT eliminating mile & loyalty point earnings through OTAs (Award Talk)
(19:22) - Cardless Avianca LifeMiles Cards (Card Talk)
Read more about the Avianca LifeMiles American Express® Card Here.
Read more about the Avianca LifeMiles American Express® Elite Card here.
(28:33) - Easy miles to get
(31:51) - LifeMiles+ subscriptions
(49:30) - Using LifeMiles, standard pricing
(53:43) - Hidden sweet-spots
(59:30) - Mixed cabin pricing
Read Greg's post "Aviance Miles - First Class for Less" here.
(1:04:47) - How to search for complicated awards
(1:11:14) - How to search for awards (less complicated)
(1:22:10) - Downsides...
(1:25:32) - Pop Quiz for Greg about quadruple dip opportunities for a Hilton Curio Collection hotel
-
You know we're fans of Hyatt...but some of their recent behavior has been downright painful! That's what we'll discuss in today's Coffee Break episode.
(01:28) - Hyatt introduced Category 8, claiming it would only be for SLH
(03:05) - Introduced peak pricing
(04:26) - As feared, they moved Hyatt properties into that Category 8
(04:43) - Introduced a separate (way more expensive) award chart for all-inclusive properties
(05:35) - Created Homes & Hideaways at poor value...then later moved a number of "Destination Residences" properties to Homes & Hideaways
(07:53) - Ended MGM partnership
(08:34) - Ended SLH partnership
(09:54) - Introduced Mr & Mrs Smith dynamic pricing
Still plenty to love:
(13:03) - Best-in-class top tier status benefits (you know you’ll get breakfast / lounge, free parking on award stays, meaningful upgrades, etc).
(14:17) - Best milestone rewards (confirmable suite upgrades, Guest of Honor awards, valuable free night certificates)
(16:04) - Lots of sharing options: share free nights, upgrade certs, globalist status (via GOH awards), points, etc.
(17:09) - Ability to supplement elite earning with credit card spend
(18:08) - Generally very good value for points for properties that adhere to an award chart
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Everybody loves a one-size-fits-all answer, but today we're discussing which cards are best for which kinds of purchases: grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco... Sure you can just keep one card in your wallet and earn on that card exclusively, but many of us switch it up depending on what we're purchasing. That's what we'll discuss in today's episode.
(01:45) - Datapoints about AA companion certificates (Mail Bag)
(05:32) - Hertz charging people to refill Tesla gas tanks (Crazy Thing)
(12:07) - Frontier and Spirit eliminate change fees (Award Talk)
(13:41) - Cool Alaska trick (Award Talk)
Read more here: https://thriftytraveler.com/news/airlines/book-business-class-less-alaska-miles/
(17:31) - Current Kimpton Hotel Secret Password May 24, 2024, to September 2, 2024. (Award Talk)
Main Event: Best cards for grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco, and more(18:54) - Best cards for grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco, and more
(19:45) - Big box stores including Costco, Sams Club, Target, etc
Read more about the US Bank Altitude Reserve here: https://frequentmiler.com/USBAR/
(22:55) - Grocery Stores
Read more about the Citi Custom Cash here: https://frequentmiler.com/CustomCash/
(23:44) - Read more about Amex Gold here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGoldCard/
(24:49) - Read more about the Citi Strata Premier here: https://frequentmiler.com/TYpremier/
Read more about the Capital One Savor card here (https://frequentmiler.com/C1SV/) and the SavorOne here (https://frequentmiler.com/C1SVO/)
(25:28) - Read more about the Aeroplan card here: https://frequentmiler.com/Aeroplan/
(26:18) - Dining / Food Delivery
(27:38) - Read more about the Amex Business Gold card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGoldBiz/
(29:13) - Read more about the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card here: https://frequentmiler.com/boaCR/
(31:06) - Gas
Read more about the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WyndhamEarnerBiz/
(33:36) - Read more about the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WyndhamEarnerPlus/
(38:38) - Travel: Many cards offer enhanced rewards for travel booked through bank portal
(39:03) - General Travel
(39:50) - Read more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve here: https://frequentmiler.com/CSR/
Read more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred here: https://frequentmiler.com/CIBP/
(39:58) - Read more about the Amex Green Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGreen/
