Does two years of free companion travel and points to cover more than $1500 in airfare sound good to you? Southwest Companion Pass Open Season has officially begun and this week we discuss strategies to take advantage of one of the best deals in domestic (and Mexico/Central America/Caribbean) travel. Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ 1:00 Giant Mailbag: Is the Alaska Airlines Visa worth it anymore? 4:00 What crazy thing....did Chase do this week? 6:42 What crazy thing double header! What crazy thing...did Greg the Frequent Miler do this week? 9:54 Awards we booked this week -Nick: Business class summer 2023 to Europe on Air France under 50K per passenger, from Europe for 25.5K per passenger in business class  https://frequentmiler.com/25-5k-business-class-brussels-to-new-york/  https://frequentmiler.com/peak-summer-4-business-class-seats-on-air-france-including-to-brussels/-Greg: Marriott frustrations over website eerrors and free night certificates 15:37 Mattress running the numbers: Should you transfer speculatively to Aeroplan?  https://frequentmiler.com/wow-30-transfer-bonus-to-aeroplan-from-ultimate-rewards/ 25:05 Main Event: Southwest Companion Pass Open Season  https://frequentmiler.com/increased-southwest-consumer-card-offers/ 29:34 What are the rules for earning the Companion Pass and why is now the time to earn it?  https://frequentmiler.com/complete-guide-southwest-companion-pass/ 30:58 Timing of the credit card bonuses 37:35 Can I just pick any do cards? 43:22 Is there an ideal two-card combo? 49:53 Are we going to go for it? 56:39 Question of the Week: Is it worth joining a paid group for tailored award travel guidance? Music credit: Annie Yoder

Southwest Companion Pass Open Season | Ep175 | 11-5-22

Earn miles without flying.  Frequent Miler is all about getting the most out of the loyalty game.  You can easily earn hundreds of thousands of points and miles without traveling, then learn how to use those points towards luxury travel.

In this podcast, Frequent Miler founder Greg, and senior author Nick debate current topics in the points & miles world.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Aviation

Games & Hobbies

Leisure

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  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

Learning to Love LifeMiles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep257 | 5-31-24

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

World of Hyatt’s decline by a thousand cuts | Coffee Break Ep12 | 5-28-24

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

Best cards for grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco, and more | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep256 | 5-24-24

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

When points wag the dog | Coffee Break Ep11 | 5-21-24

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)  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

Southwest Companion Pass Open Season | Ep175 | 11-5-22

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