Welcome to the Frequent Miler Week in Reivew, where we recap the highlights of the week here at FM. This week, we covered how to (try) to keep your Inner Circle status, the best way to use Marriott free nights here in the US, and maximizing rewards — whether choosing the right Marriott card, where you can earn 5X, or what to do with those FlexPerks points before they devalue. Read on for the full review.
Earn Inner Circle Status in the combined IHG Kimpton program
Kimpton Karma is one of those niche programs that has an almost cult-like following amongst the loyal. After listening to Lee Huffman from Bald Thoughts talk about the rewards program this past weekend at the Chicago Seminars, I can definitely see why it was well-loved. The good news is that it’s not disappearing in its entirety. The bad news is that it’s going to require getting IHG Spire status in order to earn Inner Circle status for 2019. The good news is that Greg can help you do that pretty easily and he explains how in this post. The bad news is that you’ll still need to get a super-secret special invitation, and we can’t help you get that. But if you’re interested in maintaining Inner Circle status, you’ll want to check this out so you can position yourself to do so.
Best Marriotts in the US to spend your free nights
About 15 years ago, I did an online quiz from a now-defunct website called “Find Your Spot”. After filling out many pages of questions about things you value and want in a place to live, the site would give you a list of the 10 best cities for you. When I filled it out, five of my top 10 cities were in Louisiana – a state I’d never visited and in which I know I couldn’t have named 5 cities at the time. And that’s what makes me so interested in using a Marriott Category 1-5 free night certificate to visit the Watermark Baton Rouge Autograph Collection hotel above. Out of Greg’s list of the best Category 5 Marriott hotels in the US, that’s the one upon which I’ll set my sights for next year’s Marriott credit card free night.
The Marriott 120K Offer [targeted]. Is it any good?
Would you rather get more points or fewer points? At first glance, 120K sounds a lot more exciting than 80K….but is it? Maybe it is….In this post, Greg dives into which of the Marriott and SPG cards make the most sense – and the answer isn’t necessarily obvious.
What’s left for 5X Ink?
After the recent death of PayPal Digital Gifts coding at 5X on Chase Ink cards, you might wonder what’s left for earning one of the best category bonuses in rewards credit cards. See this post for an up-to-date collection of things that will code for 5X Ultimate Rewards.
Use your FlexPerks points before 12/31!
US FlexPerks is a point program that never drew my interest despite having some sweet spots both in terms of earning and use. The program is changing significantly next year — so this post for how you can maximize value before the change.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for our week in review around the web and this week’s last chance deals.
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