(40:00) - Read more about the Wells Fargo Autograph card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WellsFargoAutograph/
(41:37) - Airfare
Read more about the Amex Platinum card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxPlat/
(43:33) - Hotels
(43:44) - Read more about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WellsFargoAutographJourney/
(45:44) - Read what Greg keeps in his wallet here (https://frequentmiler.com/whats-in-gregs-wallet-2024-edition/) and what Nick keeps in his wallet here (https://frequentmiler.com/whats-in-nicks-wallet-2024-edition/)
(46:07) - See our Best Category Bonuses resource here: https://frequentmiler.com/best-category-bonuses/
(46:54) - Other notable category bonuses
(47:08) - Read more about the Ink Business Cash card here: https://frequentmiler.com/CIC/
(47:58) - Read more about the Chase Freedom Flex card here (https://frequentmiler.com/CFF/) and the Freedom Unlimited here (https://frequentmiler.com/CFU/)
(50:35) - One of our readers is interested in becoming a content creator and has questions about things to consider. If we were starting out today, what would we do differently? (Question of the Week)
(54:20) - Check out our Coffee Break episode on the origin story of Frequent Miler here: https://listen.frequentmiler.com/coffee09
-
Sometimes points and miles wag the points-collector dog... which is to say, sometimes the hobby changes your travel behavior. In episode 11 of Coffee Break, we'll talk about how.
(01:40) - Rent day date nights (Greg)
(03:32) - Going to baseball games / event tickets (Nick)
(06:54) - Helicopter into NY (Greg)
(09:15) - Vacationing where the award space is (Nick)
(13:37) - "Forced" to travel due to expiring free nights (Greg)
Read about the Kimpton Seafire here: https://frequentmiler.com/kimpton-seafire-grand-cayman-bottom-line-review/
Read about the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Tucson here: https://frequentmiler.com/ritz-carlton-dove-mountain-tucson-bottom-line-review/
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Hilton's SLH partnership is stirring up some excitement over Hilton, even for people like Greg who haven't bothered with Hilton cards for awhile, so this week we're discussing Hilton credit cards, credits, and free nights.
(02:07) - We forgot about Qpoints last week... (Mail Bag)
(05:10) - Citi Strata Premier (Card Talk)
(10:33) - Citi accidentally made Strata Premier details public (Crazy Thing)
(11:56) - Citi accidentally published FAQ showing that it may be possible to upgrade to Prestige card (Crazy Thing)
(14:10) - Earn Delta MQDs on hotel bookings & car rentals (Mattress Running the Numbers)
(16:58) - AutoCamp now bookable with Hilton points
Main Event: Strategizing Hilton credit cards(20:40) - Hilton is the only major hotel program with easy to get, uncapped free night certificates
(28:28) - Read about the Hilton Honors American Express Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxHilton/#Goto
(28:40) - Read about the Hilton Honors American Express Business Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxHiltonBiz/#Goto
(29:19) - Read about the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/hilton-honors-american-express-surpass-card/#Goto
(30:00) - Read about the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxHiltonAspire/#Goto
(31:18) - Earning free nights
(43:51) - Earning rebates to keep cards net free
(51:22) - Greg's strategy
(1:01:00) - Nick's thoughts
(1:05:01) - Is booking anything better than booking nothing? (Question of the week)
-
In addition to our regular weekly podcast, we also host an Ask Us Anything Live on YouTube once a month where the Frequent Miler team answers listener questions about points, miles, rewards cards, and whatever else comes to mind. This special episode (67) was streamed live on May 8, 2024 and introduces our 2024 annual team challenge!
(06:10) - Hi FM Team, now that we are approaching Summer, what you are most looking forward to this Summer?
(13:35) - how do you plan on handling the requirement for onward travel that many countries have in this challenge?
(15:37) - What's the "budget" for the contestants in this challenge?
(18:09) - Scoring? (And) Will the judges share their scoring criteria in advance?
(19:06) - Will there be any opportunity for reader/viewer engagement at the convergence points?
(24:00) - I hope you plan to document via Instagram stories this time! That's been my favorite way to watch along with the previous challenges in real time
(28:48) - Can you guess where you're each getting sent?
