In today’s episode we’ll talk about how you can still book Emirate first class awards, we’ll discuss how Spirit Airlines is going premium, and we’ll look at how you can prepare your kids for points and miles.
Main Event: Points for the next generation
Watch here…
Or listen here…
Giant Mailbag
(01:29) – Does anyone else feel like American Express’ customer service is above and beyond the rest?
Card News
(09:33) – Chase Instacart benefits on many cards
Mattress Running the Numbers
(17:07) – Buy Marriott Points for as low as 0.89 cents each (or maybe lower)
Read more about buying Marriott points here.
Bonvoyed
(23:33) – Emirates restricting first class availability to elite members from 5/12/25
(24:14) – Read about booking Emirates first class with Qantas or Air Canada miles here.
Awards, Points, and More
(27:43) – Too good to last: Rakuten stops offering rewards for Chase cards
(30:08) – Japan Airlines added as a new Bilt transfer partner
(32:23) – Combined Alaska/Hawaiian loyalty program now expected in August
(38:31) – Spirit updates
Main Event: Points for the next generation
(47:57) – Sign up for airline accounts to earn miles now
(57:39) – How do you track all these accounts?
(1:04:29) – Help them build credit history
(1:10:13) – Help them build college savings
Read more about earning miles for college savings here.
Or find the best options for buying Gift of College gift cards here.
(01:18:52) – See our Plastiq guide here.
(1:22:15) – Help them build rewards balances & let them help you build yours
(1:23:06) – Help them build their credit card collection
(01:34:37) – Learn more about Travel Freely here: https://frequentmiler.com/take-the-stress-out-of-credit-card-bonus-hunting-travel-freely/
Question of the Week
(1:39:08) – Why isn’t anyone talking about the Accor Signature Annual Membership given their airline transfer partners (many with a 1:1 ratio)?
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder
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Greg and Nick a lot of good nuggets in this one.
Thank you for the Instacart reminders, that is worth looking at now with the elevated credits. If there are opportunities to stack with Instacart new member, referral, or other bonus offers it could be quite interesting. When Chase was on the GoPuff credit train previously all of the Chase cards between myself and P2 plus the crazy referral offers yielded around $400 in nearly free groceries and other items (got some really nice phone cables and drink koozies).
I did not know some banks allowed AUs below the age of 13. I’ve been so used to seeing that requirement on AMEX cards that I don’t think I’ve looked in depth elsewhere. Might be a good reference article to publish.
The Accor Signature membership is niche but I can see the appeal if you have your eyes on a specific property. I really want have the family stay at some of the Fairmont properties in Canada (especially in Banff and Jasper) and cash rates are always substantial. Accor has killed the semi-annual 20% Fairmont gift card sale and there’s no longer a co-branded card in the US, so there isn’t a great way to discount the stay unless you have a super old Capital One card like Nick that gives access to discounted gift cards. The Signature membership could be a way to pick up an expensive stay at around a 20% discount, with possibility of stacking sales to subscribers or some status benefits if you can reach Platinum (suite upgrades?).
Sometimes the FHR rates are good on Fairmont but I’ve also seen some really discounted AAA rates pop up before that would book direct so you could pay with ALL points. Don’t think it’s a great speculative option for those of us US based but if you want specific stays or stay at Accor internationally often this could make a lot of sense.
Since the Gift of College gift cards are a focus on this podcast it might be worth updating the linked articles. Most (or all?) of the ways of buying GoC online cost effectively have dried up which could limit the appeal of this.
My wife is currently attending Grad school and we did not setup a 529 before since it was an uncertainty if she would go back for it. Her school allows for credit card payments for tuition at a reasonable fee (2.5%). With that it kills much of the incentive as we would need to travel out of state to get gift cards and establish a 529 with the main benefit being double the effective spend (though still with a fee for activating the cards). I might think differently if her school did not accept credit cards at all or if we lived in a state that sold them closer by.
There is a bit of a loophole with 529s that you can withdraw contributions tax free just as you can with a Roth IRA, though you can’t only withdraw contributions so you pay tax and a penalty on any earnings that come out proportionally with it. If you had a way to acquire the GoC gift cards at a low enough cost that seemed to be an MS avenue from Reddit chatter. That is probably why you’ve seen GoC gift cards mostly dry up online, and as in Amol’s account you may get eyes on shut downs on your 529 or GoC account if you push that avenue now.
Regarding gift of college, I did this about 7-10 years ago when I was in medical school. I funded a 529 with GoC and then used gift cards that I found on sale with high % cash back cards to pay my tuition through Plastiq. Given my rate of return, I actually paid off > 1 semester worth of med school solely with the cashback rewards I earned through all this. I made sure everything was within the letter of the laws of the various accounts. However, I did one day get a very angry voicemail from the CEO of Gift of College as I was running tens of thousands of dollars through his site through a 529 in rapid succession twice a year. Fortunately it was at the end of my schooling and I laid off the website for several years until I logged back on and was graciously allowed to continue using GoC to help pay off my wife’s student loans as well as fund my son’s 529.
As any right-minded person will observe, the FM team is NOT looking for filler content. Indeed, no other hobby site provides this level of meaningful content to the community.