Having “returned” from vacation mere hours ago, in this week in review I am catching up on the week’s events at Frequent Miler right alongside you. First on our collective minds should probably be the one-day-only Bilt Rent Day promotion dropping tomorrow (9/1/24), but then one has to also consider Greg’s speculative strategy regarding the Hawaiian Airlines transfer bonus that ends today (8/31/24). All that and more in this Frequent Miler Week in Review.
This week on the Frequent Miler blog…
Bilt Rent Day for September: Transfer bonuses for LifeMiles & Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Voyages promo
With Rent Day coming the day after this post publishes, I had to include the pertinent info for anyone sitting on a stash of Bilt Rewards points. If you listen to this week’s podcast, you’ll hear why Greg is not jumping on either offer (and why I advised him not to go after the LifeMiles bonus!), but on the other hand this offer will certainly make sense for some. See the post for more details about these bonuses that are available 9/1/24 only.
My big bet on Hawaiian Alaska Mileage Plan
Greg is going all in on the Alaska/Hawa iian Airlines merger, and I have to say that it seems like awfully smart strategy to me. As an East Coaster myself with opportunities to get to Europe for just 45,000 miles one-way with Alaska — maybe even with a free stopover(!) – I’m thinking hard about going all in on this as well, at least from a new card bonus perspective. If my wife and I both opened the consumer and business versions of the Hawaiian cards, we’d end up with 284K miles (including the miles from minimum spend on the business cards) after a total of $4K spend (plus two small purchases on the consumer cards). That’s a really nice haul. We of course don’t know exactly when or whether or how the programs will combine or make points interchangeable or whatever it is that they decide to do, but given the low spend requirements to generate a lot of miles, this certainly feels like sound strategy to me. On the other hand, I’m not probably in position to make the speculative Amex transfer with the 20% transfer bonus. Between this year’s challenge and a trip around the world with my family, I’m sitting lower than I’d like to be with Amex points, so I’m in rebuild mode — not at the bottom of the barrel, but neither do I want to put myself in a position where I can’t take advantage of a great award opportunity for the family by speculatively transferring to Hawaiian in the hopes of someday having Alaska miles.
Podcast: Hyatt Elite Milestone spending vs Mattress running | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep270 | 8-30-24
Greg recently wrote about spending his way to Hyatt Milestone Rewards. In response, I wrote about mattress running my way to the same rewards. Which solution is better? On this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, we discuss the thought process behind each and which is “better” based on your situation. We also discuss whether Greg should go “all in” on the September 1st Rent Day transfer bonus, why you should link up a card that earns 3x at drugstores to your Bilt profile, and more.
Best ways to get to the Caribbean / Central America using points and miles
If the Caribbean Seas are your cup of tea, you’ll want to see this post for your best options to get to destinations in the Caribbean and Central America using points and miles, which has been updated to reflect various award chart changes and new sweet spots for 2024.
Bonvoyology: Mastering Marriott’s Mysteries
Marriott Bonvoy has both the largest and the most complex hotel loyalty program in existence. While it is easy enough to stumble into a Marriott in almost any mid-sized city or larger in the world, it is not so easy understanding when you’ll get free breakfast with your Platinum status, how suite nightly upgrade awards work, and whether you’re eligible for a hot new credit card bonus. Greg has updated this resource to help you stop the Marriott Madness — or at least hold off on going mad yourself in trying to figure it all out.
3 tricks for viewing the Air France / KLM Flying Blue award calendar
Air France / KLM Flying Blue can be a highly useful award program thanks to decent award pricing and availability. Unfortunately, the Flying Blue award search tool isn’t terribly useful as it is presented since you’ll only see a week of award availability at a time using the default search techniques. However, in this post, Greg has made an update with three ways to see the Air France / KLM Flying Blue monthly award calendar, which makes it far easier to hunt out great award deals.
Podcast: Which hotel program is most rewarding for paid stays? | Coffee Break Ep23 | 8-27-24
Whether you’re a total hotel free agent or you’ve just got an upcoming stay where you’re agnostic as to which chain or property would best meet your needs, you might wonder which program is most rewarding when you need to pay cash for a night or two. On this week’s coffee break, we break down your best bets whether you’ve got elite status or not or will be using the hotel chain’s credit card or not, etc.
Best ways to get to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific using miles (2024)
If you’re looking to travel Down Under or to anywhere in the South Pacific, you need to know that it may not be easy. In fact, it may be downright difficult to find availability as supply is limited and demand is high. However, it isn’t impossible to get to the region using points and miles, nor is it impossible to score a decent deal. This updated guide will walk you through your best options in terms of award pricing, though you’ll most likely want to use one of the many award search tools on the market to increase your odds of finding the availability you need.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye out for this week’s last chance deals to be sure you grab them before they’re gone.
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I’ve recently booked a trip to Australia and Fiji. Here’s my experience.
I saw very little business or first class availability. I am in Los Angeles, so I looked at flights from LAX and SFO to MEL, SYD and NAN. The best deal I was able to find was United business class non-stop(787) from LAX to MEL in early May for 200k points each. We had a stash of United miles and topped it off with ultimate rewards points. ($3400 on google flights for 1)
LAX to MEL Actually worked out better, since we’re also going to Sydney and the flights from Sydney to Fiji were a LOT better than flights from MEL to Fiji.
Flight from SYD to NAN is a challenge. I was able to snag 1 seat on Fiji airlines with American airlines points. Bonus is that it’s flying their A350 that continues onto US. It’s a 3.5 hour flight so if one of us is stuck in coach (but a good row) so it won’t be horrible. I keep checking almost daily for another seat to open up. 30000 AA points for this business class $1000 trip seems like a good deal. 15000 for economy not so much. But, there are very few 3.5 hour flights on this itinerary.
Flight from NAN back to LAX was challenging. I was able to find 1 business class seat on Fiji Air 350 at the end of May. I snagged it. Kept looking for 2 seats. After about 2 months I was ecstatic when 2 seats opened up on the day after we wanted to depart. One more day in Fiji? OK. 80000 AA points per person NAN to LAX. $2000 ticket on google flights.
Hotels all on points. Tentative is Hyatt (globalist) in Melbourne, IHG (platinum ambassador) in Sydney with $$$$ upgrade to room with a view of the opera house. Royal Davui Island Resort in Fiji a Mr. and Mrs. Smith Hyatt property for a rediculous amount of Hyatt points (144000 per night for their top room YIKES!). 2 nights at Hilton/SLH Nanuku resort. I was able to use credit card standard award free nights (woohoo)Nanuku Resort
Perhaps I’m gushing a bit too much here. Sorry. I’m very pleased with myself.
How do you get to Europe for 45k Alaska miles ?
You can get to Europe for 30,000 or even less from the West Coast, so I’m thinking he meant to add 45k Alaska “in business”?. Now THAT is more of good deal.