MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!

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Hyatt is dumping American for Delta, and while the details are months away, the possibilities (a status match, reciprocal earning) have our attention. Then it is deal season: three new inKind offers worth up to 50% off that you should activate today, the current state of the Lululemon vs Amex Platinum credit fight and...

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Shawn spent the weekend refreshing seats.aero and it paid off: a single Starlux business class saver to Taipei at 75,000 Alaska miles, even if it means leaving three days early. That kicks off a very Taiwan-heavy conversation about EVA, StarLux, the free Taipei stopover tour, and the JAL phantom space that keeps breaking our hearts. Then the story everyone saw this week: a first class passenger restrained with duct tape by...

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Mark went on an application spree and the final tally is absurd: 690,000 points across Amex, American, Atmos and Bilt, plus $500 in dining money, against $1,719 in fees, and we break down why the math still works. Along the way, a bank that denied him for nearly a decade finally said yes, and nobody knows why. Then a new LendingTree study has us worried: most Gen Z cardholders pay just the minimum, nearly...

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Shawn has to get to Hong Kong and the choice is uglier than it should be: premium economy nonstop or Philippine Airlines through Manila on an angled seat, because the last minute Cathay Pacific first class trick that worked for years is gone. We also get into why renewing a Chinese visa is still a pain, the intra-Asia award secret everyone planning a trip should know, and the one Seoul airport...

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Tiffany Funk now runs Flying Blue, and the first big change on her watch makes the cheapest business class awards look a lot like basic economy. We get into what got stripped out, why the fix conveniently runs through their status program, and why that status ladder makes Mark want to lie down. It is not just airlines either, and Caesars and Carnival both proved it this same week. Plus PenFed kills the free version of a card people were milking...

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Chase quietly added language to the Sapphire Reserve hotel credit that would have killed a way people were using it, and then just as quietly took it back out. Somebody at JP Morgan even emailed us about the article. There are also targeted Sapphire offers floating around that are better than anything public, including 175,000 points, and if you were shut down by Capital One years ago you may want to go check whether your Discover account is still open. Plus Discover's $2...

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Mark figured out how to pull $400 in credits out of a single San Antonio trip, and it only works because of one thing most people never think to do. Amex also just added 350 properties to Fine Hotels and Resorts, including brands that never used to show up, and Resy quietly expanded into a whole new platform you have probably never heard of. Then there is LifeMiles, who sent Mark an email to resolve his refund and gave him 19 hours to respond...

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Hyatt canceled a Diamond member's Big Sur stay because of the fires. Then they told him what it would cost to rebook it, and the number is not what he originally paid. CardPointers just broke for almost everyone, US Bank finally launched transfer partners and then took two of them back within a day, and Hilton has a quiet trick that is making your free night certs useless. Also, people waited over eight hours in Vegas this week for $200. 

E...

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American Airlines is raising Admiral's Club membership from $700 to $850 up to $1,200 to $1,400 depending on status, which conveniently makes the Executive card look like a much better deal even after its annual fee went from $595 to $695. That card now includes a $500 travel credit, up to three authorized users for $175 total, and doubles the bonus loyalty points you can earn from 20,000 to 40,000, so it is a real shortcut if you are chasing status. Less good is AA changing elite upgrades on three cabin...

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Chase is cutting Priority Pass access to Sapphire Lounges entirely, which is likely about overcrowding but stings if you were counting on it, though they did loosen the connection window from three hours to five. Singapore Airlines is also restricting award searches, with people unable to search without miles or recent activity and no public explanation, almost certainly an attempt to stop bots and scraping, and we get into...

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Chase ran a wave of shutdowns this week aimed at people hammering the Amazon card, some reportedly cycling millions a month through buyers group spending, and we walk through Doctor of Credit's full list of what actually triggers a Chase shutdown. More importantly, we cover the three things that catch normal people who are not doing anything extreme, bust out risk on a brand new card, credit limit cycling, and sitting...

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Bilt responded to the pricing problem we covered last week, and Richard Kerr reached out directly about the resort fee disclosure issue on their travel portal. There is a toggle that shows all in pricing, but it is buried where almost nobody will find it, and we make the case it belongs right on the initial search screen. Mark also found something stranger, the same hotel priced 10 to 15 dollars differently between...

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Both Hyatt cards have increased welcome offers, and we explain why the personal card's 75,000 point headline is a little misleading since a chunk of it is just base earning you would get anyway. Frequent Miler is reporting that Chase quietly added new terms to Chase Offers warning that abuse may get you excluded from future offers, which leads into a real conversation about where the line sits between an error in...

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A huge week of travel news, so we ran through the partnerships and new seat products that actually matter. Delta launched a basic first class following United, stripping out seat selection, upgrades, and same day changes while almost certainly charging you the same, and we explain why it is just a way to make you pay more for what you already got. The good news is United is putting a blocked...

