Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Good news all…we’re “podcast-ifying” our Ask Us Anything, Live episodes so you can tune in on your preferred podcast platforms outside of YouTube! On episode 64 we had a lot of questions about hotel cards., and a particularly fun question about where in the world is the best place to live for points and miles.
Watch episode 64 of Ask Us Anything live below or listen on your favorite podcast platforms! You’ll find these episodes right along with our other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes. (You can also click the timestamps below to navigate directly to a specific question within YouTube.)
00:00 – Start
04:45 – Should Nick upgrade his Aviator card?
08:09 – Would you advise paying the United Club card’s annual fee with 30k points? Is it a good deal?
10:00 -Just got my first Amex a BLUE BUSSINESS PLUS. how do I avoid pop up jail when I’m ready to apply to other Amex cards
11:23 – Barclays and others have declined me due to too many credit checks. How do you work around this?
13:35 What are the best hotel keeper cards currently?
18:28 – What is a reasonable cost to upgrade from economy to business on a transatlantic flight?
20:34 – I have the Bonvoy Boundless, planning on getting the Brilliant, and then upgrading the Boundless to the Ritz-Carlton. What is the best timing for upgrading and applying to get all the free night certs?
23:30 – Does it make sense to transfer Chase points to Marriott to top up free night certificates?
26:01 – Would you hold off on getting American Airlines cards, given your prediction that a devaluation is coming soon?
31:19 – This question is for everyone. If you could live anywhere in the U.S., or the world for that matter, based solely on points and miles opportunities, where would you live?
35:51 – What’s your prediction on Wells Fargo transfer partners, there was a leak that Wells Fargo autograph Journey is getting 5x on hotels, 4x on airlines, 3x on travel and dining with $95 annual fee
37:14 – Is it worth spending $15K on your Hyatt card through Plastiq to get a free night certificate?
38:25 – Will Chase not approve my SouthWest Performance Business Card if I didn’t put any post-sign-up-bonus spend on my SouthWest Premier Business Card I got a few months ago?
39:03 – How do I keep my Delta Platnium status or get to Diamond this year
40:26 – Has Bilt changed the game with their 150% transfer bonuses regarding the rule of thumb against doing speculative transfers?
46:24 – What credit card would you recommended to maximize hotel award redemption for a family of five?
49:53 – With all AMEX Platinums being part of the same family and can only get one sign up bonus for this family, are there any strategies or benefits to getting more than one AMEX Platinums (of any version)?
52:39 – How is Greg dealing with Detroit Lion loss to the San Francisco 49ers? Which city has best airline and hotel redemption to Vegas?
56:57 – I’d love to hear some hotel tips from things Stephen has learned from his 50 state road trip. I’m planning a month long road trip and would love tips on maximizing value of points
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I am spending 50K on a Viking Ocean cruise. Additionally, another 10K on air. What is the best spend strategy? I have all the hotel, and all the airline cards, except Hyatt … which I was thinking of getting for this expenditure. Is booking through Amex or AA along with my flight advantageous? It is seemingly complex, but I do not want to miss the bonus opportunity.
Do you know if you can break up the $50k spend? You should check out the Big Spend Bonuses resource on FM’s site (Resources > Credit Card Spend > Best Big Bonus Spend). You might also check out the 5/27/23 podcast “How would we spend 1 million dollars?” and the 8/5/23 podcast “How to earn millions of points from credit card welcome offers” main events. Off the top of my head, big spend SUBs would give the best bang for the buck (I think VentureX business has a giant SUB with large minimum spend for instance), and you might do best spreading that 50/60k spend across multiple new card SUBs. Otherwise, you could consider a card with a good travel or flight multiplier. IE on Rent Day (1st of every month), Bilt card has been offering 4x on travel (2x 2x). And Amex Platinum offers 5x on flights every day. Or if you open Bilt card and get the unpublished/unofficial welcome bonus of 5x on everything the first 5 days (up to $12,500 spend), you could put $12,500 of your purchase there.
DP: upgraded from boundless to RC at 18 month (age of account), and at 24 month mark got 85k FNC.
Another thank you for posting this to the podcast feed!
Please, please, please, please, please do not get rid of your print reports. For a number of reasons, that is the only option for me.
Did a double-take this morning when my podcast feed showed an FM episode on a weekday. So pleased you changed your mind and decided to podcast your AMA!
BTW, for any doubters of FM’s agenda, this is a great example of putting their community first.
Specifically, there is negative financial incentive to take what was formerly youtube only content (which does generate add revenue), and upload it as an ad-free podcast (with helpful content markers, no less.)
Thanks for posting this as a podcast!
Best: Wyndham Business Earner
Most luxurious: Ritz Carlton
I really enjoyed this as a podcast. It was great getting ready and driving to work listening. I found the different dynamics and perspectives helpful to get me to consider angles I might not have before.