(32:17) - What is a place you are hoping you aren’t sent to?
(35:39) - Thoughts on the strata? And the strata elite? Do you think there will be family language?
(37:40) - Do you think that citi rebranding the premier signals a much better chance of a prestige replacement/csr comp coming in the next year or so?
(40:30) - Thanks for all the awesome content! Citi has denied P2 and I premier 3 times in the last 2 years, should I product change my DC to Premier since it’s going away or try for Strata Elite?
(42:13) - hi team! what's going on with transfers to Virgin? are points getting stuck in transit lately? would you advise holding off on transfers to virgin?
(44:11) - Can you speak on the capital one VX business priority pass rumors? My newly issued card is a visa and I’ve read on other blogs that the visas won’t have restaurant access. Is this true?
(46:46) - FHR Points question please - My Platinum AU is getting a points cost 33% higher than I get for the same stay, ideas on the reason?
(49:29) - Question: what are the most rewarding ways to get 529 gift of college gift cards?
(51:21) - Name your 6 must hit destinations if you were booking an ABA around the world trip
(55:39) - Is it worth to move 100k out of Fidelity to Meryl to get platinum honors ? Did FM team saw any inconvenience on maintaining 100k in Meryl
(58:36) - hi. I was recently informed by an Air France representative that it's permissible to forgo the first leg of a reward ticket and still utilize the second leg. Can you confirm this?"
Visit this link to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
-
Some credit cards offer extra perks or progress toward elite status for big spenders. On this week's episode, we talk about which of those bonuses might be worth the spend. But before we get into that, this episode is full of news you can use and tips to keep in mind in regular segments like Card Talk and Mattress Running the Numbers.
(00:00) Intro
(01:26) A tip we neglected to mention regarding positioning flights (Giant Mailbag)
(05:33) Card Talk
(05:46) Venture X Business card losing Priority Pass restaurant access for new Visa cards (Card Talk)
(08:57) Qatar Airways Cardless Cards (Card Talk)
(15:16) What crazy thing . . . did Cardless do this week?
https://frequentmiler.com/cardless-appears-to-have-a-1-card-restriction/
(19:32) Mattress running the numbers: Is it worth spending to Qatar Airways elite status?
Note: The Qatar Club Infinite card also comes with bonus Qpoints in the first year, which reduce the path to renewing status for your second year. The spend we discussed regarding renewal of status really applies to status for year 3 and beyond.
(28:17) Award Talk
(28:20) Flying by the Seat of our Points: Frequent Miler's 2024 challenge
https://frequentmiler.com/flying-by-the-seat-of-our-points-last-minute-travel-challenge/
(31:33) You can now use JetBlue points to book Etihad and vice versa
https://frequentmiler.com/earn-redeem-between-jetblue-and-etihad/
(35:30) Bilt adds a new transfer partner....Hilton Honors
https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-adding-hilton-as-newest-transfer-partner-but-transfer-ratio-is-poor/
(37:32) Use Finnair Avios to book Nordic & Scandinavian hotels for great value
https://frequentmiler.com/use-finnair-avios-to-book-scandinavian-hotels-at-2c-per-point-or-better/
(40:30) Amex Travel positive experience honoring a fare
(46:04) Our favorite big spend bonuses
(46:45) Alaska Airlines companion certificates
https://frequentmiler.com/as/
https://frequentmiler.com/asbiz/
(48:16) Hilton Surpass card free night certificate
https://frequentmiler.com/amxhiltonbiz/
(49:14) Hyatt consumer & business cards
https://frequentmiler.com/woh/
https://frequentmiler.com/wohbiz/
(57:39) IHG Premier & Premier Business cards
https://frequentmiler.com/ihgprem/
https://frequentmiler.com/ihgbusiness/
(1:01:47) Barclays Aviator Silver Loyalty Point bonuses & companion certificate
https://frequentmiler.com/aviatorsilver/
(1:06:20) Aeroplan
https://frequentmiler.com/aeroplan/
(1:09:25) Question of the Week: How did Greg build up capacity for his player 3?
