Frequent Miler on the Air
Earn miles without flying. Frequent Miler is all about getting the most out of the loyalty game. You can easily earn hundreds of thousands of points and miles without traveling, then learn how to use those points towards luxury travel. In this podcast, Frequent Miler founder Greg, and senior author Nick debate current topics in the points & miles world.
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Credit Card Power-Ups | Coffee Break Ep54 | 4-29-25
04/29/2025
Credit Card Power-Ups | Coffee Break Ep54 | 4-29-25
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) - Hilton 5th Night Free (07:33) - Amex Membership Rewards: Business Platinum card 35% rebate (08:49) - Chase: make the points on your cash back card transferrable, 1.25/1.5 (10:32) - Capital One: make cash back points transferrable (11:49) - Citi: make cash back points transferrable, 10% rebate (14:54) - Wells: make cash Transferrable Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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A World-Class Wells Fargo Wallet | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep303 | 4-25-25
04/25/2025
A World-Class Wells Fargo Wallet | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep303 | 4-25-25
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 about (35:26) - More Japan Airlines (JAL) news Learn about how to Book JAL with (39:29) - More Bilt news (44:55) - Learn how to use (46:24) - United MileagePlus Showing More Awards After Changing Settings (49:51) - Wyndham Points + Cash reservations now bookable with as few as 750 points (51:12) - Learn Main Event: A World-Class Wells Fargo Wallet (57:04) - Transferable points (59:27) - Notable Wells Fargo credit cards which have transfer abilities (1:01:07) - Notable Wells Fargo cash back cards, which can be moved to a transferrable point card (1:04:33) - Here's how you can build a world-class Wells Fargo wallet (1:07:44) - Downsides (and fun hypotheticals) (1:13:32) - See our (1:16:22) - How many of your millions of miles come from sign up bonuses vs credit card spending, and where does most of your credit card spend come from? and watch our Visit 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
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750,000 points from one card. Is it worth it? | Coffee Break Ep53 | 4-22-25
04/22/2025
750,000 points from one card. Is it worth it? | Coffee Break Ep53 | 4-22-25
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 social media. Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Beyond 100K: Earn more points, save money, get great value | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep302 | 4-18-25
04/18/2025
Beyond 100K: Earn more points, save money, get great value | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep302 | 4-18-25
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) - Synchrony reintroduces Cathay Pacific card (21:06) - Bilt now offers rewards when you pay your rent with non-Bilt credit cards (26:48) - Virgin jacked up fees on KLM/ Air France then backed off (31:03) - Frontier Elite Gold status for $40 (35:22) - 30% transfer bonus from Citi to Virgin Atlantic thru May 17 Main Event (36:39) - (38:45) - Earn more points (59:09) - Save money (1:09:49) - Redeem points for great value (1:17:33) - DON'T TRANSFER TO... (1:20:50) - World of Hyatt credit card gives an additional Hyatt category 1-4 free night certificate with 15K spend in a calendar year. But with recent Hyatt category changes, is it still worth spending towards that goal? Visit 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
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What's the Best Starter Rewards Card? | Coffee Break Ep52 | 4-15-25
04/15/2025
What's the Best Starter Rewards Card? | Coffee Break Ep52 | 4-15-25
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 (02:39) - Read about . (07:01) - Read our review of the (10:25) - Read our review of the (13:27) - Read more about the Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Domestic flights for less | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep301 | 4-11-25
04/11/2025
Domestic flights for less | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep301 | 4-11-25
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 about ) (25:14) - IHG increases top award rates at Intercontinental hotels to 200K+ per night (27:02) - Amex Biz Plat nerfs Dell credits (31:57) - ANA Round the World award tickets are dead as of June 24th (34:46) - More ANA news starting June 24 Read (38:32) - Updates from Alaska Airlines (40:29) - Tools/services to find cheapest cash rates (e.g. google flights) (42:30) - Tools/services to find cheapest award prices (e.g. points path) Read our (44:58) - Saving miles with partner awards (49:21) - Credit card travel discounts/rebates (52:59) - Find our (54:46) - Companion tickets (1:03:26) - Pay w/ points through a bank travel portal (1:05:30) - Cardholder award discounts (Delta, United, JetBlue, etc.) (1:06:32) - Discounted Airline gift cards (1:07:59) - Membership discounts (1:09:36) - Change the way you book it (1:17:46) - (1:18:42) - Choosing between the Amex Hilton Aspire card or the Amex Bonvoy Brilliant card: Do you think Bonvoy will listen to the negative feedback and will get better? And will Hilton get worse because they've been too generous? Visit 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
