The Best Path to Priority Pass | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep248 | 3-29-24
Release Date: 03/29/2024
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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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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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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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 Plus we'll also look at "Amex referral reformatory rescinded" and how to earn points on RENT with any credit card.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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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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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 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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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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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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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...
info_outlineA number of high end credit cards give you Priority Pass membership. Full Priority Pass offers access to airport lounges, restaurants, and experiences (e.g. Be Relax Spa, Minute suites, Game Space etc), which can be pretty useful. But which of the current pathways to this membership is the best, (especially if you'd still like access to those restaurants)?
(01:52) - More feedback on the pronunciation of Qatar. (Mail Bag)
(03:45) - Hilton Honors Business Card, which will be increasing its annual fee from $95 to $195, along with some other changes. (Card Talk)
(14:03) - United Pooling appeared Friday, then disappeared hours later, then re-appeared (Crazy Thing)
(19:19) - You can't use pooled United miles for partner redemptions, only United & United Express (Crazy Thing)
(25:55) - National Car Rental double credit for registered users' weekend rentals between April 4 through June 8, 2024 (Mattress Running the Numbers)
Read more about this National Car Rental deal here.
(29:36) - Regional first class awards for 12.5K, 16.5K, 22K points thanks to Qatar Avios (Award Talk)
(32:00) - Read more about this regional sweet spot here.
(35:58) - Preferred Hotels bookable online
Check out the Preferred Hotels Coffee Break episode here.
(40:31) - Choice Privileges Experiences might be worth a look
Main Event: The Best Path to Priority Pass
(45:08) - Full Priority Pass offers access to airport lounges, restaurants, and experiences (e.g. Be Relax Spa, Minute suites, Game Space etc.)
(47:43) - Chase Sapphire Reserve & Ritz lose restaurants
(49:06) - Check out our Card Talk segment of last week's podcast episode 247 where we talked about the Ritz Card and its access to Priority Pass.
(51:38) - Wack-a-mole Alternatives to still get restaurant access with your Priority Pass
(52:48) - Venture X Biz (Read more about the Venture X Business card here.
(53:55) - US Bank Altitude Reserve (8 visits) (Read more about the US Bank Altitude Reserve card here.)
(55:43) - Business Altitude Connect (4 visits) (Read more about the Business Altitude Connect card here.)
(56:16) - Bank Of America Premium Rewards Elite (4 memberships) (Read more about the Bank of America Premium Rewards Elite card here.)
(1:00:15) - UBS Visa Infinite Business (Read more about the UBS Visa Infinite Business card here.)
(1:00:54) - UBS Visa Infinite (Read more about the UBS Visa Infinite card here.)
(1:01:25) - Citi Prestige (no longer available if you don't already have it)
(1:02:09) - Barclays Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard (Read more about the Barclays Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard here.)
(1:07:06) - Deciding between two hotels, one with cash (and therefore a Hilton points-earning opportunity) or paying Hyatt points. How do you make the choice? (Question of the Week)
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 social media.
Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder