Frequent Miler on the Air

Hyatt announced some changes that will come into effect before the end of May. This will include a brand new award chart that splits the 8 categories into 5 pricing bands. You can read more about the new Hyatt overhauls here.

(00:51) - New award chart

(05:28) - Hyatt intends to maintain value and maintain an award chart

(17:24) - Bright spots

(27:08) - Does this change how we view our Hyatt points?

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Virgin Atlantic Rewards and Virgin Red both earn Virgin Atlantic points. Now through February 28th, Chase has a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic, so in this episode, we'll talk about some of the best uses of these points.

Best uses for Virgin points

(00:36) - Read more about the 40% bonus from Chase to Virgin Atlantic here

(02:07) - Fly Delta economy

(03:52) - Fly Virgin Atlantic

(07:09) - Fly SAS

(08:17) - Fly LATAM

(11:35) - Fly Air France/KLM

(12:16) - Fly ANA biz/first class

(14:09...

In this episode, we'll talk about how Chase wants you to stay Calm and give a WHOOP, we'll talk about how Bank of America wants you to be a millionaire, and how United wants you to get its credit cards.

Giant Mailbag

(00:45) - Doug: Parking at a Bilt Neighborhood Parking garage on Hyatt award stay

Card News

(03:15) - It may be possible to product change US Bank Altitude Reserve

Read more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/psa-it-may-be-possible-to-product-change-altitude-reserve-and-maybe-get-some-of-the-fee-back

*NOTE* Shortly after we recorded, we learned that existing...

Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Edit by Chase Travel℠ are hotel programs offered by American Express and Chase, which offer a similar array of perks. But that doesn't mean there aren't significant differences. Greg discusses a recent stay where he used both of these back-to-back.

Fine Hotels + Resorts® vs The Edit by Chase Travel℠

(00:40) - Read more here

(00:55) - On paper, Fine Hotels + Resorts® is better in most ways

(02:20) - Except...

(04:28) - Greg's Experience Fine Hotels + Resorts® vs The Edit by Chase Travel℠: Pendry Chicago

(02:06) - Commonalities

(06:5...

In today's podcast, we'll talk about why you might not want to toss out that United credit card mailer, how Bilt has led us to coin a new term, and how Calala Island wants to pay you to book with points!

Private Island ultra-all-inclusive barefoot luxury: $2,500 rebate

Giant Mailbag

(01:21) - Vijay: Using BOA Premier $100 airline fee credit

Read more about Amex Airline fee reimbursements here

Card News

(05:18) - Fast track to United Silver status with targeted new card offers

Read more about the fast track...

Today we're going to look at the details of the new Disney® Inspire Visa® Card, and we'll talk about whether or not it's worth considering.

(00:25) - New Disney® Inspire Visa® Card

Learn more about this card here

(02:23) - Is this worth getting for someone planning an upcoming Disney trip?

(04:07) - Is this worth getting for a regular Disney fan to keep long-term, specifically for Disney spend?

(10:27) - Is this worth getting for a Disney fan to keep long-term for all spend?

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get...

Do we undervalue Delta card welcome offers? How do you guys maximize SkyTeam? We answered these and many other questions on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on February 4th of 2026.

(00:39) - Given the amount of travel and exposure to different cultures that the whole frequent miler team has had over the years, what experiences have changed how you live day to day back home? For example, after a trip to Italy, I became very interested in espresso to the point where I bought myself an espresso machine that I now use every morning. Has something similar...

In this episode, we'll take Hyatt on a mattress run, we'll answer "Is Tyler crazy for liking the Bilt Paladium card?", and Nick disagrees with our entire main event!

Giant Mailbag

(01:07) - Tyler disagrees with all the negative feedback that the Bilt program is getting

(06:01) - Read more about Greg's thoughts on Bilt changes here

Card News

(08:18) - Atmos Ascent ($95 card) offer

Learn more about the Atmos Ascent card here

(10:24) - Southwest consumer card offers: Companion Pass + bonus points

Learn more about the...