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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
04/08/2025
How to find rooms for 4 in Europe and when is Bilt worth it? | Ask Us Anything Ep74 | 4-2-25
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 post on "How to keep points and miles alive" here: (12:34) - Do you think Aeroplan is going to lose value bc of too mamy tiers of pricing for different partners? A big chunk of the value is mixing partners, that's hard if there's so much variance. (17:02) - Going to Europe for the first time from lax in 1 year. How do I get started figuring out how to use my many Amex mile Read our "Best ways to get to Europe with miles or money" post here: You can find our "Which award search tool is best" post here: (21:05) - Opinions everyone - Will Hyatt ever revamp their personal credit card? (21:56) - In the US, you can have multiple people in a hotel room yet in Europe it seems impossible to put 4 people in a hotel room. Is there a way to do that in Scotland? Read Nick's post about (29:33) - When looking for points/miles redemptions, at what point in time before the flight do you consider paying with cash? (31:33) - You guys stress opening up new cards for Sign up bonuses and using Categories multipliers. How many New Cards do you open for SUB each year and how often apart do you open them? (35:30) - How many credit cards do you typically open in a calendar year and what’s the split with the amount of new business versus personal cards? Read the (40:56) - JW Masai Mara will charge you $4,950 PER NIGHT if you booked on points and you cancel less than 90 days out. CSR won’t cover it because nothing has been charged on the card in advance. Thoughts? (46:37) - Hi, is it possible I can get a FREE Carnival cruise if I submit just a MGM gold status + Wynn Platinum? Trying to avoid making a trip to Atlantic City for more statuse (49:08) - If my rent is $1500 a month is Bilt card worth a 5/24 spot? Visit 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 – “swappin’ back n’ forth” by
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How to Save Miles by Flying More | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep300 | 4-4-25
04/04/2025
How to Save Miles by Flying More | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep300 | 4-4-25
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) - Amex Membership Rewards: You don’t need a credit card to transfer to some partners (15:10) - Chase: 80% transfer bonus to IHG through 4/30 (18:26) - Transfer bonuses (21:14) - Updates to popular award tools (22:56) - National Car Rental’s One Two Free Promo Returns (27:43) - Virgin Atlantic jacks up Delta One surcharges departing Europe to more than $1,000 one-way Read more about (31:05) - Cautions about skiplagging / hidden city ticketing, etc... (37:34) - Married Segment Logic (42:23) - Start to End Distance Based/ Zone Based Award Pricing (47:25) - Mixed cabin award pricing (51:53) - Multi-partner awards (52:57) - Read Nick's post about (58:59) - Creative routing (1:04:40) - Should people wait to get the other Hawaiian Airlines credit card (if they have one of the personal Hawaaiin credit cards already)? (There are two different consumer Hawaiian Airlines cards - one with Bank of Hawaii and one by Barclays (though confusingly both are issued by Barclays)).
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Which cards will be couponized next? | Coffee Break Ep51 | 4-1-25
04/01/2025
Which cards will be couponized next? | Coffee Break Ep51 | 4-1-25
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) Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Complete Guide to United's Couponized Cards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep299 | 3-28-25
03/28/2025
Complete Guide to United's Couponized Cards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep299 | 3-28-25
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 "getting started with points and miles" episode saying "Thank You for an episode worth the time, even for an experienced practitioner." Find our (4:02) - As previously reported, Southwest is planning reduced earnings on paid flights, expiring flight credits, charging for checked bags, and changing the value of points (04:50) - Point value changes already taking place Read more about the (07:23) - Other Info revealed in Southwest's recent video Read more about (12:05) - No-go for Capital One / Discover acquisition. DOJ doesn't like it Read more about (12:56) - Citi (seemingly) no longer allowing product changes between card families (15:53) - Greg apparently never got credit for one of his 15 flights... (19:38) - Air France / KLM saver availability from the US stinks (24:23) - Bilt April Rent Day: Up to 100% bonus to Avios (27:59) - Wyndham point sale not as fixed as we thought (thru April 15) Find our (29:00) - Six United cards have increased annual fees, decreased benefits (slightly) and added "coupons" (30:32) - Summary of changes (45:45) - New Card Line-Up Overview (46:28) - "Coupon" Deep Dive (1:01:04) - If you still want a United card, which is best? Read more about (1:05:42) - Which club card is best? (1:08:27) - How do you manage the fear of account shut-down? Visit 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
