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10 tricks for spending fewer points for flights & hotels (game show edition) | Ep217 | 8-26-23

Frequent Miler on the Air

Release Date: 08/26/2023

Credit Card Power-Ups | Coffee Break Ep54 | 4-29-25 show art Credit Card Power-Ups | Coffee Break Ep54 | 4-29-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

There are credit cards that help make your points actually more valuable, just by having the credit card on hand. You can find all of the cards discussed on this show on .  Coffee Break: Credit Card Power-Ups (00:40) - United: Discounted awards, ability to upgrade (01:38) - Delta: 15% discount (01:54) - JetBlue 10% rebate (02:20) - Aeroplan: 1.25 PYB, better award pricing (02:55) - Avianca Lifemiles Elite: Comes with Lifemiles+ Lite (10% discount on awards) (04:09) - Spirit points pooling (04:58) - IHG: 4th night free (& 10% back old card) (06:00) - Wyndham 10% discount (06:50) -...

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A World-Class Wells Fargo Wallet | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep303 | 4-25-25 show art A World-Class Wells Fargo Wallet | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep303 | 4-25-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

We tend to ignore Wells Fargo cards because there are so many other great credit cards out there, but they actually do have some compelling cards out there. In today's episode we'll discuss which ones you might want in your wallet. (01:47) - Re: Clarifying our "Beyond 100K Sapphire Preferred" episode, (19:33) - Bigger Capital One VentureX Business Card offer via private banker Listen to the podcast episode about the public (22:49) - Citi decreasing redemption rates on emirates starting 7/27 (26:24) - Read more about (29:10) - A top up fee for priority pass lounge access (32:10) - Read more...

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750,000 points from one card. Is it worth it? | Coffee Break Ep53 | 4-22-25 show art 750,000 points from one card. Is it worth it? | Coffee Break Ep53 | 4-22-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

The Capital One Venture X Business card is out with a massive welcome bonus of 750K points...but the devil is in the details. Is this card really worth it? (00:27) - Capital One Venture X Business card details Read our (03:47) - The welcome bonus is broken down into two pieces: 150K after $30K in 3 months, then 200K after $200K ($170K more) in 6 months (04:52) - What's the total earnings with 2x for spend? (05:25) - Is it worth it? Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on...

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Beyond 100K: Earn more points, save money, get great value | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep302 | 4-18-25 show art Beyond 100K: Earn more points, save money, get great value | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep302 | 4-18-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

If you just got 100K points from a brand new travel rewards card, you should know a few things to help make sure you're earning even more points, saving money, and getting great value. Plus we'll also look at "Amex referral reformatory rescinded" and how to earn points on RENT with any credit card. (01:30) - One reader shares a success story using the "email the GM" strategy... (03:37) - Capital One Venture X Business Card: Up to 350K Miles Read our (06:55) - Amex referrals back for many (referral reformatory rescinded) (09:48) - Two Hawaiian cards in one day (my quick experience) (17:23) -...

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What's the Best Starter Rewards Card? | Coffee Break Ep52 | 4-15-25 show art What's the Best Starter Rewards Card? | Coffee Break Ep52 | 4-15-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

On a , we talked about all the important considerations when you're just getting start in the points and miles game. But in this episode, we'll go one step further and talk about which credit cards you might want to consider as someone just getting started. (00:10) - Listen to our (01:12) - Some of the things you might ideally look for are: great welcome bonuses, transferable points, a good way to use points without transferring, and maybe a card that's good for everyday spend... (02:00) - For those who want to go even further with hobby, you may want the many options to expand point earnings...

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Domestic flights for less | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep301 | 4-11-25 show art Domestic flights for less | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep301 | 4-11-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

In this episode, we highlight the credit cards that are becoming "collectables", we had a heated debate about "Strawberry season", discuss changes from ANA and Alaska Airlines, and share tips for saving on your domestic flights. (01:29) - Delta Sky Club access with multiple American Express platinum cards in your name... (06:40) - Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K (Read (07:58) - United Business 125K ... (08:59) - Citi Rewards+ no longer available new OR for product changes (12:05) - US Bank Smartly changes for new cardholders as of 4/14. (18:50) - Strawberry Hotels Summer Pass 2025 (Read more...

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How to find rooms for 4 in Europe and when is Bilt worth it? | Ask Us Anything Ep74 | 4-2-25 show art How to find rooms for 4 in Europe and when is Bilt worth it? | Ask Us Anything Ep74 | 4-2-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

How can you find rooms for 4 in Scotland? Is Bilt worth it if your rent's only $1500? We answered these questions and more on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on YouTube on April 2nd, 2025. (03:29) -  ​​If you guys could only have cards from one issuer, which would you choose? (11:09) -  ​​What's your thought on how long the us bank 4% card could stay alive? (12:04) -  Do you guys have a comprehensive list of when each type of point expires? For example United Travel Bank expires 5 years after purchasing, Hyatt points i think expire 2 years if no activity etc. Read our...

