Milenomics² Podcast Episode 242: The Hangover and More
Added 2024-11-18 15:37:08 +0000 UTC0:30 BofA More Rewards: The Hangover
Late-day transaction posted the next day, didn’t earn rewards
Making matters worse, rumors surfaced that BofA would stop accepting debit card payments over the phone on Tuesday November 12th for accounts that aren’t past due
12:00 Amex Schwab Platinum 125,000
$8,000 min spend in 6 months
Morgan Stanley stuck at 80k
15:00 Amex 250k business platinum back button update
Discussion last week about heightened 35k referral+250k business platinum
Sam: decline due to duplicate. My workflow doesn't seem as bad as Robert's lately.
Approved after two short phone calls.
Notes, delete after recording
Called new accounts and shared the application ref number from the second application
Agent correctly flagged it as a duplicate and he needs to look at the original application.
The original application mentions the pop-up and he tells me that I will not get the bonus.
I told him that I put some wrong information on the first application which is true and needed the one with the reference number I gave him submitted instead.
No issues. He submitted it and was immediately flagged for high-risk fraud.
I called them a few days later and did a quick verification and received approval on the phone.
Have still not seen the 35k referral (6 days) and the offer code is attached by reps can't yet see the offer.
20:30 Amex Business Platinum Employee Offers
Looking to meet $20k min spend on recently discussed 35k referral/250k Business Platinum
15k for $4k (Looking for links that work for everyone)
PHX Trip Report
26:45 BOS - PHX JetBlue Mint
Fantastic as usual, so nice to have Mint on this route
Booked one seat with JetBlue travel credit (ginned up with Amex $200 incidentals) the other with Wells Fargo Rewards with 1.5 uplift from Visa Signature (because BofA Elite bookings have been failing to process for me the past year). Around $700 pp one-way. No partner award space appeared on the dates I wanted.
Had Delta First booked 2 hours later as a backup - that flight was slightly delayed. Canceled Delta award tickets as we started boarding JetBlue flight. Always a bit nervous that online cancellation will fail and there will be no WiFi on the plane. Wonder what happens if you no-show an award ticket? Total loss?
36:10 National Car Rental
Hertz didn’t have any cars available (what? how?)
So I strayed over to National to flex my vaunted Executive Elite status
I’ve never seen so many co-located Chevy Malibus in my life
37:45 Royal Palms (Hyatt Unbound)
We really liked this property
Located at the foot of Camelback Mountain about 20 minutes from the airport
Historic property, originally built as a private residence in the 1920s by a financier in NY (can you imagine?)
It’s always been an low-key, non-flashy, old money (for Phoenix standards) resort that most people would drive right by
Booked 2 nights in a standard room for 29k Hyatt, applied Suite Upgrade Award which gets you into a Junior Suite. No additional upgrade at check-in.
Arrived late, reception walked us to our room which was appreciated because although the place isn’t huge it’s dark and confusing to navigate at first
Rooms are a bit tired/nothing special but the more we explored the property the more we appreciated it
Lots of outdoor weddings on weekends in the fall but they do an amazing job keeping them confined and cleaned up the next morning
Breakfast at T Cooks was outstanding. Invited friends for brunch one morning and it was all comped (except for $2.50 for gratuity).
Highly recommend a walk or two through nearby walk through neighborhoods in the foothills (be careful on the short stretch of Camelback road you have to walk down - head west out of the resort and avoid walking on the portion without a sidewalk and cars whipping by at 50 mph)
Overall gracious stay couldn’t be more different than the Andaz Scottsdale (review)
Best for couples rather than families given room configurations and overall vibe I’d say
43:00 PHX - BOS AA First
Even with 8 nonstops (5 AA, 2 JetBlue, 1 Delta) a day, this is a very difficult route to catch a good deal on
3 of the flights are redeyes eastbound so that leaves 4 AA options, and 1 JetBlue option
Booked AA First 5p departure (later than I wanted) for 42k AA pp one-way
Monitored the heck out of options every day looking for an angle (decent Main Cabin/Extra seats, AA partner award, JetBlue Mint partner award, decent fare) and nothing appeared
Close-in things just got worse to the point where flights were completely sold out in every cabin
As we’re departing I look at my boarding pass and see my wife has Executive Platinum, I have Alaska 100K MVP and you know what? That status did us absolutely no good whatsoever. “Unlimited complimentary upgrades, free same-day changes, complimentary main cabin extra, complimentary preferred seats…” does you absolutely no good when the flights are sold out.
47:30 Bonus Content: A Brief History of Phoenix-Area Pointe Hilton Resorts
