Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon which may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Stranded in Qatar during a missile strike, unhappy Bilt users, Capital One originating cards on Discover, and poor man’s first class.
Stranded in Qatar During Missile Strikes: My Unexpected Escape Through Saudi Arabia
Any time I hear of some kind of conflict or uprising abroad, I find myself wondering how many points-and-miles jet-setters just so happen to be there. In an earlier Saturday Selection for example, we heard from a traveler who was staying at the Hilton Kathmandu when it was basically attacked by protestors. And I recall my own unnerving experience receiving a notice under the doorway of a hotel in Bangkok during a military coup in 2014, or the building tension of protests in the streets of Kiev a year later.
At Points and Miles Bling, one traveler (Greg P) recounts what it was like getting stuck in Qatar during a missile strike. It’s hard to imagine something more chilling than that. (Greg is quite a good writer, so make sure to read his full account here.) His day of sightseeing before an evening flight did not go as planned. An emergency alert on his phone sent him back to the hotel in a cab, where he literally heard explosions en route. Hotel checkout was mayhem, and when he arrived at the airport hoping to check into his first-class flight out of there, he found that the airport was closing down operations and he’d have to spend at least another night. The Park Hyatt Doha became his sanctuary, with a staff that remained cool and calm throughout the uncertain situation. Even so, it was hard not to feel unnerved, and Greg checked in with home as often as possible, noting that “My Freedom Mobile “Roam Beyond” plan was a lifesaver, unlimited calls and 5GB of data meant I could stay connected to home without worrying about a massive bill or hunting for local SIMs.” Greg worked hard to come up with a reasonable plan to make his way home as quickly as possible, despite the halt of flights from Qatar. His best idea: a land crossing into Saudi Arabia, where flights were still operational. The particular land border he’d be able to most reasonably reach was in the desert and not one frequented by tourists. So he found a private desert-tour driver willing to take him. At the border, Greg’s Qatari driver could not cross over with him, and he nervously switched drivers to make his way to Riyadh. Despite his concerns, he found that he was in good care for the whole journey. Thankfully his plan was a good one, and once in Riyadh, he was able to fly homeward to safety. Again, make sure to read Greg’s full account in his own words here.
“No Remorse, No Accountability”—Bilt Users In Uproar Over New Credit Cards
In February, Greg made the comment: “The Bilt 2.0 rollout has taught me to question Bilt’s leadership more than ever.” At that point, our primary frustrations were around the vague, half-baked, and confusing nature of the Bilt 2.0 updates, but it’s unfortunately only gotten worse since then. We’ve since seen Bilt cards being frozen, and 5x not being honored, Bilt 2.0 charging 0.2% foreign transaction fees despite claiming there were none, and Bilt mortgage payments running into snags, for example. Perhaps worst of all, as we discussed in this post, Bilt’s behavior relating to these problems has bordered on trolling at times and has been avoidant at other times. Of course, we’re not the only ones who noticed this. In this Forbes piece, we hear stories that are, unfortunately, not at all surprising given the Bilt behaviors we’ve been observing so far. Now, some people who have counted on Bilt for mortgage payments are seeing their payments fail with little or no explanation or assistance from Bilt support when they reach out to seek a resolution. One person even saw the funds removed from his bank account for his rent payment, but they never showed up to his landlord. When he sought answers, he received no resolution, and to this day, he considers the money essentially “stolen” by Bilt. In February, Bilt apparently received 70 complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Contrast this with the ~5 per month they’d been receiving before. The people are losing patience with Bilt, which leaves one wondering how a $10.75 billion valuation holds up.
Capital One begins originating select credit cards on Discover Network
Capital One acquired Discover Financial Services last year, and now they’ll likely be transitioning several cards to the Discover Network, at least according to some benefits guides that appeared on Reddit recently. The Discover Network was referenced on The Venture, Savor, Quicksilver, VentureOne, SavorOne, and QuicksilverOne cards. And Capital One more or less confirmed this, saying, “We have started originating select Capital One credit card accounts on Capital One’s Discover Network.” This most likely means new cardholders will receive the Discover Network cards, and existing cardholders will receive the Discover Network cards once their current cards expire. The downside? Some have reported potential acceptance issues at Costco as well as some overseas retailers.
Why I Chose A Middle Seat In Economy Over First Class On American Airlines
Matthew Klint has a somewhat relatable story about forfeiting a $189 upgrade opportunity on his recent American Airlines reverse red-eye from Chicago to LA. While the upgrade satisfied his rule of justifying $50/hour-of-flying for upgrades to premium class, an empty row on the plane wooed him away from the upgrade. He gambled a bit, selecting a middle seat in the row to disincentivize anyone else from selecting seats in that row. The gamble worked, and he ended up with a whole row to himself, which he treated like a lie-flat seat. I admire this kind of experimentation and creativity, though I have had some rough nights in “poor man’s economy” where I just couldn’t get as comfortable as I expected, despite ample space. What do you think – is a whole economy row to yourself better than an upgraded seat?
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Wifi calls are free. Surely the Park Hyatt had wifi…
Depends on your service provider and plan, but, generally, yes, when calling numbers that you usually wouldn’t pay for anyway (like, North America-to-North America numbers, even if on WiFi, while on Airplane mode, say, at the lovely new Park Hyatt in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). But, if you call an international number that’s not covered, may still cost extra.
I had some friends on their honeymoon in Cancun when the 9/11 attacks hit. All flights into the US were suspended. Fortunately, living in San Diego, they were able to get a flight to Tijuana and walk across the border.
On getting stranded while traveling, whether its because of conflict, a global pandemic, severe weather, a mechanical or airline accident, or a personal medical event, these are all reasons why I still get purchase baseline travel insurance. For the most part, I have been fortunate to not have to claim much, but when I have, it usually pays out and is worth it. I feel for those in the Middle East (and earlier this year in Mexico and Caribbean). 2026 is feeling more like a-2020-style-year. Man, the ‘fire-horse’ is off to a wild start. Be safe, folks.
Does your insurance provide coverage for travel disruptions due to acts of war?
YMMV. If you booked (and purchased the policy) before the war, then were affected by it, you likely have a better chance at claims. You still have to mitigate your costs (if you booked Economy, you can’t expect First), and there’s often limitations (like, you can’t expect to stay at $1,000/night hotels indefinitely).
Many do! Natural disasters, pandemics, and war are included in many polices that have evacuation. All the ones that I have purchased are very comprehensive.
There was air strikes on Iran in early 2020, too, btw (in response to which Iran downed a Ukrainian passenger jet).
I remember. Flight 752.
Forbes! You must be desparate to keep up the anti-Bilt propaganda. Forbes lost all its journalists and all its credibility years ago. It is a C+ student college rag nowadays.
If you are tired of the Bilt trolls, boycott Bilt.
Haven’t your parents taken you home yet?
If you are tired of Bilt trolls, boycott Bilt.
Walt Disney had a dream called Disneyland. He intended to open the park one year after breaking ground. Everyone thought we was crazy. Everyone said it couldn’t be done. Six months in, they had only done soil prep work and not a single structure had been started. But, he opened on the day planned. On that day, Tomorrowland was “coming soon” and water fountains had not yet been installed. Attendance was well more than anticipated and they ran out of food. After opening, critics continued to criticize. Yet, here we are.
Bilt has had issues in the transition and criticism is warranted. Other card issuers have had issues. But, the criticism of Bilt has been from the start and hoping for its demise — it clearly being about people leading Bilt as opposed to the card itself. And, criticism of Bilt has been louder and longer. The fact is that criticism of Bilt will continue — again, clearly from those who have something in their craw about the leadership.
My wife and I each have the Palladium card and are using it as our “all other” card (excluding tax payments). We do not use Bilt’s rent/mortgage payment system. It is a great card. Credits/Bilt Cash are easily used. With little to no effort, we will garner $1000 to $1500 net of the annual fee on each card. (If someone wants to go for points on rent, it’s really not that tough.) I am grateful to Chuck at DoC for laying out Bilt’s true simplicity. I am disappointed that so many other bloggers couldn’t discern the same.
My criticism: I want tax payments as an eligible charge.
Good points. It is not hard to find anti-Bilt bigots on the blogs but the card continues to perform and has more first-year value than any other by FM’s own metric.
I have no problem with genuine discussion about the merits of the Bilt cards. I have been tempted to apply for the Palladium because of the earnings potential. I do have a problem with trolls flooding the comments with juvenile personal attacks. Bilt has earned my interest, but not my trust.
Your hubris comes from trolling the “juvenile attackers”
My hubris comes from a lot of things. That is just one of them.
But on opening day when they ran out of food did Mr Disney himself climb on top of the Space Mountain and tell all the patrons to pound sand if they were hungry? I very highly doubt it. Part of the issue people have with BiLt is the leadership’s response to the very valid complaints, no tact, no grace, just the type of response you’d expect from a neop baby finance bro.
As for the card and the program itself it has its own problems and I hope any investor that sunk money into this project has their exit plan ready because this program is going to hemorrhage money without some major changes. This card has no appeal to the average CC user, the only people it does appeal to are exactly the type of people that game CCs, those very same people that pay the bill in full every month. There is a reason WF was losing 10M a month on these cards.
Personally, I’ve learned to… Stop Worrying and Love the (BILT).
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”
Here’s a novel idea. Maybe we can all discuss the merits of various cards and programs without the taunts and insults. It’s worth a try.
Nah, no need to gate-keep; say whatever you wanna say; be offended; ignore; engage; whatever.
Sounds like the comment section at OMAAT.
Sounds like fun.
Here’s a novel idea. Heed your own advice.
That’s why I said “we.”
I agree that Forbes long ago stopped being relevant. Not a “news source” I would cite.
That doesn’t make Bilt any better.
Check out these assessments (sent as titles to search on Google as Frequent Miler is is slow and arbitrary about approving HTML links):
Using Frequent Miler’s Valuation Method, The Bilt Palladium Card Is The Most Valuable Card They Have Ever Seen, Even With Zero Housing Spend
Bilt Palladium’s Delivered 50,000 Points Up Front—Gold Secured Through Early 2028 And 4X Everyday Spend Strategy
Wouldn’t having a whole row in coach be considered “poor man’s first class” rather than “poor man’s economy”? I think all of coach is basically poor man’s economy.
Ground transportation is freely flowing among the Gulf nations. Prices are higher. No one is stranded. Anyone can transit on the ground and fly out of Saudi Arabia. An experienced traveler would improvise, adapt, and overcome. Ooh-rah.
The issue has been that the State Dept has not been readily available to help travellers in that region. A primary part of their job is helping Americans overseas. Which this “State Dept” fails at constantly.