Bilt changes are coming, sharing the spoils of the hobby with friends and family, and more (Week in Review)

Flexibility is so much fun.

Before miles and points, I didn’t change trips: I booked and prepaid for flights and was locked in to all of the details since there was no reasonable way to make changes. I often talk about how much I appreciate the flexibility to change or cancel a trip if one of my kids gets sick or a better award option becomes available. However, this week reminded me of another reason I love the flexibility: the ability to extend a trip. Yesterday, we were scheduled to fly home from sunshine to the frozen tundra of upstate New York. At breakfast, my wife asked me if there was any way we could get one more day on this trip. After a quick check, I saw that the price difference for award flights was negligible. She had a free night certificate that could cover the hotel, and thanks to how easy Hyatt makes it to gift an award, she was able to transfer it to me so that we could extend our stay while still enjoying Globalist benefits (including the free suite upgrade we had gotten at check-in). Our only additional costs would be an extra rental car day and food, so we spontaneously decided to extend the trip, and as a result, we enjoyed 9 hours of sunshine yesterday and will get a few more today before heading back home to that frozen tundra.

Without the flexibility to change flights on the fly (see what I did there?) and gift awards, that sort of quick pivot would be difficult or expensive or both. Instead, I brought my laptop to the pool and got the details hammered out while soaking up a little extra vitamin D. I love this hobby!

If you’re curious about the programs that offer the best opportunities for sharing rewards, you’ll want to check out this week’s podcast. Elsewhere on the blog this week, we have what might be leaked details of the new Bilt cards, a number of freshly updated resources, my experience on Margaritaville at Sea, and much more.

This week on the Frequent Miler blog…

Leaked Bilt card details: High spend required if using to pay rent or mortgage, plus their other rumored benefits

The word on the street has it that Bilt will soon begin charging a transaction fee to pay rent (and mortgage when that launches) with a credit card, including with the new Bilt credit cards. However, if leaked details are to be believed, it will be possible to erase those fees through regular spend on a Bilt card. The mechanism for erasing the fees is rumored to be Bilt Cash. We’re all curious to see how Bilt Cash can be used, particularly as an alternative to paying the transaction fee for rent or mortgage payments. If it’s possible to use that “Bilt Cash” dollar-for-dollar across the Bilt ecosystem, the new cards might become pretty interesting. On the flip side, if your primary reason for being into Bilt was to earn points on rent without using the card much, these rumored changes will spell bad news.

Leaked Bilt Card Details…Maybe | Coffee Break Ep86 | 1-7-26

Bilt Card 2.0 details will be here soon, but potential details leaked this week and quickly became the talk of the town, so Greg and I recorded a spontaneous Coffee Break to discuss the details and what it would mean if they come to be. Of course, we should know the true details in just a few days, so don’t get too worked up one way or another for the leaked details, as the final products could end up being significantly different. That said, if they do match the best of what we might imagine, I think they will become less appealing for rent and mortgage but potentially more appealing for many other folks.

My last dance with Bilt Platinum status

I don’t believe Greg! Well, I take that back…In this post, Greg outlines some reasons why he is working on what he says will be his last dance with Bilt Platinum status. However, I’m going to add to my 2026 predictions: I think the Bilt 2.0 cards will have a structure that will make using them appealing, and that Greg will gain reason enough to chase after Bilt status once again. I do believe that Greg expects this to be his last dance with Platinum status, but I don’t believe that it actually will be.

Best ways to share rewards with friends and family | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep340 | 1-9-26

They say that sharing is caring, so this week on Frequent Miler on the Air, Greg and I talk about the best ways to share your miles, points, and other rewards with friends and family. Some programs make it easier than others, and I have really come to appreciate those programs that make it easier to combine forces with a teammate and/or treat friends and family to some of the spoils of this hobby.

Greg’s top picks (my favorite card offers)

Greg has published his latest update as to which credit card offers are worthy of your time and focus. Keep in mind that you can always find the best offers listed in order by first-year value at the top of our Best Offers page, but in this post, Greg shares his subjective analysis of which offers he thinks are worth a look before they are gone.

