Every year, the FM team does a team challenge where we compete to see who can make their points & miles go farthest. We're calling this year's challenge "The Wild Card Challenge". In today's episode we'll give you the high-level overview of what it's about! (Don't worry, we'll give you even more granular details soon!)

(00:41) - What are the FM team challenges

Learn more about past challenges here: https://frequentmiler.com/annual-team-challenges/

(01:24) - Why do we do these?

(03:39) - Who's participating this year

(04:41) - Introducing: The Wild Card Challenge

(08:08) - High level about this challenge

(10:48) - How do the contestants feel?

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This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

Which Marriott Bonvoy transfer partners are best? Podcast listener "FlyerDad" asked us this question recently, writing:

Marriott points are truly the most valuable airline currency given the number of programs they transfer to. But I have never heard you guys discuss who their most valuable transfer partners are, as you do for all the other transferable currencies. Would you consider a podcast on the "forgotten" but most valuable transferable reward points in the game?

We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to [email protected].

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

In today's episode we'll talk about how Amex has added a valuable new hotel partner, Seats.aero has added useful new tools, and we'll discuss the many ways to amass a Membership Rewards fortune.

Giant Mailbag

(00:59) - Ross: Another hidden gem card?

Bonvoyed: JetBlue, Air Canada, LifeMiles

(04:51) - JetBlue & Air Canada add basic fares to premium cabins

(06:27) - Your Lifemiles+ free award changes/cancellations may end sooner than you think

Awards, Points, and More

(08:55) - Amex adds new transfer partner LHW

(16:28) - Philippine Airlines flights now bookable with Alaska Atmos Rewards (Read more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/philippine-airlines-flights-now-bookable-with-alaska-atmos-rewards-book-biz-class-from-75k-points/)

(17:48) - United transcontinental business class from 27K miles for cardholders

(19:14) - Seats.aero has added a few new tools for Pro members

(24:00) - Nick's experience with The Edit by Chase Travel℠

Main Event: How to Amass Amex Points

(26:26) - Amex Membership Rewards are suddenly interesting again

(31:03) - Sign Up Bonuses

(41:26) - Two Player Mode

(43:55) - Read about multi-referrals here: https://frequentmiler.com/maximizing-value-from-amex-multi-referrals/

(48:31) - Amex offers

Learn about Cardpointers here (https://frequentmiler.com/cardpointers/) or Savewise here

(50:01) - Rakuten Shopping

Learn about Rakuten referrals here: https://frequentmiler.com/rakuten-best-ever-5k-membership-rewards-50-referral-bonus-for-both-sides/

(53:21) - Category bonuses

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

The Robinhood Platinum card now live for invited members, so in today's episode, we'll see how it compares with another Platinum card, the American Express Platinum Card®.

(00:17) - Robinhood Platinum card is now live for invited members...

(00:50) - Here are some of the basic details of the card

(01:22) - How is this card different from the American Express Platinum Card®?

(03:27) - 5X categories

(04:28) - Airport lounge access

(04:49) - Elite status

(16:56) - How is the Robinhood Platinum Card better?

(19:11) - How is the American Express Platinum Card® better?

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

Subscribe and Follow

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

How do you decide whether to buy flights with cash or miles? Follower Owen asked this question recently, saying:

"On the podcast you guys often say that you rarely book flights with cash. I find that, especially when booking domestic flights, I often can’t get amazing value from my points (let’s say <1.5cpp). As a result, I tend to hoard my points for those big outsized value redemptions (international business class, Park Hyatt stays, etc.) so I end up booking the flight with cash. How do you think about these situations, especially when you have less flexibility around dates? (Let’s say you’re traveling for an event, or just traveling during peak season). How much do you value the extra flexibility that comes with booking with points? At what point do you decide you have plenty of points so redeeming for lower value isn’t the end of the world?"

We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to [email protected].

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

In today's podcast episode we'll talk about Seats.aero enhancements, The Amex Green mystery, and credit cards that are rarely talked about but worth a look.

