Winning the game doesn’t have to be hard. Points & miles is like complicated board game — seems overwhelming at first. But the rewards for winning are incredible. In today’s main event we’ll show you how to get started.
Main Event: Getting started with points & miles
Watch here…
Or listen here…
Giant Mailbag
(02:09) – Tyler writes in about success with Chase travel insurance
Read more about Chase Sapphire Reserve & Ritz-Carlton cards’ excellent travel protections here.
Card News
(03:58) – Bilt rent payment method is changing – read more about it here.
(07:27) – Chase biz cards: Pre-approved offers showing when logged in – read more about it here.
(09:43) – Wyndham launches debit card, which you can read about here.
(12:24) – Amtrak Guest Rewards Preferred Mastercard increased to 40k points, which you can read about here.
(14:17) – Citi Rewards+ card may be discontinued soon
Mattress Running the Numbers
(16:47) – Read more about the Wyndham point sale here.
Bonvoyed (Anti-Bonvoyed)
(17:53) – A listener writes in to say, “I feel like I Bonvoyed Marriott last month” by using a 35K cert for a Marriott in Guyana worth $675/night!
Awards, Points, and More
(21:09) – Expires April 15, 2025.Hyatt Homes & Hideaways 3x promo
(23:04) – Delta eliminates surcharges from Europe
(25:07) – Frontier offering free Economy Bundle + free checked bag with promo code FREEBAG, which you can read about here.
(26:45) – Get GigSky 15 day international data plan free w/ Visa Infinite & Signature cards + 10% off plans with a promo code, which you can read more about here.
(28:50) – Redeem 2,000 Wyndham Rewards points for 2 Minor League Baseball tickets (Book by 3/26/25) – read more about it here.
(30:35) – Use Hilton for Business for better cancellation terms and no deposits, which you can read more about here.
(32:12) – Savewise: compare portals + find stacks – read more about it here.
Main Event: Getting started with points & miles
Winning the game doesn’t have to be hard…
(41:05) – Earn credit card rewards (big picture)
(42:47) – Check out Episode 214 about how to earn millions of points from credit card welcome offers here.
(43:43) – Visit our Best Offers resource here.
(44:08) – Check out Greg’s picks for the best current credit card bonuses here.
(45:45) – Don’t do this unless you pay in full monthly
(48:35) – What about credit score?
(51:33) – Three types of cards, welcome bonus only, “sock drawer” cards, wallet cards
(55:44) – Consider Travel Freely (which you can learn more about here: frequentmiler.com/travelfreely )
(1:01:09) – Learn ways to increase your spend (without really increasing your spend)
Listen to this “13 ways to increase credit card spend” podcast Episode197 for more.
(1:03:40) – More rewards with Shopping Portals and bank offers (e.g. Amex Offers, Chase Offers)
(1:06:03) – Spend your points for travel!
(1:09:58) – Use tools to find valuable ways to use your points – read this post for which award search tool is best.
(1:14:53) – Check out our post about which hotel award tool is best.
(1:15:27) – Keep track of your points with AwardWallet, which you can read more about here.
(1:18:38) – Multi-Player
Listen to podcast episode 292 “Points & Miles 2 Player Mode” here.
Question of the Week
(1:20:55) – Greg did a long weekend trip to London using points (flying Delta One) which sounded like a lot of effort (and points) for such a short trip. Is there an ideal?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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Thanks for using my question! Just to amplify something Nick said, we also feel like it is ok to splurge on fancier tours or getting a limo instead of an airport bus since our plane tickets and Hyatt suites are covered by points and miles. When 90% of the trip cost is covered by points and miles, we feel like we have a little more leeway to spend a bit more to make the trip a bit better.