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Wyndham's Excellent Point Sale | Coffee Break Ep50 | 3-25-25
03/25/2025
Wyndham's Excellent Point Sale | Coffee Break Ep50 | 3-25-25
Wyndham is having an excellent point sale that lasts until April 15th (2025). Read or listen to this episode for details. (01:15) - Wyndham point sale: Through April 15th, if you buy 3,000 or more points, you get up to an 80% bonus. (01:47) - Simultaneously, all 3 Wyndham Earner cards have increased welcome bonuses Learn more about the increased bonuses for (02:55) - Vacasa Vacation Rental Learn about (05:55) - Wyndham Grand Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Getting started with points & miles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep298 | 3-21-25
03/21/2025
Getting started with points & miles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep298 | 3-21-25
Winning the game doesn't have to be hard. Points & miles is like complicated board game -- seems overwhelming at first. But the rewards for winning are incredible. In today's main event we'll show you how to get started. (02:09) - Tyler writes in about success with Chase travel insurance Read more about (03:58) - Bilt rent payment method is changing - (07:27) - Chase biz cards: Pre-approved offers showing when logged in - (09:43) - Wyndham launches debit card, (12:24) - Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard increased to 40k points, (14:17) - Citi Rewards+ card may be discontinued soon (16:47) - Read more about the (17:53) - A listener writes in to say, "I feel like I Bonvoyed Marriott last month" by using a 35K cert for a Marriott in Guyana worth $675/night! (21:09) - Expires April 15, 2025.Hyatt Homes & Hideaways 3x promo (23:04) - Delta eliminates surcharges from Europe (25:07) - Frontier offering (26:45) - Get GigSky (28:50) - Redeem 2,000 Wyndham Rewards points for 2 Minor League Baseball tickets (Book by 3/26/25) - (30:35) - Use Hilton for Business for (32:12) - Savewise: (41:05) - Earn credit card rewards (big picture) (42:47) - Check out (43:43) - Visit our (44:08) - Check out Greg's picks for (45:45) - Don't do this unless you pay in full monthly (48:35) - What about credit score? (51:33) - Three types of cards, welcome bonus only, "sock drawer" cards, wallet cards (55:44) - Consider Travel Freely (which you can (1:01:09) - Learn ways to increase your spend (without really increasing your spend) Listen to this (1:03:40) - More rewards with Shopping Portals and bank offers (e.g. Amex Offers, Chase Offers)\ (1:06:03) - Spend your points for travel! (1:09:58) - Use tools to find valuable ways to use your points - (1:14:53) - Check out our (1:15:27) - Keep track of your points (1:18:38) - Multi-Player Listen to podcast (1:20:55) - Greg did a long weekend trip to London using points (flying Delta One) which sounded like a lot of effort (and points) for such a short trip. Is there an ideal? Visit 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
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Loyalty Point Changing Fortunes | Coffee Break Ep49 | 3-18-25
03/18/2025
Loyalty Point Changing Fortunes | Coffee Break Ep49 | 3-18-25
(00:10) - In this episode we talk about the airline rewards programs and hotel rewards programs that seem to be changing in value. Some of them are going up in value and some are going down. (00:42) - Alaska Mileage Plan miles are going up in value (02:08) - Southwest points are going down Listen to our episode about these (02:45) - Avianca Lifemiles are going down (04:43) - Hilton points are going up (06:12) - Hyatt points are going down (10:36) - Which transferable points are going up or down? Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Best uses for Bilt points | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep297 | 3-14-25
03/14/2025
Best uses for Bilt points | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep297 | 3-14-25
Bilt Rewards is a program that became famous for giving you rewards for your rent payments, but these days there are many ways to earn Bilt rewards. In this episode, we'll pay special attention to how you might want to use your Bilt points. (01:15) - John writes in with a correction for Nick's statement that there's a "zero percent chance" the tax payment won't count toward the bonus. (06:57) - Andrew writes in about applying for an Amex card by opening up a Private Browser and searching for the card there can bring up a higher offer. (08:49) - Bilt 5x offers (targeted after asking for credit increase) Learn Learn more about the (10:38) - Amex coupon credits and bonuses posting slowly (relax / don’t panic) Learn more about (13:30) - Marriott cracking down on "additional guest" reservations, which you can (20:47) - Southwest for the "win". Read about (23:28) - Check out our (23:38) - Nick finally gets his million (25:14) - Reader winner updates (28:38) - Excellent Virgin Atlantic business class availability as low as 29K points + $254 (31:26) - Aviator companion tickets for the win! Read (35:56) - Up to 40% transfer bonus from Capital One Miles to Etihad Guest (41:25) - How not to use your Bilt points (43:46) - 1.25 cpp: book travel through their portal (44:41) - 1.5 cpp: Use points for house down payment (46:23) - Transfer to partners (1:16:55) - Here are the partners you shouldn't transfer to... (1:18:20) - Wait for great Rent Day transfer bonuses (1:20:26) - One reader asks about the Capital One pre-approval tool and whether or not it would cause a hard pull. Visit 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
