Mastering Marriott’s Madness | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep247 | 3-22-24

Mar 23, 2024

Delving into the complexities of the Marriott rewards program, tackling pronunciation debates, discussing Ritz Carlton card benefits, Alaska's ad payment scheme, Choice points discount, United's family pooling, JetSmart's loyalty shift, Finnair Avios integration, JetBlue route cancellations, and Wells Fargo's Autograph Journey. Main focus on mastering Marriott's extensive hotel network, Bonvoy basics, and strategies for maximizing Marriott points and elite status perks.

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Introduction

00:00 • 6min

Debating the Pronunciation of a Country and Airline Name

05:38 • 2min

Pronunciation Feedback and Ritz-Carlton Credit Card Discussion

07:37 • 2min

Exploring the Ritz Card and Upgrading Benefits

09:24 • 24min

Mileage Pooling and Loyalty Program Partnerships in Discussion

33:10 • 15min

Navigating the Complexity of Marriott's Bonvoy Rewards Program

48:00 • 10min

Maximizing Elite Status with Marriott: Strategies and Benefits

57:31 • 22min

Analyzing the Value of Alaska Airlines Credit Card Benefits

01:19:28 • 3min

In some ways Marriott can be the Frankenstein’s monster of rewards programs. There's lots of good stuff about the program...and lots of bad stuff too, all sloppily sewn together.

(01:36) - More advice about how to pronounce "Qatar"! (Mailbag)

Read our post on how to pronounce "Qatar": https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-pronounce-qatar/

(08:46) - Ritz Carlton Card (Card Talk)

Read more about the Ritz Carlton card here: https://frequentmiler.com/yes-the-ritz-card-is-now-the-best-value-marriott-card/

(21:41) - Alaska wants you to pay to see ads (Crazy Thing)

(25:00) - Buy Choice points with 50% bonus (0.69c per point) (Mattress Running the Numbers)

Read more about the Choice points discount here: https://frequentmiler.com/buy-choice-points-with-30-discount-0-69cpp/

(33:20) - United to offer family mileage pooling (Award Talk)

(37:45) - Chilean airline JetSmart to adopt American’s AAdvantage loyalty program later this year (Award Talk)

(40:47) - Finnair points are now Avios (but there doesn’t yet appear to be a way to move them to BA, Iberia, etc.) (Award Talk)

(43:59) - JetBlue is cancelling routes (Award Talk)

(46:56) - Wells Fargo autograph journey now live 1 to 2 choice (Award Talk)

Main Event: Mastering Marriott’s Madness

(48:39) - Huge number of hotels worldwide (nearly 9,000)

This post can help you find out if you're eligible for the various Marriott cards: https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-card-eligible/

(52:36) - Bonvoy Basics Read our complete guide to Marriott Bonvoy here: https://frequentmiler.com/marriott-bonvoy-complete-guide/

(1:04:25) - Earning points See the best credit card offers here: https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/

(01:09:42) - Earning free night certificates

(01:10:30) - Earning elite status Listen to our Easy Marriott elite status episode here: https://frequentmiler.com/easy-marriott-elite-status/

Read: Shortcuts to Marriott Elite status https://frequentmiler.com/shortcuts-to-marriott-platinum-elite-status/

(01:14:57) - Questions about paying for rent with the Alaska card via Bilt... with high rent of $3600/mo, which card should I use...Alaska with the fee or Bilt without the fee? (Question of the Week)

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