In today’s episode, we’ll talk about Amex Platinum shutting down paths for earning Delta airline fee credits, Google Hotels adding price drop alerts, and all the many paths that still exist for free cruises in 2026.
Main Event: Cruising for free
Watch here:
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Giant Mailbag
(01:07) – Greg gets corrected about Bilt point accelerator vs Rent Day…
Crazy Thing: Capital One Shopping
(03:27) – Capital One brings Gmail to a crawl
Read more about the unfortunate Capital One slow gmail issue here
Bonvoyed: Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements
(08:48) – Delta tricks are dead
Read our resource for Amex airline fee credits and what still works
Awards, Points, and More
(13:15) – Google Hotels adds price tracking
(17:02) – Melio (pay bills with credit card)
Learn more about Melio here
(19:01) – Chase Travel℠ Points Boost increased to 2.5cpp for a few select properties
Read more about Chase Travel℠ Points Boost increase here
(21:21) – Guide to booking Preferred Hotels with points (Updated)
Find our updated resource for booking Preferred Hotels online here
(25:24) – Tools for finding point-bookable events (auctions and buy it now)
Visit the discover tools Pointsevents.com and Pointauctions.com
Main Event: Cruising for free
(29:33) – Learn more about cruising for free in 2026 here
(30:44) – There are three main options for free cruises in 2026
(31:08) – Land-based casino loyalty programs & matches
(36:26) – Why do casino elite statuses matter for free cruises?
(49:00) – Cruise line direct match opportunities for “free” cruises
(1:07:09) – Gambling on board might yield a free cruise
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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