In this episode, we’ll talk about how Chase wants you to stay Calm and give a WHOOP, we’ll talk about how Bank of America wants you to be a millionaire, and how United wants you to get its credit cards.
Big United changes: Cardholders earn more, spend fewer miles
Watch here:
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Giant Mailbag
(00:45) – Doug: Parking at a Bilt Neighborhood Parking garage on Hyatt award stay
Card News
(03:15) – It may be possible to product change US Bank Altitude Reserve
Read more about this here
*NOTE* Shortly after we recorded, we learned that existing earning rates for Bank of America cards will last longer than we thought: Doctor of Credit has learned some positive news regarding changes for existing Preferred Rewards members: they will retain their current status until 3 months after their first anniversary date post-November 1, 2026. For example, if your anniversary date is 10/1, your 3-month clock won’t start until 10/1/27, and you will keep your current status level through 1/1/28 (provided you meet the current qualification requirements). That’s a bit of a band-aid on a broken leg, but it’s a much better timeframe than what we originally thought.
(07:26) – Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card offers (MUST ACTIVATE OFFERS)
(08:37) – WHOOP: Get $359 back after purchasing one year of WHOOP’s Life Membership (expires 5/12/2026.)
(10:45) – Bilt appears to be honoring 5x offer for many
Read more about this here
Bonvoyed
(17:30) – Bank of America Preferred Rewards changes
Read more about this here
Awards, Points, and More
(24:56) – FYI: How to pay taxes by credit card (Video)
(26:43) – United Travel Bank may no longer trigger airline incidental credits
(29:53) – 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic
(31:30) – Use Virgin points for WestJet
Main Event: Big United changes: Cardholders earn more, spend fewer miles
(36:17) – Read more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/united-mileage-plus-announces-huge-changes-to-earning-and-redeeming-miles/
(36:51) – Mileage earning
(41:27) – Using United cards to book flights
(43:19) – Redeeming Miles
(48:46) – Children benefit
(50:01) – Which United card is best for unlocking these features?
Question of the Week
(1:03:24) – Do you use AI to help you optimize your points and miles game?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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That discussion about AI is definitely correct. I remember when the 25 for 25 challenge was announced everyone in the comments was sharing routes that the AI had planned for them and 90% of the time the routes were either obsolete or simply didn’t exist. In a hobby like this where the small details and timing are everything, you’d most certainly do better by searching this site and finding relevant articles. You guys even update it to say when something is outdated!
These changes to MileagePlus seem designed to get us to spend on their co-branded cards, not on the basis of earning more points, but on status alone. If you care about status, maybe you’ll bite; but, I’ll still use Amex Platinum on United because 5x MR is better than 2-3-4x via any of their co-branded cards.
I got a chuckle out of you guys wondering where Ben gets his sources for the “expanded Polaris availability” with these changes
Guys he’s quoting the press release lol. Should maybe check it out before devoting a pod to the topic?
https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/announcements/cision-125442
Just a minor comment about the Gateway card. Yes on paper spending $10k doesn’t make much sense on this card. I agree the debit card is a better path if you can make $10k in tax payments with a tiny fee.
The reality though is Chase regularly sends out 2x – 5x targeted spending bonuses on Gateway, and the 2x-3x ones have high caps. So it’s easy to spend $10k and get a decent earn rate, especially if you buy a lot of “gas” and like UA miles. The caveat is you could spend that on sign-up bonuses, but that’s true with all cards.