Milenomics ² Podcast - No Annual Fee Edition

Today we do a quick rundown of the news. Including the following: 0:33 Simon Mall Purchases No Longer Earning Rewards on Amex Cards? (link) Stopped earning for Sign up Bonus sometime last year.  Not completely unexpected, but hopefully this does not spread Could be in reaction to the bump up to $25,000 in daily purchase limits 1:29 United Shopping Portal Promo Spend $300 online earn 1,000 Spend $150 in-store earn 500 Through 5/19 2:05 [Targeted] Chase Sapphire Preferred 5x Bill Pay 5x on Utilities, Insurance, Phone Service, Cable Up to $2,000 in payments 5/13-7/31/2019 Check email for “<first_name>, don’t miss out on 5X bonus points” 3:40 Amex Hilton Offers w/o Lifetime Language 75,000 No Annual Fee card link Direct Link source 125,000 Ascend link Direct Link source Great deals if you’ve had these cards before Also probably possible to get the card through referral for 100,000/150,000 and then get it again shortly thereafter through this offer Though it’s possible Amex might claw these back as they’re likely targeted and leaked into the wild Keep in mind that Amex generally limits to 5 active credit cards per person which includes personal and business, but not charge cards and not cards you’re an authorized user on Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics On this week’s subscriber podcast: We talk about 3x UR from home, Apply for new credit cards live on the show and dig deep into Demand Schedules. Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:     Or on Google Play Music:

Last week we had our first ever cliffhanger episode–this week we’re back to finish the story of Robert’s European Vacation.  We also cover some great news on the redemption side, as well as options to earn miles without flying on Today’s No Annual Fee Edition of the podcast. News 0:32 Etihad Awards Booking on AA.com (link) Still not seeing JFK-AUH Apartment show up even though there is space Have to call New Zealand for that one still (link) 3:24 British Airways Avios Partner Award Devaluation Coming (link) 0-650 miles: 6,000 Avios (was 4,500, unclear whether this range will become bookable on North America routes) 651-1,150 miles: 9,000 Avios (was 7,500) 1,151 miles-2,000 miles: 11,000 Avios (was 10,000) 2,001 miles-3,000 miles: 13,000 Avios (was 12,500) Goes into effect May 30th, 2019 4:06 [Targeted] Amex Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic 30% Transfer Bonus (link) Good for awards on Delta metal, ANA roundtrip… …and Necker Island 4:46 Fee-Free Visa GCs at Staples (link) 5/5/19-5/11/19 Said to be limit one $200 VGC pp 5:11 Stop & Shop $15 Off Groceries with $100 GC Purchase (link) Purchase $100 3rd party GC, get $15 voucher towards future grocery purchase 5/3/19 to 5/23/19 7:14 $15 off two $100 MCGC & 8X Happy cards at Safeway Branded stores Need to add to J4U app 7:30 [Targeted] 5,000 MRs for Adding Authorized User to Amex Personal Gold Add up to 4 users, 5,000 MRs each Each AU must spend $500 to receive the bonus AUs are free on Personal Gold Received via email, subject “Earn 5,000 Membership Rewards® points by adding an Additional Card Member” Amex clearly listens to the show Link to check whether you’re eligible (will say “We are sorry, you are not able to apply for an Additional Card online.” if ineligible) 8:59 Part II–Family Travel to Venice and Rome.  Be sure to listen to Episode 21 if you haven’t already.  9:05 Rome Hotel dei Mellini Boutique hotel just west of the Tiber 10-20 minute walk from most major sites Booked family room Upgraded to 2 BR/2BA Suite Co

