Flying by the Seat of our Points, the 2024 Frequent Miler team challenge, kicks off in a few days. In this Frequent Miler week in review, you can find out how to join us for the kick-off event on Monday and how Greg is preparing. Elsewhere on the blog this week, read the results of Nick’s status match run in Las Vegas, hear about which Hyatt cuts have hurt us the most, and a lot more.
This week on the Frequent Miler blog…
Join us at 9pm Eastern time on Monday 6/3 for Flying by the Seat of Our Points kick-off live stream
Are you ready for the big reveal? On Monday, June 3rd, 2024 at 9pm Eastern time, the Frequent Miler team will go live on Youtube. Carrie and Stephen will be making the big reveal to let Greg, Tim, and I know where we’ll need to be domestically on Wednesday, June 5th for the “Domestic Convergence” stage of our Flying by the Seat of our Points challenge. You’ll want to join us live to find out right along with us where we’re going and to then offer your tips, suggestions, and ideas in the comments and on our individual journal entry posts.
Freeing my Finnish Avios (Greg’s Flying by the Seat of our Points Journal)
We’re still a few days away from takeoff and Greg already had an update for his Flying by the Seat of our Points journal! Will his Avios strategy pay off? Will he even use Avios at all on this trip? Time will tell, but I love that Greg is taking the time to make sure that he’s ready because it means he wants to win. Tim and I aren’t going to make that easy. Game on — soon!
Waking up in Vegas: Results of Nick’s Las Vegas status match run
I spent an extra-long weekend in Las Vegas (most of a week, really) executing the matches to Wynn Platinum, Fontainebleau Gold, and even MGM Gold to get free parking. In addition to the matching success, we made time to see Blue Man Group, a WNBA game, Red Rock Canyon, the Mac King Comedy Magic Show, and spend some time catching up with good friends. I even managed to play in a World Series of Poker side event, which was sort of a bucket-list type thing for me despite the relatively small field of the Day 1 side event.
Podcast: Learning to Love LifeMiles | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep257 | 5-31-24
On this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, I try to convince Greg that he should learn to love Avianca LifeMiles. With great sweet spots, awesome mixed-cabin pricing, and the new opportunity to get a 10% rebate on all award redemptions, there is a lot to love. Can I convince Greg that it’s enough to look past the flaws?
Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Sapphire Preferred: Which is Right for You?
The Chase Sapphire cards are two of the most popular cards in the travel rewards card space, but you can only get one of them….so which one is the right one for you to have and hold? I think the easy answer for most people is the Sapphire Preferred, but Tim’s most makes it clear that the answer is far too complicated to break down into a single sentence. A compelling case can also be made for the Reserve. Which is the right pick for you?
Podcast: World of Hyatt’s decline by a thousand cuts | Coffee Break Ep12 | 5-28-24
On the whole, World of Hyatt is easily our favorite hotel loyalty program. However, the last few years have not been all rainbows and sunshine for Hyatt. We’ve seen a number of small cuts over time that have eroded some of the incredible value opportunities. We still love Hyatt for all of the obvious reasons, but in this week’s Coffee Break, we talk about the numerous ways Hyatt has devalued quietly over the past several years.
Greg’s top 10 picks (best of the best card offers)
Wondering what the best available offers are right now? While our Best Credit Card Offers page can be a great resource for comparing all of the offers on the market using criteria that is as objective as possible, in this post Greg shares his subjective analysis as to which are the best offers currently in the market.
65+ Ways To Earn Miles Without Flying
Stephen’s post about a multitude of ways to earn miles without flying has been updated and republished to remind you that there are so many ways to play this game. I stumbled into this world because I was reselling products for a small profit and realized that I could also be earning valuable airline miles by first clicking through a shopping portal. After I saw Greg speak at a conference back in 2024, I realized how much farther I could be pushing the envelope, and this post is a great summary of the many ways to do so.
The Historic Davenport In Spokane, WA: Bottom Line Review (Marriott Autograph Collection)
Stephen and his wife recently checked the state of Washington off of their road trip list and they spent 10 nights at this property in Spokane. A friend of mine from high school actually lives in Spokane and when she posted pictures of this place a few months ago (after dining at its restaurant), I thought it looked amazing. We’ve been curious about checking out Spokane for a long time and Stephen’s review only solidifies the fact that we need to get out west and reach beyond the California cost the next time we do.
