In today’s podcast episode we’ll talk about Seats.aero enhancements, The Amex Green mystery, and credit cards that are rarely talked about but worth a look.
Hidden Gem Credit Cards
Watch here:
Or listen here (or click “Follow” on the player below to select your preferred podcast app instead):
Giant Mailbag
(00:46) – Mea Culpa re Marriott/Japan Airlines
Card News
(05:11) – Amex Green card intrigue
Crazy Thing
(10:44) – Nick’s Bilt hotel experience
Awards, Points, and More
(15:29) – Chase offers: new terms about “abuse”, which you can read about here
(17:56) – Transfer up to 60K points between Wyndham & Caesars through 9/11/26, which you can read about here
(21:24) – Citi may be adding JAL as a transfer partner, which you can read about here
(24:57) – Singapore Airlines now requires minimum of 1K miles to search for award flights which you can read about here
(27:49) – Qatar walks back restrictions for some elites, which you can read about here
(29:30) – Delta status match terms/condition I didn’t know about
(31:50) – Seats.aero enhancements, which you can read more about here
(36:59) – Gondola updates
Main Event: Hidden Gem Credit Cards
(40:27) – Reader Elliot gave us a request: “I’ve got a number of favorite credit cards that I virtually never hear talked about”
(41:12) – The favorites rarely discussed and what we think
(51:08) – Rakuten American Express® Card and what we think
(59:00) – The Wells Fargo Choice Privileges Mastercard Select and what we think
(1:02:07) – Casino cards like the MGM Rewards World Elite Mastercard®, Unity™ by Hard Rock Mastercard® Credit Card and Caesars Rewards® Visa Signature® Card (and what we think)
(1:09:02) – Which hidden gem cards did Elliot miss?
(1:10:36) – Can we name any other card that gives you 2 free checked bags? Read more about free checked bags via credit cards here
(1:15:52) – Others?
(01:32:57) – Check out our Best Offers Page for a database of credit card offers here
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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Enjoyed the podcast. More of this.
I find the Amazon Prime card to be underrated, although I don’t know that it is exactly hidden.
In the past I would have been interested in the Rakuten card, but after learning the Way of Capital One Shopping from Sensei Nick I don’t use Rakuten nearly as much.
WF Choice is a hidden gem and deserves more attention. One thing that you failed to mention that I think is a completely underrated feature of the card is the fact you earn 10x on points purchases. Unheard of in the points and miles world. When they have a point sale like they did recently with a 50% discount you earn some nice bonus points on top of an already great deal which effectively reduces the cost per point. This is the best bang for buck no-brainer hotel card in the business imho.
@Nick Reyes: you completely confused me with your comment. Why did you compare a no AF Rakuten card earning 4X on annual 10k spend against a $495 AF card (and $95 AU) earning a lower 3X for annual max spend of 25k?
That sounds extremely strange coming from an FM team member.
I’m glad y’all mentioned the Aeroplan card! As a modest traveler, I think this is a sleeper great hotel/cruise/rideshare/transit card, especially if you’re invested in the Chase ecosystem. Car rental protections aren’t primary and travel protections are good but not elite, so maybe not the best for airfare.
But for covering cash hotel stays, and especially for someone who stays at more independent properties? Not a bad all around card to have. I recently had a 4 night stay at a Ritz on a great group rate cash fare, but was looking for ways to offset my cash outlay. Missed the transfer bonus earlier this year, but opened the Aeroplan card with the 85k bonus. With reward from spend, it was basically a 90k pts welcome offer, which with that 1.25x pay yourself back feature, nearly exactly covered the cost of the stay.
Could I have gotten better value from those Aeroplan points for flights? Maybe/probably. But that was essentially a $1,100 sign up bonus for me in that it kept me from having to shell out that cash. For me, especially in these more expensive, inflationary times, where funds are tight, I think this is a great way to cash out Chase points at 1.625 if you catch that transfer bonus. Future higher returns vs. “cash back” in my pocket now depends on your personal situation, of course.
Thank you for picking up my topic, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion! The fact that Nick hasn’t heard of the Hard Rock Unity credit card is the exact point I’m trying to make about some of these cards being extremely under the radar. It launched back in 2024!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE publish the transcript as I cannot stand to watch this show. I am feeling like the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets creeped out by Entertainment Tonight Mary Hart’s voice. Guys, stick to the written word or use AI somehow to make it palatable.
You sound fun.
Seriously, though, there is a transcript to virtually ALL YouTube videos. Click the link and go to the actual YT page and scroll to the bottom left, and expand. It will say TRANSCRIPT. I like their show when I have time, but I don’t watch many YT videos, but I always check/search transcripts if I am interested.
Enrico, while you prefer the written word, providers of substantive information (such as FM) have been forced to migrate to video. This has been driven by Gen Y and Z consumers being captivated by video influencers. And, it has been in industry statistics for a few years now. So, it’s adapt or die.
Note to FM: You really need to talk with Boarding Area about the responsiveness of your website. For a couple years, it has been slower than before. Now, it frequently freezes up regularly (when all other websites I’m visiting are absolutely fine). I seen one of two comments along this line.