Before the 3 Cards, 3 Continents challenge fully kicked off (though Nick had actually already made it all the way to Egypt!), the team took some time for an Ask Us Anything episode.
Click the timestamps below to navigate directly to a question within YouTube.
6:30 – Do you have any details about the Chicago seminar that you can share?
7:57 – Nick, envious of your pyramid tour … how did you find a reputable guide? Also, is Egypt just a stopover (not spending the night)? If yes, what did you do with your bag(s)?
12:04 – Nick, did you ever have problems with putting more than $6k into a Roth IRA with the Schwab platinum?
14:22 – What’s your favorite credit card? (Not going by features. Just by how it looks, the design, the feel). And least favorite?
16:59 – Favorite lounge in Atlanta
19:33 – Speaking of the Curve Card, did it ever show up on your credit report?
20:21 – Is Pepper’s accent fake?
21:10 – This may be a strange question—but have any of you run across people who accompany/transport pets on planes for a living?
22:08 – Carrie- you know everyone’s itinerary. Which trip would you choose to stow away on?
24:37 – How do you guys balance redeeming airline/hotel vs. transferable points? Do you try to first spend down airline/hotel points before touching transferable points?
27:43 – What’s the best way for miles (and small taxes/fees) to get to Italy? I am in the Chase silo and never been in the Amex silo. Any recommendations for an Amex first timer?
29:50 – If you ask AmEx for a retention offer, will they consider if you’ve already asked for and received retention offers on other AmEx cards?
30:47 – How will readers vote for the winner of the trip, and can you please remind us of the things each of you did somewhat(?) outside of the rules? I recall that Stephen resold a GC for cash and Nick used incremental bonus points for a booking.
38:11 – PS the Italy trip was planned based upon Nick’s recommendation of the Hyatt hotel in Lake Como….multi night availability in June 2023
38:33 – I know there are services for booking flight award tickets. Is there a similar service for booking hotel awards? Or a full-service provider who plans out the entire trip based on points?
40:07 – Do any of the personal Plat versions allow a second card?
41:40 – Any best practices for upgrading a work paid economy ticket to biz on my own points/dime?
45:02 – Retention Offers: For Amex – should one bother to request them for no-annual fee cards? For Chase cards – Chase Sapphire Preferred doesn’t offer retention offers anymore, is that true?
46:15 – If I get arrested while wearing a Frequent Miler T-shirt in Paris and it appears in my mug shot, how much will my royalty check be?
46:59 – I would love to have an idea of the number of hours each person spent on planning their trip (though it might be too late to have this for this challenge).
51:58 – How are the “co-pilots” helping out on your trips? I’m not totally tracking what they are doing for Greg / Nick / Stephen …
54:55 – Nick, are you going to have any room for all your amenities kits and pyjamas in that little backpack?
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
We just stayed at the Grand Hotel Victoria Concept & Spa in Menaggio on Lake Como, booked with Hyatt points. Unfortunately, the day we arrived I had been feeling a bit “off” for a couple of days. I finally took a Covid test, and found I was positive. My husband had an occasional dry cough: also positive. So we spent five days locked in our room, and had to add a night to our stay and pay cash for it: €800. We got no Hyatt credit for the stay, as you can’t earn nights or points there, which was an unpleasant surprise. That said, it is a beautiful hotel. We were greeted with glasses of Prosecco. We had a really nice welcome gift (big fruit bowl, bottle of Prosecco, and a bowl of crunchy fried snacks). “Continental” breakfast is included for all guests. We had to eat all our meals from room service, but a basic Continental room service breakfast (coffee/tea/pastries) was free. There was a charge for anything beyond that. Imagine our surprise on our last morning, when we went down to breakfast in the dining room, to learn that the free, included breakfast is incredibly extensive, with a whole room of hot and cold items! Hope to go back someday and enjoy all the amenities.