In this Frequent Miler week in review, we have one of my favorite posts to read of 2019 (the Milenerd post described below), a terrific resource you should bookmark for your award search needs, a story that reminds us there are an endless number of ways to be #Bonvoyed, and more. Enjoy this weekend’s Saturday synopsis.
May 2019
If you missed it before, Milenerd has completely changed. While it’s understandable to miss the old Milenerd, the new Milenerd is every bit as awesome, just completely different. His May 2019 post (still no direct link to posts there, so you’ll just find it at the top of milenerd.com) is all about a week he spent driving for Uber. If you enjoy movies that seem like a combination of realistic vignettes that remind us about the many overlapping stories happening in the world concurrently with our own, you’ll probably love reading this post. Ironically, I’m typing today’s week in review in the car with family members who were just talking about maybe driving for Uber part-time minutes before I found this post. Reading it both made me want to drive for Uber (because I like the social interaction) and to watch the movie that milenerd eventually writes.
In Defense of Buying Miles at 2 Cents Each
From the moment when Barclays introduced their round-up opportunity to buy miles (originally at 1c each as a pilot and now at 2c each long-term), I wasn’t enthused. There are plenty of ways to generate miles for less than that. This post from No Mas Coach argues the opposite perspective: in short, Barclays gives you the option to op off a smaller amount of miles to complete a valuable redemption. While I’l concede that you can certainly still redeem for much better than $0.02 each and paying $0.02 each for 2,000 miles beats paying 5 cents each by buying them direct, I’d rather go to Staples tomorrow and buy 2,000 foe what would ultimately cost $2-4 in liquidation fees. Still, it’s fun to read an opposing viewpoint now and then if for nothing else to help you know why you disagree.
Master Chart of What Sites Search Airline Award Availability
Travel is Free has created a really handy resource for those who have a hard time remembering the many search options for finding award space. This is definitely worth a bookmark if you like to do your own legwork. I’ve actually been leaning on Juicy Miles quite a bit lately as it saves me a lot of time over checking multiple sites and referencing charts, but I’ve noticed some occasional inaccuracies and it doesn’t have access to quite everything, so this chart is still super useful for me even though I’m not manually searching every award.
A BONVOY STORY…CHECK, DOUBLE CHECK, TRIPLE CHECK; DO WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO PREVENT UNEXPECTED SURPRISES!
Not a week goes by that you don’t read a story about someone being #Bonvoyed, but it constantly surprises me to read of the many ways for it to be done. Joe at OHTravelDad gives us a cautionary tale and a reminder to check your previous reservations. While this one got resolved pretty easily, I do wonder if he would have been overcharged to the tune of $1700+ had he shown up without double checking the reservation in advance. After my recent discovery that some hotels only add a fee for children if you include them in the online reservation (but not if you add them via the hotel directly), I wouldn’t be surprised if he had gotten hit with this one had he not resolved it in advance. Moral of the story: if you have old reservations in your Marriott account, heed this advice: check them.
How to Get Stronger in Just 20 Minutes per Week: With this Method I Got 16% Stronger and Hit a New All-time Max Bench Press
What the heck does bench pressing have to do with miles, points, credit cards, or travel? You’re right: absolutely nothing. So why include this post from Brian McAdam about a lifting routine that helped him increase his bench press by 16% in 8 months in our week in review? Because it illustrates one of the things that continues to fascinate me about this hobby of ours: it encourages the type of analysis and maximization that leads someone who does not blog about fitness to write a post about how he recorded and tracked his results over 8 months and actually knows that his strength increased to the tune of exactly 16%. One of the things I enjoy most about going to meet ups and now doing our Frequent Miler to Go series is learning about the ways in which people with the kind of mind attracted to miles and points apply similar skill sets to other areas of life. Maybe it’s because it gives me hope that this hobby isn’t just about champagne and club lounges, but about an approach to life that gets you more — and more efficiently — but I get excited thinking about stuff like this. If only thinking about it would suffice to increase my strength by 16%, too….
That’s it for this week around the web. Check back soon for this week’s last chance deals.
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Also unbelievable even after that rape murder in one of those Carolinas, that women get in so non chalantly in late night in any car that they think is uber or lyft.
I hate to be mean, and I am not victim blaming, but there are precautions that people should use. I admit nothing is 100% safe, however common sense seems to be in short supply. Sadly, lots of people are careless or too drunk to think. I always check the license plate and car model matches what it should and I wait for the driver to ask me if I am XXXX instead of going up to a random car. Yes, the driver knows your name, and should use it. If I am alone, which is rare, I usually call someone a few minutes after i get in and pleasantries are exchanged and talk until I arrive or I say that I will see you in a few minutes since that lets the driver know someone is expecting you.
Congrats on being a complete Moron, Debit. You are the worst of all commenters on any blog. I’m sure you take pride in getting this comment, but just let the rest of us know that we think you are the exact version of Donald Trump in an alternate world. Biggeat Moron out there. Congrats. Takes a lot to get that much recognition. Asshat. May your comments go silent soon because you’re unable to comment.
^^^ this person is harassing me. Please ban this idiot.
He is making a movie?