Frequent Miler on the Air

Kiva is a clearing house for microlenders to help them find funding for microloans. You don't earn interest on these loans, but this can be an interesting way to accumulate spend on reward cards without fees...

(00:37) - Kiva is like a clearinghouse for microlenders to help them find funding Read more about Kiva loans here: https://frequentmiler.com/why-i-love-kiva-for-earning-rewards-and-doing-good/

(01:32) - You choose which loans to fund and how much to fund. (You do not earn interest. At best: 100% of money back.) But you can pay with credit card with no fee!

(03:33) - How much $ can you float? (And how long can you float?)

(04:22) - No guarantee of pay back

(05:00) - Avg default rate: 1.82% (mine: 1.73%)

(06:03) - Tool to make it easier to find safe loans: KivaLens

Read about KivaLens here: http://www.kivalens.org/

And read about updates to KivaLens here: https://frequentmiler.com/kivalens-resurfaces-better-than-before/

(06:40) - KivaLens gives you an ability to filter loan types

(07:48) - KivaLens also gives you an ability to sort

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

The SAS EuroBonus Millionaire promotion may turn out to be 2024's Deal of the Year. We just have to fly 15 SkyTeam airlines before the end of the year to earn 1 million miles. However, if for some reason SAS doesn't honor the promotion, they'll make it to our 2024 naughty list for sure. As you listen to this, Nick, Greg, and Stephen are in the air somewhere in the world trying to complete this promotion in 2 weeks or less. Learn all about the promotion and how we're going about tackling it in today's main event.

(02:43) - A reader has a tip about the US Bank Travel Portal allowing AR point redemptions at 1.5c for Disney theme park tickets, at the Disney retail pricing...

(04:34) - Trick for finding Finnair Avios award availability Read more about our solution for finding Finnair award availability here.

(06:44) - Opportunities to buy miles cheaply (can be great for people who can't get USA credit cards)

(07:27) - Read more about Flying Blue's subscriptions to buy miles here.

(07:50) - Alaska/Hawaiian for 1.25c per mile Read more about buying Alaska / Hawaiian miles for 1.25 c per mile here.

(09:01) -What is Million Mile Madness?

Follow the Million Mile Madness challenge here.

​​(15:39) - Hi FM Team, do you have any backup or contingency plans in place if one of your flights is cancelled or severely delayed? Good luck on your adventure!

(19:12) - Departing soon? Best wishes to all the contestants

(24:07) - Will there be a live wrap up show for the challenge?

(26:50) - What have you done ahead of time for tight connections during your challenge? Like buying seats in the front of plane, familiarize the airport layout, etc…

(31:11) - ​​Which airline are you most and least looking forward to flying as part of the challenge?

(37:11) - What is each contestant most confident they'll be the "best" at?

(44:29) - ​​I was trying to book a flight on AA using Alaska taking off in 2 days, and their website said that the itinerary is "too close to departure." Is this phantom award space?

(46:05) - You know “player 2” is a common topic among the hobby. Would anyone here consider having their spouse joint one podcast explaining their thoughts of their significant other engaging in the hobby?

(48:06) - ​​My Hyatt globalist expires soon. Can/should I make bookings after expiration and guest of honor myself?

(51:33) - ​​Hawaiian biz card only offers 50k after $4k spend now (used to be 80k after $2k spend) Considering it may go away, should we jump on it now?

(53:41) - Greg, Delta Amex companion certificates terms are very restrictive. Any best practices to find eligible fare class for non-holiday weekends far in advance?

(54:58) - ​​Is their a resource for which Hilton Resorts accept pre-payments?

(55:47) - What is each contestant's personal mission?

(1:00:44) - Does booking yourself a Hyatt GOH earning an additional elite night?

(1:01:59) - Did you get confirmation that SAS will allow you to award the miles to the helpful readers?

(1:02:41) - Do you think you'll run into each other during the challenge?

(1:005:46) - The Amex Platinum card offer requires a lot of spend so one reader made an $11K estimated tax payment to meet that spend, but an agent later told them that kind of expense is not eligible for meeting spend requirement, outlining a few other ineligible expenses as well. Is this true?

A Southwest Companion Pass can be massively valuable if you use it a lot. In this episode of Coffee Break, we'll break down how you can fly with a friend for free using the Southwest Companion Pass.

(00:26) - Overview - read our complete guide to the Southwest Companion pass here.

(00:46) - What is the Southwest Companion Pass?

(03:36) - What are the requirements to earn a Southwest Companion Pass?

(04:28) - Which points count?

(13:02) - Online Shopping for the Southwest Companion Pass through the Southwest Rapid Rewards shopping portal

(14:25) - Hotel partners, or book hotels through Rocketmiles

(15:03) - Rental Cars

(15:09) - Referring businesses for SWABIZ (25K per business)

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

If you learn a few advanced tricks, you can book awards for less miles than you'd think, and for better products or flights than you might think as well.

(01:07) - About our Coffee Break: Earn miles while saving and paying for college | Coffee Break Ep31 | 10-28-24 | Podcast

See episode 31 of Coffee Break "Earn miles while saving and paying for college" here.

(01:36) - Giftcards dot com added fee - it still seems to be earning GCdotcom rewards, but might not last

(02:14) - One reader says as of 2024, you can rollover 529s into Roth IRAs.

Learn more about our ongoing challenge at https://millionmilemadness.com

(05:44) - Quick recap

SAS Eurobonus allows points pooling (Read more about SAS points pooling here.)

(06:52) - Stephen is all booked!

Read Stephen's Million Mile Madness journal here.

(08:35) - Read Nick's Million Mile Madness journal here.

(11:36) - Greg: "Speed and Style"

Read Greg's Million Mile Madness journal here.

(17:05) - Marriott Homes & Villas promo: Stay 2+ nights & spend $1k+ to earn 30K bonus points

Read more about the Marriott Homes & Villas promo here.

(18:24) - Choice enhances program in 2025

Read about Choice Privileges improvements coming in 2025 here.

(20:19) - Virgin Atlantic's dynamic award pricing is live

Read more about Virgin Atlantic's dynamic award pricing here.

(23:03) - United increasing elite requirements for 2025

(24:41) - DOT Refund Rule

(26:56) - JetBlue's excellent status match Find our episode about JetBlue's status match here.

(27:39) - Last minute bookings/changes

(29:53) - Same day changes

(32:09) - What is Skiplagging?

(35:37) - Mix cabins for lower prices

(39:25) - Start to End Distance based pricing

(43:37) - Weird pricing

(45:50) - Distance based award tricks...

(51:59) - Avoid sucky programs

(1:01:33) - How can I time an Amex Platinum consumer card downgrade to gold card in order to get maximum credits from each, and what happens if I upgrade again later... would I get the benefits again?

In today's coffee break, we'll talk about how to earn miles while saving for, and paying for college. There are mileage earning strategies for contributing to college savings, paying for college, or paying towards student loans.

(01:23) - Use rewards credit cards to buy "gift of college" gift cards

Read more about earning miles for college here: https://frequentmiler.com/miles-for-college/

(02:26) - Best options for buying Gift of College gift cards

(06:06) - Best online option for buying Gift of College gift cards

Visit GiftCards.com here

(07:56) - Use either of above to earn welcome bonuses with ANY card

(08:37) - The Great Double Dip for earning while saving for college, and then again while spending for college

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

Have you heard about our newest team challenge yet? The good news is we have some prizes to share this time, and the bad news is...it is proving to be way more challenging than expected!

(01:25) - One reader sends their appreciation for the fresh look of our podcast on YouTube.

(02:47) - You can find all our how-to videos on our Resources page here.

(03:41) - Waived award redemption fees / surcharges, even on one-way tickets – with Cardless Qatar Card

(08:02) - Citi adds Preferred Hotels iPrefer at 1:4 ratio [new transfer partner]

(13:24) - Amex launches 200K Biz Gold / 250K BizPlat referral offers

Learn more about the American Express Business Gold card here.

Learn more about the American Express Business Platinum card here.

(17:42) - Hawaiian Business Card duplicate account number issue resolved...and more thoughts about Hawaiian / Alaska merger

(21:15) - Chase reduces travel protections

(31:45) - What crazy thing . . . .did Air France do this week?

(36:37) - Transfer bonuses from Citi to Virgin and Wyndham: Yay or nay?

(39:23) - Million Mile Madness!

Find out more about challenge updates and details here.

(40:20) - SAS EuroBonus Millionaire basics...

(42:29) - Is the SAS EuroBonus Millionaire promo worth it?

(52:12) - Million Mile Madness 2024 - how you can participate and what you could win!

(1:03:08) - Stephen's challenge status so far...

Help Stephen with some tips (and potentially win an awesome prize for your tips) here.

(1:05:14) - Nick's challenge status so far...

Help Nick with some tips (and potentially win an awesome prize for your tips) here.

(1:09:51) - Read our post on what still works for Amex airline incidental credits here.

(1:12:25) - Find frequently asked questions about the SAS challenge here.

(1:15:44) - Greg's challenge status so far...

Help Greg with some tips (and potentially win an awesome prize for your tips) here.

(1:26:15) - Check out Nick's FAQ post about the SAS EuroBonus promo (and our Million Mile Madness challenge) here.

(1:28:08) - What are some best practices to make sure points don't expire?

In a lot of ways, American Airlines and Alaska are similar programs - both in the One World alliance for example, with some reciprocal elite benefits as well. But they're plenty different as well. We'll discuss how these programs differ and why you mind find one better than the other.