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How to Save Miles by Flying More | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep300 | 4-4-25 show art How to Save Miles by Flying More | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep300 | 4-4-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

There are some creative ways to use airline miles to fly further with less miles. In other words, you can see more and spend less. We'll talk about these fun tricks in today's episode. (01:00) - The validity of Etihad Guest Miles will be extended by 18 months based on qualifying member flight activity. We thought this means you have to credit paid flights to Etihad to extend your miles...but is that true? (04:20) - How do you handle domestic positioning flights? See our (09:30) - Amex targeted referral +5 points on travel & transit (11:21) - Learn more about (11:27) -...

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Which cards will be couponized next? | Coffee Break Ep51 | 4-1-25 show art Which cards will be couponized next? | Coffee Break Ep51 | 4-1-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

There's been a trend where credit card issuers increase annual fees on rewards cards, and attempt to make up for it by adding credits and rebates for somewhat random things (which often require a lot of mental effort and organization to put to use.) Today, we'll speculate how far this trend is going to go... (01:03) - Recent history of couponization (05:51) - Expected refresh of Platinum card Check out the or read more about (06:43) - Next Airline Card(s) (12:14) - Next Hotel Card(s) (15:20) - Next Consumer Transferable Points Card(s) (17:35) - Next Business Transferable Points Card(s)...

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Complete Guide to United's Couponized Cards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep299 | 3-28-25 show art Complete Guide to United's Couponized Cards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep299 | 3-28-25

Frequent Miler on the Air

A few years ago American Express introduced this kind of model for their Platinum card where they increased their annual fee, but attempted to make up for it by offering a whole collection of credits and rebates that could be valuable if you did the work to make use of them and happened to have natural needs for them. In other words, these new benefits felt a lot like coupons, thus introducing the nickname for these kinds of card benefits. Now, United seems to be taking a page from American Express' book by "couponizing" their credit cards. (02:02) - Denbigh writes in about our...

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Get your pen and paper and get ready to play along and see if you can beat the blogger as Nick tries to score at least 75,000 points revealing 10 tricks for spending fewer points on your flight and hotel awards.

00:00 Intro

01:52 Giant Mailbag

04:05 Card Talk: Amex Platinum card changes

10:51 Mattress running the numbers: Stand Up to Cancer and earn 50x

https://frequentmiler.com/american-airlines-earn-up-to-50x-aadvantage-miles-with-cancer-research-donation/

14:15 Award Talk

14:20 IHG suite upgrades now apply on award stays

16:41 Finnair is joining Avios

https://frequentmiler.com/finnair-to-start-using-avios-in-early-2024/

19:49 Main Event: 10 tricks for spending fewer points for flights and hotels (gameshow edition)

21:19 How can a person get 1.5 cpp for travel booked directly with travel providers?

https://frequentmiler.com/us-bank-real-time-mobile-rewards-what-works-where/

23:52 How can you get 2 cents per point buying flights with Amex Membership Rewards points?

26:29 Describe two tricks that guarantee lower award prices by flying farther

https://frequentmiler.com/avianca-lifemiles-awesome-mixed-cabin-award-pricing-first-class-for-less/

https://frequentmiler.com/cathay-pacific-asia-miles-mixed-cabin-award-pricing-first-class-for-less/

28:59 Name three ways to incur lower surcharges when flying BA

https://frequentmiler.com/british-airways-adds-option-to-use-more-avios-less-money/

https://frequentmiler.com/business-class-to-london-for-less-with-this-asia-miles-hack/

33:59 How is it possible to fly within Europe for as few as 4,000 points one-way? 

https://frequentmiler.com/air-france-klm-across-europe-for-less-sweet-spot-spotlight/

36:32 How can fly business class across the Atlantic Ocean for 55k United miles?

40:38 Name three ways to pay for a regular room award stay but confirm a suite instead

https://frequentmiler.com/incredible-hyatt-suites-bookable-with-points/

43:31 What type of lodging would cost me 67,500 points per night?

https://frequentmiler.com/wyndham-vacasa/

45:43 How could one pay avg of only 67.5 pct of the original award cost for a hotel? (32.5% off)

50:11 How could one pay 55% fewer points for a hotel award?

54:49 Bonus: What are Delta miles worth in SkyClub for premium drinks?

56:42 Question of the Week: What if any are the best ways to book Airbnbs or 2 hotel rooms with points at a reasonable rate?

Music credit: Annie Yoder