Frequent Miler on the Air

Learn how to get a free companion ticket for air travel with tips and examples from various airlines. Discover the benefits and drawbacks of companion ticket offers from Southwest, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and more. Also, explore strategies for earning points through shopping portals and maximizing rewards.

Join the hosts in this entertaining game show edition as they reveal 10 tricks for spending fewer points on flights and hotels. They discuss topics like getting 1.5 cpp for travel booked directly, buying flights with Amex Membership Rewards points, and tricks that guarantee lower award prices by flying farther. They also share strategies for incurring lower surcharges when flying BA and spending fewer points on hotel awards and vacation rentals. Don't miss out on these valuable tips!

Learn how to get great value from Chase Ultimate Rewards points, including maximizing point earning potential, finding ways to reduce the cost of Alaska Airlines awards, and utilizing partner bookings with Air France and Virgin Atlantic. Discover the versatility of the Flying Blue program, the potential value of stopovers with Air France and KLM, and strategies for finding cheap positioning flights within Europe. Find out how the hosts prioritize deals and availability when planning their travels and the importance of considering flights first

Big wins start with solid strategy. This week, we talk about which cards you must have before you start applying with reckless abandon as well as which cards you should probably be considering that are all likely limited by the 5/24 rule. If you play your cards right, you can easily end up with all the cards you want and need before you get locked out of more. 00:00 Intro 00:55 Giant Mailbag: A "wea culpa" 03:41 Card Talk: Chase Freedom Unlimited & Chase Freedom Flex cards https://frequentmiler.com/cfu/ https://frequentmiler.com/cff/ 11:47 What crazy thing . . . triple header? 12:08 What crazy thing . . . did Wyndham Rewards do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-prevent-wyndham-points-from-expiring/ 15:32 What crazy thing . . . did Avianca LifeMiles do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/current-point-transfer-bonuses/ https://frequentmiler.com/having-issues-booking-with-lifemiles-try-using-the-firefox-browser/ 17:38 What crazy thing . . . did Avianca LifeMiles do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/cancelling-a-lifemiles-award-ticket-maybe-less-painful-than-you-thought/ 21:25 Award Talk 21:27 Air New Zealand Business Class wide open close-in https://frequentmiler.com/air-new-zealand-business-class-awards-wide-open-close-in/ https://frequentmiler.com/avianca-lifemiles-awesome-mixed-cabin-award-pricing-first-class-for-less/ 29:30 Contacting the hotel works out well https://frequentmiler.com/gift-hotel-points-free-night-certificates-and-award-nights-booked-with-points-rules-by-program/ 34:50 Main Event: Must-have Chase cards 36:37 Determining your 5/24 count 41:05 The Ultimate Rewards points cards https://frequentmiler.com/chase-transfer-partners/ 47:21 Fee-free UR cards 49:58 Which Ultimate Rewards cards are must-have keepers? 57:53 Which Chase airline cards are keepers? 1:03:30 Which Chase hotel cards are keepers? 1:10:44 Question of the Week: How do you audit and chase down your missing points? Music credit: Annie Yoder

There are more than 8 million points and miles available via new credit card welcome offers. Here's how to score millions of points in your household. Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ 00:00 Intro 01:45 Giant Mailbag 09:05 Card Talk: JetBlue Plus and JetBlue Business Cards https://frequentmiler.com/b6plus/ https://frequentmiler.com/b6biz/ 15:37 What crazy thing . . . happened to Greg the Frequent Miler this week? 21:10 Mattress Running the Numbers: 50% transfer bonus from Chase to Marriott https://frequentmiler.com/chase-ultimate-rewards-offering-50-transfer-bonus-to-marriott/ 23:57 Award Talk 24:09 Nairobi to Cape Town....via Doha 27:15 Main Event: How to earn millions of points from credit card welcome offers? https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/ 28:59 Won't this ruin my credit score? 32:53 High-level summary https://frequentmiler.com/the-games-we-play/ 36:56 How do you choose which card? 39:30 Start with 5/24 strategy https://frequentmiler.com/must-have-chase-cards/ 42:05 How do you find the best offers? https://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-sign-up-offers/ 50:08 Family referrals 58:35 If you get denied, it's not over 1:01:54 Meeting minimum spending requirements https://frequentmiler.com/manufactured-spending-complete-guide/ 1:02:40 Call for a retention offer 1:08:57 Downgrade options 1:17:12 Question of the Week: Why aren't we using Altitude Reserve points to pay for our car rentals? Music credit: Annie Yoder

If you're flush with Delta SkyMiles, don't flush them on poor redemptions -- instead, listen to this week's show and learn how you can squeeze good value out of your SkyMiles. One quick update: During our Award Talk segment, we discussed the ability to book Starlux via Alaska Airlines, but that availability and pricing got pulled between the time we recorded and the time we published -- we were right that you had to jump on it quickly, but it died even faster than we expected. 00:00 Intro 00:56 Award Talk 01:07 Bilt: 75% to 150% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-august-rent-day-up-to-150-transfer-bonus-to-virgin-atlantic/ 07:31 Now book ITA via Virgin Atlantic https://frequentmiler.com/ita-airways-bookable-with-virgin-atlantic-miles/ 10:17 Alaska makes Starlux bookable*** Note that we discuss pricing for this award that Alaska has already pulled. See our post for more: https://frequentmiler.com/alaska-airlines-fumbles-launch-of-starlux-awards/ 12:59 Amex adds Qatar as a transfer partner https://frequentmiler.com/amex-transfer-partners/ 15:44 Aeroplan now allows awards to be changed online https://frequentmiler.com/aeroplan-awards-can-now-be-changed-online/ 17:27 Choice and Radisson finally merge https://frequentmiler.com/radisson-to-choice-conversion-low-end-slight-deval-high-end-better-value/ 21:47 Card Talk: Delta Gold SkyMiles and Delta Gold SkyMiles Business cards https://frequentmiler.com/dlgold/ https://frequentmiler.com/dlgoldbiz/ 28:34 Main Event: Wringing value from Delta SkyMiles 29:46 15% discount on Delta awards on Delta metal with several credit cards 30:17 Compare against the round trip prices 31:05 Unannounced sales https://frequentmiler.com/delta-award-sale-40k-miles-in-economy-to-australia-and-more/ 33:50 Westjet to Canada 36:18 Book awards that don't start or end in the US or Canada https://frequentmiler.com/delta-skymiles-business-class-deals/ 41:35 Finding partner award space on Delta.com https://frequentmiler.com/a-great-new-way-to-find-delta-partner-award-availability/ 46:29 Question of the Week: What's the best strategy to get rebooked when your partner award gets cancelled? Music credit: Annie Yoder

If you're a loyal American Airlines AAdvantage customer, does this card make sense with the new structure?  00:00 Intro 00:42 Giant Mailbag #1 01:45 Giant Mailbag #2 03:41 What crazy thing . . .did Delta Airlines do this week? 06:13 Award Talk 06:15 MGM and Marriott to partner from October 2023 https://frequentmiler.com/mgm-to-partner-with-marriott-bonvoy-from-october-2023-onward/ 10:40 Air Canada has access to more Singapore Airlines space https://frequentmiler.com/an-air-canada-advantage-far-more-award-space-with-some-partners/ 13:49 AAdvantage Hotels 21:00 Main Event: The new AA Executive Card: Is it worth the fee? https://frequentmiler.com/aa-enhances-the-citi-executive-card-and-encourages-spend-elsewhere/ 50:03 Question of the Week Music credit: Annie Yoder

It takes two to tango -- and you can dance your way to plenty of points and miles to make those dream trips happen twice as quickly when you play the game with a partner. This week, we talk tips and strategies for collecting rewards with a travel partner. 00:00 Intro 00:33 Giant Mailbag 02:18 Card Talk: Chase Sapphire Reserve frequentmiler.com/csr 19:41 Award Talk 19:44 PointsYeah https://frequentmiler.com/pointsyeah/ 22:28 Fiji Airways ticket refund update 24:38 Choice + Radisson merger news https://frequentmiler.com/choice-radisson-loyalty-programs-being-combined-on-july-18/ 27:01 Hyatt x MGM partnership ending 9/30/23 https://frequentmiler.com/hyatt-farewell-cheap-mattress-runs-status-matching/ 29:53 Mattress Running the Numbers: Should you book MGM properties to earn Hyatt elite status? 37:03 Main Event: Partner up to maximize rewards https://frequentmiler.com/3-inks-approved-again-420k-points-in-the-bag/ 1:05:52 Question of the Week: Is it possible to buy Hyatt Globalist status? Are there any shortcuts? Music credit: Annie Yoder

Ever wonder how you can possibly snag a reservation at a high-demand property that never seems to have award availability? This week, we discuss the tools you can use to make those impossible awards happen.   00:00 Intro   01:10 Giant Mailbag: Don't Hilton free night certificates have a big drawback?   04:25 Card Talk: Hilton Surpass and Hilton Business cards   https://frequentmiler.com/amxhiltonbiz/   https://frequentmiler.com/hilton-honors-american-express-surpass-card/#Goto   https://frequentmiler.com/why-i-paid-over-1000-dollars-to-upgrade-3-no-fee-hilton-cards/   12:20 What crazy thing . . . did Chicago Seminars do this week?   15:06 Award Talk Double Header   15:26 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles devaluation   19:38 JW Marriott Safari Lodge Availability   https://frequentmiler.com/jw-marriott-masai-mara-lodge-award-nights-available/   25:06 Main Event: How to find impossible hotel awards https://frequentmiler.com/tools-for-finding-impossible-hotel-awards/ https://frequentmiler.com/go/maxmypoint https://frequentmiler.com/go/staywithpoints   51:02 Question of the Week: Is the 95x / 95% back LifeLock deal worth doing for the Membership Rewards point s?   Music credit: Annie Yoder  

On this week's show Greg and Nick discuss the huge advantage of flying business class over economy or premium economy (and how airline miles make that possible at a reasonable cost), and debate the next step: is it worth paying more miles to fly international first class instead of business class? 00:00:48 Giant Mailbag00:03:14 What crazy thing did Amex do this week? • Amex sometimes claims that tax payments don't count... • See also: Pay taxes via credit card 00:09:54 Deal talk: Save 40% to 50% at Amazon.com 00:16:56 Award Talk • Lufthansa often releases first class award space near last minute • Aeroplan not always showing awards that are bookable with United and/or Avianca00:19:37 MAIN EVENT: Are first class awards worth paying more for? • 00:21:26 Comparing economy, premium economy, business class, and first class • 00:32:10 First class ground services (Lufthansa example) • 00:36:39 Award cost econ vs. prem econ vs. biz vs. first class (AA example) • 00:41:40 Special first class products that ARE worth paying a huge premium for • 00:47:33 Award cost econ vs. vs. biz vs. first class (Aeroplan example) • 00:51:04 Award cost econ vs. prem econ vs. biz vs. first class (Lifemiles example) • 00:55:00 ANA First Class vs. JAL Business Class • 00:58:22 Conclusion: Is it worth it? 01:03:07 Question of the week #1: Are Greg and Nick out of touch? 01:07:31 Question of the week #2: Status match to get international upgrade? Music Credit: Annie Yoder "Ocean Deep"