MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!

• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio
• Rakuten sign-up link (referral) Get $50 when you spend $50 - http://milestomemories.com/go/rakuten

Southwest just dropped its biggest Rapid Rewards overhaul yet, and the credit card shortcut to the Companion Pass is officially on its way out, along with the A-List names. We react to what it means for anyone still chasing the pass, plus a rumored Amex Platinum change that could make the hotel credit a lot harder to use. Hyatt finally lets you transfer points online, Lululemon appears to be blocking gift cards from triggering the Platinum credit, and Citi now tells you before you apply for a Strata card whether you will get the bonus. Plus early data points suggest new Discover cardholders may be getting their Capital One Offers doubled. Did Southwest just break your heart? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:25 Southwest Drops Big Changes (Preview)
• 0:55 Hyatt Points Transfers Finally Go Online
• 4:40 Lululemon Shuts Down the Gift Card Play
• 7:13 Citi's New Bonus Eligibility Pop-Up
• 9:14 Bank of America's 1,000 Contractors & $1.2B Fine
• 11:11 Melio: $230 Gift Card After a $500 Payment
• 11:49 Discover Could Double Your Capital One Offers
• 14:19 Amex Platinum's Rumored Hotel Credit Downgrade
• 16:20 Is the $895 Platinum Still Worth It?
• 19:04 Southwest's 2027 Rapid Rewards Overhaul
• 21:27 Why Rename A-List to Silver, Gold & Platinum?
• 23:57 The Dark Side of the Companion Pass
• 26:03 Final Thoughts

Links

• Hyatt transfers - https://storefront.points.com/world-of-hyatt/sso/mv-delegate/free-transfer?
• Lululemon Amex - https://milestomemories.com/75-lululemon-amex-platinum-credit/
• Citi pop-up - https://milestomemories.com/citi-adds-welcome-bonus-eligibility-pop-up-for-strata-applications/
• Discover Capital One Offers - https://milestomemories.com/discover-cashback-match-includes-capital-one-offers/
• Amex FHR rumors - https://milestomemories.com/amex-platinum-may-add-2-night-minimum-for-fhr-credit/
• Southwest overhaul - https://www.swamedia.com/news-and-stories/news-release/more-to-love-from-rapid-rewards-southwest-airlines-expands-rewards-redemption-an-MCKCBGY5Z2SNF7DJLTVF253RMDIU

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• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio
• Rakuten sign-up link (referral) Get $50 when you spend $50 - http://milestomemories.com/go/rakuten

A pricing glitch let a lot of people book American Airlines award tickets for a fraction of the usual miles, including us, and almost two weeks later American started canceling them, calling people instead of emailing them first. We get into why the way they handled it may break their own rules, and whether we should file DOT complaints over it. Then luxury goes all-inclusive, with Hilton converting the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad in Riviera Maya and Park Hyatt opening its first all-inclusive near Cancun. Plus a free lounge tool from a friend of the show that we cannot stop using, why we have mostly stopped chasing transfer bonuses, and the surprisingly sneaky history behind KLM's Delft Blue houses. Should we file DOT complaints, or did we know what we were getting into? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:24 Mark Learns What "HoCo" Means
• 2:43 American Airlines Cancels Our Award Tickets
• 4:26 American's Own 72-Hour Rule
• 7:16 Should We File DOT Complaints?
• 11:37 ThisLounge.com: The Free Lounge Tool We Love
• 14:44 Waldorf Astoria & Conrad Go All-Inclusive
• 16:23 Park Hyatt's First All-Inclusive
• 19:53 Can Luxury All-Inclusives Fix the Food?
• 21:20 Do We Still Chase Transfer Bonuses?
• 23:54 The History Behind KLM's Blue Houses
• 25:36 Shawn's KLM Houses Left Behind in Düsseldorf
• 28:49 Amenity Kits, Conrad Ducks & Freebies We Hoard
• 30:00 Final Thoughts

Links

• This Lounge - http://thislounge.com/
• Hilton all-inclusives - https://milestomemories.com/waldorf-astoria-riviera-maya-and-conrad-tulum-going-all-inclusive/
• Park Hyatt Riviera Maya - https://thepointsguy.com/news/park-hyatt-riviera-maya-all-inclusive-details/
• KLM history - https://onemileatatime.com/guides/klm-airlines-dutch-house/
• Transfer bonuses - https://milestomemories.com/current-transfer-bonuses/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio
• Rakuten sign-up link (referral) Get $50 when you spend $50 - http://milestomemories.com/go/rakuten

IHG and Chase just overhauled the entire IHG card lineup, with a brand new $350 Premier Select card, higher annual fees, and status getting pulled from a card a lot of you carry. We dig into who the new card actually makes sense for, the catch hiding in its food and beverage credit, and why the old $49 IHG card is about to cost a lot more. Plus Rakuten just posted its best Bank of America offer yet, Chase may let other banks approve the co-brand applicants it turns down, and some Sapphire Preferred cardholders are getting 75,000 point upgrade offers. Then we get nostalgic about the two browser trick and the Wild West days. Which IHG card is looking better for you? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:40 Rakuten's Best Bank of America Offer Yet
• 3:04 Denied by Bank of America & Waiting on Atmos
• 4:34 IHG's Big Card Refresh & the New $350 Premier Select
• 6:00 The Food & Beverage Catch & an Easy $200 Flight Credit
• 7:20 Diamond for $25K & the Premier Card Loses Platinum
• 8:28 Stacking Elite Nights & the $40K Free Night
• 11:13 Your $49 IHG Card Is Doubling & Why to Grab the Select Now
• 13:52 Fourth Night Free Gets Harder & Why IHG Is Undervalued
• 15:42 Melio: $230 Gift Card After a $500 Payment 16:19 Chase May Let Other Banks Approve Its Co-Brand Cards
• 18:20 Fintech Sweep Accounts & the FDIC Fine Print
• 21:56 Chase's 75K Sapphire Upgrade & a Possible 175K Stack
• 23:41 The Two Browser Trick & the Wild West Days
• 25:33 The AA Shutdowns & Executive Card Churners
• 26:24 Final Thoughts

Links

• IHG refresh - https://frequentmiler.com/all-the-existing-ihg-credit-cards-have-been-refreshed-here-are-the-changes/
• BofA Rakuten - https://milestomemories.com/rakuten-offering-extra-bonus-for-bank-of-america-cards/
• Old IHG $49 card - https://milestomemories.com/chase-updates-legacy-ihg-select-card/
• Chase upgrades - https://milestomemories.com/75k-upgrade-offer-to-sapphire-reserve/
• Chase second look idea - https://www.doctorofcredit.com/jpmorgan-chase-looks-to-open-second-look-applications-for-cobranded-cards/

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• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio

Bank of America cards are getting a transfer partner in 2027, and it is a big one: Alaska Atmos. We get into what it could mean for Preferred Rewards members and why you might want to start stockpiling now. Mark also ran the real math on Alaska versus American status, and the answer is not what the headline numbers suggest. But first, a travel gripe session: European airports that will not tell you your gate until five minutes before boarding, Lisbon's surprisingly giant suitcases, and the day a flight attendant almost evicted Mark's backpack from the overhead bin. Plus Alaska is launching a debit card that earns status, and X Money is making debit interesting again. Are you team carry-on or team checked bag? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:24 Back to StarLux for Asia
• 1:11 Europe's Gate Problem & Lisbon's Giant Suitcases
• 4:36 A Gate Posted 5 Minutes Before Boarding
• 6:54 Team Carry-On & Mark's Backpack Standoff
• 10:40 The Two-Bag Problem & Never Fight a Flight Attendant
• 12:06 Bin Space Wars & Deplaning Etiquette
• 15:08 Alaska vs. AA Status: Mark Runs the Numbers
• 18:06 Welcome Offers vs. Status Spend (and Why Mark Picked AA)
• 20:32 Bank of America Points to Atmos in 2027
• 22:36 Preferred Rewards & Why to Stockpile Now
• 24:13 Alaska Is Launching a Debit Card
• 25:48 X Money & the Debit Card Comeback
• 26:52 Final Thoughts

Links

• Alaska changes - https://news.alaskaair.com/loyalty/atmos-rewards-expands/
• AA vs. Alaska status - https://milestomemories.com/alaska-atmos-or-american-aadvantage-status/

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• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio

Mark started his morning trapped in his own backyard by a skunk, and somehow that was not the worst news of the day. Bilt just announced it is cutting Hyatt transfers from 1:1 to 4:3 on January 1, the same change Chase made to the Sapphire Preferred, and it has us convinced we know who is really behind all of this. We get into why Hyatt might actually want it this way and what it says about where the program is headed. Plus Q4's 5% categories went all in on dining, Chase has new targeted spend offers worth checking, Audible is back at 99 cents a month with a bonus credit, and easy bank bonuses are back, including an E*Trade offer worth up to $800 with a 4.25% APY. Is Hyatt still worth chasing for you? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:23 Mark Gets Trapped by a Skunk
• 3:58 Q4 5% Categories: Dining Everywhere
• 5:31 Chase's New Targeted Spend Offers
• 7:09 Audible Is Back to 99 Cents a Month
• 9:58 Melio: $230 Gift Card After a $500 Payment
• 10:36 Getting Back Into Bank Bonuses
• 12:54 E*Trade's Up to $800 Bonus & 4.25% APY
• 15:54 Ameriprise Platinum, Mercedes Swag & the Ani Mindset
• 18:20 Bilt to Hyatt Drops to 4:3 in January
• 20:58 Is Hyatt Becoming Marriott?
• 22:52 Why Hyatt Wants Co-Brand Card Spend
• 25:43 Final Thoughts

Links

• 5X cats - https://milestomemories.com/5-categories-for-2026-4th-quarter/
• Chase My Bonus - https://milestomemories.com/chase-my-bonus-quarterly-spending-offers/
• Bank Bonuses - https://milestomemories.com/bank-account-bonuses-2/
• Bilt 4:3 - https://milestomemories.com/bilt-to-hyatt-transfer-ratio/
• E-trade offer - https://milestomemories.com/etrade-800-signup-bonus/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio

Mark is back from the Azores after four airlines in five days, and he has thoughts. First, though, Rakuten's increased card offers are some of the best we've ever seen, including a no annual fee Bank of America card worth up to 40,000 Bilt points plus a $250 bonus, and there's one catch for Membership Rewards members you need to know. Then the trip: Royal Air Maroc business class on Alaska miles (the seat is fine, the service is another story), a night in Lisbon that started with Uber chaos and ended at a rooftop sunset, and a TAP flight with seatmates Mark will never forget. The Azores themselves might be the best value trip in the Atlantic, with Hawaii-level scenery at mainland Europe prices, smoked pineapples, thermal springs, and an Amex FHR stay in Ponta Delgada. Plus how Mark dodged the Boston storms for free, whether he should have taken $700 to wait, and why short whirlwind trips are worth it for busy parents. Have you been to the Azores? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:23 Mark's Back From the Azores
• 1:01 Rakuten's Huge Card Offers (Up to 40K Bilt Points)
• 3:08 Royal Air Maroc Business Class Review
• 5:01 Where the Service Fell Short
• 7:55 Casablanca, Bus Gates & a Surprisingly Good Lounge
• 11:30 Lisbon: Uber Chaos & a Rooftop Sunset
• 14:48 Pizza Hut's Double Stuffed Crust
• 15:44 Why Portugal Is So Underrated
• 18:48 TAP to the Azores & the Middle Seat Debate
• 22:12 The Azores: Hawaii Without the Price Tag
• 27:00 Where to Stay: The Octant via Amex FHR
• 29:30 Pineapples, Tea & Thermal Springs
• 32:09 Escaping the Boston Storms for Free
• 36:05 Is Whirlwind Travel Worth It?
• 39:01 Final Thoughts

Links

• Rakuten offers - https://milestomemories.com/rakuten-offering-extra-bonus-for-bank-of-america-cards/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Get a $230 gift card after making a $500 payment with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio

Mark is headed to the Azores, so naturally we start with why Portugal has almost no air conditioning. Then it is a bank-by-bank rundown. Citi added lifetime language to the Strata cards, and nobody knows yet how hard they will enforce it. Chase may have quietly created a 3/24 rule for business cards, you have one week left to move Sapphire Preferred points to Hyatt at 1:1, and Chase's new investing redemption is the least exciting 1 cent per point you will ever see. On the good news side, Bilt reversed its terrible referral rule, now allows product changes with targeted upgrade offers, and added Amtrak as a transfer partner for the first time in years, though at a ratio that stings. Plus Citi adds Japan Airlines with a 30% launch bonus, and a 25% bonus to Avianca that we will politely beg you to think twice about. Is Citi's lifetime rule a dealbreaker for you? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:24 Mark Heads to the Azores & Europe's AC Problem
• 1:50 Lufthansa's Very German Customer Service
• 2:53 Last Call: Sapphire Preferred to Hyatt at 1:1
• 4:34 Does Chase Have a 3/24 Rule for Business Cards?
• 6:03 Chase's New 1 Cent Investing Redemption
• 9:03 Melio: $230 Gift Card After a $500 Payment
• 9:55 Bilt Reverses Its Bad Referral Rule
• 11:31 Bilt Allows Product Changes & Upgrade Offers
• 13:01 Bilt Adds Amtrak as a Transfer Partner
• 16:22 Citi Adds Lifetime Language to the Strata Cards
• 19:50 What Is Citi Even Doing?
• 20:51 Citi Adds Japan Airlines With a 30% Bonus
• 23:03 A 25% Bonus to Avianca (Proceed With Caution)

Links

• Chase 3/24 - https://milestomemories.com/new-3-24-rule-for-chase-business-cards/
• Citi new rules - https://milestomemories.com/citi-tightens-strata-card-bonus-rules-with-new-lifetime-language/
• Bilt product changes - https://milestomemories.com/bilt-now-allows-product-changes/
• Chase invest - https://milestomemories.com/chase-launches-invest-your-points/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Amazon 4 months of Audible for $.99/mo. (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/audible-subscription-offer-prime-day-2026/
• Shawn's personal inKind referral - https://milestomemories.com/go/inkind-referral/

Shawn's wife has a new obsession: the endless YouTube genre of Western men moving to Thailand and getting taken for everything, and it kicks off a surprisingly thoughtful conversation about love, money, family, and why 90 Day Fiance works. Then the Marriott story that broke our brains: a guest walked from his Brooklyn hotel over broken AC, moved to a more expensive sister property, and then billed the difference, with an apology that netted out to 5,000 points. We get into what the walk guarantee actually owes him, why public shaming barely works anymore, and the story of a Hyatt Place walk that got it exactly right. Plus Too Good To Go, the app selling $20 grab bags of end-of-day food for $5, the $60 loaf of sourdough New Yorkers are lining up around the block for, and a new no lifetime language Amex Platinum offer at 175,000 points, with the quarter-end credit timing trick that makes right now the perfect moment to grab it. Have you ever been walked? Let us know how it went in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:21 The Thailand Scam Channels Shawn's Wife Loves
• 3:56 Locked Up Abroad & 90 Day Fiance
• 5:45 Cross-Cultural Marriage Is Hard
• 7:26 Marriott Walked a Guest & Charged Him More
• 10:40 Does Public Shaming Even Work Anymore?
• 14:24 How a Walk Should Actually Go
• 16:58 The TikTok-ification of Customer Service
• 19:31 Too Good To Go: $20 Grab Bags for $5
• 22:45 A 175K No Lifetime Language Amex Platinum
• 25:34 Final Thoughts

Links

• Marriott walk - https://onemileatatime.com/community-stories/marriott-walked-another-hotel-refused-honor-reservation-guarantee/
• Too Good to Go - https://milestomemories.com/too-good-to-go/
• Plat 175K - https://milestomemories.com/amex-platinum-card-link-no-lifetime-language-offer/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Amazon 4 months of Audible for $.99/mo. (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/audible-subscription-offer-prime-day-2026/
• Shawn's personal inKind referral - https://milestomemories.com/go/inkind-referral/

Shawn walked into a Chase branch to withdraw money and walked into every points person's nightmare: account locked, suspicious activity, and a phone tree with no humans in it. What follows is the full anatomy of a lockout, from the banker with the super secret number to the moment Shawn nearly handed him the fake World of Hyatt credit card that has been living in his wallet for years. That spirals into the security conversation we all need to have: password managers and passkeys, the scams hitting travelers abroad, why your debit card should never leave your wallet, and the shutdown anxiety that makes every declined charge feel personal. Then two deals worth your time: Audible at 99 cents a month for four months ahead of Prime Day, and the Target stack that gets inKind gift cards down near 68 percent off, beating even Costco. What is your worst locked-account story, and how do you keep yourself secure? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 0:30 Chase Locked Shawn's Account
• 3:39 The Fake World of Hyatt Card in Shawn's Wallet
• 6:13 Password Managers, Passkeys & the LastPass Lesson
• 9:18 Fraud Abroad: Apple Pay Scams & Missing Alerts
• 10:21 Debit Card Rules to Live By
• 12:26 When a Decline Feels Personal (Shutdown Anxiety)
• 14:01 The Mystery of the Spotless Banker Desk
• 17:35 Audible for 99 Cents a Month
• 19:10 The Target inKind Stack
• 21:18 Final Thoughts

Links

• https://milestomemories.com/inkind-gift-cards-at-target/

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website

• Get a $230 gift card after your first payment of $500 with Melio (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/go/melio/
• Capital One Venture more info on our site (affiliate) - https://milestomemories.com/capital-one-venture-rewards-credit-card/

Airlines are quietly punishing one-way bookings again, with Kyle Potter documenting examples across countless airports, and it comes with a mystery: Delta calendars showing the exact same "lowest" price every single day for months. We get into what booking a round trip cost Mark on his Singapore trip, whether shared pricing software deserves a closer look, and why Frontier is suddenly the only airline behaving. Then a genuinely useful how-to: adding your American number to an Alaska Atmos booking so your status perks follow you, including the one mistake that locks the wrong number in and the earning trade-off to consider first. Mark maps out his Summit card companion cert rotation, we break down the increased Capital One Venture offer and the FU points philosophy behind it, and Emirates unveils the first premium economy seat that looks designed on purpose: motorized recline, a motorized privacy divider, wireless charging, and one big retrofit catch. Would you book premium economy over saving the miles? Let us know in the comments.

Episode Guide:

• 0:00 Welcome to MTM Travel
• 1:03 Airlines Are Punishing One-Way Bookings
• 2:33 When a Round Trip Burned Mark in Bangkok
• 4:07 Delta's Suspiciously Flat Calendar Prices
• 7:10 In Defense of Delta (Sort Of)
• 8:12 The Redheaded Safety Video Celebrity
• 10:16 Add Your AA Number to an Atmos Booking
• 14:30 Replenishing Atmos: Cards & Companion Certs
• 18:39 Capital One Venture: 75K + a $300 Hotel Credit
• 22:52 Emirates Reinvents Premium Economy
• 27:32 Final Thoughts

Links

• One-way penalty - https://thriftytraveler.com/news/travel/one-way-vs-round-trip-analysis/
• Adding AA to Alaska booking - https://milestomemories.com/add-alaska-atmos-booking-to-american-airlines/
• AA to Atmos - https://milestomemories.com/atmos-rewards-loyalty-program/
• Emirates premium economy - https://onemileatatime.com/news/emirates-new-premium-economy-seat/
• 📧 Free newsletter

💳 Join our free Facebook group (16,000+ members) 🏆 Diamond Patreon — bonus shows + Slack community 🥇 Gold Membership ($10/mo) 🎧 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts 📖 Miles to Memories website