This week Greg and Nick answered live questions about premium cabin childcare etiquette, Hawaii property recommendations, and more. They did such a good job answering your questions that they finished early for a shorter-than-usual episode. Watch the full episode below, or click the timestamp next to a specific question to watch it in Youtube.
2:05 – Hi Greg and Nick. I really enjoyed watching Nick and Shirley talk about gift card reselling at the FTU Virtual Seminar last weekend. I’m close to the Marriott Platinum (50 night requirement). What gift should I choose?
3:55 – Received the Amex BBP 50k offer upon logging in, was approved despite receiving pop-up on Platinum app earlier the same day. This suggests popup does not apply to all cards. Any idea which cards/offers allow one to circumvent the pop-up?
5:56 – Hey Guys! Question for you guys … any suggestions for best business card for non-bonus spend, without foreign transaction fees. Already in Chase (currently 3/24) / AmEx / Citi ecosystems.
9:59 – Can Hyatt’s Pay My Way feature be used for a Points Advance type of booking where you could book some nights via cash with the hope of switching those nights out for points or certs before the stay?
11:54 – Going to Hawaii later this year for 2 weeks (Kauai & Maui) and have a large stash of Hyatt points that I want to use. What is the best overall and best value Hyatt property in Hawaii? I was looking at the Andaz Maui (if award space is available), Hyatt Regency Maui, Grand Hyatt Kauai, and possibly the Hyatt Hana that was just added to the Hyatt portfolio.
18:57 – 2 biz tickets for wife & child using Qantas on Air Tahiti from PPT to LAX. only 2 seats were available, bought a coach ticket for me, do u think I’d be allowed into biz to hep out with my child
21:07 – Bonvoy card guru, does the 24 mo✋🏽 for receiving bonus apply to when u applied or when u received bonus? If I applied for boundless in Dec 2019, could I apply for biz in dec 2021 to get 15 elite nights in 2021 but then complete spend later to receive bonus so it’s timed to be more than 24 months since last bonus hit?
23:23 – In their recent points purchase promo Hilton says “320,000 is worth up to 5 free nights” at 6500+ properties. Does that mean that their properties are now 64k per night and up?
24:28 – Curiosity – a while ago, Greg mentioned that he had 19 Bonvoy FNCs … How did he get so many?
27:51 – I’m 3/24 and considering the Amex Gold and Chase United Business cards for next move(s). Would I likely be approved if I applied for both cards (United Business first) in quick succession in early May? Recent credit card history: Amex Business Marriott Bonvoy (2019-01-29) Amex Hilton Surpass (2019-12-24) CSP (2020-05-20) CIBC (2020-10-16) Amex Plat (2020-12-26) CIBU (2021-02-21)
29:12 – Is there any way to track when Amex sign up bonuses on their websites? Such as when the 10X bonus on Platinum ends, when the home improvement store referral bonus ends. 31:51 – Do you guys think Hilton is more or less likely to extend its free nights that had been extended to Aug 31, 2021?
34:38 – Which door do you pick? Door 1: Pay $972 to buy lifemiles today and book ANA first (with throw away economy). Door 2: Use 55k Virgin Atlantic but have to wait 12 days and hope still available.
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Grand Hyatt Kauai is amazing and a great use of points. We didn’t mind the walking to get places, for as large as the property is it doesn’t feel crowded at all. Service was amazing, my past 2 trips they’ve comped valet parking for my Explorist status.
The Hana property is nice but extremely REMOTE. We spent one night there in 2012, when it was the Hotel Hana Maui (iPrefer loyalty program, free to join then, gave us a free upgrade to a cottage). The property was nice but is split by a city street, and it’s VERY sprawling. At the time there were no electronics in at least the cottage rooms and the lighting was very dim. After about 6pm the night of our stay it rained all night long which added to the quiet remoteness…needless to say my wife did not enjoy it. The hotel restaurant was our only dining option as the other local stands closed very early (seemed targeted at the daytime drivers). The hotel then also provided a golf cart service, they’d come pick you up from the ‘adult’ side of the property…which is also where the amazing pool was. And if you want tennis, the resort court was not at all maintained, use the public lighted courts next door.
Nearby the hotel was the red sand beach, we didn’t do the hike to that beach because of the rain the night before, hotel staff said the hike would be extremely muddy and slippery. The state park black sand beach was nice but the beach was pretty rocky. But we loved the ‘hotel’s’ beach, Hamoa. There was a beach shack with attendant there and we were the only hotel guests at the beach first thing in the morning. We spent about 4 hours there and say 3 other snorkelers, clearly locals, who disappeared quickly. The beach attendant was busy cleaning the beach since the Travel Channel was supposed to shoot there that afternoon. But having the beach to ourselves was amazing; we were there before the day drivers and bus traffic appeared.
All in all Hana was fine but we’ve never gone back. We prefer having dining choices so Kapalua is more our bag. But the quiet ambiance of Hana might be very appealing to some. Very nice property even back then, but not sure it was worth the $550 we paid for one night (didn’t want to day trip Hana). Sunrise from the deck of our cottage was very impressive!
11:54 conversation…@Nick Reyes mentions the Maui Marriott resort in addition to the Hyatt properties. Why no mention of the Grand Wailea (Waldorf/Hilton)? For us Maui locals, the Grand Wailea is where it’s at.
Also tagging @Greg The Frequent Miler.
In my case the answer is that I don’t know anything about the Grand Wailea. Is that a good use of Hilton free night certs?
I think it’s a great use of Hilton FNCs. The trick is finding a Standard Room Reward available (95k HH pts), because availability for those rooms disappears months in advance. Cash price for a Standard Room Reward there runs around $900/night including fees, so there is some good points value to be had there as well. On a quick search, the earliest I could find Standard Room availability was in mid November.