Music credit: Annie Yoder
-
Nick just came back from a weekend in Toronto at the Toronto Travel Summit. In today's Coffee Break episode, he'll share 4 cool things he learned there.
(2:00) - Air France is working on upgrades using miles that sounds like it might be very reasonable.
(07:30) - Aeroplan intends to bring back family pooling the same as it was.
(09:17) - Aeroplan is actually working on getting partner space back up and running.
(12:56) - Hotels could be a good use of Finnair Avios
(18:08) - Networking at these things continues to be great! Lots of interested / interesting people & creators with different angles.
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Sometimes you book an award ticket that requires you to do some positioning in order to catch that flight - for instance if the flight doesn't depart from your home airport. There are a few best practices to keep in mind when booking these "positioning flights", which we'll discuss in today's Frequent Miler on the Air episode.
(01:08) - One reader writes in: "If you have Platinum Honors, I would rank the BofA Premium Rewards Elite card the highest for Priority Access by far. The airline credit offset is very easy to use and you get them all at once so there's no obnoxious coupon book"... (Mail Bag)
(03:20) - BOA Premium Rewards (not elite) card (Card Talk)
Learn more about this card: https://frequentmiler.com/boaPR/#Goto
Revisit Frequent Miler on the Air Episode 204 here: https://frequentmiler.com/how-would-we-spend-1-million-dollars/
(04:57) - Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card (Card Talk)
Learn more about this card: https://frequentmiler.com/BOAPremiumRewardsElite/#Goto
(11:17) - Cardless launching two Avianca LifeMiles cards (Card Talk)
(12:35) - Marriott Homes & Villas 50K (Mattress Running the Numbers)
(16:12) - Transfer bonuses (Award Talk)
(21:29) - United increases prices on partner biz class awards within Europe & Asia (Award Talk)
(24:06) - Nick: able to change Aeroplan award (Award Talk)
(29:50) - Daily Getaways (Award Talk)
Main Event: Tips for booking Positioning Flights(32:26) - Award discovery tools like PointsYeah DayDream Explorer tool and Seats.Aero make it easy to find awards such as "business class for 4 from "North America" to "Europe"
(36:22) - Avoid checking bags!
(37:37) - Departure positioning tips: what NOT to do
Read Greg’s mad dash story (What NOT to do) here: https://frequentmiler.com/my-award-alert-flight-change-and-a-risky-layover/
(40:33) - Day before is best
(41:36) - Non-stop is best (less chance of delay)
(41:56) - If not night before.... book primary positioning flight with long airport layover
(43:15) - Useful to have lounge access for layover
(46:02) - Book freely cancelable alternate positioning flight
(49:20) - If back-up positioning flight isn’t an option, consider booking back-up for entire one-way trip
(50:18) - Best options for free last-minute cancelations
(56:48) - Back to Greg’s story. How he somewhat protected myself:
(1:08:29) - Are there any certificates (like companion certificates) that disappear when you cancel the card? (Question of the Week)
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
Today's Coffee Break episode was inspired by a recent email we got asking... how did Frequent Miler get started? Since our Coffee Break episodes are 20 minutes or less, we started but telling Greg's side of the Frequent Miler origin story.
(01:47) - in 2011 Greg first learned about this points and miles hobby when his current employer at the time issued a "no travel" decree...
(04:22) - Greg started a blog for his friends...because it was easier then emailing everyone about what he'd learned.
(05:29) - Greg almost immediately became intrigued with stacking opportunities.
(07:06) - Greg was also very focused on increasing spend on his credit card which he later learned was called "manufactured spending."
(08:17) - Before long, Randy of Boarding Area discovered Greg and invited him to join.
(10:38) - Greg meets some other Boarding Area bloggers and learns how to monetize his blog.
(14:15) - In early 2012 Greg's "real job" restructures and he gets laid off, inspiring him to set an earnings goal for the blog.
(16:02) - Greg discovers Vanilla Reload cards...
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
There are many ways to book luxury hotels (credit card points, hotel points, etc) and this can be a great way to stay in some amazing luxury accommodations you'd never justify paying cash for. We'll dive into this today.