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The AA glitch is over. American clawed back the 25,000 miles from that AAdvantage Business promo code, reversing transfers and apologizing with 5,000 miles, and we make the case that they actually handled it well, which is more than we can say for hotels that walk you or open late with a shrug. Speaking of, we get into why Hyatt stopped offering real compensation on delayed hotel openings and what they should be...

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Mark is taking his son to Japan on points, so we walk through exactly how he booked it, snagging American Airlines business class from Detroit through Dallas to Tokyo for 100,000 miles a person, why he locked it in even though it is not the rock bottom price, and his plan to fly Delta One home from Seoul nonstop for 140,000 SkyMiles. It turns into a bigger conversation about how the burn side...

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American Airlines appears to have a coding error letting existing AAdvantage Business account holders add a promo code in settings and instantly get 25,000 miles, and we get into whether AA claws it back. Mark walks through three retention offer results, including an insulting 6,000 Hilton point offer on the Surpass, a $99 credit that saved his Citi AAdvantage business card at exactly the right moment, and no save attempt at all on the...

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A packed miles and points Tuesday after a big 250th weekend. We start with a wild Delta seat someone scored on a former Lion Air 737 that looks narrower than anything you have flown, which leads into a fun talk about backward facing seats, the death of SeatGuru, and how to avoid the worst seats on the plane. On the news side, Amex transfer bonuses are back, with 30 percent to V...

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Chase quietly cut Pay Yourself Back on the Sapphire Reserve again, dropping the bonus from 25 percent more to 20 percent, and we get into why they keep chipping away at it. Wyndham refreshed its entire card lineup, now four cards deep, headlined by a new $395 premium card with a 120,000 point welcome offer, a never expire points perk, and enough credits to offset the fee for the right person. We break d...

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Want to work with us? Reach out! inquiries at milestomemories dot com Prime Day is in full swing, Chase is suddenly clawing back hotel credits when you cancel, Bilt's latest Rent Day is underwhelming, and Qatar Airways just locked down award bookings. We break down all of it and what it means for your points and miles.

In this episode we cover Amazon Prime Day deals and the credit card promos worth stacking, why buyers' groups have cooled o...

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Shawn is back from Morocco with the full Casablanca recap, from the Hassan II Mosque and the wild stained glass inside Notre Dame to a faded five-star Hyatt, Africa's biggest mall, and a horse race inside a country club. Plus the jet lag hack that actually worked: skip the food, sleep the whole flight, and land feeling brand new. We also get into why the world is suddenly obsessed with ranch dressing and American quirks, the new Global Entry machines, and whether business class is even worth it if yo...

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It was a wild week in the points world. An email to Chase Ink Plus cardholders made it look like 5X on office supplies was getting axed, the internet panicked, and we called it as a likely mistake before Chase confirmed it was just human error. We also break down the Paze spend 10 dollars g...

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Mark is back from Colombia, and this one's a full Cartagena trip report. He breaks down two nights at the Hyatt Regency Cartagena (a Category 3 gem on points) and three nights at the Dreams Karibana all-inclusive — including the food wins, the brutal heat, the black-sand "beachfront," island day clubs, a killer rooftop bar with a live saxophonist, and the $650 check-in mistake that has one Globalist swearing off Hyatt for good. Plus Shawn answers th...

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Chase just refreshed the Sapphire Preferred and buried a bombshell in the fine print. On this episode of MTM Travel Shawn and Mark break down everything Chase changed: the $95 fee stays, you get new 3X categories on gas, EV charging and vacation rentals, plus a doubled $100 hotel credit. The catch? The Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred lose 1:1 Hyatt transfers and drop to 4:3 on October 1. We cover whether the refresh is still worth it, why the $795 Reserve is now the only way to keep 1:1 Hyatt, why...

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American Airlines is quietly blocking last-minute partner award space, Alaska is raising its partner and phone booking fees on July 1, and Shawn just had a really bad "five-star" stay at the Grand Hyatt Athens. On this episode of MTM Travel, Shawn and Mark break down the AA award change and who it actually hurts, the Alaska fee increases and how the Summit card can offset them, and a brutal play-by-play of a Hyatt stay gone wrong — slow undersized elevators, road-noise "motel" rooms, burned eggs, no elite re...

Bank of America is refunding annual fees for every Spirit credit cardholder and product-changing them into no-fee cards. Mark thought he found a hack in Choice Hotels' gas promo — until Choice's IT outsmarted him. Discover dropped the best welcome offer in its history: $200 after $500 spend, plus double cash back the first year. Then there's the Sapphire Reserve debate — when does pay-yourself-back make the annual fee worth it?

What we cover:

Episode Description

Shawn blew up his Europe itinerary at the last minute, but this one worked. He canceled Condor premium economy through Frankfurt and rebooked American to Athens for fewer miles, less cash and a cleaner connection. The catch was making American economy survivable, which led him to Hyatt's American Airlines status for a day benefit.