(00:26) - Comparing AA to the new Alaska program (starting 1/1/25)

(00:34) - American Airlines and Alaska are Similar programs in a lot of ways...

(01:48) - Why AA miles might be more valuable...

(05:30) - Why Alaska miles may be more valuable...

(08:36) - Free stopover on one-way award

Learn how to book a stopover on Alaska award flights here: https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-book-alaska-mileage-plan-stopover-awards-video/

(10:57) - So which one do we think is best?

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

Alaska Airlines is making some big changes in 2025! We'll talk about why we think these changes are exciting...(and will share an exciting announcement of our own!) 

(01:20) - Greg was recently curious about if the Hawaiian Miles personal card would be getting elevated offers and one reader says the answer is yes! Check your emails for higher offers!

Listen to our episode about the Hawaiian / Alaska merger here: https://frequentmiler.com/podcast-alaska-hawaiian-airlines-wedding-planning-frequent-miler-on-the-air-ep269-8-23-24/

(03:25) - Fly 15 SkyTeam airlines (and credit to SAS or redeem SAS miles) by end of year and get 1 MILLION MILES... you all had ideas for us related to this challenge...

(05:29) - Greg's post "Catching up on 2 weeks of big miles & points news" (Read the post here: https://frequentmiler.com/catching-up-on-2-weeks-of-big-miles-points-news)

(07:04) - For the first time ever, the FM team will do 2nd challenge within 1 year...and we want you to participate!

Read more about our newest challenge here: https://frequentmiler.com/start-your-engines-for-frequent-miler-million-mile-madness/

(19:47) - Alaska / Hawaiian transfers live

(22:28) - Spirit Airlines adds free WiFi and ditches award fees for Free Spirit members.

(23:56) - Virgin Atlantic to go to dynamic award pricing - companion and upgrade vouchers may become more usable

(28:33) - Choice Privileges max award pricing for Preferred Hotels reduced from 118k to 87k. Only 9 out of 310 are currently priced 80K or higher. Meanwhile, 68 properties are priced 30K or lower.

(30:43) - Bilt adds Accor Live Limitless and TAP Air Portugal as transfer partners.

(36:18) - Marriott & Aeroplan launch reciprocal status match opportunity.

(42:42) - Huge mostly positive changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan coming 2025...

Read more about the changes to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan here: https://frequentmiler.com/alaska-mileage-plan-updates-earn-status-with-award-flights-credit-cards-shopping-portal-spend-more-other-changes/

(43:03) - Earning Elite Status with Alaska Airlines

(53:59) - Mileage Plan Milestones

(1:04:46) - Other changes

(1:13:11) - Some more negative changes

(1:15:14) - Summary of our assessments

(1:17:46) - Someone wrote in asking if the Alaska changes change our mind about whether it makes sense to earn Alaska miles when paying rent through Bilt

Recently news broke that Hyatt and American Airlines plan to change their partnership with each other. Was the partnership "deepened" like we suggested when we wrote this post, or was it "devalued" like our readers thought in the comments? (Or is it somehow both?)

(00:41) -  Read our post "Hyatt & American Airlines deepen partnership, add more reciprocal earning opportunities" here.

(02:49) - What is the current Hyatt / AA relationship like? (Until 12/31/24)

(03:39) - New AA benefits for Hyatt elites...

(08:33) - Comparing Old vs New

(13:27) - Stephen's thoughts

(14:21) - Nick's thoughts

(16:57) - Greg't thoughts

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 look at how Nick booked his baller family of 4 a round-the-world adventure featuring Taylor Swift in Europe, a free Mediterranean cruise, tropical beaches in Mauritius, and DisneySea in Japan!

(01:28) - Beware of agents erroneously telling you your free night certificate is not applicable at SLH properties!

(05:30) - What is this segment even about? (And how should you evaluate opportunities?)

(11:42) - Amex airline fee reimbursements

Learn more about airline fee reimbursements here.

(19:05) - Read more about Nick's incredible trip here.

(22:22) - Getting to Europe on JetBlue in Mint (business) class via Qatar Avios

Read how to book JetBlue Mint via Qatar Avios here.

(27:25) - Getting around Europe

(35:04) - “Free” MSC cruise from Venice to Montenegro, Croatia, Greece, and Italy

Read how to get free cruises through casino status matching here.

(39:45) - Venice to Paris: Air France Business Class via Virgin Atlantic for 9,000 points + ~$22 each

(45:19) - Big Air Canada Aeroplan award from Paris to Japan

(1:01:40) - Train to Tokyo

(1:10:49) - Tokyo to Hawaii to New York

(1:24:45) - Amex Gold card now has a coupon for a $7 Dunkin' credit. Does it work for Baskin Robins too?