In this episode, we’ll take Hyatt on a mattress run, we’ll answer “Is Tyler crazy for liking the Bilt Paladium card?”, and Nick disagrees with our entire main event!
Battle of the $350 airline cards: AA, Delta, United (and Alaska)
Watch here:
Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):
Giant Mailbag
(01:07) – Tyler disagrees with all the negative feedback that the Bilt program is getting
(06:01) – Read more about Greg’s thoughts on Bilt changes here
Card News
(08:18) – Atmos Ascent ($95 card) offer
Learn more about the Atmos Ascent card here
(10:24) – Southwest consumer card offers: Companion Pass + bonus points
Learn more about the Southwest consumer card offers here
Mattress Running the Numbers
(13:08) – Hyatt’s overlapping promos
Learn more about the Hyatt Bonus Journeys here
Learn more about the Hyatt House / Hyatt Studios promo here
Bonvoyed
(21:00) – Chase makes it harder to track Ink Business Cash® 5x spending
Learn more about this here
Awards, Points, and More
(22:09) – Capital One: 30% transfer bonus to Japan Airlines Mileage Bank
Learn more about the transfer bonus here: https://frequentmiler.com/30-transfer-bonus-from-capital-one-miles-to-japan-airlines-mileage-bank/
(25:26) – Citi is still allowing product changes between AAdvantage and ThankYou point cards
Learn more about Citi no longer allowing product changes between AAdvantage and ThankYou point cards here: https://frequentmiler.com/is-citi-no-longer-allowing-product-changes-between-aadvantage-and-thankyou-point-cards/
(29:03) – Rove “Built Better” promo
Main Event: Battle of the $350 airline cards: AA, Delta, United (and Alaska)
(32:40) – Comparing $350 airline cards: AA, Delta, United (and Alaska)
(35:33) – Earnings on spend
(40:25) – All offer standard airline card perks such as free checked bags, priority boarding, Global Entry/PreCheck
(41:57) – Lounge access
(42:55) – Elite status-related things
(48:12) – Companion tickets & flight discounts
(52:38) – Coupons and other stuff
(56:11) – Which “pays for itself” best without requiring much spend?
(59:52) – Which offers the best elite accelerators?
(1:01:08) – Which offers the best companion ticket?
(1:01:38) – Which is best for solo fliers?
(1:02:26) – Which offers the best earnings on spend
(1:04:44) – Which is the best of the best?
Question of the Week
(1:11:53) – Do you need to have 5 employees before you transfer miles with the Citi business AAdvantage card?
Subscribe and Follow
Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
@Nick Reyes: I was interested in part of your response to Tyler regarding the best use of that $50k in spend. You say that he could earn multiple SUBs and get more miles. I am intrigued. I had dismissed that strategy due to 5/24. Are you saying that there are ways around that restriction that make the “maximize SUBs” strategy viable? Thanks.
5/24 is not the be all, end all, for everyone. Or even most people.
So in a sense, one way “around” that “restriction” is to not care about 5/24 because you already have whatever Chase cards you want, or you did the math and decided foregoing other SUBs to stay under 5/24 is not worth it for your situation.
The trick for extending Southwest flight credit expiration (paying in part with a SW gift card and in part with a flight credit, then cancelling to receive a new flight credit) is dead. I tried and my new flight credit had the same expiration as the original.
Was it a Choice Preferred or Choice Extra fare?
I agree with Nick. The actual answer is Southwest, and Nick didn’t even add in the biggest benefit – that the points from opening, if timed correctly, will go a long way towards hitting Companion Pass. There’s no comparison between Southwest’s Companion Pass and the other cards’ “Companion Pass.” It’s virtually unlimited. When combined with free seat selection, free checked bag, and priority boarding, it’s unquestionably the best value of the “midtier” co-branded cards.
But, like Greg, I am trapped at an airport where one airline dominates…but in my case, it’s Southwest. If you want a direct flight from STL, you are probably flying Southwest. So, it’s a no brainer.
Yes, STL is predominantly SWA these days, but, AA, DL, UA, AS, AC, F9 do still fly from there to their hubs and other destinations; even BA flies LHR and LH flies FRA.
In the 90s, it was all-TWA.
You guys didn’t mention that No downgrade path to DL Gold business from higher tier DL Business cards
You left out the $150 JSX credit on the United Quest card. For those of us on the west coast, there are often JSX flights within CA or between CA/NV for under $200, so it can be a useful credit. This could also help put it a long way toward “paying for itself” when added to the $200 Travel Bank credit and 10,000 mile flight discount.
As a side note, I noticed the other day that the JSX credits seem to be missing from all the United card summaries on your Best Credit Card Offers page. The Club personal and business cards get $200, the Quest gets $150, and the Explorer and United Business get $100.
Thanks for the heads up about the JSX credits – we’ve added those to each of the eligible cards now.
As the Bilt 2.0 cards go active, I’m seeing comments that this or that credit isn’t working. People aren’t reading the (stinkin’) terms and conditions about how to use the credits. In a way it’s like activating an Amex Offer or Rakuten in-store offer prior to use. It’s not that tough. Yet, in spite of not reading the T&Cs, people are looking for a reason to poop on the card.
People do read. However, it’s not always easy or straightforward learning new systems. For instance, to activate the BILT 1x Accelerator you’d need to know to slide it across… that’s not gonna be found in T&C.
Still, there are so many other reasons to ‘poop on’ BILT, the disastrous rollout, and its new cards, too. Unless you literally work for them or are an investor, how could you not be upset with losing out on 1 cent per point on rent without paying any fees to have to jump through all these hoops now.