Frequent Miler on the Air

There are lots of great sweet spots that are exciting in theory are nearly impossible to actually book. This week, Greg and Nick discuss *practical* sweet spots -- the ones they have booked & you can, too. 1:25 This week's disclaimer 4:16 Mattress running the numbers: Is it worth mattress running to get 2x, 3x, or 4x IHG points. 10:12 Main Event: Practical sweet spot awards First up: Delta One to Europe for 50K 14:12 Star Alliance business class to Europe 17:32 Ability to book short flights cheaply 22:58 Using Iberia Avios for business class between Spain and the Eastern US 26:48 Qatar Qsuites via American Airlines miles or Avios 30:18 ANA Business Class to Japan / Asia 34:57 Hyatt awards 37:57 Vacasa vacation rentals via Wyndham Rewards 43:09 Choice privileges points for Nordic Choice properties 44:37 Capital One points for great Major League Baseball tickets 47:56 Question of the Week: I transferred points for what turned out to be phantom availability. Am I stuck? What could I have done differently? Join our email list: frequentmiler.com/subscribe Music credit: Annie Yoder

Would you rather earn 120K Chase Ultimate Rewards points or 160K Amex Membership Rewards points? It turns out that the answer may not be as simple as you think. 00:48 Giant Mailbag: Newcomer to the show books round the world with ANA. 2:45 What crazy thing . . . did Nick do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/cashing-out-why-nick-is-dumping-a-chunk-of-points-today/ 10:38 Mattress Running the Numbers: Nordic Choice 2-month pass https://frequentmiler.com/nordic-choice-hotels-offering-all-you-can-stay-deal-this-summer/ 18:32 Main Event: 120K Chase points vs 160K Amex points. Which is better? 53:29 Host Roast 54:44 Question of the Week: Is it worth playing the AA Loyalty Game to move on from Gold to Platinum? Music credit: Annie Yoder

United recently offered business class seats to many destinations around the world for 60K miles each way. Was it a great deal that everyone should have booked? We each share our thought process with this kind of deal and why one of us booked it and one of us didn't. 1:07 Giant Mailbag: The Capital One Venture X travel credit might not be so easy to use on a hotel after all 4:14 What crazy thing...did Nearside Debit Card do this week? 8:16 Mattress Running the Numbers: Is the Wyndham 5x deal worth a mattress run to earn Vacasa nights? https://frequentmiler.com/great-new-wyndham-promo-earn-up-to-5x-points-on-one-stay-by-5-31-22/ 15:12 Dissecting the deal: 60K awards to New Zealand and beyond https://frequentmiler.com/united-offering-60k-biz-class-awards-to-many-locations-worldwide-4-seats-in-many-cases/ https://frequentmiler.com/transfer-partner-master-list/ 48:00 Question of the Week: How can I leverage the Southwest Companion pass into elite status with other airlines? Join our email list: FrequentMiler.com/Subscribe Music credit: Annie Yoder

Is the new IHG One Rewards set to top Marriott Rewards? While it won't dethrone Hyatt atop the loyalty rewards mantle, IHG One is looking surprisingly strong. 1:38 Giant Mailbag: Is the Apple card a better beginner card? 6:15 What crazy thing . . . did Caesars Rewards do this week? The un-matched get rematched. https://frequentmiler.com/hail-caesars-revoked-caesars-rewards-diamond-statuses-are-being-reinstated/ 8:24 Mattress Running the Numbers: Hyatt status fast-track https://frequentmiler.com/get-hyatt-explorist-status-free-shortcut-to-globalist-status-targeted/ 16:48 Maint Event: Marriott vs IHG https://frequentmiler.com/ihg-one-rewards-new/ https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-earn-2-years-of-ihg-club-lounge-membership/ 1:12:35 Question of the Week: Is there a trick to finding Qatar availability? https://frequentmiler.com/avios-sweet-spots-for-award-tickets-british-airways-iberia/ Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder

Can a coupon book really be worth $695? This week we run the numbers and see if it all adds up to make the Platinum card worthwhile. 00:43 Giant Mailbag double header. First up: Booking Air France intra-European flights via Virgin Atlantic and getting Caesars Diamond back again 4:27 Giant Mailbag: Confession time: Caesars Diamond once again 11:45 What craazy thing . . . did Capital One do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/baseball-fans-capital-one-has-great-seats-for-5000-miles-each/ 19:10 Mattress running....er, Airport Lounge Running the Numbers: ANA elite status match to Star Alliance Gold https://frequentmiler.com/star-alliance-gold-match-via-ana-mileage-club-match-delta-gold-aa-platinum-pro/ 29:21: Main Event: The Amex Platinum coupon book: Is it worth the annual fee? https://frequentmiler.com/platinum-card-arrived-heres-next/ https://frequentmiler.com/dont-want-to-pay-that-695-annual-fee-heres-the-strategy-before-you-cancel/ Wide appeal coupons: 32:04 $240 Digital Entertainment Credit 37:24 $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit 40:06 $200 Airline fee credits https://frequentmiler.com/amex-airline-fee-reimbursements-still-works/ 42:00 $200 in Uber credits 44:22 $179 CLEAR credit 48:28 $100 Saks credit 51:21 Walmart+ credit 55:56 Other perks (Airport lounge access, elite status, emergency evacuation coverage, etc). 1:09:42 Post Roast: Are IHG credit card free night certificates "kind of like" paying for points? https://frequentmiler.com/my-ihg-free-night-strategy-on-gregs-mind/ 1:13:13 Question of the Week: Is it safe to pay my taxes with a new Chase card? https://frequentmiler.com/pay-taxes-via-credit-card/ Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder  

The best card for a student or young professional just starting out on life's journey and the path to valuable rewards for spend isn't necessarily clear-cut, but on this week's show we discuss the options we would be most likely to recommend -- and why one probably stands out over the rest for a large segment of the market. 1:09 Giant Mailbag double feature. A cool trick for Caesars and Wyndham and a reader thank-you. 5:10 What crazy thing . . . did Greg the Frequent Miler do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/which-credit-card-offers-the-best-free-night-certificates/ 12:14 Mattress running the numbers -- err, lounge running the numbers with the Royal Air Maroc status match. https://frequentmiler.com/get-oneworld-status-with-royal-air-maroc-status-match/ 19:35 Main Event: The single best starter card 21:10 Discover It Student card https://frequentmiler.com/discover-it-student-good-grades-20-per-year/ 26:24 Freedom cards https://frequentmiler.com/cff/ https://frequentmiler.com/cfu/ 32:37 Citi Double Cash https://frequentmiler.com/dc/ 37:53 Citi Custom Cash https://frequentmiler.com/customcash/ 41:15 Bilt Mastercard https://frequentmiler.com/is-the-bilt-card-worth-it-who-should-consider-it-is-it-the-ultimate-starter-rewards-card-on-nicks-mind/ 1:01:12 Question of the Week: Looking for flexibility in United award tickets Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder

Did you know that your Ultimate Rewards points can still transfer to Amtrak? Or that Citi ThankYou points can become British Airways Avios? This week we talk about ways to wave your magic wand and convert your points creatively. 1:18 Giant Mailbag: Award availability disclaimers 5:33 Confession Time! 9:36 What crazy thing...did British Airways do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/qatar-airways-now-using-avios-book-qsuites-to-from-doha-for-70000-avios-each-way/ 12:22 Mattress running the numbers: Are the IHG cards worth big spend? https://frequentmiler.com/ihg-premier-cards-worth-big-spend/ 33:54 Main Event: Magical Point Conversions First up: JetBlue to Amtrak https://frequentmiler.com/opportunity-missed-dont-forget-about-that-jetblue-to-amtrak-conversion/ 38:04 The Avios Collection 42:30 Wyndham to Caesars Rewards or vice versa https://frequentmiler.com/how-i-saved-my-wyndham-points-from-expiry/ 44:33 Hyatt-->LATAM / Aeromexico 49:40 Chase, Citi, Capital One, or Bilt to Hilton https://frequentmiler.com/transfer-partner-master-list/ 56:51 Question of the Week: What hotel card combo do you recommend for free nights? https://frequentmiler.com/manufacturing-free-nights-hyatt-hilton-marriott/ Subscribe to our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder

A brief summary of this episode

1:07 Giant Mailbag: What about Wyndham? 5:52 Mattress running the numbers: Wyndham promotion for up to 5x points https://frequentmiler.com/great-new-wyndham-promo-earn-up-to-5x-points-on-one-stay-by-5-31-22/ 9:30 What crazy thing double header! What crazy thing . . . did Greg do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/approved-for-venture-x-am-i-nuts-on-my-mind/ 14:44 What crazy thing . . . did American Express do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/huge-gold-card-offer-earn-90k-points-and-up-to-250-in-statement-credits-with-qualifying-activity/ https://frequentmiler.com/150k-platinum-card-offer-via-referral/ 26:32 The Main Event: The Curve Card promises, but can it deliver? https://frequentmiler.com/curve-is-here-and-its-real-it-wont-rule-them-all-but-itll-rule-player-2s-wallet/ 55:00 Post Roast: Why didn't Nick tip Greg off to his strategy for the Curve card? 1:00:22 Post unroasted https://frequentmiler.com/approved-for-venture-x-am-i-nuts-on-my-mind/ 1:01:02 Question of the Week: Is this a good strategy to replace the Sapphire Reserve? Subscribe to our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder

Booking award flights can be difficult, frustrating and time-consuming -- but it doesn't have to be. This week, we talk about the challenges of booking the best flight awards and how to overcome them. 00:56 Giant Mailbag 2:29 What crazy thing....did American Airlines do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/gregs-american-airlines-loyalty-point-progress/ 10:50 Mattress running the numbers / Mileage running the numbers https://frequentmiler.com/2200-aadvantage-miles-and-6-meals-for-34-with-green-chef-and-chase-offer/ 14:43 Main Event: How to find the best flight awards 20:29 Individual airline miles 22:15 The Kayak-like tools for award flights https://frequentmiler.com/point-me-a-kayak-like-tool-for-flight-awards-has-launched-try-it-out-for-free/ https://frequentmiler.com/taking-award-logic-for-a-test-drive/ 32:22 Expert Flyer 40:27 SeatSpy https://frequentmiler.com/seatspy-an-awesome-tool-for-finding-ba-and-virgin-award-flights/ 47:10 How do you know an award flight is a good deal? 50:44 What about booking through bank travel portals? 59:15 Question of the Week: Can you get the Venture X card if you already have two Capital One personal cards? Join our email list: https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ Music credit: Annie Yoder