On today’s Frequent Miler on the Air Podcast we’ll discuss how to fly with 1 free human companion and 1 pet companion for a full year, or how to fly with a free human companion for two years, or how to get 350,000 points and elite status for 25 years!
5 cool points & miles opportunities expiring soon
Watch here:
Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):
Giant Mailbag
(01:15) – “I wanted to share some insights on the Mesa card based on my experience…”
Learn more about the Mesa Homeonwers card here.
100K Vacay Challenge
(07:36) – Stephen won both judges’ vote and the popular vote!
(09:05) – Tim posted his full itinerary here: 7 nights in London and Norway for 100,000 points: Mountains, fjords and ferries
Card News
(10:02) – 5K bonus points for Atmos Summit card waitlisters extended
(11:59) – Citi Strata Elite 100K offer now public ($6K spend required)
Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite offer here.
Bonvoyed
(13:02) – Alaska tanks the utility of its “Famous Companion Fare”
(16:55) – No notice: Atmos changes award chart for Alaska & Hawaiian flights
Read more about this no-notice change here.
Awards, Points, and More
(19:15) – Alaska Atmos to improve earn rates on premium cabin partner bookings
Learn more about this here.
(25:04) – Rove launches Loyalty Eligible hotel stays; earn both Rove Miles & hotel points
Learn more about this here.
And consider signing up for Rove to get 500 free miles here.
(31:53) – United Mile Play offers
Learn more about new targeted United Mile Play offers here.
And read about Nick’s recent experience here.
(35:47) – Rakuten: Best Ever 5K Membership Rewards / $50 referral bonus for both sides [Extended to 12/31]
Learn more about this here.
(37:54) – Rumor: Rakuten:Bilt
(39:36) – UseYourCredits: Track coupons, use their handy maps
Learn more about the handy maps here.
(42:18) – Find Preferred Hotels bookable with points (New interactive map!)
Find the interacitive map here.
Main Event: 5 cool points & miles opportunities expiring soon
(45:31) – Buy United miles for 1.36 or 1.44 cents each (or keep your Wyndham points from expiring) [Act fast: Oct 21]
Learn more about this promo here.
(46:57) – Learn more about the 25% transfer bonus from hotel programs to United MileagePlus here.
(47:34) – Learn more about the 100% transfer bonus from Wyndham to United MileagePlus here.
(51:30) – Buy Wyndham points for 0.68 or 0.72 cents each through Tuesday, October 21
Learn more about buying Wyndham points here.
(53:21) – Southwest: You can still get 2 free checked bags
Learn more about flying with 2 free checked bags here.
(56:38) – Frontier Companion Pass for 1 Year
Learn more about Frontier Platinum Status fast track here.
(1:04:38) – Southwest Companion Pass for 2 Years
(1:05:10) – JetBlue status for 25 years
Learn more about the cheaper path to 25 for 25 here.
Question of the Week
(1:11:25) – Do we have to care about all the ninja math valuations to get the maximum cent per point value?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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You mentioned the Mesa card favorably, including the end of the recent 50k SUB. The SUB was publicly extended to 10/15. I went to apply on 10/14 and got waitlisted for the card. That gave me a really sour impression of Mesa – why publicly advertise a SUB to attract applications, then prevent people from applying? I’m still on the waitlist.
Listening to the most recent podcast on my morning run – not all the way through yet but I have two thoughts.
1.Love your podcast but need more (hint!) to listen to during daily runs. The (beginner level) podcast “Wonderland on Points” reported Richard Kerr confirmed the Bilt/Rakuten partnership at the Travel More conference -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/154-midweek-mini-things-we-learned-at-travelmore-con/id1718475603?i=1000731964739.
2.The UseYourCredits egift card filter is valuable. But FYI Nick, the Resy website does have a map of restaurants as well.
There is an alternative to doing that ninja math, which is to let actual ninjas (like Greg and Nick) do it, and then act on the opportunities they recommend.
United 25% bonus is cap at 25k miles.
So Max Wyndham transfer at 250k point to maximize the deal of 2:1 transfer.
While I believe the United deal is a steal under the current program, there’s a risk the changes coming in November represent a severe devaluation.
For example, they’re going to nerf the static MUA chart, which allows mileage upgrades at a fixed price. The upgrade is instant when PZ space is available, and likely to clear later when PN bucket for GS upgrades open. These are the best usage of miles now, but they already announced these will be replaced, likely with dynamic pricing, in November.
In the recent earnings call, they hinted the revamp will be much bigger than what what announced before. If you have UA miles, then smoke ‘em while you got ‘em
Which upgrade awards were you finding to be a good value? I don’t ever recall finding value there, and looking at what I believe was the most recent mileage upgrade award chart, I’m not seeing obvious good uses. What am I missing?
You make a good point to be aware of coming changes. That said, the biggest two reasons (IMO) to consider the Wyndham-to-United transfer are:
Obviously, UA could completely destroy the program, and miles could become worth far, far less. However, I think it is at least equally likely that they will destroy the appeal of the program to those of us who primarily collect miles for partner award redemptions while simultaneously not changing average value by much. If that happens and “average” valus is maintained, the move from Wyndham to United will still prove to be relatively reasonable for those who can accept redeeming on United metal.
Here’s hoping that the sweeping changes don’t sweep away all of the value!
FYI- looks like the useyourcredit maps are even more exclusive than exclusive table itself. I looked at New York and several of the exclusive table restaurants didn’t make the cut to be listed on the map. L’abeille and pig and khao were not there and I suspect several others aren’t there either. I am pretty sure both are real exclusive table restaurants- they were listed on your recent post- although who really knows.