Giant Mailbag

(00:46) - Mea Culpa re Marriott/Japan Airlines

Card News

(05:11) - Amex Green card intrigue

Crazy Thing

(10:44) - Nick's Bilt hotel experience

Awards, Points, and More

(15:29) - Chase offers: new terms about "abuse", which you can read about here

(17:56) - Transfer up to 60K points between Wyndham & Caesars through 9/11/26, which you can read about here

(21:24) - Citi may be adding JAL as a transfer partner, which you can read about here

(24:57) - Singapore Airlines now requires minimum of 1K miles to search for award flights which you can read about here

(27:49) - Qatar walks back restrictions for some elites, which you can read about here

(29:30) - Delta status match terms/condition I didn't know about

(31:50) - Seats.aero enhancements, which you can read more about here

(36:59) - Gondola updates

Main Event: Hidden Gem Credit Cards

(40:27) - Reader Elliot gave us a request: "I've got a number of favorite credit cards that I virtually never hear talked about"

(41:12) - The favorites rarely discussed and what we think

(51:08) - Rakuten American Express® Card and what we think

(59:00) - The Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard Select and what we think

(1:02:07) - Casino cards like the MGM Rewards World Elite Mastercard®, Unity™ by Hard Rock Mastercard® Credit Card and Caesars Rewards® Visa Signature® Card (and what we think)

(1:09:02) - Which hidden gem cards did Elliot miss?

(1:10:36) - Can we name any other card that gives you 2 free checked bags? Read more about free checked bags via credit cards here

(1:15:52) - Others?

(01:32:57) - Check out our Best Offers Page for a database of credit card offers here

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

Subscribe and Follow

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

Greg's been thinking through how to handle the recent shutdown of his Wells Fargo checking account. Worried the shutdown would eventually impact his credit cards, he had to make a decision about where to transfer his points...

(01:30) - Greg's Wells Fargo shutdown

(08:54) - Reader tip

(13:03) - Nick's advice

(16:20) - Greg's decision

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

Subscribe and Follow

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

Does being an authorized user affect your eligibility for a new credit card offer? Reader Mike emailed us with this question:

My wife has the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and I am an authorized user. Now, I want to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card for myself. Is being an authorized user on the card you want to apply for have any consequences?

We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to [email protected].

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

In today's episode, we'll talk about how Wells Fargo shut down Greg's checking account, we'll ask "Did Marriott devalue again?", and we'll look at the many ways to turn hotel status into airline status.

Giant Mailbag

(01:12) - Rick shares a note about Bilt Cash at Walgreens

Card News

(04:25) - Chase Freedom Flex® dropping foreign transaction fees, but also losing cell protection

Crazy Thing

(06:22) - Capital One Shopping: 95% back at Instacart (new members)

Awards, Points, and More

(12:05) - Rove adds Qantas

Read more about Rove adding Qantas as a transfer partner here

(13:30) - Choice points on sale through July 20

(14:21) - Greg's Wells Fargo shutdown

Learn more about Greg's Wells Fargo shutdown here

(24:58) - Nick's Sapphire Reserve® Exclusive Tables Blunders

(31:07) - FHR Las Vegas observances

(35:10) - Marriott devaluation... or not?

Read Stephen's thoughts about the supposed devaluation here

(37:43) - How to apply Marriott free night certs to upgraded rooms

Learn more about this here

Main Event: Turn hotel status into airline status

(42:29) - First up: New Airline + Hotel partnerships

(42:58) - Read more about the Hyatt / Aeroplan partnership here

(53:00) - Read more about Marriott and Japan Airlines here: https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-japan-airlines-launch-deeper-partnership-earn-bonus-points-get-status-match-earn-status-points-more/

(1:01:00) - Key hotel/airline match-ups (and other hotel/airline tie-ups)...

(1:16:35) - Special topic: Airline hotel portals

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

Subscribe and Follow

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

Bonvoy is the program we love... to hate. Having said that, we'd be lying if we said there were no redeeming features of this program. In this episode, we'll talk about the pros and cons of the Marriott Bonvoy program.

(00:58) - Pros

(06:53) - Cons

(11:50) - See our resource (or "matrix") for determining which Marriott card you may be eligible for here

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler

Subscribe and Follow

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

What are our favorite USA destinations? If you go for the AA elite status as your Hyatt milestone benefit, when does the AA status expire? We answered these questions and more on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on YouTube on June 3rd, 2026.

(00:43) - Why does BILT still have “Coming Soon” for Blacklane and Blade BILT Cash redemptions after nearly 6 months? Sure feels like many of us are gonna have a glut of expiring, unusable BILT Cash at year’s end… *sigh*

(03:04) - What do you guys do for internet access on your phones when traveling abroad…pay for international service through your carrier, purchase a VPN, something else I maybe don’t know about? Haha

See our GigSky posts here: https://frequentmiler.com/tag/gigsky/

(11:41) - Curious what each of you would say are your top favorite Hyatt stays? I want to book a couple hotels for next year before Hyatt continues their devaluation rollout.

(17:44) - ​​A question on credit card travel protections. If you use different credit cards for different parts of your trip (e.g., one for flights, another one for hotels, maybe a third for car rentals)

(19:04) - ​I’m now at 4/24, so I want to apply for the 100K Chase Sapphire Preferred card for myself. Is being an authorized user on the card you want to apply for have any negative consequences?

(20:25) - How does the Hyatt Milestone (100+ nights) reward for AA Platinum status for a year work? Does it give you LP to top you up to Platinum status? What’s the process after that to earn Platinum Pro?

(21:13) - Sorry if this has been asked before…..is there going to be another live podcast?? I really want to go if there will be another one! My vote is Omaha ;) Center of the country and not too far for anyone

(22:10) - Do you have any advice for upgrading from Club World to First class on British Airways? Can it be done with Avios, or cash? You guys are the best!!! Thanks for all you do.

(24:08) - On your latest coffee break, if you go for the AA elite status on your Hyatt milestone, when does the AA expire?

Find our recent coffee break here: https://frequentmiler.com/which-hyatt-milestone-reward-should-i-pick-coffee-break-ep113-7-7-26/

(27:08) - ​​Do you have any tips for how to get a Business card NLL offer from Amex?

(31:40) - ​​Then my question would be what are your favorite USA destinations? Wouldn’t that be a fantastic podcast?

See Stephen's post about underrated US destinations here: https://frequentmiler.com/6-underrated-states-to-visit-for-a-domestic-vacation/

(36:30) - ​What’s the summer /2026 challenge ? Can we get India involved as a destination/layover /Stopover?

(36:52) - ​​For Stephen and Tim — looking for their thoughts on the BILT ecosystem currently and how they use the new 2.0 cards ​​

See the podcast episode where Greg and Nick shared their thoughts on Bilt here: https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-palladium-review-6-month-checkpoint-frequent-miler-on-the-air-ep364-6-26-26/

(43:46) - Have any of you personally interacted with EES yet? How long was the delay leaving the eu? Is it less when leaving a smaller airport on a direct flight to a US destination?

(46:13) - Would love to hear the teams experience with the Atmos Summit card and reaching status.

(50:00) - Greg, what's the update for the Citi saga?

(51:29) - Do you use any app to manage and monitor all the credit cards and their benefits or just use excel sheet?

(56:00) - Stephen did you try the clam pizza?

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 – “swappin’ back n’ forth” by up @ night

Get 15% of ESIM from our sponsor Saily

This podcast episode is sponsored by Saily. Saily is an ESIM service app created by the security experts behind NordVPN. Instead of paying absurd daily rates to your home carrier or swapping SIM cards on arrival, Saily gives you flexible prepaid data plans in over 200 destinations worldwide. Download Saily from your app store and use our code FREQUENTMILER at checkout to get 15% off your first purchase. https://saily.com/frequentmiler