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Whether you’re looking to collect 180K points from Chase business cards or avoid getting your Chase accounts shut down, this week at Frequent Miler we wrote the key tips you need to know. In between, you’ll find some good uses of Thank You points, Marriott’s confusing new breakfast policies, and more. Read on for the Frequent Miler week in review.
How to get approved for up to 180K Ultimate Rewards points via Ink Business cards
There’s been a new addition to our Frequent Miler resources pages — our latest addition covers how to sign up for Chase Ink cards. People often have questions about what kind of business is required, how to fill out an application, and how to know whether or not they will be eligible for a signup bonus. With very lucrative offers out on the Ink Cards, it’s worth a read if you haven’t yet taken advantage of them.
The best way(s) to use 180K Thank You points
The best way to use your points is always a subjective topic that depends on your goals. I’d suggest that you always want to make sure that you’re getting more value than what you could have gotten with a simple 2% cash back card — but beyond that, to each his own in terms of how to best redeem your points. That said, in this post, you can find a summary of some of the best uses of Thank You points, whether you’re looking to travel to Asia, Europe, or a small airports a few states away.
How to keep your Avianca LifeMiles alive
The catch to transferring your points to Avianca is that they expire without earning activity. In this post, Greg tells you how to keep your miles alive so that you don’t lose the miles you’ve transferred.
Which hotel program is the most rewarding? IHG vs Radisson vs Wyndham vs Choice
If you travel regularly, you might wonder where to place your loyalty in terms of earning free night awards. It’s not simple to determine which hotel loyalty program is the most rewarding, and truthfully it often depends on current promotions. However, from purely the standpoint of the hotel loyalty program structure, we take a look at how quickly you can earn free nights at the top and bottom ends of the spectrum with IHG, Radisson, Wyndham, and Choice hotels. See the previous post linked within for a comparison between Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott.
Marriott Platinum Elite Welcome Gift List Published
I write about miles, points and loyalty for a living…and I am downright confused by Marriott’s new breakfast policies. I have to imagine that someone whose job isn’t to understand this stuff is going to first be befuddled and then quickly be frustrated by inconsistent policies that not only vary by brand but also by region. Is this JW Marriott a hotel or a resort? Does it have a lounge? Is that lounge open on the weekends? Is Turkey in Europe or Asia/Middle East for the purposes of the Marriott breakfast policy? Is there anything on the menu at this Courtyard that will add up to less than $10 if I also get a coffee and a glass of juice? Do the numerals in today’s date add up to a a multiple of three that is also divisible by 2 and 4? How hard does Marriott expect us to think about hotel bookings?? Maybe they hope we won’t think about it at all and we’ll just take breakfast as a bonus if the check-in agent happens to tell us we get it. Until today, I was considering how to fill the gap since I’ll be about 10 nights short of Platinum status. Instead, I’ll be happy to easily get free breakfast at almost every Hilton property in the portfolio and save myself what would cumulatively turn into hours of research trying to figure out breakfast benefits every time I have to book a stay.
Why Chase shutdowns have increased and how to avoid them
Over the past few months, there have been increasing reports of Chase shut downs — both in public forums and private messages. Surely, shut downs are not the norm, and the purpose of these shut downs is to mitigate risk for the bank. A good report on reddit delves into some explanation as to what behaviors are thought to be causing these shut downs and gives us some idea as to what behaviors to avoid to mitigate our risk of losing out on the chance to earn rewards.
That’s it for this week in review 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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