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)

(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

(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

Tragically, United appears to to be blocking saver award space from Star Alliance partner bookings. In this coffee break episode we'll talk about what that means.

(0:59) - Overview of United's recent changes

Read more about these United changes here. 

(01:09) - Why it matters

(07:11) - Research findings - what we've found out digging a little deeper...

(09:50) - Are United miles now more valuable?

(14:19) - Are United credit cards now more valuable? (extra award space)

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

We don't talk about IHG One Rewards program much, but it may be a more valuable program than you think, especially if you keep our 10 tips in mind. Listen for more! 

You can find Greg's interview on the All the Hacks podcast here: https://www.allthehacks.com/greg-frequent-miler-flight-award-tools/

(03:42) - Reader Jeff (featured on last week's giant mailbag) answered questions about how he booked Delta One to Tokyo for 85K and how he visited Delta lounges in Atlanta and Denver...(Mail Bag)

(10:42) - IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (Card Talk)

You can listen to our discussion about IHG premier cards on Ep193 of the Frequent Miler on the Air Podcast here: https://frequentmiler.com/which-is-the-most-rewarding-hotel-loyalty-program/

(14:23) - Bilt sent emails to cardholders with membership shut-down alerts...but then quickly reversed it with an apology. (Crazy Thing)

(19:32) - Book Hawaiian Airlines w/ JetBlue points: updated award chart (Award Talk)

Read our JetBlue guide here: https://frequentmiler.com/jetblue-trueblue-guide/

(25:19) - Planning for Wynn status match for free Holland America cruise (Award Talk)

Read our post on getting free cruises from status matches: https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-get-free-cruises-by-gaming-casino-status-matches/

(32:05) - MaxMyPoint to help find a standard room (Award Talk)

Read more about tools like MaxMyPoint here: https://frequentmiler.com/tools-for-finding-impossible-hotel-awards/

(34:51) - IHG One Rewards Overview

(41:13) - IHG Credit cards

You can listen to our discussion about IHG premier cards on Ep193 of the Frequent Miler on the Air Podcast here: https://frequentmiler.com/which-is-the-most-rewarding-hotel-loyalty-program/

(42:05) - 10 Tips for rocking IHG One Rewards

(01:12:18) - How can I do Disney effectively with credit cards? (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 episode (66) was streamed live on April 3, 2024 and can be viewed in full here: Frequent Miler Live: Ask Us Anything Here are all the questions asked during this episode (with timestamps)

(00:30) - Read more about how to find Qatar QSuites award space here.

(07:12) - Hey Greg, Did you notice that there were some QR flights that were available thru jetblue but NOT british airways?

(08:17) - Do any of you use the app Flighty? If yes, any improvements you want them to make?

(10:19) - Hello! Is there a reason so many credit cards are dropping Priority Pass?

(12:45) - what program do you have the strongest love/hate relationship with?

(17:20) - Which ways of booking business/premium econ domestic flights have the best availability at a reasonable cost? I'm trying to make longer positioning flights more comfortable for 2-5 people

(18:55) - what's the best way to pay for my 28 day Marriott stay, CSR, Ritz, or Hyatt for getting Globalist status? thanks

Read Stephen's post about long-term hotel stays in states where you may not have to pay taxes: https://frequentmiler.com/staying-30-nights-in-a-hotel-you-might-not-have-to-pay-the-taxes/

(21:12) - Nick, on a podcast you said you were going to pick-up the Brilliant even without the SUB. Would you not consider temporarily product changing your Ritz card(s) to be eligible for the SUB?

(22:55) - Any favorite resources for finding interesting things to do in a country? I have several destinations that I want to visit for 1-2 things I know about, but would need more to fill the trip

(27:07) - I earned a bunch of Capital One points hoping to use them one day on Turkish, but with the devaluation what do you think some other good uses are?

Read our Capital One Complete Guide 

Read our Capital One Sweet Spots post

(30:26) - I have a question how can I book Swiss rail Pass? I’ve tried everywhere and I just can’t find it. Is there a way to use any airline points or just pay cash for that?

(32:19) - Several Airlines use Avios and they may have different expiration policy. Can I transfer from one to the other to avoid expiration? Thanks!

(35:09) - can the amex 10+ referral multiplier stack? 

(36:12) - When applying for a second Ink card, is it similar to the initial application or you have to explain to Chase that the new card is for a different business? 

(37:15) - Greg and Nick both said they would prefer Alaska miles over AA miles. I heard their reasons why but can you all name any sweet spots with Alaska? after the last two devaluation great deals are missing

Read the post about Alaska Award Chart, Winners, Losers, and Sweet Spots here

(40:16) - About to apply for the Venture X & I’m curious if u know anything about the black box that is their approval algorithm. Specific DPs?

(41:24) - can you reiterate some best practices to limit the risk Amex not treating tax payments as eligible spend for the signup bonus?

(44:30) - With the Robinhood card, and the USBAR, wouldn’t it make more sense to buy points vs getting points on a card?

(45:40) - Cruise questions. It seems that Caesars status alone is no longer enough for cruise matches and they ask for other offers so trip to AC is a must? I that correct? If so, better to wait until July 1st?

(50:42) - As someone who just started the point game. Am I too late with all the devaluation going on? I started with Amex and working on the Amex points game now.

(54:08) - Is there a way to avoid an airline in google flights explore tab? There’s an option to toggle in the regular flights tab but not in the explore tab.

(54:50): Which one of these humans is the frequent miler?

(56:26) - How can I keep my Hawaiian Points from expiring? I recently cancel my Hawaiian credit card

(56:59) - Who has flown the most miles?

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.