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Best hotel programs, Alaska quirks, the EVA experience and more | Ask Us Anything Ep73 | 3-5-25
03/12/2025
Best hotel programs, Alaska quirks, the EVA experience and more | Ask Us Anything Ep73 | 3-5-25
What do we think are the best hotel programs for outsized value? Have we noticed some of the same Alaska Airlines quirks that our listeners have? What have our experiences with the EVA Air program been (if any)? We answered these questions and more on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on YouTube on March 5th, 2025. 00:40 - What's the most meaningful miles and points trip you've had? 03:16 - Inspired by Nick’s “falling in love with Alaska” post… Let’s play a miles themed version of the old FMK game (the acronym will make sense in a moment, Carrie!) We’ll call it lust, marry, kill rather than the original name. Between Alaska, Aeroplan, and Avios, which is your torrid love affair, which would you settle down with, which ends up left behind? 05:47 - What’s the teams thoughts on how long this Amex to Hawaii to Alaska gravy train will last? 10:56 - Were any of the frequent milers effected by the recent Amex shutdowns? 12:55 - Any tips to reduce/avoid parking fees at airports? I live far enough away that Uber or shuttles are just as much(or more), so is there anything I'm not thinking of? 17:15 - Which airlines offer lie flat seats from the eastern half of the USA to Hawaii with at least some availability via points at a reasonable cost? 19:21 - I don't have any business spend so I'm hesitant to apply for business cards and use it for personal expenses. Is it legal/allowed to put personal spend on business cards? 21:28 Is the 15% Delta Amex discount a real discount or Delta increased the redemption rate before the discount is applied. Their miles seem to be $.012/mile after the 15%. Is their miles really that bad? 24:01 - hey everyone! have any of you ever booked an award flight with EVA? so many quirks to that program but 75-80k to Asia is a good deal. Would love to hear any if your experiences if you have. Thanks! 28:29 - what's up with Alaska's phantom award availability? I've noticed this especially with AA, award space will show in Alaska, sometimes other partners, then Alaska won't ticket. And on Alaska - have you noticed Alaska semi-dynamically pricing AA routes? IE award chart says route should be 7.5k but all routes instead price at 10k or 12.5k? 33:50 - if I took a retention offer to keep amex gold. Will amex take back points if I take an upgrade to platinum offer? 34:31 - I received an offer for the Caesars no annual fee card. with 5000 spend in three months giving me diamond status. Am I crazy for wanting to get it for the free parking, no resorts fee, and food credit 37:45 - When checking if a layover will offer enough time, how can I know in advance if I may be forced to pickup + recheck my bags? Either with a single or multiple carriers? 38:56 - I'm trying to potentially book a Maldives trip with Hilton FNC but I'd like to connect there in style on Qatar and/or Emirates. Considering free night certificates only last a year and flights often are best booked a year out, how would you navigate a trip where flights and hotels might both be high demand options or timelines 44:25 - Which hotel rewards program would you say lately offers the highest probability for outside value? To me, it’s not close I believe Hilton shines in this respect. 51:45 - Have you ever gotten weird looks from the clerk while buying gift cards? 55:03 - I found lots of availability at a SLH thru Hilton. Four nights bookable, but when I went to 5 nights, availability vanished. Is the hotel playing games to avoid 5th night free? Any workaround ideas
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Southwest takes the luv out of flying | Coffee Break Ep48 | 3-11-25
03/11/2025
Southwest takes the luv out of flying | Coffee Break Ep48 | 3-11-25
Starting May 28 of this year, Southwest will be making some major changes to the things we've known and loved. For example Most people will be losing free checked bags on Southwest starting May 28 of this year, they'll be introducing basic economy, flight credits will now expire (after 6-12 months depending on what type of fare you bought) and the value of points will become much more variable. (01:49) - Commenter Brad says: "I’m an accountant who completely understands the math of cutting expenses or raising revenues to increase profit... I don’t understand, though, what the business strategy is here. Building a strategy that revolves around hoping customers won’t notice you’re charging them more for a worse product doesn’t seem like the kind of pitch that would get you an A in an MBA strategy class." Read the (03:38) - 2 Bags No longer Fly Free for Most (pricing not yet disclosed) (05:58) - Basic economy fares (06:33) - Flight credits will expire (From May 28, 2025) (08:29) - Variable redemption rates Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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The 5 Best Award Search Tools | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep296 | 3-7-25
03/07/2025
The 5 Best Award Search Tools | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep296 | 3-7-25
In today's episode we'll talk about how American Airlines out-crazies Citi, Southwest out-bonvoys Marriott, and we'll talk about what we think are the 5 best award search tools that make it much easier to find those coveted awards. (01:25) - One reader shares their concerns about tax payments made by an American Express card not counting towards sign up bonus spending. (05:28) - Read more about and check out our (05:45) - Capital One Venture X Business cards have a Rideshare Protection benefit (which you can ) (08:00) - Hilton cards offer free night thru 4/29 (which you can ) (10:29) - Wyndham Earner cards big bonuses Read more about these (13:39) - Citi: accidentally credited a client’s account with $81 trillion when it meant to send only $280 (Read ) (15:22) - American Airlines made a huge blunder which you can (19:25) - Marriott StudioRes (26:00) - Southwest for the win Read more about Southwest (29:52) - Alaska starting to roll out mixed partner awards (32:23) - Aeroplan Family Points Sharing Returns (35:20) - Hilton adds more and more SLH properties (38:06) - Find (41:14) - Read our post about (42:47) - Live Searches vs. Cached Discovery (47:23) - Alerts are KEY (50:25) - Flexible Live Search is very important (51:59) - Which is Best? (54:57) - Runner up (59:07) - Best for Beginners (1:02:28) - Best for advanced people (1:05:10) - Best add on (to use in addition to these other tools) (1:08:15) - Worth mentioning (1:12:17) - Discounts available in our post (1:12:28) - What should you do with your Capital One miles? Visit 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
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Predicting the Refreshed Platinum Card | Coffee Break Ep47 | 3-4-25
03/04/2025
Predicting the Refreshed Platinum Card | Coffee Break Ep47 | 3-4-25
Word on the street is the Amex Platinum card is going to be "refreshed" which may mean new benefits, new cost, new rebates, and more. In this episode, we'll make some predictions about what we might see. (01:06) - Predicting the Refreshed Platinum Card annual fee (02:55) - Earning rate change? (04:04) - Coupon changes? (06:49) - Will the airline incidental fees credit change? (11:57) - Perk changes? Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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How we use our Hilton credit card perks | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep295 | 2-28-25
02/28/2025
How we use our Hilton credit card perks | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep295 | 2-28-25
Hilton credit cards come loaded with perks that CAN BE worth more than the card's annual fee IF you use them well. On today's show, we discuss how we use these credits. (01:06) - Hilton points for the win that all starts with the Venture X credit card promo to enter into the special access raffle to buy Taylor Swift tickets. (06:24) - This person was trying to use up a $200 Hilton resort credit for themself and their player 2 account, booking on December 31st for a date beyond the expiration. (09:39) - Hilton has a bad habit of taking a substantial deposit (in this case, several hundred dollars) at many of its resorts at the time of booking. But is booking with points and cash (sliding the cash slider as far as possible) a way around this?. (15:15) - Learn more about (17:15) - Diamond status (18:42) - Annual Free Night Reward every year (20:19) - $400 Hilton Resort Credit per calendar year ($200 semi-annually) (22:11) - $200 Flight Credit ($50 per quarter for purchases directly with airlines or via Amex Travel) (24:05) - $199 CLEAR (R) Plus fee credit per calendar year (24:35) - $100 on-property credit with Aspire Card package (25:24) - Learn about (26:12) - Free night award after $15K spend in calendar year (27:55) - Free Gold status. Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend (28:40) - $200 in Hilton credits ($50 per quarter) (30:28) - Learn about (32:16) - Free Gold status. Diamond elite status with $40K calendar year spend (32:31) - $240 in annual credits for Hilton purchases (Up to $60 per quarter) (33:27) - Complimentary National Car Rental(R) Emerald Club Executive(R) status (34:07) - You gave advice that if using "2-player mode", both applicants should open their Hilton Aspire cards on the same day. If you didn't do that and your annual free nights don't post together, is there a way to fix this? Visit 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
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How Greg uses his Delta Platinum credit card perks | Coffee Break Ep46 | 2-25-25
02/25/2025
How Greg uses his Delta Platinum credit card perks | Coffee Break Ep46 | 2-25-25
With a $350 annual fee, the Delta Platinum credit card is not cheap. But like most of these more expensive cards, it comes with perks and credits that help off-set that cost. Since Greg has this card, we'll find out how he makes use of these various perks and credits. Learn more about and (00:15) - $350 (00:55) - 15% off when using miles to book an award flight (Delta metal only) (02:22) - Annual $2,500 MQD Headstart (04:49) - Companion ticket each year upon card renewal Learn more about (07:36) - Delta Stays rebate (09:14) - $10/Month Rideshare (14:12) - $10/Month US Resy restaurants (16:58) - Priority boarding, first checked bag free on Delta flights, and complimentary upgrade list: get added to the complimentary upgrade list after Delta elite members and Reserve cardmembers (17:53) - Cell phone protection Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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How we use our Amex Platinum coupon book credits | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep294 | 2-21-25
02/21/2025
How we use our Amex Platinum coupon book credits | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep294 | 2-21-25
On this week's episode, we talk about our Capital One mistake, how Uber has tried to "Bonvoy" us, and the many ways we use our Platinum credit card credits. (01:27) - OOPS: Capital One doesn't transfer to JetBlue like we implied (02:33) - BUT...then this week Capital One announced they ARE adding JetBlue as a transfer partner, (but at horrible rates) (05:24) - Hotel transfer bonuses, yay or nay? (10:29) - Uber adding 1.5% charge to rides abroad – here’s how to avoid overpaying Read more about (14:37) - How we use our Amex Platinum "coupon book" credits... (15:34) - (16:07) - Both consumer & business cards (30:50) - Amex Platinum (consumer card) Learn more about the (48:37) - Amex Business Platinum Card Learn more about the and read (58:03) - Read about (58:51) - One reader asks for advice about a Qatar Airways issue they experienced on a cash flight (for Q-Suites) where the entertainment system went out and the reimbursement offered for this problem was unsatisfactory. Visit 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
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How we use our Amex Gold Card coupon credits | Coffee Break Ep45 | 2-14-25
02/14/2025
How we use our Amex Gold Card coupon credits | Coffee Break Ep45 | 2-14-25
The American Express Gold Card has a $325 annual fee, but it offers up to $424 of value in credits. Here we'll talk about how we make sure to put those credits to use. Read more about (01:07) - $325 annual fee Find out (01:19) - Category bonuses (01:42) - How do Greg and Nick use those category bonuses? (03:12) - Up to $424 in credits (or as we like to call them, "coupons"). (03:28) - Resy: $50 semi annually (08:59) - Uber: $10/month (12:12) - Dining partners: $10/month (Goldbelly, Wine.com, Five Guys, Seamless/Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory) (14:08) - Dunkin: $7/month Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Would you pay more for fully refundable rewards? What do you do with pets when you travel? These questions and more | Ask Us Anything, Live Ep72 | 2-5-25
02/11/2025
Would you pay more for fully refundable rewards? What do you do with pets when you travel? These questions and more | Ask Us Anything, Live Ep72 | 2-5-25
Would you pay more for fully refundable rewards? What do you do with pets when you travel? These questions and more came up in our Ask Us Anything, Live Ep72, originally broadcast live on 2-5-25. (04:31) - Who were our most-helpful followers for the Million Mile Madness challenge? These followers will be eligible for prizes for their help! (13:31) - How would you structure your credit card strategy with a P2? See (17:45) - Frequent Miler is by far my favorite travel blog. What blogs do you follow and why? (19:47) - Any tricks to apply for 2 cards in 1 day? I feel like I read a post on how to do this but I can’t find it now. Find (24:02) - are you guys surprised at how many people completed the challenge? (25:00) - I know Greg went big with Alaska transfer, I'm curious how big the rest of the team has gone? And do any of you think the merger and Amex transfer will cause a devaluation soon? (28:32) - Any word yet on Chase’s 1 million point giveaway winners (that ended last week)? (29:13) - any thoughts on aeroplan 25 status match from Marriott Titanium? could be interesting for booking economy award tickets for upgrades on long haul flights? (30:47) - Marriott & Hilton appear out of favor with you these days. Hyatt remains your favorite but If you don't or can't stay at Hyatt, what is now your hotel chain of choice between IHG, Choice, Wyndham or? (33:34) - new SW companion pass promo (personal card, 4K spend in 3 months): is this just through end of 2025? Seems like a great opportunity to try.I can make that spend in a week! (34:32) - have any of you ever had to transfer airports in Taipei. i have a 4-hr layover during which i have to travel between airports with a carry-on. is that even possible? (36:24) - What are the best opportunities for long haul business class availability for 4 "when schedule opens?" With 4 travelers and bound by school schedules I want to book ahead but it's getting very hard. (38:37) - Thoughts on the recent update to Citi’s T&Cs on welcome bonuses for their strata premier when product changing. Seems like it’s a blow against churning (40:26) - How much more are you willing to pay for award ticket that is fully refundable? I find myself going for AA or United flights even though UA may be cheaper on LifeMiles for example (45:23) - really curious... do any of you have pets? what do you do with them when traveling? (51:48) - How often do you folks buy points? I recently started buying IHG, Hilton, Avianca, and Avios points when they are on sale, and find it a great alternative for folks with low spend. (53:36) - any awesome hotel redemptions coming up for you guys? Subscribe and Follow Visit 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 - "swappin' back n' forth" by
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Capital One: Get more for your Double Miles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep293 | 2-7-25
02/07/2025
Capital One: Get more for your Double Miles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep293 | 2-7-25
On today's episode the fellas chat about how to get the Southwest Companion Pass with just one card, whether or not your Marriott points just became more valuable, and how to get great value out of Capital One miles. (01:17) - One of our younger readers talks about a huge award booking success, all achieved without pro award booking tools. (05:40) - Quick overview of the Million Mile Madness challenge Watch our Rewatch the entire (10:27) - Get Southwest Companion Pass through 2/28/26 Learn (13:25) - Frontier Platinum status fast track: Earn 20k Elite Status Points by 4/30/25 Learn (18:46) - Transfer bonuses (21:13) - Earn 20x Avios on hotel bookings & 15x on car hire (book by 2/24/25) Learn (23:58) - Use JetBlue points to book TAP (25:04) - Refreshing posts about award booking tools (30:50) - Are Marriott points more valuable? Learn more about (33:54) - My experience applying for the UK’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA) Learn (36:15) - Capital One Miles usually worth exactly 1 cent each (37:21) - Get more than 1 cent per mile via transfer partners (38:49) - Real-life examples... (49:04) - Cardholder exclusives (51:00) - Capital One cash back can be converted to miles (53:08) - Which flight reward search tool is best if I need specific dates and locations? Visit 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
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How Hilton can win our loyalty | Coffee Break Ep44 | 2-4-25
02/04/2025
How Hilton can win our loyalty | Coffee Break Ep44 | 2-4-25
We love how Hilton incorporates partners like SLH and Autocamp for example. But there are things we don't love about Hilton too. Today we'll talk about the ways they could win our loyalty. (00:00) - We love how Hilton incorporates partners: SLH and Autocamp for example (00:25) - But here's what we don't love... (04:18) - Greg's suggestions for Hilton (05:04) - Hilton's meaningful milestone benefits start way too late (at 40 nights) (06:36) - Milestone benefits of early check-in certificates would really wow us Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Points & Miles 2 Player Mode | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep292 | 1-31-25
01/31/2025
Points & Miles 2 Player Mode | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep292 | 1-31-25
On this episode, we'll talk about a crazy new premium credit card, we'll debate double elite night hotel promotions to see if they're mattress run worthy, talk about a nice new way to use JetBlue points, and discuss how to double your rewards with a partner. (01:15) - One reader writes in about booking their family with roundtrip business class flights to Australia for Christmas and New Years!!! (05:00) - New JetBlue Premier Card... Learn more about (12:13) - IHG Premier offer up to 170K after $4K spend in 3 months Learn more about (13:33) - IHG overlapping promos Learn more about (14:58) - Learn more about (19:10) - Marriott's overlapping promos: Learn more about (25:58) - Marriott increases top-end point prices Read our (30:30) - CardPointers Learn more about CardPointers here (32:48) - Book TAP Air with JetBlue points (39:13) - More rewards Check out our (43:38) - More spend (44:56) - Companion Flights Find our Find our Complete Guide to Find our (46:10) - Find our (47:33) - Free weekends (50:50) - One reader has One Amex Platinum Card and one Amex Business Platinum Card. If they cancel or downgrade one of the cards, how does that impact their Delta lounge access for the calendar year? Visit 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
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World of Hyatt is broken. Here's how to fix it. | Coffee Break Ep43 | 1-28-25
01/28/2025
World of Hyatt is broken. Here's how to fix it. | Coffee Break Ep43 | 1-28-25
World of Hyatt has been a favorite amongst points and miles enthusiasts for years. You can use your points for excellent properties at typically excellent values and the elite benefits are actually valuable. But...they're far from perfect, especially more recently. Not to worry - we have some suggestions for what they can do to get back on track. (00:10) - Has been a great program for years (02:20) - Long term problem: limited number of hotels (04:29) - But they've killed a lot of the progress they'd made towards the footprint problem and moved instead towards dynamic award pricing (07:54) - Our suggestion: Fix Mr & Mrs Smith awards (10:54) - Or, more realistically: Fix free night certificates Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Rocking Shopping Portals for Huge Rewards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep291 | 1-24-25
01/24/2025
Rocking Shopping Portals for Huge Rewards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep291 | 1-24-25
In today's episode we'll discuss what's up with Hilton gift cards, we'll intensely debate Virgin Atlantic award charts, cover 2 different points millionaire promos, then finally, we'll tell you how to earns tons of rewards through shopping portals. (01:29) - One reader reports on their success with the Southwest Companion Pass with just one of the Southwest business cards when it had the elevated 120k offer. Read more about (04:29) - Chase Bonvoy Bold: now features Chase’s Pay Yourself Back benefit. (08:36) - Citi changed transfer rates to Flying Blue to 1.25 (temporarily) (11:38) - Qantas devaluation Aug 5th Check out our (18:30) - SAS Eurobonus Millionaire update (22:49) - Chase Travel giving away 1 million Ultimate Rewards points to 10 winners (24:12) - Virgin Atlantic still has award charts (32:43) - Westgate Resorts now bookable w/ Choice Privileges (35:15) - Portal Overview (43:00) - Our favorite shopping portals (starting with Rakuten) (55:54) - Portal Myths Learn more about (1:12:08) - Stacking Opportunities For more stacking ideas, check out (1:13:43) - Learn more about (1:15:26) - Gift Cards (1:16:32) - Learn more about (1:18:05) - Super Stack Example (1:24:26) - What's the deal with Hilton Gift Cards? Visit 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
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What's in Our Wallets? (Jan 2025) | Coffee Break Ep42 | 1-21-25
01/21/2025
What's in Our Wallets? (Jan 2025) | Coffee Break Ep42 | 1-21-25
Greg and Nick have a LOT of cards between the two of them and they can't possibly carry all of them in their real-life physical wallets. What happens instead is that they tend to rotate the cards in their wallets based on what the current bonuses are, whether or not there are cards they're trying to reach a spend requirement on...and...whether or not they can find the physical card. In this episode, they'll cover the major real-life spend categories and which cards they're carrying for those purposes. (01:19) - Which cards do Greg and Nick carry for Grocery spend? Learn more about (02:06) - Learn more about the (03:31) - Which cards do we carry around for Gas? Learn more about the (04:09) - Learn more about (05:24) - Which cards do we carry around for dining? (08:28) - Which cards do we carry around for Travel? Learn more about the (12:27) - Which cards do we carry around for Pharmacy? Learn more about (14:30) - Which cards do we carry for spend everywhere else? Learn more about . (16:50) - Learn more about Visit 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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
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Your ticket to the Delta Sky Club | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep290 | 1-17-25
01/17/2025
Your ticket to the Delta Sky Club | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep290 | 1-17-25
In this episode, Greg and Nick will look at 4 ways to access Delta Sky Clubs, they'll reveal a hot reader tip for a free stay in Atlantis in the Bahamas, and they'll discuss the Air France / KLM Flying Blue devaluation. Check out the full episode below. (01:28) - It seems like a lot of people are running into issues lately with using the $200 platinum credit for Fine Hotels and Resorts. (07:03) - United TravelBank glitch (now resolved) [Reported on Reddit] (09:50) - Air France KLM Flying Blue award prices increase by 15-25% to/from Europe Read more about (18:02) - It's not too late to book Atlantis even if your Caesars Diamond status is about to go away. (20:28) - Sky Clubs vs other airport clubs Read more about how to get into (23:01) - Overall Requirements (24:12) - #1 Premium Credit Cards (24:27) - Amex Platinum (not to be confused with Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum) Learn more about (31:31) - Delta Reserve consumer or business Learn more about See: (39:58) - #2 Fly Delta One; or any Sky Team airline in business or first class (42:56) - #3 Elite Status Check out our blog post: Or check out our episode (45:51) - #4 Sky Club Membership Learn more about (55:16) - Many times when I'm booking stays, there's only availability for standard rooms. How do approach getting an upgrade if there's no availability? Visit 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
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