In today’s podcast episode, we’ll talk about whether or not Hertz will put Nick in jail, how Greg’s British Airways flight was saved by Delta, and Marriott’s “Brilliant” potential new business card line-up.
Marriott’s rumored business cards
Watch here:
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Giant Mailbag
(03:02) – Catch Greg on these podcasts: Chris Hutchins / All the Hacks: Top Airline & Hotel Transfer Partners to Maximize Your Points
(03:42) – Point me to first class (Devon): What Credit Card Points Are Really Worth in 2025
(04:18) – Many people wrote in with examples of where an International Driver’s Permit is required (Japan, Italy, etc)
See episode 318 about The Rental Car Game here
Card News
(07:28) – Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card offer (100K + promo credit good for up to $500 towards a single Chase Travel℠ booking after $5K spend in 3 months) ending soon.
Crazy Thing DOUBLE HEADER
(09:36) – Alaska: Atmos Rewards
(15:14) – A reader has a strange Lifemiles story to report…
Nick’s JetBlue 25for25 Update
(18:52) – Marriott Day Use Rate: Got lounge access, earned elite night credit (and points)
(20:30) – Edgar Hotel Martha’s Vineyard: Undeniably Choice in some ways, but great room & value.
(23:37) – Lounge access reminders worth a mention: Ritz card gets unlimited visits & guests at Sapphire Lounges. Use the Ritz card, not Priority Pass, for access. Amex Platinum cardholders get Escape Lounge with 2 guests. We’ve used Escape lounges at SJU, PVD, FLL, and PBI on this trip. Of those, only PVD is on Priority Pass (so remember to check for these!).
(26:53) – Couldn’t check in online for Etihad-booked flight ACK-LGA (expected — no birthdays for P1 & P2). Got it fixed at the BOS Mosaic check-in area. Ended up being a quick fix. Glad they could do it at BOS because time was tight at ACK.
(30:27) – Nick’s Hertz rental (even if you only have the first part of the story — it’s entertaining!)
Awards, Points, and More
(36:14) – Air Canada Aeroplan program updates (mileage and status earning changes)
(44:51) – Greg’s positioning flight to Boston for the British Airways first class flight
(49:01) – Greg flies AA Flagship Preferred Suites LHR to ORD
(51:21) – If Uber to the airport seems expensive, try switching your airline
(54:43) – New Reasonable Redemption Values (RRVs)
Main Event: Marriott’s rumored business cards
(1:03:51) – The following is based on surveys, not announced changes…
(1:05:18) – Amex Bonvoy Business card
(1:13:28) – Amex Marriott Bevy Business
(1:20:22) – The Rumored Amex Bonvoy Brilliant Business
Question of the Week
(1:28:22) – Which hotel-branded credit card is the best?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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I still would prefer to have the 35K FNC from the business card, but I think the $160 credit towards Marriott will be very easy to use – because Marriott still charges resort fees on most award stays! It seems to me the cards are intentionally tilting towards award redemptions, 10% points discount on awards and then $160 that can be used to cover those pesky resort fees.
Thanks for the savage review of Aeroplan changes! Made me laugh.
Canada seriously needs to break up the Air Canada monopoly. What a mess
Your review of the Aeroplan Execs boring presentation made me laugh!
On the subject of airlines switching to revenue based elite programs – I wonder when hotel programs will switch to elite spend instead of elite nights for status?
My guess is Bonvoy will be the first to do it since they’re already giving out 1/2 elite nights for some brands and requiring 23K spend for ambassador.
That’s a great question. My guess is that there isn’t enough incentive for hotel programs to switch over anytime soon but that’s just a guess. Marriott seems like a safe bet if it does happen
Always important to note that business card annual fees are tax deductible. That can substantially change the value equation for many people who have the ability to write off the annual fee.