This week we welcomed Stephen Pepper on the live broadcast and he kicked off our discussion with what happens when you find bed bugs in your hotel room at 3am. Or in the case of the Marriott property where he was staying, what doesn’t happen. Also: mere days away from #40KFaraway launch, find out how we’re fine-tuning plans at crunch time and more.
FM on the Air Podcast
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On to our weekend recap of the week’s top stories:
In #40K, no so far away:
Ultimate Rewards: How to book with points despite online limitations
If you read this post and think it’s about how to make thirty calls to save forty-five cents, you’ve missed the point(s): Booking travel with Chase isn’t nearly as limited in scope as you may have believed (especially if you listen to the first agent who tells you “no”). I look forward to hearing about how readers put this one to use.
Stephen’s #40kFaraway: Everything That’s In His Bag (& A Few Things That Aren’t)
Out of the three of us, I think Stephen is going to have the easiest time carrying his bag for long stretches of time. That’s not because of the conditioning he’s picked up from much more regular hikes nor because of his carefully-selected hiking pack: it’s because of all of the weight he’s going to lose from his pack when TSA sees those packets of tuna on the scanner ahead of his first flight. I hope he gets one sandwich before TSA tells him, “That’s a wrap!”.
Nick’s #40KFaraway bag is packed. Here’s what’s not inside (and what is)
I’ve actually ordered a few things to switch out since this recording this video, but you’ll get the gist of my packing story here. That includes why certain things made their way into my bag and why I’m surprised about some of the things that didn’t.
Stephen’s #40KFarAway Research: Priority Pass Lounges With Showers
The first time I flew international business class and realized that it was possible to take a shower on arrival and freshen up before my first day on vacation began, it felt like such a game-changer. In this #40K game, it could be a life-saver. Here Stephen compiles a list of lounges in key cities with shower facilities.
Ultra-Premium Credit Card Travel Insurance
While not strictly a #40KFaraway post, this comparison of travel insurance is surely relevant for each of us in terms of which card(s) we have used to book our trip. Much of my trip was booked before Citi slashed its travel protections, so my Prestige card got more spend than it would have if I were buying travel tomorrow (and indeed my Prestige has rested on sidelines this week when I had to book unrelated travel).
In Citi Thank You news:
Double Cash ThankYou Points Transferable to All Partners (when paired with Prestige or Premier)
Citi has us seeing Double with this week’s development: you can now transfer Citi Double Cash rewards to ThankYou points and effectively earn 2x everywhere. Thank you, Citi. This just became the “it” card of travel rewards at the moment in my opinion.
Turkish business class sweet spots from the US
Not least of the reasons why double ThankYou points on all spend has me ready to double down on Citi is because of my new favorite Citi transfer partner, Turkish Miles & Smiles. Sure, we’ve heralded the program for domestic US awards, but Turkish also offers some great values for international business class. See this post or which routes and airlines to consider.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for our week in review around the web and this week’s last chance deals.
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Stephen is on the podcast. Woohoo.
Nick predicted Stephen going south. Greg predicted Nick going to polar circle. Nick has a prediction on where Greg is going, but keep it a secret for now. Interesting to see if the predictions are correct.
45 miles biking for Stephen?! That is a lot of miles!