The mixed bag of Marriott Nightly Upgrade Awards

Marriott Nightly Upgrade awards can be tough to use, given the way they only clear a few days before arrival (and often don’t clear at all). Compounding that difficulty, I’ve run into situations where a reservation shows that upgrades can not be applied, only to find a few minutes later that I could apply an upgrade. I also ran into confusion a couple of months ago when trying to apply them to a stay because the room type names shown on desktop did not match the room types I had been looking at in search results (but in the app, the room type names do match up). More detail can be found in this post.

Greg’s elite plans for 2026

Stephen already said that he’s not planning to requalify for Globalist this year, and I have questioned whether or not I will. However, by contrast, Greg is going all in on Hyatt, as the only elite status he cares enough about to work to maintain it. Read more about why he wants it, how we will maintain it, and why he won’t be chasing many other statuses in this post.

How to get Star Alliance Gold status for ~$450 (if you have Marriott Platinum status or higher)

Stephen takes an intriguing look at the Singapore Airlines / Marriott status match, showing how one could earn Star Alliance Gold status for very little out of pocket….so long as you’re willing to position to/from Europe to do it. If you’re already planning a trip to Europe and you’d value a year of Star Alliance Gold benefits — including United lounge access when traveling domestically on United — then this could certainly be worth it.

I sailed the Margaritaville at Sea Islander….and I loved it.

My most recent “free” cruise casino match was a sailing on Margaritaville at Sea. I went into this cruise with low expectations, but we walked off the ship actively excited to have earned a free future cruise with moderate play. Margaritaville at Sea was great — not flashy, not gimmicky, just laid-back and fun. I look forward to the new ship launching in 2027 and the plethora of new port stops that it will add.

How to earn 3 or 4 Hyatt elite night credits for every $300 Amex Platinum hotel credit you have

In this post, Stephen highlights a particular property where it is possible to pick up a few Hyatt elite nights with a single Amex prepaid hotel credit, but I’ve seen quite a few different properties where it is possible to pick up multiple Hyatt nights with a single prepaid credit. I ended up using a bunch of prepaid FHR credits to book a Hyatt property for a stay next summer, but toward the end of the year, it is certainly possible that I’ll end up with a few of these types of stays if I get close to requalifying for Globalist.

Award Tool Spotlight: Points Path | Coffee Break Ep85 | 1-6-26

I use multiple award search tools regularly, but Points Path is the one I use most often. That’s because Points Path integrates seamlessly with Google Flights, which I use regularly to check cash prices. I find it really convenient to see cash prices and points prices side-by-side, and with a working knowledge of partnerships, it is possible to recognize some opportunities even beyond the Points Path-supported programs.

Plastiq Guide: Pay Bills via Credit Card

With tax time coming (and, unfortunately, Plastiq’s fee recently increasing), we have updated and republished our Plastiq guide to remind you of everything you need to know about paying bills via credit card with this service.

Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Complete Guide (2026)

Tim has fully updated our Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards Complete Guide to bring it up to date with the latest program changes. Alaska has a great program with a lot of interesting opportunities, both in terms of award redemption and paths to elite status. This post has everything you need to know about the Atmos program.

Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® (FHR) Guide: Your questions answered

With both consumer and business Platinum cards offering credits for prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® bookings (or The Hotel Collection bookings), interest in FHR has increased. This guide to FHR has been updated to provide the latest details that you need to know about booking through Amex’s luxury hotel booking platform.

Current Amex Offers

We regularly republish this resource that provides a quick look at Amex Offers that have become available on at least some cards. You’ll still need to log in to your accounts to see whether you’ve been targeted for a particular offer, but this searchable database can give you a quick way to check whether there is an offer available for a particular store that might be worth hunting down on your cards.

That’s it for this week on Frequent Miler. Keep an eye on this week’s last chance deals before they depart.

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