Million Mile Madness is on like Donkey Kong with the fellas traipsing around the world for SAS million mile gold. They’ve been blurry-eyed, running madly around airports trying to catch their flights (there was one miss) and getting real friendly with economy class. But that doesn’t mean that they didn’t make time for fun: mid-air wine tastings, spa days and lots of yummy food.
It hasn’t been all play and no work, though. This week on the blog we also covered the sad death of a treasured hack for free cruises, the best credit cards to use for almost any purchase and the way to finally make peace with paying taxes – earn rewards while you do it!
Million Mile Madness 2024
Trolls, fancy digs & getting another guy’s boarding pass (Stephen’s Million Mile Madness trip journal)
Stephen started before everyone else, brimming with confidence about his speed, frugality and troll-finding abilities. He’s since been taken aback at how fast Greg is (for a Frequent Miler) and how cheap Nick can be. In the midst of it, he’s been to airport butterfly gardens, more lounges than he can count and ended up in Saudi Arabia with another guy’s boarding pass…supposedly without knowing it.
Bubble tea in Taipei and a spa day extravaganza (Nick’s Million Mile Madness travel journal)
Like we said, Nick is cheap. Like, really cheap. So cheap he has Stephen wishing he’d splash out for a decent hotel room or a business class flight. Nick hasn’t just been not spending money, though. This week he kicked up his heels at one of Europe’s biggest spas, learned how to order bubble tea in Chinese and spent nearly two hours trying to figure out how the average guy gets free breakfast in the Seoul airport at six in the morning.
Hello, 1 million miles (Greg’s Million Mile Madness trip journal)
Greg started with a splash and continued with a whole planeload of speed and style. First it was massages and helicopter rides in New York, later it was a multi-course meal complete with wine tastings at 35,000 feet in an Etihad suite. Greg’s been showing the fellas nothing but the back of his heels as he sprints around the world, but he’s also been taking time to stop and smell the Lobster Thermidor.
Also on the Frequent Miler blog this week…
How to pay taxes via credit card – 2024-2025 edition
No one that we know likes to pay taxes and, the larger that mid-April bill is, the more it stings. But it doesn’t have to be all misery….not when there’s points and miles to be had! One of our most popular resources is newly-updated with the latest data points and hacks to make tax day just a bit less taxing and a little more rewarding.
(Wyndham Card to Caesars Match Ending) How to get free cruises by gaming casino status matches
Did we mention that our good buddy Nick Reyes was cheap? That doesn’t mean he doesn’t like a boatload of bougie, however…especially if it’s on an actual boat and it’s free. Over the last couple years, Nick has spent several months cruising around the world with his entire family for almost nothing…and it all started with one $95 credit card. One of the best cruise hacks of the last few years is about to go the way of the dodo, but it’s not too late to jump on board before it does.
Is Alaska Mileage Plan blocking close-in partner awards?
Over the last couple of weeks, Alaska Mileage Plan has been blocking the booking of most international partner awards within 72 hours of departure…a time when some hard-to-find flights finally become available. Evidently, it’s because of high levels of fraud, but in the meantime it’s been a real pain in the Alaska.
Best Credit Card Category Bonuses: Which card should you use?
Have you ever found yourself getting gas and a few groceries on the way home and then staring at a wallet-full of credit cards thinking, “which one should I pay with?” Then this post is for you, giving up-to-date rankings of the best cards to use at gas stations, grocery stores and any other category you can think of.
American Airlines award chart sweet spots you might be ignoring
During the Million Mile Madness challenge, it probably isn’t a surprise that Greg, Stephen, and Nick have all filled in some gaps in their travels by using miles to buy award tickets. All three have now taken AAdvantage of using the same type of miles: American Airlines’. This post takes a look at the sweet spots that they’ve used, including some that you might have been ignoring.
Easy path to Delta Elite status in 2024 | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep281 | 11-15-24
SAS isn’t the only SkyTeam member we’re talking about. This week, Greg and Nick jumped on the podcast to discuss the easiest ways to land Delta elite status before the going gets tough. In addition, they trade tips for how to survive long-haul flights with young kids.
Pepper Rewards points now expire after 60 days of inactivity
Pepper Rewards is a gift card app that stormed onto the scene this year by offering insanely good discounts on all manner of in-demand gift card brands. Thanks to resellers, it’s become a favorite way for many points and miles folks to generate easy spend…but it’s also a little controversial. This week, Pepper announced that newly-earned points will have an expiry for the first time: 60 days from the last date of activity.
How to convert Capital One cash back to miles by moving rewards
Like many issuers, Capital One has two basic types of own-branded rewards credit cards: those that earn cash back and those that earn its own transferable currency: Capital One Miles. Unusually though, C1’s best category bonus cards are cash back, while the cards that earn more valuable transferable points are better “everywhere else” cards. But Nick explains that there’s no need to have to choose between good category bonuses and transferable points – just turn your cash rewards into miles.
How to find the best routes with Flight Connections [Video]
![How to find the best routes with Flight Connections [Video]](https://frequentmiler.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/How-to-find-the-best-routes-with-Flight-Connections-Video.png)
This week’s how-to video episode covers an incredible free service: the website Flight Connections. This tool can be an invaluable ally in finding the best routes and flight awards, and covers air travel all over the world. Our step-by-step video shows you how to use it.
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I was really interested in the Equinox deal and started doing some digging. If you don’t cancel within seven days it looks like you are stuck. From the Equinox web page: “If the request is made within the first 12 months of your bike subscription or Amex digital subscription, the effective cancellation date will be the end of the 12-month term. There are no refunds or credits for partial subscription terms.” Similarly, if you cancel within seven days and your credit hasn’t appeared, that doesn’t sound like a good outcome either.”
Without a membership, I had a massage at Equinox and received no Amex credit. No expectation that there would be. Just a data point.