If you have an American Airlines card issued by Barclays, it won't be a Barclays card for much longer, as AA cards will transition to Citi instead. So what does that mean for you? We'll answer some common questions about this transition in today's podcast episode.

Barclays AA cards: planning the transition to Citi

Read more about the Barclays to Citi transition here.

(01:03) - April 24, 2026, the bank that issues your AAdvantage® credit card is changing from Barclays Bank Delaware to Citibank, N.A. (Citi)

(02:15) - $99 cards

(02:45) - Silver to G...

In today's episode, we discover that not all heroes have capes, some redeem rewards! We learn a trick for extending Southwest flight credits, and we tell all: how we increase our credit card spend.

(01:06) - See our podcast episode 197, "13 ways to increase credit card spend" here

Giant Mailbag

(01:37) - Mike: We can be heroes...just for one day

Listen to our episode about sharing miles and points here

(03:58) - Brent: Charitable giving

Listen to our podcast about rewards from giving here

Card News

(09:15...

With Bilt 2.0, Bilt introduced a complicated new rewards currency called "Bilt Cash". We're going to try to dissect that today.

CB: Bilt Cash: Couponization to the Max

(00:11) - Bilt 2.0: 3 new cards, 2 complicated ways to earn points on housing payments; and 1 complicated new rewards currency... Bilt Cash

Read more about it here: https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-cash-how-to-use/

(00:57) - Earning Bilt Cash

(02:12) - December 31 Bilt Cash Gets Trashed Day

(02:45) - Using Bilt Cash

(10:41) - Evaluating Bilt Cash uses

(16:45) - Coupons

Visit https://frequentmiler.com...

In today's episode, we'll talk about a trick for getting great value with Delta miles, which has returned, how flying Emirates first with points has gotten harder, and the hard truth about how we have too many cards (and what to do about it).

Giant Mailbag

(01:52) - Using AAdvantage miles to book JetSmart and other tips for South America travel

Card News

(04:10) - Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Read more about Air France KLM flying blue here

(15:38) - Capital One Venture Rewards: 75K + $250 travel after $4K spend<...

Chase is out with offers for both their Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card and Chase World of Hyatt Credit Card, both offering up to 5 free nights. So which of these offers is better?

(00:32) - World of Hyatt Card

(01:17) - Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card

(01:36) - Which is better?

(01:47) - Marriott advantages

(05:17) - Hyatt advantages

(08:10) - Caution: Annual category changes coming soon (last year it was March 25 for Hyatt, unknown for Marriott)

(09:28) - Final answer

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Bilt released details of its new credit cards on Wednesday...but it was so confusing, they tried to clarify it with more confusion.

(00:18) - Bilt released details of its new credit cards on Wednesday.

You can read more about Bilt 2.0 here: https://frequentmiler.com/bilt-makes-earning-rewards-on-housing-payments-even-more-confusing/

(00:23) - We've written extensively about it, and today (as we record this update), we dropped a full-length podcast about it

Find the full podcast here: https://frequentmiler.com/introducing-the-new-and-confusing-bilt-2-0-frequent-miler-on-the-air-ep341-1-16-26/

(01:16) - Bilt heard all of us and doubled down with...

In this podcast episode, we'll talk about how JAL awards can be changed, we'll talk about the Amtrak USA Rail Pass, and we'll discuss Bilt 2.0: Half-baked, confusing, but potentially very rewarding.

(At the time of this recording, running ad for Bilt on the audio-only version of this podcast. Despite that, all opinions expressed here are our own. We will always tell you what we believe, good or bad.)

Giant Mailbag

(01:27) - JAL Mileage Bank awards can not be changed (but they can be cancelled for a reasonable fee

See Nick's post...

Greg recently had two great stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels in South Florida: The Ben, The Belgrove Resort. But the fact that these positive experiences surprised him (and that they were kind of the exception to the rule) prompted some ideas on what's wrong with Bonvoy.

(00:12) - Great stays at Marriott Bonvoy hotels in south Florida: The Ben, The Belgrove Resort

(01:59) - What's wrong with Bonvoy?

