On today's Frequent Miler on the Air Podcast we'll discuss how to fly with 1 free human companion and 1 pet companion for a full year, or how to fly with a free human companion for two years, or how to get 350,000 points and elite status for 25 years!

(01:15) - "I wanted to share some insights on the Mesa card based on my experience..."

Learn more about the Mesa Homeonwers card here.

(07:36) - Stephen won both judges' vote and the popular vote!

(09:05) - Tim posted his full itinerary here: 7 nights in London and Norway for 100,000 points: Mountains, fjords and ferries 

(10:02) - 5K bonus points for Atmos Summit card waitlisters extended

(11:59) - Citi Strata Elite 100K offer now public ($6K spend required)

Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite offer here.

(13:02) - Alaska tanks the utility of its “Famous Companion Fare”

(16:55) - No notice: Atmos changes award chart for Alaska & Hawaiian flights

Read more about this no-notice change here.

(19:15) - Alaska Atmos to improve earn rates on premium cabin partner bookings

Learn more about this here.

(25:04) - Rove launches Loyalty Eligible hotel stays; earn both Rove Miles & hotel points

Learn more about this here.

And consider signing up for Rove to get 500 free miles here.

(31:53) - United Mile Play offers

Learn more about new targeted United Mile Play offers here.

And read about Nick's recent experience here.

(35:47) - Rakuten: Best Ever 5K Membership Rewards / $50 referral bonus for both sides [Extended to 12/31]

Learn more about this here.

(37:54) - Rumor: Rakuten:Bilt

(39:36) - UseYourCredits: Track coupons, use their handy maps

Learn more about the handy maps here.

(42:18) - Find Preferred Hotels bookable with points (New interactive map!)

Find the interacitive map here.

(45:31) - Buy United miles for 1.36 or 1.44 cents each (or keep your Wyndham points from expiring) [Act fast: Oct 21]

Learn more about this promo here.

(46:57) - Learn more about the 25% transfer bonus from hotel programs to United MileagePlus here.

(47:34) - Learn more about the 100% transfer bonus from Wyndham to United MileagePlus here.

(51:30) - Buy Wyndham points for 0.68 or 0.72 cents each through Tuesday, October 21

Learn more about buying Wyndham points here.

(53:21) - Southwest: You can still get 2 free checked bags

Learn more about flying with 2 free checked bags here.

(56:38) - Frontier Companion Pass for 1 Year

Learn more about Frontier Platinum Status fast track here.

(1:04:38) - Southwest Companion Pass for 2 Years

(1:05:10) - JetBlue status for 25 years

Learn more about the cheaper path to 25 for 25 here.

(1:11:25) - Do we have to care about all the ninja math valuations to get the maximum cent per point value?

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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

(00:49) - Background of Frommer's Travel guides and Frommer's Travel Show

(04:25) - What makes Frommer's Travel guides different from other guides and travel websites?

(05:39) - How is AI changing the landscape of travel guides?

(08:01) - Hidden gems with free activities may not get the presence on Google that places with paid activities will

(09:47) - When did Pauline get interested in joining her father's business?

(11:45) - Frommer's NYC 2026 Guide

(13:42) - Dynamic pricing for the city's top attractions

(15:49) - When does a sightseeing pass make sense?

(16:53) - How to get better deals on vacation rentals

(19:30) - Tips for hotel deals

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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

This podcast was recorded live on October 8th, at 9 pm ET during our 100K Vacay Annual Challenge final livestream. In that livestream we did our final scoring of Nick and Stephen's trips and crowned the 100K Vacay winner! You'll hear that livestream now, as part of this podcast episode.

(You'll notice some audio quality issues with Nick's mic this week - our apologies!)

(00:39) - "Hi Greg. I know your 100K Vacay trip was meant to set the benchmark, but I would love to read a post of a trip you would have done if you were competing for real to beat the other contestants. I’m sure you could have had an amazing trip that blew the other contestants away."

(02:55) - Overview of challenge and rules

(09:58) - Greg's benchmark trip, highs and lows

(11:48) - Stephen's highest highs and lowest lows

(18:15) - Nick's highest highs and lowest lows

(33:03) - Here are some of the things you all flagged as dubious

(38:13) - Flight deals revealed

(47:09) - Other airport tricks revealed

(55:11) - Hotel deals revealed

(1:07:54) - Crowning the 100K Vacay winner!

