Aloha from Hawaii! #TeamFM (at least two thirds of us) broadcasts from Hawaii this week — though Greg and I were on different islands. This week we talk a little bit about why we each love Hawaii and then dive into whether a Citi ThankYou card is worth a 5/24 slot given the Turkish sweet spot and Greg’s reaction to my post on Stephen winning the #40KFaraway challenge (funny enough, I’ve had the same thought!).
For those who would rather listen during the morning commute or while you’re working, the audio of our weekly Facebook Live broadcast is also available for download as a podcast on all of your favorite services.
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On to our weekend recap of the week’s top stories:
In Award Booking:
Why Stephen should win #40KFaraway
As I said in FM on the Air above, I’m really clueless as to what Stephen Pepper is planning for the #40KFaraway challenge. With this post, I demonstrate a way that I think he could darn near win the thing. If I had Membership Rewards points, this is what I might do with them, anyway.
Luxury Hyatt suites for cash + 9K points per night. How exciting is that?
When cash rates are low, this relatively new trick can open the doors to nice suites for just 9K points per night on top of the cash rate. If you’re traveling with a family / group, it’s probably worth checking in with the Twitter team to see what premium suites are available for your stay.
Turkish still a mixed bag, but patience helps
The Turkish Miles & Smiles sweetspot for domestic United Airlinrs awards feels too good to be true. This week, I flew my first trip to Hawaii reserved through Turkish Miles & Smiles and I don’t know if it was the Economy Plus seating I chose or knowing that I saved 90K miles by cancelling the Delta award I had booked through Virgin Atlantic before this sweet spot materialized, but it felt good. What didn’t feel as good was needing to call 5 or 6 times to get an agent who was able to rebook me on the exact itinerary I wanted. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze here, but you’ll (potentially) need some time & patience to get it done.
In credit cards and tips & tricks:
Don’t fall for 4x hype when you can earn more
The new off out on the IHG Premier card is pretty interesting: in addition to a healthy welcome bonus, for the first year it offers 25x at IHG properties and 4x everywhere else. That sounds awesome, especially since there are (now extended) opportunities to ramp up a lot of spend pretty quickly. But don’t do it: If you really want IHG points, there are better ways to get them than 4x on the credit card. If you want 25x at IHG or the 4th night free on award stays, by all means: consider the new card. But if 4x is what you’re after, you can do better.
Tools and tricks: changing dates, social media strengths, and other tips
Some people refer to the world of miles & points as “the hobby”, others as “the game”. Whatever you call it, there are tips and tricks you pick up along the way that help you find more success. This post has a few that have come up recently and how you might leverage them to do more #winning.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for our week in review around the web and this week’s last chance deals.
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no offense intended, but Greg should lose that hat, it’s the same as my Grandpa’s
He likes it Good for him just like ur Grandpa . I wear a B (Bexxie) Baseball Cap and stay out of the Sun to much skin cancer out there to worry about being Cool .
CHEERs