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I bet that almost every reader has an opinion about which is the single best rewards program, but I also bet that after about 15 seconds of trying to explain why you think it is the best you’ll think of a handful of counterpoints that require a bit more thought. Indeed, even in our discussion on this week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, I found myself reconsidering once stance or another. It really boils down to the award chart sweet spots you are likely to use and which program gives you the best chance to earn a significant enough pile of points to be able to enjoy those redemptions.
While we debate the single best program on the show, we also discuss the Caesars status devaluation and what to do about your miles and points before you expire. Read or watch for more on those topics or read on for more this week from Frequent Miler about the ideal Curve wallet, exciting additions to the Bilt program, how you can discover the next big secret of manufactured sending and more.
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This week at Frequent Miler
Who offers the best transfer partners?
The title question here seems like it would be easy to answer, but go ahead and tell me what you think and why. I bet by the time you get to the end of your first supporting argument you’ll have thought of some counterpoints that require more thought. I also love that Greg included so many interesting sweet spot awards as I think the best transfer partners depend heavily on which sweet spots matter the most for your travel lifestyle. As noted above and argued on the show, I think a key ingredient is which program gives you the best chance to earn plenty of points to be able to take advantage of your preferred sweet spot as often as possible. I think that’s the key piece as to why Greg has such a preference for Ultimate Rewards while I get much more excited about Membership Rewards.
Bilt Rewards adds United and Asia Miles to the mix
Let there be no doubt: Bilt is building a very interesting rewards program. If you’d have told me a year and a half ago that we would see a brand new rewards program sprout up that would give people points for rent and that those points would be transferable to American, United, Hyatt, Turkish, Virgin Atlantic, Aeroplan, and more, I can’t imagine I’d have taken that prediction seriously. Now I can’t wait to see what’s next for Bilt.
Marriott’s Luminary Hotel, Fort Myers Florida: Bottom Line Review
This property will soon become more expensive (on points), so if you have free night certificates and a desire to use them here, now is your chance to lock this one in before the award chart is discontinued. That said, given the apparent party atmosphere of the nearby bar, I think I’d be out for now. That’s not because the noise would bother me personally, but having a couple of light sleepers in the family means that I currently appreciate (and value) a quiet night’s sleep over a new hotel.
Finding the hidden secrets of manufactured spending (on Nick’s mind)
The “secrets” to manufactured sending are changing all the time. The real secret is in discovering the common patterns and recognizing new opportunities as they develop. The very best opportunities likely won’t make it to the front pages of blogs but rather will be things you learn from friends or your own experience as you draw on what you know worked in the past so that you can recognize the next big thing when you see it tomorrow.
Chase Ink Cash: 5x reasons why it’s my favorite no annual fee card
Tim makes the case for why the Chase Ink Cash card is all that and a bag of chips. There’s no doubt that this card is widely-loved in the points and miles world and for good reason. Staples and Office Max / Depot give us frequent opportunities to express our gratitude for 5x at office supply stores, but this card also returns 5x in some other popular categories. I think this one shines brightly for anyone willing to buy gift cards at office supply stores to meet their day-to-day spending needs (whether merchant gift cards or fee-free Mastercard or Visa gift cards). This really isn’t a card to be ignored and is surely a key part of Greg’s preference for Hyatt and Chase.
Dreaming up my Curve wallet
The Curve card is here and it’s real. I’m already putting it to use in my household and I’m a big fan. The biggest problem right now is that they only currently support Mastercard, Discover, and Diners Club. That sounds limiting, but in this post Greg shows just how good of a wallet you can create within those constraints and with the power of rule-setting.
Caesars Rewards Downgrading Members From Diamond To Gold
If you’ve been riding the status match-go-round, the music as ended: Caesars has not only stopped matching people to Gold status, it has downgraded status for those folks who have been matching back and forth. Thus far, it seems like those whose Wyndham status comes virtue of the Wyndham Business card may still be eligible and may keep their status while those of us whose Wyndham status was the result of a previous match from Caesars are out of luck.
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots 2022
Updated for 2022, our resource for Capital One miles sweet spots shows off just how far this program has come in the past couple of years. With access to some of the hottest sweet sots in the game (in addition to a solid “everywhere” rewards structure), it is certainly possible that Capital One could be the rewards program choice for a segment of readers.
Hilton devaluation: top properties now well over 100K per night
If you’ve been saving up your Hilton points for an idyllic vacation in paradise, you might be saving a bit longer than planned. Thanks to this latest devaluation, you may need quite a handful more points at properties like the Conrad Bora Bora or Maldives. The most disappointing thing about this devaluation is that there was no notice or announcement — it was just slipped by behind the scenes and members were left to find it.
InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco: Bottom Line Review
I think Stephen was overly charitable here: based on his experience, I’d be out on this property in the future. Admittedly, I don’t love InterContinental hotels, but I love even less that they overcharged him and won’t respond, didn’t disclose or provide the benefits of the resort fee, and that he encountered what I can only imagine was really poor service at the bar if it warranted a note in the review. No thanks — there are plenty of IHG fish in the sea to skip this one.
Hyatt Centric Atlanta/Buckhead: Bottom Line Review
Tim also took one for the team this week so to speak with a disappointing Bottom Line Review. Unlike Tim, I have never stayed at a Hyatt Centric, but I’ll be sure not to make the Hyatt Centric Atlanta Buckhead my first.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Keep an eye on this week’s last chance deals and grab them before they are gone.
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Loved this discussion. One topic I think that would have really added to the mix or would be great as a separate discussion would be the cost in annual fees of having multiple cards in each ecosystem and what the break even point is for each issuer. For example, Amex has some great multipliers on their bonus categories, but some of their cards seem to have higher fees (even accounting for the credits).
Hey Nick,
this may be off topic, but I remember you talking about Marriott Boundless card and spending enough to qualify for Platinum. We have met that obligation and can not get Marriott to upgrade us.. any suggestions or numbers we can call to get this upgrade.
thanks
How long has it been since you completed the spend?
I don’t have an easy suggestion as to who to call as each side is likely to point blame at the other. That said, I haven’t heard of issues with this before. If not much time has passed, your best bet might just be to wait it out and let it happen automatically as I imagine you’re in for hours of phone frustration otherwise.
This was a really great episode. I like how you explored all the different aspects of the programs from earning to flexibility to value. My vote is probably for UR overall, but if amex added a meaningful hotel partner that could get outsized value when transferring, MR would be king!
Those rewards cards i.e. Priority Pass, Marriott card, etc. can be accessed from Apps on your phone. Why carry the physical ones? To save phone memory, I am guessing
There are some places that accept Priority Pass but are not equipped to accept it via the app. Same with credit cards: many hotels do not yet accept any form of phone payment or tap to pay.
In a podcast, Greg said something to the effect of “don’t let your personal identity be defined by your tier status.” I love that. Hand in hand with that: don’t let your loyalty program (airline or hotel) determine where you’d like to go. So, to your question of what’s the best rewards program, assuming that travel is one’s objective as opposed to cash back, I’d offer that it is the program that best helps a person go to where one wants to go. There will be a few moving parts in that determination but that’s what it comes down to.
Well Stated !! I have gone everywhere I have wanted to and I don’t spend $500K a year on my card like others.
Do posts on Travel Ins. they can really save ur Butt ” Far Away from Home “..
My other Caves are up for Sale.
A rewards program should liberate and enable a person . . . not own a person (as Tim on another site has suggested happens). Sounds like you’ve achieved that freedom. Congratulations.
@Reno Joe, I understand your perspective, but disagree to some extent.
My wife and I spent years traveling on a shoestring budget without any knowledge of miles and points. To some extent, we traveled “where we wanted to go” and certainly weren’t guided by loyalty programs since we didn’t participate in them (though if I’m being realistic, I’d say that we traveled where we could afford to go and often picked destinations by price, hopping on airfare sales as we found them, rather than picking single destinations). We could have checked more off our bucket lists by choosing first based on where we wanted to go, but we probably would have taken many fewer trips if we had prioritized where we wanted to go over cost. And we would have missed places we never would have seen otherwise. Never in a million years would I have thought to visit Lithuania if not for a 3-Euro sale on Ryanair while was staying in Berlin, yet it was one of my favorite trips ever (long before we discovered miles and points — we couch surfed in Vilnius).
These days, rather than picking destinations based on where we find an airfare sale, we sometimes choose a destination because it has a cool-looking hotel that costs more than we’d ever shell out or because there is a great flight award available. We’ve discovered a number of places that never would have been on our radar were it not for a flight or hotel redemption (Crete, Saipan, Phu Quoc, and plenty more). We also sometimes pick a destination that we’ve always wanted to see and plan a trip there since flights, previously the most expensive part of the trip, are no longer cost-prohibitive for us thanks to miles. We enjoy both types of trips — those that are destination-driven and those that are redemption-driven.
I understand those folks who are horrified by the idea of planning a trip around a redemption — I went through that stage of my youth when I thought that staying in a hostel and eating a $3 meal made my travel “more authentic” than someone else’s. But over the years, I’ve come to realize that different people have different preferences and derive enjoyment from different things. Some people enjoy the $3 street food meal (I certainly do!), some people want to experience the local gourmet scene. Some people want to pick a destination and plan a trip around that and others find the journey (be it a first class flight or unique routing) to be an exciting part of the trip and still others love a particular hotel brand with the same irrational fandom that caused me and my friends to paint the entire upper halves of our bodies with acrylic paint in school colors for a football game in college. Different strokes for different folks. There isn’t one “right” answer as to what matters the most to everyone.
For someone starting out, the flexibility to figure out their preferences is important. That’s what I like about the Bilt card — but it is also why I think Greg makes an excellent argument about how the inability to cash out at 1c per point is a huge drawback (since that is a piece of flexibility that many people would want).
Nick, thanks for your incredibly thoughtful comments. I don’t disagree with you.
For some, “where you want to go” is “I don’t know yet.” For others, it is “surprise me.” For still others, it is “adventure.” For yet others, it is “wherever our limited resources will take us.” I’m simply advocating that people be in touch with their desires and find loyalty programs that meet those desires . . . even if those desires are unfocused or undefined.
To your point, might one hotel chain have a hidden treasure that I would have never considered? Absolutely. But, a fair question is whether one needs to be committed to that hotel’s loyalty program or tier status to enjoy that hidden treasure? Can one play the free agent game? Hold transferable points and then transfer to program X or Y or Z as the need arises? I think this is very consistent with what you’re saying.
As for street food, there’s a joke in my family that hot dog stands seem to follow me around . . . and the vendors seem to already know how I like my dogs. Hmmm.
Thanks again.