The year of the mattress run: Hyatt or Marriott? (and more)

Mattress running has been on everyone’s mind lately. While Hyatt has previously dominated that type of talk, this week Marriott made us bring them to top of mind. Earning 2021 Marriott Bonvoy Elite status is easier than ever, but how does it compare to Hyatt’s similar opportunity? See us discuss all that, reader feedback, what crazy thing First Tech did and more below in Frequent Miler on the Air and read on for more of this Frequent Miler week in review.

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This week at Frequent Miler

Marriott’s entry to mattress running

The year of the mattress run: top-tier status in 6 programs in 48 nights

Who would have thought that 2021 would become the year of the mattress run? With the right mix of promos, credit cards, and strategy, one can achieve elite status almost effortlessly. But is it really worth checking in to a hotel and paying for nights with no intention of actually staying? Only you can answer that last part, but here’s how you can become top dog without trying too hard.

Marriott launches easy elite status for 2021 and cheaper saver awards

I expected that this year we would see a continuation of opportunities for easier elite status, but I wouldn’t have put my money on Marriott making it quite this easy to re-qualify for the elite tier of your choice. Gifted elite nights, reduced-price stays and more of what Marriott is doing to clear the way toward keeping your elite status perks in this post.

Marriott’s elite benefits guarantee is back

In another move that I didn’t see coming (or at least not yet) is the return of the Marriott elite status benefits guarantee. The cynic in me assumed that Marriott would table the guarantees as long as they possibly could, but I think this was actually the smart move. The guarantee is what gives the list of benefits teeth. Don’t get me wrong, I am still far from expecting a consistent experience across brands with Marriott (which didn’t exist pre-pandemic), but with the re-instituted guarantees the experience should improve considerably.

Shortcuts to Marriott Platinum Elite status (Special 2021 edition)

Those looking to plot out the path of least resistance have some additional options in 2021 thanks to the Marriott promotions outlined above. With the number of free night certificates many of us have combined with those promotions, I imagine most of us are better suited for the shortcuts to elite nights in 2021 rather than the all-at-once shortcuts, but it’s always good to know your options. See the post for more.

Virgin Atlantic’s big changes

Virgin Atlantic dumps Delta sweet spots (Update: US-Europe sweet spot is back!)

Virgin Atlantic really disappointed me this week by devaluing its Delta award chart with no notice. It eventually came about that they would (at least for now) be keeping the chart intact as-is for flights to and from Europe, but at that point the damage was done: gone was the sweet spot for booking Delta flights to Asia or South America and along with it went my faith that Virgin Atlantic would do right by customers by providing some sort of notice prior to such large award program changes.

How to book Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic miles (2021 Edition)

The landscape has changed drastically when it comes to booking Delta flights with Virgin Atlantic miles. In this post, Greg has updated everything you need to know about how to book Delta via Virgin Atlantic.

Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight)

While Virgin killed off a number of its sweet spots for booking Delta flights, Flying Club is still a program with many awesome sweet spots….on paper. I saw that because of the great sweet spots left, like Air New Zealand business class, just don’t become available often enough to get excited. Virgin Atlantic is still a good transfer partner when you know there is availability to book what you want, but I certainly wouldn’t transfer points there speculatively these days. Nor would I take the ANA sweet spot for granted — I imagine that one can’t be long for this world (though since I’m sure it costs them much less than all of the cumulative Delta redemptions were, maybe it isn’t as endangered as we think).

In credit cards

Sign up now for the Platinum 100K + 10X offer (here’s why)

We called this the possible Deal of the Year in 2020 and it is surely set to compete for a repeat title in 2021. If you’ve ever heard the old adage “it takes money to make money”, this is your real-world example. If you can float the $550 annual fee now, you’ll come out far far ahead when all is said and done. Even if you never thought you wanted the Platinum card, you should read this post and see for yourself why you may want to re-think that.

Pay taxes via credit card 2021 edition [2020 Q4 estimated taxes due 1/15]

Estimated taxes for 2020 Q4 were due yesterday, so we republished our guide to paying taxes via credit card this week. While the guide doesn’t include a time machine to go back and make an estimated payment, it may still be worth reviewing the key info to prep yourself for when tax filing season officially begins next month.

Saving stacks without stacking: My experience buying a Best Buy open box laptop

I wrote a recent post about all the ways I was intending to stack deals to buy a brand new laptop. In the end, it all went out the window when I stumbled on some great deals offered on open-box computers via Best Buy. I ended up with what is for all intents and purposes a brand new computer for just over half its sticker price today. A small update to to this post: HP is waiving the restocking fee since they had initially declined my order, so I’m thrilled at how much I saved without any special stacking tricks.

That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Don’t forget to check out this week’s last chance deals.

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