Milenomics² Podcast Episode 226: Amex 10x Updates, News, and Listener Questions

0:22 Again: Amex 10x Dining Referrals. How are we doing?

• Ends 5/22/2024

• What cards are we referring from?

• What cards are we going for?

• Are 10x referrals better than a head-on 150k bonus? Better than a 250k head-on bonus?

• Review Amex churning restrictions:

• You can be approved for 2 credit cards within a 90 day period

• You can’t be approved for the same card twice within 90 days

• Most people are limited to 10 charge cards and 5 credit cards

• Review referral promo details from past promos:

• Need to get an application in before deadline

• Approval can occur later

• Note: Fluz increased load costs to 3.4% Try an employee card for lower rates

12:56 News

13:05 Citi Premier being replaced with Strata Premier (link)

• We covered the strata back in episode 203

• At that time it sounded like a new card

• Now, it sounds like a rebranding of the Citi Premier 

• 75,000 SUB with $4,000 spend otherwise very similar card

• Worth going in on as part of a double dip if that still works

• When is it safe to re-enter the Citi ecosystem after self-closure?

19:38 New JetBlue Mint Routes (OMAAT)

• BOS and JFK to PHX twice daily winter

• JFK to Vancouver and San Juan

What We’ve Been Up To

22:37 Bartering and Booking Flights for a Friend

• Easier said than done?

• Or are we being big babies?

• Tried this last week and: It just worked! 

• Could cause issues in the future when schedule changes happen.

• Working with friends is probably easier than with a broker. 

27:55 Listener Question: Can you use Hawaiian miles to upgrade a flight on Hawaiian metal if the Economy ticket was booked as a JetBlue partner award?

• The answer is….complicated.

35:18 How to make sure award space is not ‘phantom’ 

• With new search engines that make things “so easy” it is an important topic 

• “New Phantom Space” when prices on a search engine don’t align with real prices on the site you’ll book on. 

• United example recently (Lufthansa ‘no longer available’ inventory) 

• Holds help verify real space

• Asking someone on slack with enough miles in the program to ‘check’ on how bookable it is

• When is a ticketed award actually ‘real’ (Rena’s example, AA shutdowns) 

• Phantom space is often the ‘best’ option, but isn’t the only option. Getting that phantom flight out of mind and focusing on the final destination is key. 

44:59 Difficulties Booking Flights with BofA Travel 

• Couldn’t ticket and called

• Rep on the phone also couldn’t ticket

• Wanted to use the 20% discount and the rep offered the BofA ‘pay yourself back’ option

• Adding to the complexity when I booked it direct I used Jetblue travel bank hopeful the entire $600 flight would get 20% back instead of just the $400 that landed on BofA card

• The 20% came back automatically after the phone rep put the request, but for $400

49:35 How to fly JAL Business/First with AA/OneWorld miles in 2024?

• This has gotten very difficult as Japan tourism is extremely popular

• Booking far out might be helpful

• But even with that the currency you use matters. 

• Getting schedule open seats has to happen with foreign miles

• Book, release and catch might work – but is risky

54:27 Quick update: AA schedule change booked with Avios

• Last show I mentioned this

• Twitter rep for BA said they would forward my request to their one world liaison to be accommodated to the next day 

• About 36hrs later I received an updated reservation.

• Happy this worked out.

57:13 Amex Business Gold $20/mo Credit

• Good at Office Supply Stores, GrubHub, and FedEx

• Enrollment required

• With a lot of Business Golds in rotation, it’s too much value to ignore

• How are we playing this?

• Great Video of company that makes these types of cards.

1:03:09 Applied: Leverage Hat Trick

• $900 offer still alive (check before posting) 

• Applied using SSN, now a longstanding US Bank customer

• Currently hold 2 cards (1 coming up on 1 year)

• Applied on a weekend, can that cause pending decisions?

• And….We check for an approval live while recording

1:06:34 Buying Group Issues Abound

• It's been about 2 years since I dipped my toe in on buying groups. 

• Some things haven't changed… Amazon is still one of the best games in town….

• But there are issues, serious issues with some clubs and very slow payments. 

• It only makes sense as well that with pallets of airpods and iPads being delivered, delivery drivers or Warehouse people get sticky fingers. 

• Like most things in this game, if you've played the buying group angle for years, you could probably absorb a loss or 2 or 10…

• But if you're new to it or thinking about getting into it, I think it's important that we update here and note that a lot of data points in the Black channel can give more details 

• Risk is what's left when you think you've thought of everything…

• One really big difference between buying gift cards or even cash equivalents are that the consumer protections are not there 

1:09:05 Hilton Home2Suites Wilkes-Barre PA Review

• So new, the site features a digital rendering (opened in 2022)

• Had high hopes given great stay at Naples, FL property

• But almost every thing I thought was uniquely good about Naples property wasn’t so good here…

• Bed wasn’t as comfortable

• Shower wasn’t as good (control location, lower pressure)

• Room wasn’t as large

• Breakfast wasn’t as good (pre-fab’d sandwiches, paper plates, plastic cups and napkins)

• Fine stay, but just goes to show how each location in any chain needs to be assessed independently