Stay ConnectedEarn 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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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 the Delta Platinum card here and the Delta Platinum Business card here.
(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 Delta Companion Certificates here.
(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 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
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 this Uber change here.
(14:37) - How we use our Amex Platinum "coupon book" credits...
(15:34) - Read more about maximizing American Express credit card rebates and credits here.
(16:07) - Both consumer & business cards
(30:50) - Amex Platinum (consumer card)
Learn more about the Amex Platinum consumer card here.
(48:37) - Amex Business Platinum Card
Learn more about the Amex Business Platinum Card here and read the Platinum Guide here.
(58:03) - Read about the indirect Amex Platinum benefits here.
(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.
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 maximizing American Express credit card rebates and credits here.
(01:07) - $325 annual fee
Find out more about the Amex Gold Card here.
(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 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
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 our podcast episode about 2-player strategies here.
(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 our credit card application rules by bank here.
(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 FollowMusic Credit - "swappin' back n' forth" by up @ night
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 Ask Us Anything, Live here.
Rewatch the entire Million Mile Madness Challenge in one video here.
(10:27) - Get Southwest Companion Pass through 2/28/26
Learn more about this here.
(13:25) - Frontier Platinum status fast track: Earn 20k Elite Status Points by 4/30/25
Learn more here.
(18:46) - Transfer bonuses
(21:13) - Earn 20x Avios on hotel bookings & 15x on car hire (book by 2/24/25)
Learn more about this here.
(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 the value of Marriott points here.
(33:54) - My experience applying for the UK’s electronic travel authorisation (ETA)
Learn more about the UK ETA here.
(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?
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 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
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 the premier card here.
(12:13) - IHG Premier offer up to 170K after $4K spend in 3 months
Learn more about the IHG Premier card here.
(13:33) - IHG overlapping promos
Learn more about the targeted double elite nights here.
(14:58) - Learn more about Double points here.
(19:10) - Marriott's overlapping promos:
Learn more about Double elite nights + 1K bonus per night here.
(25:58) - Marriott increases top-end point prices
Read our Marriott Complete Guide here.
(30:30) - CardPointers
Learn more about CardPointers here CardPointers here.
(32:48) - Book TAP Air with JetBlue points
(39:13) - More rewards
Check out our How to video for maximizing rewards with Amex referrals here.
(43:38) - More spend
(44:56) - Companion Flights
Find our How your Southwest Companion can fly 4 free | Coffee Break Ep32 here.
Find our Complete Guide to the Southwest Companion Pass here.
Find our Two for the price of one: How to get a free companion ticket | Ep218 here.
(46:10) - Find our How to Use Delta Companion Certificates Video here.
(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?
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 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
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 the companion pass here.
(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 Complete List of Transferrable Points Partners here.
(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 common shopping portal myths here.
(1:12:08) - Stacking Opportunities
For more stacking ideas, check out The Art of Extreme Stackery | Ep231 | 12-2-23 here.
(1:13:43) - Learn more about card linked offers here.
(1:15:26) - Gift Cards
(1:16:32) - Learn more about buying gift cards at discount (e.g. Pepper) here: https://frequentmiler.com/instant-gift-card-deals
(1:18:05) - Super Stack Example
(1:24:26) - What's the deal with Hilton Gift Cards?
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 the Savor card here.
(02:06) - Learn more about the Amex Gold card here.
(03:31) - Which cards do we carry around for Gas?
Learn more about the Wyndham Business Earner Card here.
(04:09) - Learn more about the Amex Business Gold card here.
(05:24) - Which cards do we carry around for dining?
(08:28) - Which cards do we carry around for Travel?
Learn more about the Sapphire Reserve card here.
(12:27) - Which cards do we carry around for Pharmacy?
Learn more about the Chase Freedom Unlimited card here.
(14:30) - Which cards do we carry for spend everywhere else?
Learn more about the Bank Of America Premium Rewards card here.
(16:50) - Learn more about the Bank Of America Unlimited Cash Rewards here.
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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