(01:43) - Please share an experience when a positioning flight had not gone to plan, perhaps share a "Positioning Flight From Hell" type of experience. (Mailbag)
Read about Greg's positioning flight mayhem here.
(06:23) - On our Instagram post, @marriottbonvoy's account trolls Hyatt by saying "Fortunately for our guests, we don’t play games with welcome gifts, points, and awards at Luxury locations such as St. Regis, JW Marriott, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, and more but that’s just us." (Crazy Thing)
See our post: Marriott Platinum Elite Free Breakfast Simplified
(12:12) - 30% transfer bonus Amex to Virgin (Mattress Running the Numbers)
(15:17) - MaxFHR.com (Award Talk)
Read more about MaxFHR here.
(17:09) - Equinox credit for massages (Award Talk)
(21:10) - Bilt’s new Rent Day snoozer
(24:27) - Bilt BLADE
Read more about the Bilt Blade partnership here.
Read Greg's Blade flight review here.
(30:01) - Hyatt’s sad rollout of Mr & Mrs Smith
Main Event: Luxury lodging... on points(41:52) - Find our "Which is the most rewarding hotel loyalty program? | Ep193 | 3-11-23" here.
(42:54) - Major hotel chain luxury brands
(43:34) - Hyatt
(45:53) - Hilton
(47:55) - Marriott
(54:03) - IHG
(58:12) - Wyndham
(59:10) - Read Nick's post about free cruise opportunities.
(59:34) - Choice Privileges
(1:01:36) - Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH): Book with Hilton points (coming soon).
Read more about the Hilton SLH partnership here.
(1:05:49) - Preferred Hotels & Resorts
(1:09:05) - Leading Hotels of the World (LHW)
(1:11:23) - Fine Hotels & Resorts & The Hotel Collection
(1:13:28) - What's the best way to start on the Marriott credit card journey? (Question of the Week)
See our chart for figuring out which Marriott cards you're eligible for.
-
Until recently, Hyatt had a relationship with Small Luxury Hotels (SLH), but it was recently announced that Hilton will now be the one integrating SLH hotels. We'll talk about what that looks like in this week's Coffee Break episode.
(0:58) - Background: What is SLH?
Read more about this SLH update here: https://frequentmiler.com/fantastic-updates-about-hiltons-integration-of-slh/
(02:15) - Hilton’s approach to SLH
(08:40) - Why Hilton 120K isn’t so different from Hyatt 40K
(14:56) - Favorite SLH properties
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
-
American Airlines status isn't as easy as it used to be, but there are some shortcuts for those who think they'll be flying American Airlines enough to really want it. We'll discuss those shortcuts in this episode of Frequent Miler on the Air.
(00:58) - Reader, Matt has been frustrated by Bilt's customer service... (Mailbag)
(07:16) - AAdvantage® Aviator Red World Elite MasterCard (Card Talk)
Find out more about this card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AviatorRed/#Goto
We covered these a year ago in the show: Amassing American Airlines Miles | Ep199 | 4-22-23, which you can find here: https://frequentmiler.com/amassing-american-airlines-miles/
(10:22) - AAdvantage® Aviator Silver World Elite MasterCard® (Card Talk)
(19:01) - Capital One switches Venture card from Visa to MasterCard...but switches Venture X Biz from MasterCard to Visa (Crazy Thing)
(22:03) - Transfer bonus from Citi to Accor (Mattress Running the Numbers)
(26:26) - Strawberry Hotels (formerly Nordic Choice) Summer Pass (Mattress Running the Numbers)
(33:42) - Etihad A380 first class apartment awards available New York to Abu Dhabi (Award Talk)
(37:48) - Qatar cards from Cardless (Award Talk)
(39:56) - Daily Getaways (Award Talk)
Read more about the Daily Getaways here: https://frequentmiler.com/daily-getaways-2024-complete-preview-of-all-the-deals/
Main Event: Shortcuts to AA elite status
(45:26) - American Airlines Elite Overview
(48:40) - Loyalty Point Rewards
(50:42) - Shortcuts to American Airlines Elite Status
(1:04:03) - What is the role of AI in the travel-hacking space? (Question of the Week)
Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don't forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit - "Ocean Deep" by Annie Yoder
- Laat meer zien
