Million Mile Madness is on. Greg, Stephen and I are in the air, on the ground, and all around for the next….days? Weeks? Nobody yet knows for sure how long this thing is going to take us, but we’re all out there looking to bring in 1,000,000 miles with the SAS EuroBonus Millionaire promotion. Elsewhere on the blog this week, keep up with what works for real-time mobile rewards, Amex airline incidentals, a trick for finding Finnair availability.
Million Mile Madness 2024
How Greg, Nick or Stephen can win Million Mile Madness
Have you been following Million Mile Madness? You probably know that we’re competing to see who can complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability and Style. What you might not know is how that’s going to be measured. In this post, the judges (Tim and Carrie) explain how the winner will be crowned — and keep in mind that the reader the champion identifies as most helpful will win big, too!
I’m underway and at JFK – Stephen’s Million Mile Madness travel journal
Stephen was the first out of the gate yesterday, hopping his Virgin Atlantic flight to London while I was still dropping my kids off at school. I very seriously considered paying $50 more to be on his exact flight, but I ended up option for affordability over convenience. Still, major props to Stephen for getting to NYC in style and getting a head start on Greg and I on his way over the pond!
[Day 1: How Nick saved on Virgin Atlantic] Nick’s Million Mile Madness planning journal
As I said, I opted for affordability on this leg of the trip. I skipped paying for anything in the airport by using my Amex Platinum card to access the Centurion Lounge, where I enjoyed chicken, noodles, rice with vegetables, and a class of Cabernet to wash it down. Then, I ran into none other than Greg, the Frequent Miler at my boarding gate! I beat Greg onto the plane and I’m pretty sure I’ve got both he and Stephen beat on cost for this flight: I redeemed Pepper Rewards for a $50 Delta gift card and used that and my Platinum card airline incidental credit to book this Virgin Atlantic flight. See the update in my journal for more on how.
Three lounges, a massage, a helicopter, and I’m off to London in Style (Greg’s Million Mile Madness trip journal)
“Holy Moley. Greg came to play”. <–That was the message I got from my wife when she saw the Frequent Miler Instagram stories and reels showing what Greg did in New York City. To say he kicked things off in style would be an understatement. If he can keep up this look, he’s going to be hard to beat. I’ll say this: I like a challenge.
Also on the Frequent Miler blog this week…
Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements. What still works?
I updated and republished our post about what works to trigger Amex Airline Incidental Credits since we are approaching the end of the year and now is the time to make sure you use those credits before you lose them. Don’t forget to choose your airline a day before you make a qualifying charge. I’ve gotten burned on that one a few times before — best practice is to wait until the next calendar day if possible. We get failure reports almost every month from someone who simply failed to wait long enough after selecting their airline only to later have it work fine — so don’t forget to pick your airline ahead of time!
A simple solution for finding Finnair award availability
Finnair guarantees a minimum number of award seats on every flight, but they don’t necessarily make it easy to find them. Thankfully, the trick to doing it isn’t hard at all once you know how. See the post for more detail.
How your Southwest Companion can fly for free | Coffee Break Ep32 | 11-5-24 | Podcast
I’ve said it for years: The Southwest Comapnion Pass is the best deal in domestic travel. On this week’s Coffee Break, Greg and I briefly discuss what the Companion Pass is and then delve into how you can earn it for as long as nearly two years with a little strategery.
Shortcuts to Delta elite status (2024)
Back in late 2023, Delta originally announced huge increases in elite requirements for those earning status in 2024. In response to a huge customer outcry, Delta not only walked things back, but made it eaiser than ever to earn elite status in 2024. We fully expect that status will become more difficult to attain in 2025, but if you wan to earn status now to enjoy next year, carpe diem.
Shortcuts to Marriott Elite status
Step aside, Visa: Marriott is (almost) everywhere I want to be. Despite an overly complex set of exceptions and differences in elite benefits from one brand to another (I always have to consult a database to know whether I’m getting free breakfast!), the bottom line is that there are some good benefits — and it’s pretty easy to take a shortcut to get them. In fact, this year, I pursued the shortest of shortcuts by getting the Brilliant card specifically to get free breakfast and 4pm late checkout on some stays over my big summertime trip. That and more in this updated post.
Marriott Bonvoy offers elite status soft landing for 2025
Speaking of Marriott elite status, if you have it right now but don’t intend to renew your current level of elite status, take comfort in the fact that you’ll once again drop no more than 1 level in 2025. This is really most useful for those who currently have Titanium status but who wouldn’t earn the 50 elite nights required this year for Platinum status benefits next year. Luckily, if you’re in that spot, you’ll only drop to Platinum next year and you’ll enjoy “free breakfast” status for another year.
US Bank Real-Time Mobile Rewards: What Works Where?
US Bank’s real-time mobile rewards can make the Altitude Reserve card an incredible card to have. Indeed, during our Million Mile Madness trip, you can bet that almost any personal purchases I make will be put on my Altitude Reserve card by simply tapping my phone or Pixel Watch to pay so that I can earn 3x on almost everything. Real-time mobile rewards makes those points worth 1.5c per point toward many travel purchases even when booking directly with the travel provider. We’ve finally published this as its own post to highlight all the data points we’ve added to it. My kids keep asking when we can take a Disney cruise — it seems like the Altitude Reserve may just be the ticket. Wish me luck in earning enough points for that one though!
How to mix Hyatt Free Night Certificates, Points and Cash on a single stay [Video]
Want to use a Hyatt free night certificate, but also want to stay more than one night? Want to use points for one night and book a really cheap cash rate for another? Sure, you could make separate reservations, but if you want one reservation using a mix of nights with points, free night certificates, and/or cash, did you know that you can do that? This can be a useful trick — and the way it is buried to only appear when you do a cash rate search is not at all intuitive. See the “how to” video for full details.
Two buy miles promos worth considering
I don’t usually include posts about buying miles in the week in review. However, a couple of short-term opportunities are so good as to be worth hitting your radar.
Buy Alaska / Hawaiian miles for 1.25c per mile through 11/15
The Hawaiian Miles sale offering miles for 1.25c per mile (really 1.27c with tax) if a fantastic deal since you can move miles 1:1 to Alaska Mileage Plan. Alaska has some very good award chart sweet spots, particularly for those looking to include a stopover on an award ticket. Buying at 1.25c per mile could be a really good deal for those who don’t otherwise have an easy way to beef up their Alaska/Hawaiian balance. Personally, I was considering making a large transfer from Amex Membership Rewards to take advantage of the ability to transfer to Hawaiian — something that I don’t expect will last forever. Since I used a lot of points and miles this year and my Membership Rewards war chest is a bit lighter than I’d like it to be, I just might buy miles in this sale — but I only have a fee days to make up my mind since this ends 11/15!
Buy Finnair Avios with up to a 50% discount (1.14 cents each)
Finnair is selling Avios at what is the best price I can recall seeing for Avios in years. Given the ability to move Avios between Finnair and British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia, and Qatar, you could almost certainly find a use where you’d get more than 1.14c per point in value. That said, despite the excellent price, I’m less interested in buying Avios speculatively since, unlike Hawaiian, I expect Avios to continue being an Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner (and Chase transfer partner and Capital One transfer partner and Citi transfer partner and Bilt Rewards transfer partner) in perpetuity. We also frequently see transfer bonuses of 20-30% to Avios programs. I therefore don’t feel a strong need to buy points speculatively despite the very good price. If I had an immediate redemption in mind, I might feel differently.
Air France / KLM Flying Blue offering subscriptions to buy miles
The new Air France / KLM flying Blue miles subscriptions probably aren’y worth it in terms of signing up to buy miles every month on an ongoing basis. However, since you can cancel at any time, it certainly might be worth signing up for a subscription if you have a near-term need to buy a small chunk of miles, using a “subscription” to buy the first month’s allotment (and later cancelling the subscription).
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