And….We’re Back! Spring break is over and we’re here with a jam packed episode. Today we cover:  News: 0:30 Chase 30% Transfer Bonus to British Airways (link) Through June 16, 2019 You don’t see the 30% bonus on the UR portal, BA processes the bonus on its end Deal or not a deal? Enough to encourage speculative transfer? 4:45 Zero fee MCGC at Staples 4/21-4/27 (link) Stack with Dosh 3% capped at $5 per day (link) Payce too? Am I banned by Dosh?  Chase Offers Amex Staples 10% back Offer 7:50 11-Day Stop & Shop Strike Over (link) Had effects on sales of prepaid cards 9:35 Main Topic: Robert’s Trip to London, Venice and Rome 10:25 Parameters Family of 4 out of Boston (boys 14 and 11) Saturday to Saturday during April school vacation London, Venice, and Rome 11:20 Flights Blog post on this BOS-LHR//FCO-LHR-BOS Virgin Atlantic Upper Class both ways + Alitalia Economy Paid 150,000 Delta SkyMiles pp + $100 taxes + fees roundtrip Added LHR-Venice (cheap, paid with Wells Fargo GoFar Rewards) Day-time flight on the way there, which is rare All lodging and tours booked through Chase Expedia portal with 1.5 cpp uplift 23:10 London Hotel: Rosewood London Hotel is fantastic. Absolutely gorgeous with great service. Family Room (2 double beds) Public spaces, restaurants, and bars are so well done. Tour: Photography Tour 29:20 Venice London City Airport-Venice flight on BA was a fine 2 hour flight in Economy But getting through Passport Control in Venice took 1.5 hours Really makes me want to avoid short hop intra-Europe flights because they’re such momentum killers Took a Alilaguna shared water taxi from airport to central Venice 15 euro pp There were transport options in Chase UR portal but the options were confusing to me/poorly reviewed so I made a game out of finding our way there The water taxi stopped at a bunch of places on the Grand Canal before reaching out hotel but it was a fun experience Hotel: Hotel Flora Highly recommend staying right in central Venice overnight (crowds are low in morning/late at night) Felt like a very Rick Steves kind of plac

Welcome to Episode 20 of the No Annual Fee Milenomics² Podcast. On Today’s show we discuss: 0:36 Fee-free Mastercard GCs at Staples (link) 3/24-3/30 2019 2:31 8x Fuel Rewards on Happy Cards at Stop & Shop (link) 3/22 – 3/28 2019 3:55 Chase Freedom Unlimited 3x the first year up to $20,000 spend (link) No signup bonus when you get the 3x (vs standard offer of 15,000 + referral) Card regularly earns 1.5x URs everywhere New signups only In-branch Still subject to 5/24 Deal or not a deal? 5:38 Wells Fargo Propel 50,000 (link) 30,000 after $3,000 the first 3 months Additional 20,000 after a total of $15,000 the first year Card earns 3x and “dining and travel” roughly speaking Deal or not a deal? Post on Best Tier 2 Banks. 10:15 Chase Sapphire Preferred 60,000 Offer ($95 Annual Fee *not* waived) (link) 11:01 Citi Rewards+ 10% Point Rebate on Redemptions (link) This is the card where rewards are rounded up to the nearest 10 points Also rebates TYP redemptions 10% (capped at a 10,000 point rebate per year) Need to combine ThankYou accounts for this to work Makes Premier uplift 1.38 instead of 1.25 Even better if you stack Premier + Prestige for 4th night free hotel redemption 14:05 Q2 2019 5x Categories Chase Freedom: Grocery & Home Improvement Discover: Gas, Uber, Lyft Citi Dividend: Drugstores (and you can do all $6,000 in spend for the year in 1 quarter) 14:41 Payce Card-Linked Program (link) 5% back, capped at $5 single-use (per account) at retailers like CVS and Staples Links cards based on card number (as opposed to login) Said to run on Empyr network Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? On this week’s Paid version we explore: Bypassing Chase 5/24 Churning American Express Cards An 89 point Credit Score Rebound And Much, Much More. Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to t

0:37 Chase Hyatt Offer: 2 Free Nights + $50 Statement Credit (link) Unclear whether this is limited to Category 1-7 (30,000 category) -or- 1-8 (40,000 category) Alternate offer of 50,000 points remains available (an eligible for 10,000 point referral) Card is subject to 5/24 1:48 3x Fuel Rewards on VCGs at Stop & Shop/Giant/Martin (link) 3/15-3/21 2:22 Amex Acquires Lounge Buddy (link) Google Map of Lounges posted on Award Travel 101 Facebook group (link) 3:52 Hawaiian Airlines 75k Offer. (link) $6,000 minimum spend requirement Miles have use beyond Hawaii Barclays is involved. 5:10 $10 Off $300 Visa Gift Cards at OfficeMax/Depot (link) 3/10-3/16 Visa often are followed by MCGC deals 5:37 Bound: New ride-share service Boston-NYC from $99 pp one-way (link) Tesla SUVs Scheduled pick-up point & time Up to 4 people + driver in the car What do you think of this conceptually? Reminds me of Tesloop out here, started by a kid 4-5 years back, bought out and killed. Famously put 400,000+ miles on a Model S Teslas come with unlimited mileage warranties? This is a brilliant way to take advantage of that policy. 7:26 Update on Chase shutdown story we discussed in Episode 17 (link) Recap: Friend shutdown after applying for personal (approved) + business card (pending) Filed CFPB complaint Chase called and re-opened her personal account! Business card was not approved, citing lack of a business relationship with Chase (?) Caution about filing CFPB complaints–can result in broader examination of your relationship with a company. Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? On this week’s Paid version we explore: Finding New Avenues for Liquidation Heightened American Express Sign up Offers Freebird & Uber And Much more Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:     Or on Google Play Music:

We’re back this week with another extended episode where we cover: News: 0:45 Southwest announces flights to Hawaii (link) Flying as soon as March 17th (wow, that’s quick) When I’m wrong I’m wrong, Sam said, “no way Southwest flies to Hawaii This year” Inter-island flights starting in April Cheap fares to kick things off 2:35 AA/Hyatt Partnership Announced (link) Similar to old Delta/SPG program where AA flights earn Hyatt points and vice versa (if you have any kind of status with either) Top AA (“Concierge Key”) elites get Hyatt Globalist Hyatt Globalists get a status challenge to be announced later Nothing to do for now, updates to follow 6:09 AA 10% point rebate for redemption going away for Citi/Barclays cards (link) Rebates ends for redemptions on or before April 30, 2019 Prior discussion on the Co-Branded Paradox in Episode 3 of this Podcast.  9:01 Heightened Amex Delta Personal Bonuses Available via Referral Gold 60,000 + $50 statement credit for $2,000 spend ($0 AF)   Platinum 75,000 + 5,000 MQMs + $100 statement credit for $3,000 spend ($195 AF)   Reserve 75,000 + 5,000 MQMs + Delta lounge access (no guests) for $5,000 spend ($450 AF) Bonuses also heightened on business cards, not available for referral (yet) Why and How: Generating and Using Amex Referrals 10:39 American Express Avianca transfer bonus 1:1.15 Transfer ratio 1 MR to 1.15 Lifemiles Would not speculatively transfer, but many good uses. Through 4/1/19 11:27 Discussion Rumor: 1.75 Uplift with Chase Sapphire Reserve (link)   Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? On this week’s Paid version we explore: The loss of 3x/5x opportunities Two great programs (besides Southwest) for travel from the west coast to Hawaii. Tricks to get historically high Amex sign up offers to show. And more… Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:     Or on Google Play Music:

Update (3/15): We update the story in this podcast about a Chase Shutdown in Episode 19. Including how the listener was able to convince Chase to reopen her personal CC account.  We’re back with another jam-packed “free” episode this week… 0:40 $600 Citizen’s Bank Checking Bonus (link) Requires recurring/single (?) $2,000 Direct Deposit Expires May 16th, 2019 1:50 [Targeted] $500 Bank of America Banking Bonus (link) $300 Checking/$200 Savings $4,000 in Direct Deposits within 90 Days Probably best to go just for the checking offer (savings offer requires $20,000 in new funds) 2:55 $400 Wells Fargo Checking Bonus (link) Requires $3,000 in combined monthly Direct Deposit Eligible if haven’t gotten WF banking bonus in last 12 months Pairs well with needing to be a customer for Business Plat CC worth $750 towards air travel (link) 4:15 Hyatt category changes don’t go into effect until March 18 (link) Robert: Booked Premium Suite at Hyatt Coconut Point for 30,000 (twice the 15,000 for a standard room, going up to 20,000) Room goes for $859/nt in peak-ish season Some ideas on things to book (link) Hyatt allows booking 395 days out 6:00 Marriott changes go into effect March 5 (link) Play here is high end hotels now capped at 60,000 Marriott/nt that will go up as high as 100,000 Marriott allows booking 50 weeks out  7:00 Way to make Amex Bonvoy card (formerly SPG personal) earn 1 SPG point again (link) Card can now earn 2x Marriott rather than 3x it did previously With this promo you earn 1 additional point for spending in round increments of $25,000 up to 100,000 points Gotta love the psychology here 8:15 Chase Shutdown Story Shared episode about Chase Southwest Companion Pass promo with friend (link) Friend thought it over and saw good value in having the Companion Pass for a year because home airport is Southwest dominant and spouse could join on work trips in addition to leisure travel Applied for and was approved for Chase Southwest Personal card with an $8,000 limit Minimum spend requirement is $4,000. Charged $2,000 for an AirBnB. Charged $1,000 in cruise incidentals. Bought a $500 gift card at a grocery store. Fraud alert. Cleared. Waited a couple days. Again bought a $500 gift card at a grocery s

We’re back with a Jam Packed show this week. New Ebates/MR partnership, Negative changes from AA/Amex, and A new reader question.  0:40 Ebates Membership Rewards partnership (link) Can existing customers convert to MRs? No. Can you spin up a new account? It’s against T&Cs to have 2 accounts, but you can try. Can you refer for the MR-earning account? I don’t think so? I signed up spouse who has never had an Ebates account (H/T JJ) Ebates can now earn 1 MR instead of 1 cent? Does Ebates pay out of MCGCs from giftcards.com? What about the 3x Ebates card? Does it earn 3x at giftcards.com? Do you have to use an Amex card? T&Cs say so (link) 04:00 Amex Bonvoy Brilliant 100,000 Available for Referral (link) Referral with Business Gold 20k MR + 100k Marriott $450 annual fee– $300 Marriott credit 05:13 Wells Fargo Business Platinum 50,000 Offer (worth $750) (link) 08:58 AA GCs not triggering Amex air incidental credits (FlyerTalk link) Changing your airline selection mid-year Podcast episode where we covered some options here 09:50 Amex Ameriprise Platinum no longer first-year fee waived (60,000 bonus instead) (link) Bad News: If you’ve been churning this card Good News: if you’ve never had the card (Another 60k Platinum card) 12:05 Hyatt Hotel Category Changes (link) Seasonally miscategorized Hyatts Andaz Papagayo: 15,000 -> 20,000 Hyatt Coconut Point: 15,000 -> 20,000 Park Hyatt Milan: Unchanged at 30,000 Park Hyatt

On this week’s show we discuss: 0:35 Juicy Miles Award Search Tool (link) Performs award searches across bank point and frequent flyer programs Some glitches, but tons of potential Key concept: Many programs show better availability on their own metal than partners I can’t stop using the service If they add alerts, get the right filters set up, fix the glitches and avoid shutdown: Look out world $10 for a 5-day trial, $29.99/month (Frequent Miler review) 2:15 Citi Prestige Available for 50,000 TYP Signup (link) $495 annual fee $250 easy travel credit (per calendar year, Dec statement close) 5x on flights and dining 4th night free hotel (book through Concierge through Sept 2019) Keep in mind Citi’s crazy 24-month policy (open or closed, maybe product changed) for signup bonuses across ThankYou cards 3:45 American Express sending out 1099 for referral credits Valuing them at $0.1 per piece for membership rewards points Hilton points at 0.67 cents (who on earth is referring from a Hilton card?) Possible these will be adjusted  5:10 4x Fuel Rewards on GCs at Stop & Shop (link) Happy Lady Do fuel rewards math (around 1.5 cents per piece if you can use them) 2/1/2019-2/14/2019 5:40 Listener Question: Avoiding $75 Close-in Award Booking Fees Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? On this week’s Paid version of the podcast we explore: How to turn the Amex Business Platinum annual fee increase into a positive Maximizing the Plastiq 10,000 FFD promo Skirting credit card churning restrictions And more… Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:     Or on Google Play Music:

We’ve got a special “double episode” of the No Annual Fee version of the Milenomics² Podcast this week. In this episode we do a deep dive into our personal card strategies with Amex. For this exercise: Amex is limiting us to a total of 5 active *credit* cards (personal and business, charge cards don’t count) We already have/have had a lot of the best Amex cards (so we’re going deeper into the Amex portfolio than someone newer to the game otherwise would) We want to make use of Amex’s generous referral program Amex 5 Card Strategy Template Here’s a template we used if you want to play along for you own situation: Current Charge Cards • A • B • C Current Credit Cards • A • B • C • D • E Have had • A • B Credit Cards Considering • A • B Charge Cards Considering • A • B • C Cards I’m keeping an eye out for • A Final Answer • #3 A • #2 B • #1 C Spoiler alert Sam’s picks: #3 Blue Business Plus Credit Card #2 Business Platinum Charge Card #1 Plum Business Charge Card Robert’s picks: #3 Personal Green Charge Card #2 Morgan Stanley Platinum Charge Card #1 Simply Cash Plus Business Credit Card You can visit our referral page for links to these cards, but read this first before using someone else’s referral links. You’re probably better off with spousal referral, or trading referral links with a friend. Subscribe to the Paid version of the Milenomics² Podcast Like what you heard in the No Annual Fee version? On this week’s Paid version of the podcast we explore: The death of a Walmart Lucrative targeted bank bonuses Amex clawback fears And more… Subscribe to the paid version of the podcast: https://www.patreon.com/milenomics Subscribe to the No Annual Fee Edition Subscribe below to the Free, No Annual Fee Milenomics² podcast on Apple Podcasts:     Or on Google Play Music: