Navigating Amex’s Welcome Bonus Family Rules | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep261 | 6-28-24

Jun 29, 2024

Explore strategies for maximizing rewards with mixed-cabin redemptions, Southwest Companion Pass earning, Alaska Airlines transfer bonuses, and Elite status matching. Dive into loyalty program comparisons, booking insights, Fiji Airways' loyalty program transition, and a review of 2024 predictions. Learn how to navigate Amex's new welcome bonus family rules for credit cards.

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ANECDOTE

ANA First Class Redemption

Darien booked ANA first class from Singapore to San Francisco with a stopover in Tokyo.
By booking the Singapore-Tokyo leg in economy, the first-class portion became much cheaper.

ADVICE

Companion Pass Timing

Consider current Southwest travel plans when deciding on a Companion Pass strategy.
If you have upcoming travel, the current offer may be worthwhile.

ADVICE

Maximizing Companion Pass

Apply for the Southwest card near the offer's expiration (September 16th).
Then, shift your statement date to maximize the Companion Pass duration.

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Amex has long had rules against getting a new welcome bonus for a card you’ve had before. Now, they’ve expanded those rules to include "families" of cards. In this episode we'll help you navigate this confusing and tedious concept.

(01:31) - With pointsyeah a reader found an interesting redemption for ANA first class... but found a great discount for “suffering” in economy to HND. (Mailbag)

(05:15) - Southwest Companion Pass with one business card (Card Talk)

Find out more about the Southwest Premier Business Card here

Find out more about the Southwest Performance Business card here

(18:14) - Bilt rent day promo (Award Talk)

(19:42) - Alaska Airlines transfer bonus, up to 100% (Award Talk)

Read more about the Alaska / Bilt transfer bonus here

(24:18) - Alaska Airlines status match (Award Talk)

(29:20) - Bilt Neighborhood dining (Award Talk)

(32:09) - Hilton adds more SLH properties (Award Talk)

(37:50) - Choice removes 35K cap on their points prices in the US (Award Talk)

(39:22) - We've updated some of our RRVs (Award Talk)

(44:46) - Use Virgin points to book AF/KLM (Award Talk)

(50:23) - Fiji airways to adopt AAdvantage miles (Award Talk)

(52:09) - Read more about Greg’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)

(54:55) - Read more about Nick’s predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)

(56:27) - Read more about Stephen’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)

(58:38) - Read more about Tim’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)

(1:01:27) - Read more about Carrie’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)

Main Event: Navigating Amex’s Welcome Bonus Family Rules

(1:03:24) - About Amex's "Pop-Up Prison"

(1:06:58) - Family types

(1:09:08) - How to find the rules. Look for "Offer Terms"

(1:12:16) - Skirting the pop-up prison

(1:18:01) - What sites do you like the best, apart from your own? (Question of the Week)