If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there? That’s a rhetorical question that I used to use with kids when teaching them about goal-setting. There’s no doubt that understanding the goal can help you plot out the course to get there.
That’s why I get so frustrated by award programs that stop publishing award charts or those that, like Marriott Bonvoy, hide them behind computer code (don’t worry, there’s more below on how to find Marriott’s secret award chart). It irks me a bit more yet when I see a program like Marriott move the goal without advance notice or even notification after the fact. Instead, Marriott left us this week to simply find out that it had in some cases nearly doubled the prices of awards at some of its most desirable properties.
But it’s not all doom and gloom: this week we also covered a tool you can use to find elusive award flights, a discount for a popular extension that can help you take advantage of all your card-linked offers, which Qantas awards you should book now (since, unlike Marriott, they provided notice of price changes months in advance) and a lot more. Read on for those stories and more from this week at Frequent Miler.
This week on the Frequent Miler blog…
Marriott increases award redemption rates at popular properties
In its latest customer-unfriendly move, Marriott has increased award redemption rates significantly at a number of high-end properties where you may have hoped to someday use your points or free night certificates. The good news is that this devaluation isn’t necessarily wide-ranging, but some of the most aspirational properties have become out-of-reach expensive with Marriott Bonvoy points. Personally, I’m kicking myself for not having booked the Ritz-Carlton Maldives this past year when I had four 85K free night certificates (between my wife and I) and it had been available for 100K per night. The new ~200K price just isn’t one I’d consider paying.
Marriott’s secret award chart (Updated with the latest devaluation numbers)
While pricing at the properties in the previous section reinforces that you can never predict what a particular property might cost with long-term confidence, the good news is that Marriott does still have a hidden award chart. Greg updated and republished this post showing how to find a hotel’s unwritten “category” and what the potential pricing bands are for each of those categories.
Marriott Bonvoy Complete Guide
The latest devaluation and hidden award charts are small pieces of the puzzle when it comes to Marriott Bonvoy. Did you know that you might be able to get priority boarding on Emirates thanks to your Marriott status? Ever wonder whether you’ll get free breakfast at a particular hotel or want to figure out whether you’re eligible for a new card welcome bonus? Our complete guide has everything you need to know about those aspects of the Marriott Bonvoy program and a lot more.
World of Hyatt is broken. Here’s how to fix it. | Coffee Break Ep43 | 1-28-25 | Podcast
While it’s been well-established that we have a firm preference for the World of Hyatt program, particularly for top-tier elites. However, over the past couple of years, Hyatt has had a noticeable slide and has been letting competitors catch up. Perhaps more concerning is the pattern of expectation they seem to be creating in adding new partnerships at poor value propositions. While I don’t expect Hyatt to completely change directions, Greg offers some reasonable suggestions that would ease some of the sting and improve the program.
Now book TAP Air Portugal with JetBlue TrueBlue points
For years, JetBlue TrueBlue was a program with very limited use. You could expect relatively consistent value out of points when booking JetBlue flights, but not much more. Then, in the past couple of years, JetBlue has added redemption options on a couple of foreign airline partner programs. The latest addition to that roster is TAP Air Portugal. You can now redeem JetBlue points on TAP Air Portugal. It’s great that you can redeem points for these awards directly on the JetBlue website. Furthermore, pricing is decent, particularly for those based on the west coast. More detail in the post.
Roame rejoins the award search tool race
I had honestly forgotten all about Roame in the award search tool onslaught of the last couple of years. After reading Greg’s post about the improvements they’ve made, I feel like their SkyView might be pretty interesting. Still, I find the ability to search from multiple airports with Award Tool or PointsYeah and the interface of Seats.aero pretty hard to beat. Still, I think Roame is probably worth a second look for anyone unsure of which award search tool is best for them.
Here’s how to save 30% on CardPointers annual & lifetime memberships
Speaking of useful tools, I think that many readers would probably find CardPointers to be a really useful way to add card-linked offers across the cards in their portfolios. I think the biggest appeal of CardPointers is the ability to add the offers and be pleasantly surprised now and then when you make a purchase you wanted anyway and are lucky enough to trigger an offer you may not have even realized existed.
How much does it cost to choose your favorite shopping portal?
Shopping portals are one of my favorite ways to amplify my rewards; I’ve long been a huge advocate of using portals when you’re shopping online. However, not all portals are created equally. In this post, I address a reader question to point out the relative cost of choosing a particular portal to chase elite status. Whether you’re using AAdvantage eShopping or Alaska Mileage Plan shopping or you’re chasing casino elite status, consider your best alternative carefully.
Best uses for Citi ThankYou points
Citi ThankYou Rewards don’t always get as much coverage as other major transferable currencies because of the relatively few unique transfer partner relationships they’ve had over the years. However, in contrast to post other transferable points programs, it doesn’t cost much to put together a comprehensive Citi ThankYou wallet that covers almost all of the most popular spending categories at 3-5x (and 2x everywhere else!). This post listing the best uses for Citi ThankYou points proves why such a wallet could be really compelling: Citi does have solid partners that bring their share of sweet spots to the table.
Best Uses for Qantas Frequent Flyer Points (awards to book before August)
Qantas Frequent Flyer isn’t among the most popular foreign programs. Frankly, they don’t have many standout award chart sweet spots — and, unfortunately, they have announced a coming devaluation. Fortunately, unlike many programs in recent years, they have given us almost 7 months of notice, so there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of those sweet spots that still exist. Given that you’ll continue to be able to book about a year out, this is your call to look at where you may be able to use these Qantas sweet spots between now and mid-2026.
How to maximize Amex bonuses through referrals (Video)
One of the easiest ways to juice up your points and miles is through referral bonuses. Amex makes this particularly easy to do since it is possible to refer a friend or family member (or your player 2!) to almost any other Amex card if you have an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points. In this video, we demonstrate how you can create a referral link to a specific card — even one you don’t have — so that you can earn a referral bonus when your friend or family member uses your link to open it.
Points & Miles 2 Player Mode | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep292 | 1-31-25 | Podcast
Speaking of Player 2 and those Amex referral bonuses, that’s but one way to get Player 2 involved. There’s no doubt that you can easily amplify your earnings when playing the game in two-player mode, and this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air podcast was all about tips and techniques that make more sense if you’re chasing rewards with a spouse/partner/family member/friend/etc.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep your eyes on this week’s last chance deals to be sure you grab them before they’re gone.
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Great intro photo!! LoL!
Has Marriott made any pro-customer changes since 2018?
They’ve tripled the offers they email on buying sheets and pillow cases?
LoL!! Bulls eye!
Can the same question be asked of the other chains?
IHG.
Marriott might change if all the bloggers peddling credit cards stopped selling Marriott-branded credit cards. I find the timing of this interesting. They clearly planned this to happen under the new administration, as the Biden administration was on at least rhetorically going after this.
Each of the major hotel loyalty programs has recognized that they can squeeze tier benefits and devalue points and it will have no effect on revenue. There is no reason for them not to continue doing what they’ve been doing. It’s the reality of the situation.