Shawn and Mark talk through how the 8,000-point Hyatt redemption worked, why the Main Cabin Extra seat process was clunky, and how his account eventually showed full American Platinum status before travel. They also cover a Royal Air Maroc...

Episode Description

Hyatt's 2026 award changes are live, and Shawn and Mark look at what happened after the switch. Some stays barely moved, some got cheaper, Japan got hit hard, and a few members appear to have been charged rates that do not match what Hyatt showed during booking.

They also talk through the points hoarding debate after Benjy's "case for zero" article. A big transferable points balance can feel like an emergency fund, but it can also lose value while cash could earn interest or get invested. Then they close with Chase's new 10X Paze...

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Episode Description

Hyatt's award chart changes are arriving, so Shawn and Mark talk through the last-minute bookings that made sense, the ones they skipped and why hotel credits have changed the way they use Hyatt points. They also break down a clean example of partner award pricing: the same American Airlines flight priced at 54K Avios, 36K American miles and 18K Alaska miles.

Then they look at Hilton free night certificates at all-inclusive properties, including the growing SLH...

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Capital One is facing a lawsuit over canceled rewards, and Shawn and Mark get into the bigger problem with banks treating points like real currency when it helps them and funny money when it helps them. They also talk retention offers, when a card is not worth keeping even for free, and rank the major transferable points programs from worst to best.

What we cover:

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Capital One is facing a lawsuit over canceled rewards, and Shawn and Mark get into the bigger problem with banks treating points like real currency when it helps them and funny money when it helps them. They also talk retention offers, when a card is not worth keeping even for free, and rank the major transferable points programs from worst to best.

What we cover:

MTM Travel - May 7, 2026

Chase has a massive new Sapphire Reserve offer, but the rest of the episode shows why the points world feels less predictable than it used to. Shawn and Mark break down Rakuten's strange but useful Bank of America and Bilt stack, Citi ending ThankYou point sharing, the refreshed AT&T Points Plus card and Chase's quietly weaker Points Boost values.

Episode Guide

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Spirit Airlines is gone, and even travelers who avoided Spirit may feel it in their wallets. Shawn and Mark talk through the fallout for cheap flights, the JetBlue and Frontier merger mess, and why low-cost carriers have such a hard time making the model work in the U.S.

They also get into JetBlue's pricing lawsuit, data tracking worries, a robot that bought its own Southwest seat, and the cheap travel items that actually earn space in the bag. Yes...

Episode Description

Hyatt used to be the easy button for a lot of points and miles travelers. Transfer Chase points, book Hyatt, chase Globalist and enjoy the perks. That strategy is getting harder to defend after Hyatt's five-tier award chart and another round of category changes.

In this episode Shawn and Mark talk through the real cost of Hyatt's latest moves, why Globalist status may not pencil out the way it used to, and how hotel loyalty strategy changes when no single program deserves all of your stays.

Episode Guide

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Episode Description

Travel is getting more expensive from every direction. Shawn and Mark talk through JAL and ANA's higher fuel surcharges, Aeroplan's upcoming award chart changes, Spirit's possible government-backed rescue and American Airlines' new portable charger rules.

They also discuss Google's new individual hotel price tracking tool and why it may be useful even when you are booking with points. Plus, Mark recaps his father-son Vegas trip with Connor, including...

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Mark made nearly $6,000 from bank bonuses in 2025, American is giving away 100,000 miles, and Alaska is making a big move with Hawaiian's credit cards. We also break down a sneaky-good Hilton Amex offer, how annual fee refunds actually work, and whether Chase's new Edit Hotels redemption bump is worth your points.

What we cover: 

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Higher award fees, less lounge access, and one pretty wild new way to sleep on a plane. In this episode of MTM Travel, Shawn and Mark talk through Air New Zealand's new SkyNest bunk beds, Virgin Atlantic's uglier award surcharges, American cutting more basic economy benefits, Spirit's possible liquidation, and United tightening access to Polaris lounges.

What we cover:

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Chase Pay Yourself Back hasn't gotten better, but the transfer options around it may have gotten worse, which suddenly makes it worth a fresh look. In this episode, Shawn and Mark also break down Wells Fargo's new Wyndham transfer partner, Mark's $8,120 annual fee strategy, Bilt Cash redemption issues, and JetBlue's refreshed premium card.

In This Episode:

This week on MTM Travel, Shawn and Mark get into one of the most annoying travel debates imaginable: phone calls on airplanes. They also dig into American Airlines' bus route oddities, what hotel loyalty liabilities really mean, and whether a United-American merger would solve anything or just make the mess bigger.

In This Episode:

Amex had a busy week, and not in a calm way. The new referral rules are actually better for a lot of people, the Delta incidental-credit workaround looks shakier by the day, and there are a couple easy cash offers worth grabbing if you move fast. Shawn and Mark also dig into the rumor that Amex may be loosening its five-card limit, which would be a bigger shift than it sounds.

In This Episode: