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.
Copyright: © Frequent Miler
Now that you've amassed a huge stash of Ultimate Rewards points after listening to Episode 271, how what? Today, we talk about the top 10 best (and bottom 5 worst) uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards points.
00:00 Intro
01:10 Announcements
01:12 New "How to" series on Youtube
02:54 Using buying groups to increase spend
04:10 Giant Mailbag: Online grocery is more broadly useful than you think
07:43 Card News
07:45 Increased offers on the Wyndham cards
https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-get-free-cruises-by-gaming-casino-status-matches/
11:39 What crazy thing.....did Wyndham Rewards do this week?
https://frequentmiler.com/apparently-wyndham-credit-card-points-never-expire-positive-change/
17:00 Mattress Running the Numbers: Aeroplan to Marriott to MGM
23:41 Award Talk
23:47 United vs Aeroplan https://frequentmiler.com/united-vs-air-canada-which-is-the-better-chase-transfer-partner/
29:59 Discount partner awards for United Premier status
33:12 Which award search tool is best? https://frequentmiler.com/united-vs-air-canada-which-is-the-better-chase-transfer-partner/
37:50 Graduate Hotels via Hilton Honors (earn & redeem is now live)
38:47 Main Event: Top 10 best and 5 worst uses of your Chase points
39:21 #10: Booking travel through the Chase Travel portal with the Sapphire Reserve at a value of 1.5c per points
40:40 #9: 70% transfer bonus to Marriott
42:07 #8 Transfer to Emirates and book first class from New York JFK to Milan or Newark EWR to Athens for 102,000 points + ~$130 https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-find-and-book-emirates-first-class-awards/
44:41 #7 Transfer to United for positioning flights
48:10 #6: Transfer to British Airways Avios to fly Qatar Qsuites to Doha for 70K https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-find-qatar-q-suites-award-space/
49:58 #5: Transfer to Iberia Avios to book business class from the east coast to Europe from 34K Avios one-way https://frequentmiler.com/best-uses-of-avios-british-airways-iberia-qatar-aer-lingus-finnair/
53:33 #4: Transfer to Hyatt to book a suite https://frequentmiler.com/how-best-to-book-hyatt-luxury-suites/
56:10 #3: Transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan and book a multi-partner award with a stopover for just 5,000 additional miles https://frequentmiler.com/nicks-6-country-5-airline-award-ticket/
01:00:36 #2 Transfer to Flying Blue to book Air France or KLM Business Class for only 50K one way https://frequentmiler.com/air-france-klm-flying-blue-lowers-business-class-award-cost-from-the-us/
01:05:33 #1 : Transfer to Hyatt to book hotels for great value
01:12:18 In-between: Cash out for $0.01 per point
01:14:18 The worst of the worst uses of Chase points
01:14:23 #5 Transferring to any program to book a low-value award
01:16:23 #4 Buying gift cards with your points
01:17:16 #3 Transfer to Marriott without a transfer bonus
01:18:45 #2 Using your points to shop at sites like Amazon
01:20:54: #1 Transfer points to IHG One Rewards
01:23:59 Question of the Week: How do you protect your miles and points?
Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads
This time Tim was on vacation, but the rest of the Frequent Miler crew got together on YouTube for another Ask Us Anything, Live. (On the first Wednesday of every month, we host a live YouTube to answer your points and miles questions in real time!)
(00:30) - How did TeamLabs "Borderless" compare with "Planets"?
Read more about our TeamLabs experience here.
(04:57) - What are your thoughts on new U.S. bank smartly credit card?
(07:08) - Hi team! If I downgrade my Ritz card to get the Amex Brilliant sign up bonus, then upgrade again to the Ritz card, will that affect my Ritz 85k certificate? Anything to be careful of so I don’t lose the 85k Ritz certificate?
(08:56) - What is one place (non-US) destination that has a bad reputation for tourists and doesn't deserve it or alternatively is very overrated?
(16:45) - Hi Greg, I was 0 for 3 on my CC applications for Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Personal, Barclays Hawaiian Airlines Biz, and Bank of America Sonesta. Did you have better luck with your CC applications?
(18:16) - Any suggestions on how to improve odds on getting targeted for useful Amex? offers?
(20:28) - I want to stay at Hilton Tokyo Bay for Fam of 5 - Disneyland and Disney Sea…. what card should I get first? Are there specific rules to follow like Marriott?
(26:04) - I have big spend coming up, capacity for ~20k in spend, but I can’t get business cards. Any recommendations on sign up bonuses/big spend bonuses?
Read more about who can apply for business cards here.
(27:57) - Have you ever had issues with gift card fraud? How would you deal with it?
(31:13) - What parts of Japan besides Kyoto and Tokyo do you enjoy
(33:07) - How much of a transfer bonus from Amex to Hilton would you find to be on the same level as the normal 1:1 transfer from Chase to Hyatt?
(34:38) - I have United Silver, is booking basic economy on United and/or Star Alliance partners still going to give me the free checkin luggage?
(35:34) -What’s the best bet for a new card or downgrade to keep Amex points when cancelling a Gold? My husband has a Business Platinum and it's too hard to get all the benefits/offsets for a second one.
(39:16) - What is the best use of Avios after all the short-haul devaluations?
(40:16) - What is your favorite hotel ecosystem for long term commitment?
(42:42) - Nick, I got the surpass on July 31 and close to meeting spend. want to work towards the 15k spend for 2nd free night certificate but need to pause since I got approved US Bank Altitude Reserve. Will spend in 2025 before anniversary count?
(44:13) - What's your best guess on how long the JetBlue status match offer will be active? I have JetBlue cash flights booked in October (domestic) and December (Mint to London). Trying to time it right.
(45:24) - Can’t book JetBlue economy via Qatar? I tried using the article for finding mint via Qatar using ITAmatrix. I used “P” fare class for economy Got the calendar, but Qatar website doesn’t show the flights.
(47:44) - what's the best award booking using Lufthansa miles without the exuberant taxes and best way to find availability?
(49:43) - Planning trip to Ghana or Kenya next June. Would like to use Flying Blue and Qatar to stop in Ams and Doh. Is it worth it to transfer points now hoping award prices come down closer to the trip?
(51:17) - Why don't you guys have a (paid) service for your subscribers to help make award bookings? I've been following for almost a couple of years. I know you teach us to do it on our own, but...
(54:36) - NICK and Greg shared an amazing video about finding award availability on Jetblue and booking via Avios. I believe They used Matrix.Ita. Is there a way to find united availability using same process
Watch the JetBlue Mint via Qatar how to video here.
(56:25) - Should I go for the Hilton Surpass now for the 150k sign up bonus that I can find via incognito browser or wait for a better offer?
Subscribe and FollowIt seems like we report a new loyalty program devaluation each week. Awards cost more, fees go up, etc.. But the U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants that to stop, sending letters to America's 4 largest airlines demanding information about loyalty program devaluations. In this Coffee Break episode, we'll discuss what this might all mean!
(00:26) - U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wants that to stop.
Read more about this airline rewards probe here.
(01:11) - Let's hear the press release...
(03:15) - AA, Delta, Southwest, and United were ordered to submit information by Dec 4. Here are the categories of information requested...
(09:17) - Details indicate a fairly deep understanding of loyalty program issues.
(10:28) - What good might come out of this?
(14:08) - What bad might come of this?
(17:13) - Will anything happen at all?
Visit 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
We love Chase Ultimate Rewards primarily because of the ability to transfer to partners (and we specifically love the ability to transfer to Hyatt.) Chase Ultimate Rewards is actually one of the best ways to get Hyatt points, in fact. We'll talk more about amassing Chase Ultimate Rewards (and why you would want to) in this episode of Frequent Miler on the Air.
(01:18) - A reader experiences an issue with a price on his Etihad award that was not as advertised...
(08:43) - Read more about the Chase Ink Business Unlimited card here.
(10:21) - Read more about the U.S. Bank Smartly credit card here.
(19:47) - Read our Guide to Credit Card Application Rules by Bank here.
(21:29) - Double Elite Night Credit on Marriott Homes & Villas (Targeted, Book by 9/20, stay by 12/31)
Read more about the double elite night credit here.
(32:34) - 30% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Hilton Honors (thru 9/30)
(33:24) - Reminder: 30% transfer bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Avios (thru 9/30)
(33:40) - 20% transfer bonus from Capital One to Air France / KLM Flying Blue (thru 9/29)
(35:20) - Preferred Hotels now up to 118,000 Choice points (not long ago 55K max!).
Read more about great value preferred hotels, bookable with Choice points here.
(40:03) - We all know that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are super valuable...
Learn more about Chase Ultimate Rewards sweet spots here.
(41:55) - How to get the Chase Ultimate Rewards points...
(42:04) - Chase Ultimate Rewards welcome bonuses
Read more about Chase's best credit card sign up offers here.
(42:22) - What are the rules for applying for Chase cards? (What is the 5/24 24 month, 48 month, etc): See our Complete Guide to Credit Card Application Rules by Bank here.
(42:59) - There are lots of Chase cards available...
Again, you can learn more about Chase cards here.
(45:29) - Which Ink Business card is not like the others (and will not earn you points that can be transferred to partners)...
(48:59) - Earning Chase Ultimate Rewards via referral bonuses
(51:06) - 2 Player Mode for Chase Ultimate Rewards
(54:28) - What can you earn as you spend on Chase cards?
Learn more about spending options here and here.
(1:05:12) - Chase's shopping portal (and other miscellaneous ways to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points)
(1:07:12) - When does it make sense to credit paid flights to a different airline's frequent flyer account (within the partner airline)?
(1:10:23) - Learn more about our 40K to Far Away challenge here.
(1:11:59) - Learn more about wheretocredit.com here
You can read more about the World of Hyatt Business card here or listen to this episode of Card Talk to hear a quick but useful summary on the World of Hyatt Business card.
(00:15) - World of Hyatt Business Card Earning rate and card fee
(00:56) - World of Hyatt Business Card Perks
(02:03) - What does the "elite qualifying night credit" perk mean?
(02:36) - Hyatt Leverage membership
(05:01) - Do we like this card and who is this card good for?
(10:15) - Find podcast Ep270 "Hyatt Elite Milestone spending vs Mattress running" here.
JetBlue is out with an opportunity to earn status for 3 months by matching from Delta, United, American Airlines, or Alaska elite status. Don't worry if you don't have status in any of those yet - in this episode we'll also talk about how to get some of these statuses quickly and easily to do this match.
(00:00) - Read more about JetBlue's status match here.
(01:23) - Match to Mosaic 1 or 2 for 3 months. What is Mosaic 1 or 2?
(03:57) - Details about the challenge
(04:23) - "Tiles" may be earned for this promotion in only three ways...
(09:10) - What if you don't have one of these statuses yet?
(10:28) - How to get status quickly with Delta (2024)
(11:30) - How to get status quickly with American Airlines
(12:18) - How to get status quickly with Alaska (2024)
(13:09) - Listen to podcast episode 225 "Delta's big flip-flop" here.
(13:20) - Listen to podcast episode 242 "Which Delta card is best?" here.
(14:42) - A somewhat risky idea for possibly getting almost two years status
Visit 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
CORRECTION NOTE: We've got a correction to add to this episode! In this episode Greg says with the Hyatt Business card you can get back $100 per year on spend at Hyatt hotels: $50 in first 6 monhts and $50 in second 6 months, but we need to correct that! In truth, you can get up to $100 back per membership year, $50 at a time, but you don't have to wait 6 months: you could make two payments in rapid succession to get the full $100. Thanks for your patience with this correction!
Hyatt's elite program can be really valuable - for instance when you reach certain milestones you can get valuable perks, and there's multiple ways of reaching those milestones. In this episode, Greg and Nick debate the best way of getting there.
(01:21) - Multiple readers (coincidentally named both forms of "John") chime in with feedback from recent podcast episodes...
(01:42) - Find podcast Ep269 Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines Wedding Planning here.
(04:21) - Find podcast Ep262 How to get great value from you Platinum card here.
(07:34) - Nick experiences a crazy Hilton resort fee for using the pool
(11:42) - Bilt's September 1 Rent Day promo. Should Greg transfer his points?
Read more about Bilt Rent Day promos here.
(20:58) - Bilt adds Walgreens FSA & point earning
Read more about Bilt rewards adding points-earning at Walgreens here.
(28:34) - Delta (probably gone) : US to Taipei on Delta One from 98,000 SkyMiles (83,300 for Delta cardholders)
Read more about finding this US to Taipei deal here.
(33:26) - Find our World of Hyatt Complete Guide here
(35:10) - Read Greg's post "Hyatt milestone spending -- what's my X?" here.
(36:59) - Read Nick's "Hyatt Milestone chasing: should we all mattress run to Globalist status?" here.
(39:49) - Hyatt Milestone Details: Earn valuable benefits after every 10 qualifying nights starting at 20 nights (but real value starts at 30)...
(47:20) - First let's talk about mattress running...
(52:54) - Credit card spend options...
(52:56) - Learn more about the World of Hyatt card here.
(53:43) - Learn more about the World of Hyatt Business card here.
(56:26) - Which is better - mattress running or credit card spend?
(1:07:33) - A reader just discovered you can redeem Cathay Pacific miles for hotels and wonders if we've heard of anyone doing this?
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a valuable transferable points currency, and the Chase Ink Business Preferred card is a great card for earning this valuable currency. In this episode, we discuss what makes this a great card, and if it's a good card to keep year after year.
(00:30) - Learn more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred card here.
(00:34) - The Chase Ink Business Preferred card earns Ultimate Rewards points
(00:48) - Usually has great welcome bonus
(01:30) - Earning rate: 3X travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone, and advertising with social media sites (up to $150K spend per year)
(02:44) - Other noteworthy perks of the Chase Ink Business Preferred card
(04:34)- What are the approval rules for this card? (For example, what is the 5/24 rule and how does it apply here?)
(07:19) - Is this a keeper card?
We know occasionally you may have to actually pay for a hotel night (instead of using your points and free night certificates.) In this episode we'll dissect how to even go about deciphering how rewarding your paid stays are.
(01:28) - How do we go about even calculating which hotel program is most rewarding on paid stays?
Read more about which hotel loyalty programs are most valuable here.
(03:17) - There are a few things our analysis did not consider...
(03:59) - Which programs are most rewarding when you're not using a hotel credit card and don't have elite status?
(06:11) - If you have top tier status, (but not necessarily a hotel credit card), which hotel program rewards you most for your paid stays?
Learn more about the Sonesta program here.
(08:56) - If you have both hotel status and the hotel branded credit card, which program is most rewarding for your paid stays.
(09:49) Learn more about the Wyndham Business Earner card here, and the Wyndham Earner Plus card here.
(10:51) - Lear more about the World of Hyatt card here.
(10:55) - Learn more about the Hilton Aspire card here.
(10:58) - Learn more about the IHG Premier card here, and the IHG Premier Business card here.
(11:54) - Learn more about the Bonvoy Brilliant card here.
(12:09) - Learn more about the Hilton Surpass card here, and the Hilton Business card here.
(13:22) - Consider elite programs and promotions
Visit 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
Late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced that it planned to acquire Hawaiian Airlines and just last week, the DOJ allowed the merger to move ahead. Today, we'll talk about how to prepare for this "wedding" between programs.
(01:12) - The value of my Life miles just disappeared into Finn Air
Listen to Ask Us Anything Ep69 here. Listen to Frequent Miler on the Air Ep268 "Best Uses for Virgin Points" here.
(02:25) - Dell no longer selling many 3rd party items (headphones, etc)
(03:59) - Amex Business Platinum card credits for Dell, Adobe, and Indeed are ending 12/31/24
Read more about the Amex Business Platinum card here.
(06:48) - Which hotel award search tool is best?
Read Greg's post about which hotel award search tool is best here.
(10:17) - Radisson Rewards instant status (Read more about Radisson Rewards instant status here)
(11:50) - Marriott just sent Greg a $50 promo gift card for continued loyalty
Main Event: Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines Wedding Planning(13:24) - Late 2023, Alaska Airlines announced that it planned to acquire Hawaiian Airlines...
(15:44) - Backing up... Let's talk about the pre-merger situation with both airlines...
(16:29) - Alaska Airlines recently joined oneworld alliance, recently overhauled award charts, and pledged to offer mixed partner awards by late 2024
(17:50) - What we like about Alaska Airlines...
(21:29) - Alaska miles are hard to get in huge quantities...
(23:12) - Alaska credit cards...
Learn more about the Alaska Airlines Visa Signature card here.
Learn more about the Alaska Airlines Visa Business card here.
(24:41) - Currently, very few great uses for Hawaiian Airlines miles
(25:21) - Hawaiian Airlines has wide body jets with lie-flat business class seats, and international destinations: South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Cook Islands
(26:31) - Getting Hawaiian Airline miles...
Learn more about the Hawaiian Airlines World Elite MasterCard by Barclays here.
Learn more about the Hawaiian Airlines Business card here.
(29:07) - What we know about the merger so far...
(30:30) - What we don't know yet...
(36:21) - Amex Membership Rewards 20% transfer bonus to Hawaiian through 8/31/24
(46:34) - One reader booked a one way partner flight through Flying Blue, then it was revoked at the Copa counter without notice or explanation. Is this common and what should you do in this kind if situation?
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