Turkish Airlines 787 Business Class Detroit to Istanbul: Mini Review
Greg’s experience on Turkish goes to show how variable everything can be in this game in that he was pretty disappointed with his experience flying the route from Detroit to Istanbul (and for valid reasons). Still, despite some disappointment, Greg notes that he would definitely fly this route again, and I felt the same way even after reading some of the shortcomings on this flight because I recognize that those will probably vary (a better flight attendant on his side of the plane would surely change the experience quite a bit) and the timing of flights to Istanbul does seem to make it a really good way to get to much of Europe if you want to both eat and sleep on the way there.
Amerikalinjen Hotel Oslo: Bottom Line Review
Greg’s stay at this hotel in Oslo demonstrates just how powerful Choice Privileges can be. When you consider that this could cost just 10,000 Citi or Wells Fargo points per night (since those currencies transfer 1:2 to Choice), it really starts to look like a slamming deal. I’d want to check this place out for sure if I were planning to visit Oslo in the future.
Ink Business Premier Review (2024)
The Ink Business Premier is sort of the “odd man out” of the Chase card lineup in that it earns points that can not be transferred to partners or combined with other Ultimate Rewards points. Still, this card can be a fit for a business with a high level of expenses and a desire to focus on cash back as you’ll see in Tim’s review.
How to transfer Avios between British Airways, Qatar, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Finnair
Now that Finnair Avios can be transferred to and from British Airways Avios, we’ve updated and republished the guide for how to move your Avios between each of the major Avios programs. The recent addition of Finnair transferability to/from British Airways now means that you should be able to move your Avios between all of the Avios programs (albeit with a little effort and perhaps some luck required for it to all work smoothly).
Earn elite status: AA vs Delta vs United
This resource post has been heavily updated to reflect the latest with regard to earning elite status in each of the major US airline programs. Which is the right one for you?
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Hey Nick, in which WSOP event did you play? buy-in, game, the whole details. When in Vegas, which games do you play?
Like I said, it was just a side event, not a bracelet one. It was the nightly Pokernews Deepstack event going in the sort of overflow room upstairs. On Day 1, the two regular events were a $5,000 buy-in and a $500 casino employee event, but at some time in the afternoon and again at 8pm, they had these WSOP side events with a $200 buy-in and 25K starting stack. The schedule says those events may be cancelled if the major buy-in fields are too big.
On Day 2 there was a regular $500 buy-in event that I would have played, but we were flying home that day.
Anyway, like I said in the post, the one I played only had a field of 115 (I understand that fields for these nightly events are more like ~300 as the WSOP goes on, which means that they’re much smaller than the many thousands of people playing in most of the daily major events). It started at 8pm. I registered late (only 20 or 30min late; I think late reg ran until maybe 10:30 or something). I got knocked out around 1:30am. There were 3 tables left at that point and the clock showed 22 people left. I got knocked out at the same time as another player on my table, not sure whether they had more chips than I did, hence me not being entirely sure which place I finished (and I didn’t wait to see if anyone got eliminated on another table on that hand). 18 spots paid, so I just missed.
In terms of what I play, I tend to be a much better tournament player than cash game player. That’s not to say that I never play a cash game, but I recognize that I’m not as good at it. I’ve mostly just played smaller buy in events. Last time I was in Vegas, it was during one of the Venetian’s “Deepstack Extravaganza” events. I think the one I played in was maybe a $300 or $400 buy-in. I finished 5th, which paid out something (maybe like $1200 or $1300? Not enough to remember clearly).
Anyway, I’ll play $1-2 NL if there isn’t a tournament to play, but I’d generally rather be playing a tournament. I cash more often than not, so I’ve always wanted to play in an event or two with a really deep field like the WSOP events to see where I stand in a field like that (I’ve chopped a few larger online events before, but never played in a huge in-person field).
Long story short: I like to play. I don’t get to do it very often, but it’s something I’ve long enjoyed.
thanks for the detailed reply. Hope you are enjoying your round the world trip during the challenge.
I enjoy playing as well. Would enjoy playing in person with you in Vegas.
My biggest event in which I participated was a satellite WSOP event and i had a couple of notable pro’s on my table. Lost most of my stack when i had KK vs AA. smh.