The great award chart debate gets heated, stacking big and more (Week in Review)

One of my favorite things about this points and miles hobby is that there often isn’t one “right answer”. Whether we’re talking about which is the “best” credit card, which hotel chain is the “best” choice for you, etc., there is often room for discussion and debate. If you enjoy debate as much as the answer itself, you’ll want to listen to this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air — specifically for the discussion about Virgin Atlantic’s award chart (read more about the debate below!).

Whether you’re looking to stack big with card-linked offers on top of shopping portals on top of other card-linked offers or you’re wondering why anyone would want the Amex Green card, you should read on for more from this week at Frequent Miler.

This week on the Frequent Miler blog…

Virgin Atlantic still has award charts, and they’re pretty good

If you’ve listened to this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air episode, you already know that Greg and I pretty strongly disagree about this post he wrote about Virgin Atlantic’s award charts. On the one hand, Greg uncovered award charts hiding in plain sight that are published on Virgin Atlantic’s website. However, I’d argue that he’s drinking too much of the Virgin Atlantic kool-aid and giving them a free pass here that they don’t deserve. Flying Blue long published an award calculator, but actual prices varied and could be less or more — and the entire points and miles community has agreed for a decade that Flying Blue doesn’t have an award chart. Virgin Atlantic shouldn’t get credit for one, either. Let me put it this way: If Hyatt suddenly said that they have an award chart but will also price awards dynamically, sometimes pricing hotels lower than the award chart but a lot of times pricing them far, far higher — would we be saying that Hyatt has an award chart? I think not.

Rocking Shopping Portals for Huge Rewards | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep291 | 1-24-25 | Podcast

Shopping portals were my initial gateway drug to the miles and points hobby. I always enjoyed getting a deal and I quickly realized that shopping portals could make a good deal even better. On this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, we discuss common shopping portal myths, cautionary tales, how to increase your odds of success, and a lot more. You can also hear Greg and I duke it out verbally over Virgin Atlantic, hear about a couple of points and miles millionaire promotions, and a lot more.

Amex Green Card Review (2025)

I have a bone to pick with Tim, too! Tim offers a solid review of the Amex Green card, but in the end he declares that the audience for this card is unclear. His primary argument seems to be that the card is an Amex and as such isn’t as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard and therefore isn’t a good “travel” card despite offering extra points on travel. While that’s absolutely true, particularly abroad, I find it clearer to see the audience for this card: people who want to earn 3x on travel and dining and primarily find value in transferring to airline partners. Sure, you could earn 3x on travel and dining with Chase cards for ~$55 per year less, but Chase is missing some key airline transfer partners offered by Amex, and Chase has far, far fewer transfer bonuses. If I primarily want to fly internationally (and I do!), I’d primarily want Amex points (and I do!). Tim’s lightly spoken point with which I strongly agree (and indeed the reason I’ve never had an Amex Green card) is that there are better ways of earning Amex points given great welcome bonuses, retention bonuses, referral bonuses, and spending categories on other cards. Still, if you travel a lot domestically for work using your own credit cards but want to use your points to fly internationally (and even more so if Hyatt’s footprint doesn’t meet your travel needs), I’d think the Green card might be a very good fit.

Beauty In The Eye Of The Cardholder: Stephen’s Top 6 Card-Linked Programs

Card-linked programs can make for a terrific stack with shopping portals since you simply need to click through from the portal and then use a card synced up with a good card-linked offer to pay. And as Stephen points out, some of these card-linked programs can stack together to juice your savings even more.

Hilton Gift Cards can be difficult (but not impossible) to use. Here are some tips for success.

Hilton Gift Cards have been quite a headache for many people. In fairness, we’ve had some reports from readers who haven’t had any trouble using them, but we’ve heard from far more folks who haven’t been able to use their Hilton Gift Cards or have only been able to use part of the balance on a card. However, it seems that the main issue might be how the card gets processed. The post explains that you want it to process like a credit card charge — or simply add it to Apple Pay if you have it.

Qantas Frequent Flyer program changes: Increased award pricing, more options for booking airline partners & more

Spoiler alert: In Greg’s weekly newsletter, which has not yet gone out at the time of publication of this post, he’s going to say that this is the big points & miles news of the week. Spoiler alert #2: I didn’t even include this in my draft of this week in review until after I’d written everything else and then read Greg’s drafted newsletter. I realized that I couldn’t leave out the thing that he identifies as the week’s big news, though I wanted to because it feels rather inconsequential. Qantas points have so few advantageous opportunities. Still, if you have Qantas points, now is your time to put them to use.

SAS extends deadline for retroactive flight credit to 2/28/25 for EuroBonus Millionaire promo

The SAS EuroBonus  Millionaire saga continues, with the deadline to submit flights from retroactive credit getting pushed yet again, this time to February 28, 2025. The good news is that they haven’t forgotten about those of us waiting on credit, it just seems to be taking them a very long time to work through the backlog of retroactive credit requests. I’m still missing credit for two airlines I flew and only need credit for one more of those to reach 15, but it looks like I’ll be waiting for up to another month to get it sorted out.

Capital One Venture X Business Credit Card Review (2025)

Tim reviews the Capital One Venture X Business Credit Card, which could be a good fit for someone who wants the benefits without adding to their 5/24 count. That said, I don’t love that huge spending requirement, particularly since the flexible spending limit may not provide enough flex for everyone.

Park Hyatt Zurich: Bottom Line Review

Tim’s review of the Park Hyatt Zurich really demonstrates how a high-end hotel can go above and beyond in little ways that make a stay truly memorable and special. Thoughtful touches like the coffee and cookies don’t cost the hotel much but make for a moment that a guest is likely to remember forever and share with friends and family. The monogrammed wallet made by the upholsterers for Rolls-Royce might be a bit of a reach beyond reasonable in the most fun way possible. I’ll note that I had a short overnight stay at this property several years ago and I got neither cookies nor a wallet! Well done, Tim.

A weekend of family fun in Orlando: What it cost and how we booked

My family recently spent a weekend in Orlando where my wife and kids went to Disney World, Legoland, and enjoyed one of our favorite domestic resorts. It wasn’t a cheap weekend necessarily, but it worked out to be well worthwhile thanks to a few ways I found to save along the way.

What’s in Our Wallets? (Jan 2025) | Coffee Break Ep42 | 1-21-25 | Podcast

I recently wrote a post about the cards currently in my wallet, but on this week’s Coffee Break, Greg and I compare notes on what each of us is carrying in our respective wallets. I enjoy these discussions because it digs into a little bit of the day to day “real world” use that is applicable to a wider range of folks. While Greg and I both have many more cards than what we discuss on this show, it was fun to compare what each of us carries for the major spending categories.

Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace, Morocco: Bottom Line Review

Even though I should know to expect it by now, I’m always struck by the significantly grander nature of many common American brands in foreign countries. While Tim does note some wear around the edges in his review, this nonetheless looks like a great place to stay if you’ll be visiting Fes.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye out for this week’s last chance deals to make sure you grab those expiring in January before they’re gone.

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