(1:34:04) - If it weren't for this exact challenge, would you have wanted to do the trip you did? Would you recommend your exact itinerary to the rest of us?

(1:37:30) - What is the hand that lost Nick the poker tournament?

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

Last week, Greg completed his benchmark trip using 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points for an incredible vacation in Malta. Shortly after he returned, Tim, Nick and Stephen set out to try and out-shine his trip using 100K of the transferable points they chose to compete with. Unfortunately Tim's trip came to an early end due to an unavoidable need back home, so Nick and Stephen were left to tackle the challenge themselves. With a return deadline by the October 8th 9pm final live check-in, our more than half way finished.

This podcast episode features the full midstream live check-in where we heard trip recaps from both of our competitors and gave out grade scores for how they're doing in each main scoring category so far: Destination Wow, Applicability, Value, and Style.

(00:24) - What is 100K Vacay?

(01:31) - The Peppers summarize their travels so far, from JFK to London to Munich's Oktoberfest

(06:42) - Nick summarizes his trip from Boston to Madrid to Malaga, where he had to rebook his flight from Madrid to Malaga, but then eventually made it to the Caminito del Rey cliffside hike

(15:02) - Is Nick nervous about the budget?

(16:56) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Destination Wow" category for the Peppers

(22:16) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Destination Wow" category for Nick

(25:57) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Applicability" category for the Peppers

(30:00) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Applicability" category for Nick

(32:02) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Value" category for the Peppers

(34:37) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Value" category for Nick

(36:55) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Style" category for the Peppers

(38:55) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Style" category for Nick

(40:02) - That leaves the Peppers just ahead of Nick in every category except for "Style" so far

(41:08) - Budget usage so far

(43:06) - What was the highlight and lowlight for everyone?

(49:34) - Greg, are you surprised everyone flew to Europe?

(53:13) - What's been the biggest obstacle with your bookings so far?

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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Greg's benchmark trip is done, and that means it's time for the 100K Vacay team challenge to begin! In this episode, you'll get a chance to listen to the kick-off live stream that aired on October 1st at 9 pm Eastern Time and reviewed all the things that went well (and could have gone better) with Greg's 100K Vacay benchmark trip to Malta.

(01:14) - Here's the timeline of the challenge (starting with the October 1st live kick off).

(03:14) - What is 100K Vacay?

(03:54) - What's the deal with Greg's benchmark trip? Why isn't he being judged?

(06:26) - Greg's benchmark trip - what was it and how did he do?

(28:20) - Greg's final totals for his trip and why he scored himself a B+

You can read Greg's trip journal here.

(35:43) - How do our competitors feel? What are they confident about, and what are they less confident about?

(53:08) - How do Nick and Stephen feel about the fact that Tim's already hit the ground running?

(1:00:35) - Redemption on VS in Europe is distance-based, not considering layovers (something you advocated). Is it worth the extra time to save some miles due to layovers in AMS or CDG?

(1:03:01) - How did you end up in Business Class on Air Serbia? I never even heard of it before.

(1:04:29) - How was the breakfast at the Hyatt Centric Malta? Did they have local food?

(1:04:27) - Did any of your trips take advantage of mileage transfer bonuses?

(1:05:32) - How was the breakfast at the Hyatt Centric Malta? Was there local food?

(1:06:25) - Was there anything you would do differently?

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

In a recent episode, Greg and Nick talked about their favorite travel gear. In this episode, we're featuring all the cool travel gear we learned about from all of you in your responses to that episode!

Listen to the episode "Our favorite travel gear | Ep323 | 9-12-25" here

(01:28) - "For packable backpacks, Matador makes ultralight, water-resistant, packable packs. They’re pricey, but the build quality is excellent. They can usually be found on sale during Black Friday."

(02:44) - Cincha Travel belt - this can securely attach any backpack to your suitcase. Also a tide stain remover pen.

(04:11) - Cheap plastic flip flops. Hotel carpets are dark for a reason. They are a breeding ground for all kinds of yuck. Also a small washcloth. ...this is actually a Japanese small towel that is smaller than a traditional American washcloth (closer to a handkerchief).

(05:03) - Replenish your toiletry bag when you get home from a trip NOT before the next trip. That way it is always ready to go. And if I have to remove something from the kit, I leave myself a note to remind myself when packing.

(06:33) - A camping set of plastic bowl + cup + utensils (bought at an outdoor store)..... several tea bags of caffeinated & decaf tea each.

(08:02) - $3 drugstore rain ponchos. They last for a while and can even keep you warm.

(08:56) - Osprey travel backpack. Lifetime warranty and YKK zippers. Super comfortable to wear.

(09:37) - "For any men looking for great ways to use their Lululemon credits, Lululemon actually has fantastic lightweight travel clothing – ... all my athletic shorts, regular shorts, joggers, pants that I travel with are Lululemon. They’re pretty good quality, very easy to pack, and are lightweight, and they look good as well. (The ABC line is my personal favorite but you might find something else fits you personally better)"

(10:21) - A cheap lock in my backpack for when I’m at the gym or water park and need to use the lockers. A bottle opener and SIM card tool on the same keychain for the lock key.

(10:54) - The biggest side benefit of UK wall chargers: "On a recent trip to Mexico, my friends and I booked a slightly sketchy Airbnb. Since the patio door didn’t have a bar, we scattered the UK chargers we had left over from our Cyprus trip as ersatz caltrops and slept soundly, knowing any intruders would face crippling injury if they dared to break in."

(11:48) - "I put AirTags or FindMy compatible luggage tags on all my bags. I also have a FindMy enabled passport wallet and glasses case from Satechi — hopefully I won’t ever end up in a situation like Greg when he got his backpack stolen in Chile, but even just being able to track things that are easily misplaced can be a total game changer."

(12:14) - "One thing I realized nobody mentioned is a travel router. I have been carrying [a tiny router] for several years, and it has been a real lifesaver on occasion. When I get somewhere that has spotty WiFi reception, I try to find a spot where I can get at least a little reception, plug in the router there, and then I have reception in the whole room. (One time, I had it perched on top of an ice machine down the hall when WiFi was out on the whole floor.) It is also handy for sharing one login among everybody."

(13:09) - "For luggage, I love the soft-sided Platinum Elite spinner line from Travelpro. .... The Platinum Elite line has lots of nice built-in organizers like compression straps, multiple zippers and velcro pockets, and a zip-in plastic bag for liquids... There’s an internal zipper pocket on the walls that I use as my little “travel safe” for extra wallets/cards... The Platinum Elite luggage also has a sizable amount of handle position adjustments, and the spinner wheels magnetically align, which makes keeping the bag going in a straight line simpler and resists rolling down small inclines when perpendicular to them. I held on to cheap suitcases for years, but these were worth the upgrade as we traveled more, and we should have done it sooner."

(15:00) - "The 19″ Briggs & Riley Baseline Spinner will actually fit under the seat. So, if carry-on space disappears, you’re not looking to check a bag that you really don’t want to check."

(15:30) - "Interesting that Greg associated his towel (which he sometimes uses a scarf) with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because Douglas Adams actually took that recommendation from a reader tip in a 1980s edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe, in which the writer said “Take a towel or a scarf, but not both — because you’ll never need both at the same time”."

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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

In this episode, we'll talk about how Citi is showering us with transfer bonuses, then we'll talk about the incredible uses for Japan Airlines miles. Now that Capital One is making transfers available to Japan Airlines (in addition to Bilt, which has already been offering this), it's worth talking about what you can do with those miles!

(01:42) - "I'm a YUGE fan of ya'll. I'm an Army National Guard member that puts in just enough active duty time to get Servicemembers Civil Relief Act benefits (waived annual fees). So I have so many luxury cards I get FAR more value from the cards than I do from my Guard paycheck.Ya'll have been a key factor in deciding to stay in the National Guard, so 'Thank You For Your Service'."

(04:06) - By the time this airs, Greg will be heading to his destination for his Benchmark Trip. As a reminder, he's setting the bar for the rest of the challengers with a trip showcasing how far 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points can go. (Once he's back, Tim, Nick, and Stephen will attempt to match or outdo his trip with alternate transferable points currencies.) Read more about that here!