(09:31) - Potential solutions

(14:53) - If we could pick just one fix, which would it be?

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on...

If you have to pick, which elite status would you prefer, American or Alaska? How does this new edit credit work? We answered these and many other questions on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on January 7th of 2026.

(03:34) - ​​Curious to hear what 'coupons/credits' you just let go of, without redeeming by 12/31. I didn't use my first The Edit credit and can't stop feeling guilty.

(05:48) - How does this new edit credit work, because there are so many different answers...?

You can see a map of The Edit by Chase Travel℠ proper...

In today's episode, we'll talk about a Universal Theme park hack, how to fix airport lounge overcrowding, and the best ways to share points, miles, and other rewards.

Giant Mailbag

(01:01) - A clever theme park hack

Card News

(05:44) - Marriott Bonvoy Boundless: 5, 50K Free Night Awards welcome offer is back.

Read more about the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless offer here

Bonvoyed

(09:15) - Hyatt Globalists report receiving far fewer points for expired certificates

Awards, Points, and More

(12:41) - Atmos Rewards Communities are coming<...

We've known that Bilt intends to introduce new credit cards soon, with details expected for release on January 14th, but someone found some code on a website that's got the community stirring, speculating about what it could mean. (Read more about leaked Bilt card details here).

(01:14) - Ad disclosure

(02:06) - Leaked details... maybe

(03:16) - Bilt Blue Card

(03:53) - Bilt Obsidian Card

(04:53) - Bilt Palladium Card

(06:31) - What's this Bilt Cash all about?

(13:59) - Nick's assessment

(17:41) - Greg's assessment

Visit https://frequentmiler...

There are a lot of tools out there that can help you find good award prices for the flights you're looking for. In today's podcast, we'll look at the tool Greg uses most often: Points Path.

(00:53) - Award tools: search vs discovery tools

(01:29) - Basics of Points Path

(03:43) - Paid Pro tier

(07:05) - Pros of Points Path

(10:25) - Cons of Points Path

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on...

In this week's podcast episode, we'll talk about stacking 2025 and 2026 JetBlue elite perks, how you can use Visa cards you already own to get free international roaming, and we'll predict what's coming to points & miles in 2026.

Giant Mailbag

(01:09) - "I certainly admire the continued approach to display only the best offer even if it is not the affiliate link, but I may suggest that you consider showing both options for readers. I am happy to support the site and would likely be willing to choose an inferior offer in many cases, should it be beneficial...

Delta may be the easiest major airline to get elite status if you don't mind getting a few credit cards. We'll talk about some of the shortcuts available to you in today's podcast episode.

(00:27) - Shortcuts to Delta elite status (read more here)

(01:27) - Elite status requirements

(02:18) - $2500 Headstarts from specific Delta credit cards

Learn more about the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card here

Learn more about the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card here

Learn more about the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card her...

In this podcast episode, we'll talk about last-minute uses for dining credits, AA bonvoying us, but too late to earn a Bonvoyed award, and we pick 2025's Deal of the Year.

Giant Mailbag

(01:24) - PSA for Dining credits

(04:17) - Vote for your favorite soon: polls close 12/31

You can vote here.

(04:52) - Our Bonvoyed of the year picks

(05:14) - The People have spoken

Bonvoyed

(11:02) - AA: No more miles or Loyalty Points on Basic Economy fares with American Airlines

Read more about...

People often ask how a site like ours makes money. In this episode, we'll talk about how we do (and don't) make money talking and writing about miles and points.

(00:35) - We have a team of 5, 4 of whom are full-time

(01:06) - Greg's been doing this full time since 2012

(01:55) - Display ads

(05:42) - Miscellaneous affiliate links

(06:51) - Credit card affiliate links

You can see our Best Offers page here, where we display the best credit card offers, regardless of our affiliate income

(12:40) - New: Podcast ads<...

In this episode, we talk about how Rove matches your Mesa, we talk about whether or not you should buy IHG Diamond status, and we announce this year's picks for Bonvoyed of the Year.

Giant Mailbag

(01:09) - Changing names on reservations/workarounds for using the Fine Hotels and Resorts the Hotel Collection benefit

Mattress Running the Numbers

(03:59) - IHG Lock in 2026 Diamond status by buying points (targeted)

Read more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/ihg-offering-opportunity-to-buy-back-or-increase-status-for-2026/

Bonvoyed

(12:52) - Chase re-edits The Edit by Chase Travel℠: 1.65x...

The Mesa Homeowners card abruptly closed all accounts last Friday, with no warning. This is particularly surprising because they had just added Omni as a partner. We'll talk about the aftermath in today's podcast episode.

Aftermath of the major Mesa mess

(00:17) - Read more about the abrupt closure of Mesa homeowners credit cards here

(03:47) - What was the Mesa Homeowners card?

You can learn about what the Mesa Homeowners card was here

(05:05) - Lessons learned: Should we hesitate to jump into "too good to be true" deals?

(09:00...

In today's podcast episode we hear about one reader's status magic, how Nick's family got stuck in HEL-sinki, and we make our end-of-year to-do list with your help.

Giant Mailbag

(01:41) - One reader's experience with unexpected status benefits

See episode 334 "Super Stacking Stories" here.

Card News

(04:45) - Both Citi AAdvantage Business cardholders & authorized users earn Loyalty Points on purchases (Read more here)

(07:31) - Reminder: last call to triple-dip credit cards

Awards, Points, and More

(12:21) - Read about how Nick was stuck in HEL...

To our surprise, the Southwest Debit Card is more interesting than we expected! It's been uncommon for debit cards to make waves in points-earning efforts, but this one is proving intriguing.

(00:17) - Southwest Debit card is more interesting than we thought! Read more about the Southwest Debit Card here.

(00:51) - Some basic details about the Southwest Debit Card

(07:09) - Why is this interesting

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.

In this week's podcast, we'll talk about how Citi Travel hides thousands of hotels, we'll describe our favorite flights from 2025, and we'll find out who on the FM team is willing to book a 3.5 rated hotel...

(Skip straight to the main topic here: 1:26:18)

Giant Mailbag

(01:51) - Hyatt Elite Status Hack See episode 334 "Super Stacking Stories " here.

Bonvoyed:

(07:07) - Citi Travel blocking hotel bookings in Egypt, UAE, Malaysia, and Indonesia (and maybe other places?)

Bonvoyed runner-ups

(10:15) - PSA: Wyndham book and cancel trick may appear to...

The conventional wisdom in the miles and points community is that you should "earn and burn" your points. In other words, once you have them, don't be afraid to use them up because there's no guarantee the program won't devalue later, leaving you wishing you'd spent your points when the value was higher. But...is that always the right choice?

Is it worth hoarding points?

(00:41) - When does it make sense to hoard points?

(01:11) - Great award availability pops up randomly in unexpected places

(05:44) - Amazing point deals sometimes pop up...

In today's podcast episode, we'll talk about the many things we got wrong last week (oops!), how Etihad is sinking to a new low, and we'll reminisce about our extreme stacking adventures. 

Giant Mailbag

(01:06) - Things we got wrong last week in episode 333 "Elite Benefit Battle: Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG"

(02:47) - Read about how to earn up to 250K Alaska miles per year here

Card News

(07:47) - E*Trade account now qualifies for American Express Platinum Card® Exclusively for Morgan Stanley (Read more about this here)

(11:36...

Tim wrote a post about which transferable points are most valuable for lodging, and his findings have us wondering: Is Citibank the new transferable points currency worth focusing on?  (Has Citibank now eclipsed Chase and Bilt?) See: Which transferable credit card points are most valuable for lodging?

Transferring points to hotels. Has Citi eclipsed Chase and Bilt?

(01:11) - Most hotel transfer opportunities are not very good...

(02:14) - Fixed value opportunities

(03:43) - RRVs (hotel programs with variable value and available as transfer partners)

(04:43) - Better than 1:1 transfers...

(06:58) - S...

In today's Frequent Miler on the Air podcast, we'll look at United's cardholder discount, Hilton's Diamond Reserve status, and we'll rank the perks of hotel elite benefits from Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG.

Giant Mailbag

(01:13) - "I just spent the day in Nice and Monte Carlo and I have you to blame..."

Bonvoyed

(03:30) - United increases prices for close-in award bookings

Read more about United's increased prices for close-in award bookings here.

Awards, Points, and More

(06:08) - Bilt/Rakuten: Read more about earning Bilt points...

There are some great opportunities to earn a lot of Wyndham points, and today we'll do the math on whether or not this could mean a great mattress-running opportunity.

(00:38) - Wyndham promo: Earn 7.5k bonus points when staying 2 nights (up to 4 times)

(Learn more about the promo here)

(01:44) - Is this double-dip, mattress-run worthy?

(02:31) - How much would the 2 nights have to cost to get 0.65 cpp?

(03:41) - It gets better if you stack it with a second promo.

(Read more about the second promo here)

(05:46...

In this episode, we'll talk about Virgin's double-or-nothing bad math promo, how to fly to Europe for 88 miles, and how to earn more rewards while charitably giving.

Giant Mailbag

(00:56) - A fun story about Mariner tickets from a Capital One deal where the seats were almost too good.

Read more about Capital One Cardholder Exclusives Major League Baseball tickets here

Card News

(04:56) - Venture X offers. Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business Card here

(08:48) - Learn more about Melio here

(09:34) - Learn...

How often do you fly to earn points & miles? Do you chase status with an airline you don't intend to fly, with the intention of later matching to another airline? We answered these and many other questions on the Ask Us Anything hosted live on YouTube on November 5th, 2025.

(06:10) - ​​How many annual fees do each of you pay a year, and how often do you fly to earn points & miles?

(15:08) - ​​Hi, after the devaluation of the Wyndham Vacasa relationship, is there any more value left in hanging on to the Business Earner card?

(18...

A bunch of game-changing news came up last week, right after we recorded our Coffee Break episode (which we'd recorded a day earlier than usual). We'll cover those changes in today's Coffee Break episode.

(00:56) - Rumor: 200K Chase Sapphire Reserve® in-branch offer for some customers

(02:49) - Rakuten portal now lets you earn Bilt points 

(03:44) - You can learn more about the friend referral bonus here.

(05:35) - New Hyatt card coming

(09:36) - Hilton to add elite tier above Diamond (Diamond Reserve) and Milestone Rewards

(15:52) - Visa and Mastercard re...

In today's episode of the Frequent Miler on the Air podcast, we'll talk about the Bilt card 2.0 that's coming, we'll reveal a trick for finding Air France award availability, and talk about 5 ways to super-stack your hotel bookings.

Giant Mailbag

(01:08) - Air France Availability on JAL searching tip

Card News

(06:09) - Bilt card 2.0 (replaces current Bilt card)

(08:21) - Citi now allows product changing via online Chat

(09:53) - United debit card now live (Read more about the United debit card here)

Crazy Thing

(14:50...

You have until the end of the year to earn the number of elite nights required for the elite level you're aiming for, so it's time to start thinking strategically!

(00:58) - Which status levels are worth targeting?

Read more about which Marriott elite benefits apply and when here.

(03:23) - Shortcuts (You can read more about this here.)

(05:11) - Learn more about Marriott credit card eligibility here.

(08:42) - Nick's plan

(12:25) - Greg's plan

Visit https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/ to get updated on in-depth points and miles c...

In this episode of Frequent Miler on the Air, we'll reveal a trick for booking 2 people at single-person award rates, Wyndham & Vacasa are breaking up and breaking our hearts, and we'll talk about how to triple dip towards thousands of dollars in credits.

Giant Mailbag

(01:11) - Our listener uses a second browser to grab two seats at a low price...

Card News

(04:56) - Wells Fargo Autograph & Autograph Journey: Transfer 1 to 1 to JetBlue

(07:49) - PSA: Grandfathered Sapphire Reserve cardholders (pre June 23): start using your new coupons. (Read more about this...