MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!

Episode Description

On this episode Han Chicago joins Shawn to discuss his recent epic back to back First Class trips to Asia. Products discussed include the new Japan Airlines First Class, Korean Air First Class, Etihad's customer service, Singapore's foot well, a lofty Holiday Inn plus the redemptions along the way.

Han also discusses avoiding the Park Hyatt Siem Reap plus his favorite parts of Angkor Wat and why you should visit now. He also discusses why Seoul is so underrated, visiting the DMZ, his favorite place to eat in Singapore, where you want to stay when in Bangkok and more. A jam packed episode. Enjoy!

Episode Notes

• 01:56 - Solo trips & how they have changed over the years
• 05:12 - Korean Air First Class & Seoul
• 11:36 - Underrated Seoul & DMZ Tour
• 19:04 - Japan Airlines new First Class
• 25:28 - Park Hyatt Tokyo Before It Closes
• 29:45 Singapore Quirky Rooms & Hawker Fun
• 33:54 Visiting Cambodia & Angkor Wat
• 41:01 - Bangkok Takeaways - Best Area?
• 44:12 - Flying Etihad - Disappointing Service
• 48:24 - Homesickness During Travel?
• 53:38 - Importance of Networking in the Hobby

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Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss the Super Bowl in Las Vegas and what the experience is like seeing U2 at the Sphere. They also discuss tons of new card offers that have dropped in the past week including a fast track to the Southwest Companion Pass. Other topics include: Hyatt concierge frustration, losing Vendome, Chinese New Year & Joe's upcoming trip to Taiwan.

Episode Notes

0:00 - Las Vegas baby

16:44 - Shawn spring break updates and pivots, Hyatt concierge frustrations

27:25 - Joe's going to Taiwan

39:08 - Credit card updates

New green restrictions: https://milestomemories.com/new-bonus-restriction-for-american-express-green-card/

US Bank Business Altitude Power: https://milestomemories.com/us-bank-launches-new-business-altitude-power-card/

Southwest CP + 30K offer after $4K spend in 3 months: https://milestomemories.com/southwest-cards-companion-pass-30k-3/

Amex Delta NLL: https://milestomemories.com/amex-delta-offers-with-no-lifetime-restriction-2/

JetBlue 70K after $1K (normally 60K): https://milestomemories.com/improved-jetblue-plus-card-offer-earn-70000-points/

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss the newly announced Epic Universe park in Orlando. This new theme park should be on everyone's radar and we'll tell you why. We also discuss the trap when returning things in a foreign currency, Shawn attempts to Vendome, Joe isn't impressed with Trip It Pro and why Icon of the Seas will have to wait for next time.

Episode Notes

1:54 - Joe's no good very bad weekend

9:58 - TripIt Pro and Halfday

16:49 - Losing money on a return??

26:38 - Shawn's spring break updates

31:51 - EPIC Universe

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

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Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn is joined by Mark Ostermann and Ian Snyder to discuss a recent set of events that could have proved tragic, but thankfully has a happy ending. Ian recently fell 1,000 feet during a difficult hike in Hawaii and spent 3 days waiting to be rescued. We discuss the story, his rescue and all of the lessons learned along the way with the laughter and fun you would expect! This is a crazy story you definitely want to hear.

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn is joined by former MtM Contributor Ryan Smith to discuss his recent accomplishment of visiting every single country in the world. We'll discuss his journey as a writer in the miles and points space plus dive into his country collecting. Find out how his journey began, how he chose his last country and all of the amazing and challenging things along the way.

Episode Notes

• 0:00 Freelancing in this space & what it is like being a writer.
• 08:25 The community of country counters & proving your "track record"
• 16:59 Setting a goal of visiting every country
• 24:56 Most challenging countries/experiences
• 38:27 Favorite countries/experiences through Ryan's entire journey
• 47:57 The exposure to travel via social media
• 53:47 Choosing the "last country" and completing the journey

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss the announced details of the new MGM/Marriott partnership. It is coming much later than expected (in fact we still don't have a date), but is it better than Hyatt's previous partnership and what sort of benefits will you get when staying? They also discuss some of Hyatt's quirks, Shawn's last minute Paris Spring Break trip and a checking account bonus that is lucrative and easy to grab.

Episode Notes

• 6:04 - MGM Bonvoy details
• 15:38 - Las Vegas eras
• 18:38 - Dealing with Hyatt's quirky award rules
• 30:04 - Shawn plans spring break
• 38:41 - Chase business bank bonus

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Episode Description

On this episode Shawn and Joe discuss how travel has changed over the years plus share some of their recent woes including double bookings and the Mexico award dilemma. They also discuss a big lawsuit against Google, United's Adventure Week, some nice new airline portal bonuses and the fallout from Alaska's scary MAX incident.

Episode Notes

0:00 - Shawn's jealous of Joe

4:20 - Check free cruise offers

6:24 - Old men yell at clouds

19:14 - More MAX problems, the airplane not the badly named streaming service

28:30 - United Adventure Week

31:06 - Shopping portal bonuses for the week

32:39 - Early year spending

33:48 - Google gets sued

38:24 - Why it's annoying to book travel to Mexico

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode of the podcast Shawn and Joe welcome the new year with some discussions about celebrations around the world. They also discuss a new potential way you can move Amex Offers between cards plus Joe discusses his recent NYC trip including food and hotel recommendations.

Episode Notes

0:00 - Dealing with end of year credits

4:16 - Visiting NYC

6:41 - Travel inspired by New Year's Eve

16:53 - Don't get scammed!

28:05 - Move AMEX offers around

30:32 - Alaska increases bag fees

Best Buy link

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode of the podcast Shawn is joined by PDX Deals Guy to discuss the end of year happenings in the miles & points space. They also discuss the brand new Ritz in Portland, Bilt's big changes and how we should look at them plus how a simple mattress run can go so wrong.

Episode Notes

0:00 - End of year insanity

6:00 - Update on Buyers Groups

11:45 - Mattress run gone horribly wrong

21:35 - Ritz Portland review - Stunning new property

29:50 - Bilt's upcoming changes

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Episode Description

On this episode of the podcast Shawn and Joe discuss their naughty and nice lists for the miles & points space. They also debate the simplicity of 2% cashback, go over the Freedom Q1 bonus categories and discuss Bilt's 16th transfer partner.

Episode Notes

0:00 - Holiday talk and housekeeping/updates

10:11 - Hoarding 2% cashback cards

16:18 - New Bilt partner

21:35 - Q1 Chase Freedom categories

22:57 - Don't sleep on Choice Hotels

25:20 - 2023 Naughty and Nice lists

Enjoying the podcast? Please consider leaving us a positive review on your favorite podcast platform! You can also connect with us anytime at [email protected].

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Sticher, Spotify, TuneIn, Pocket Casts, or via RSS. Don't see your favorite podcast platform? Please let us know!

Music: Rewind by Jay Someday | https://soundcloud.com/jaysomeday Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License