(09:34) - Spirit Travel More credit card holders now get 2 free checked bags (Read more about this update here)

(11:11) - Amex will exclude gift cards from Hilton credits starting in 2026

(12:28) - Southwest debit card (Read more about the Southwest debit card here)

Read the View from the Wing article here.

(14:42) - Air France / KLM Promo: Earn 10,000 bonus Flying Blue miles when flying from the US to any destination served by Air France or KLM.

(18:16) - Avianca LifeMiles Award Sale

(20:19) - Transfer bonuses

(24:50) - Rove Miles transfer bonus (Use our referral link here.)

(27:25) - Capital One added transfer partners and also has some transfer bonuses

(30:18) - How to get JAL miles

Learn more about the Best Uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank Miles here

(32:01) - The Bad News

(33:05) - Japan Airlines Mileage Bank 36-month hard expiration policy

(34:30) - Family restrictions on award redemption

(35:58) - Carrier-imposed surcharges

(36:19) - JAL Mileage Bank awards can not be changed (but they can be cancelled for a reasonable fee)

(36:56) - Best uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank

(42:54) - Japan Airlines partner awards

(1:10:20) - Buying points isn't usually a good value unless you have a specific redemption in mind, but what about Atmos for 1.66 cents per point? (Especially with Rove miles?)

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

We find the coupon book trend fairly tedious and frustrating, but we've had to admit that American Express has sort of won this game by offering "coupons" and perks that are actually compelling. But since many of us don't really like the coupon book approach at all, does that make Capital One the winner since they haven't done much with the coupon book strategy at all? 

(00:21) - Coupon Book Wars

(04:08) - But many consumers don't want to play the coupon book game

(04:28) - Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (which you can learn about here) and Capital One Venture X Business Card (which you can learn about here)

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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

In today's episode, we'll talk about the secret to a happy points & miles marriage, chasing "The Infatuation" credits, Hilton's 250K devaluation, and everything you need to know about the refreshed $895 Platinum cards: (Including The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express). We thought this annual fee might be all bad news, but these cards are shockingly compelling!

(01:30) -"I was wondering if you would be so kind and encourage my wife “Lindsey” to try and use the correct card for purchases on the next podcast."

(06:23) - Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card fights back

(12:36) - Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

(15:37) - Southwest® Rapid Rewards® Performance Business Credit Card

(19:48) - Chase Ink Business Cash® Credit Card and Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card

Learn more about signing up for Chase Ink cards here.

(21:54) - MaxOut Deals

(24:32) - Hilton standard award nights now cost up to 250K points

(26:38) - Citi locking accounts for many Strata Elite customers, requesting tax transcripts

(30:35) - Hilton for Business offering Diamond status fast track after 10 nights through Dec 15

(31:22) - Now filter to Marriott properties with a club lounge

(32:54) - Big Picture (all Platinum cards)

See our posts on the consumer cards here and the business card here

(38:15) - Consumer Platinum cards (includes The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Platinum Card® from American Express for Schwab, and The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley)

(56:52) - The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

(1:08:58) - What we predicted in March

(1:16:44) - This reader earned less through their Chase Travel℠ booking than they expected when using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. We'll explain why the way these points are posted can be confusing and misleading.

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

When you're at the gas station filling up, which credit card should you be using for that purchase? We used to value Wyndham points around 1 cent each, which made the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card, which earned 8 points per dollar at gas stations, a clear winner. But recent data has bumped that value down to about .7 cents, making it less of an obvious choice. So, which card should you consider for buying gas instead?

(01:19) - Citi Custom Cash® Card 5x (7.5%), up to $500 per billing cycle

(02:34) - American Express® Business Gold Card 4x (6.2%)

(03:53) - Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card 8x (5.6%)

(04:41) - Business Advantage Customized Cash Rewards credit card with platinum honors preferred rewards (5.25%): up to $2500 per qtr

(05:24) - Sams Club Mastercard 5% (up to $6K per year)

(05:51) - Costco Anywhere Visa 5% at Costco, else 4% (up to $7K)

(06:19) - Citi Strata Premier℠ Card 3x (4.5%)

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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads