0:25 Amex 5x Employee Card Links Not Working?
- Was 20,000 for $4,000
- Then dropped to 15,000 for $4,000
- Recently I received a targeted email for 5,000 for $2,000 - I have standards, sir!
- Don’t like where this is headed, but let’s hope it comes back
04:27 Amex Delta Card Changes
- Higher fees, more coupons
- Platinum goes from $250 to $350
- Reserve goes from $550 to $650
- Mon...
2024-02-15 00:22:38 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:30 Amex Welcome Bonuses and Hilton Free Night Certificates
- Last show, said I was waiting on a bunch of welcome bonuses to post. They mostly posted.
- Hilton FNC posted, but only got the cert number and exp date by chatting Amex (still doesn’t show in app, no email) - thank for the tip! Will talk more later about this topic.
4:20 Fluz: $20 Office Supply on Business Gold
- Said I’d contact Fluz to increase chances ...
2024-01-28 06:32:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:30 How Are We Doing on 2024 Travel Credits?
- BofA Elite
- So Slow to post here. Last year I did a gym payment jan 5, posted jan 12. This year….
- Amex Platinum
- I have SO many of these that reset, and between dell and airline incidentals I’m struggling on when the credits will post. Late start didn’t help, I did some when I got home
- Don’t forget: Last year’s Platinum $200 FHR credits need to be cancelled ...
2024-01-23 20:39:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:32 Q1 5x Offers
- Chase Freedom: Grocery, Gym, Self Care
- Discover: Restaurant and Drugstores (PPBP compatible)
- Citi Dividend: Amazon? Select Streaming?
- Don’t forget: New year, resetting other cards (BofA Cash Rewards, US Bank Cash+)
03:47 Hyatt Changes
- Changes Rolled Out
- Yo...
2024-01-16 06:27:34 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:18 Overview
We’ll cover our “favorite” item in each category (Hotel, flights Credit cards) of the year and then a resolution for 2024?
Recap Hotels in 2023 – Favorite of 2023 and What we want to change for 2024:
01:09 Sam:
- Everyone agreed that the stay at the Hilton Hiroshima was their favorite stay this year. Just 2 nights– no time to find things or have things go wrong. Booked into a suite, so the space was what I...
2024-01-02 01:04:35 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Amex High Risk/Fraud Team
- Last we spoke, I submitted letter from bank and IRS tax form
- Waited a week then saw on Slack that others were getting approved with ID verification by calling 800-450-8738
- Really hard to get through to them, so after getting their voicemail for a couple days got through right at 8a when they open
- Rep ...
2023-12-26 06:55:54 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Fluz Time
- Multi-use cards becoming available to more people, with a lot of hiccups along the way
- Once they get them working for you, they’ve been quite reliable
- Starting to really become an issue is the 3-day hold on amounts over $2,000.
- They seem to be processing gift card to cash balance conversions relatively quickly again
- Discuss just how many cards it makes sense to do 3% MCC category loads on
- Seriously cons...
2023-12-15 23:35:58 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Alaska and Hawaiian To Combine (Direct Link)
- Expected to take 12-18 months, subject to regulatory approval
- Hawaiian would get folded into OneWorld but both brands would supposedly remain?
- Single loyalty program and co-branded credit cards, and you’d have to think that will be 100% Alaska’s scheme. Which means Barclays is out and Bo...
2023-12-06 23:45:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:21 Fluz
- They made multi-use (“Brand”) cards available for people who weren’t on the Zoom call
- They didn’t work reliable
- 1-Time cards also didn’t work reliably
- Cashouts are taking longer than ever for many
- But then…
- Fluz Multi Use “Brand Cards” launch
- They’re pretty fabulous
- 1.5% MC, 1% Visa
- New BINs, new opportunities
08:52 Amex...
2023-11-21 02:43:28 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Amex Churning: Getting harder?
- Cards previously with no popup (business cobranded) are showing a "have had" popup now
- Gold Business showing popup as well. BAD news given the recent great offers
- Silver lining: 90 day condition seems to override this popup--so churning a card you received before might be the one weird trick to keep churning!
- Reconsideration calls getting tough too.
- 99 Employee ...
2023-11-11 02:48:41 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:25 Hilton Surpass and Aspire Changes (FM)
- Surpass
- $150 AF (up from $95)
- $50 Hilton credit per quarter (any Hilton, not just resorts)
- 6x on restaurants/gas/grocery
- Free night cert at $15k/yr
- Aspire
- $550 AF (up from $450)
- $...
2023-10-29 11:32:44 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:47 Bryan G:
- Good End of Year Double/Triple Dip Opportunities?
- Business Platinums/Personal Platinums
- Schwab without or with a sign up bonus
- Bank of America premium rewards elite
07:16 Characteristics to look for in a HELOC?
- Quick discussion about the difference between a home equity loan and a HELOC.
- State by state requirements vary
- Might not need a HELOC? Man...
2023-10-21 06:25:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:21 Status Match Opportunities
- JetBlue (Direct Link)
- Capped at 30,000 applicants with Delta Medallion status
- Matched status last [only] through end of 2023 *unless* you have Barclays JetBlue card -or- accrue enough pro-rated Tiles to requalify
- Detailed info on Mosaic nuances are hard to discern from JetBlue ...
2023-10-08 05:50:11 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:19 “A Simpler and More Rewarding Skymiles”
- Seems to be the straw the broke the camel’s back of even the most addicted loyalists (at least that’s what people are saying)
- Can still earn your way to status via credit card spend, but it takes a lot more spend (FM summary)
- Lounge visits from credit cards are now capped per Medallion-ye...
2023-09-23 23:35:17 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:20 Amex Welcome/Upgrade Offer Updates
- Bonvoy Business
- Welcome bonus back to 125,000 (was 3 x 50k certs, that didn’t last long)
- $8,000 spend in 6 months
- $125 AF not waived first year
- Delta Reserve Business
- Targeted upgrade (link to check)
...
2023-09-13 05:58:33 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:40 BermudAir Takes Flight
- Direct Link
- OMAAT
- BOS, HPN (White Plains, NY), and FLL - BDA
- Service begins 8/31/2023 and bookable now
- Fares look cheap: From $199-$299 pp one-way for cheapest fare bucket
- Initially 2-2 configuration with every...
2023-09-04 14:37:29 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Amex Personal Platinum Changes
- Churning language on Vanilla and Schwab card now states you “may not” be eligible for welcome bonus if you have/have had any variants of the card
- Authorized User fee now $195 per, was previously $175 for 3
- Morgan Stanley still gets first AU free
- WSJ added for monthly digital credit, Audible removed effective 10/1/2023
- Schwab/Morgan Stanley welcome bonuses down to 80k
- Morgan Stanle...
2023-08-23 12:55:13 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:22 Etihad Launching Boston Flights (OMAAT)
- 4x weekly, starting March 2024
- 2 cabin plane (Business, no First)
10:32 Transfer Bonuses
- 50% Chase UR to Marriott Bonvoy through Sept 30, 2023
- 25% Amex MR to Hilton through August 31, 2023
- 15% Amex MR to Avianca Lifemi...
2023-08-08 22:27:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:27 Amex Employee Offers Back Up to 20k
We're back with a chat about Sam's 2023 summer trip to Japan. This will be released on milenomics.com tomorrow, for now enjoy a preview here!
0:34 Overview: 14 days, spent as follows:
- 5 nights in Kyoto at Mimaru Apartment hotel. 430 square foot. Not spacious but good for a family of 4.
- 2 nights in Hiroshima at the Hilton Hiroshima: One bedroom suite booked with points (90k per night). Very new hotel, opened in 2022.
- 5 Nights Ishigaki ...
2023-07-26 23:51:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:43 Q3 2023 5x Categories
- Chase Freedom
- Gas Stations, EV Charging, Select Live Entertainment (?)
- Discover
- Gas Stations, Digital Wallets
- Citi Dividend
- Gas Stations, Home Improvement Stores
- Don’t forget BofA Cash Rewards and US Bank
8:58 Transfer Bonuses
- Amex
- British Airways 30%
<...
2023-07-13 18:51:20 +0000 UTC
View Post
Trevor and Tom from Travel Stories join as we discuss:
4:40 Changing Travel Plans Close-In
10:25 Andaz West Hollywood vs Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills
18:40 Hyatt Tips and Tricks
32:00 Airline Award Availability Trends
51:00 Crusing: Royal Caribbean vs Disney
Thanks to Trevor and Tom for coming on the show!
2023-07-07 13:25:47 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:20 Fluz: Absurd Edition
- When things couldn't get more complicated…they do
- Rolling 72 business hour $2k cap. No more instant access to $2k per day.
- Annoying because this money ‘rolls’ in, so your GC balance changes slowly.
- Open Loop cards showing promise for $250-$1000 balances.
- $1k MCGC would be a win over MC1TC
- MC 1TC reportedly not coming back soon (bank issues)
- Cash balance sticking around (and even ...
2023-07-01 16:22:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:30 Fluz Updates
- Fees: initially very bad….Not at all what was promised. Almost all cards were between 3.3-3.75%
- After 4 days rates have dropped to better levels. Some have gone back to 3% and many are 3.1%-3.3. 5
- Gift Card prepayment (GC Wallet) loads are bouncing around and are right now below 3% for many cards. Combined with 3% back on MCGC or 1.5% on 1TC this is low cost.
- As Robert thought it appears some cards are being charged h...
2023-06-21 14:28:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:21 Meetup: US Open Golf Tournament in Los Angeles
- Wednesday June 14 (practice round) and Thursday June 15
- Tickets are surprisingly affordable at resale (relative to list price)
- Sam and Robert will be there Wednesday, Robert Thursday
- Bring your Amex card!
- See you at the Trophy Club?
06:36 Fluz News
- Gift Card Balance
- June 15 Gift card balance starts
- Jul 1 Cash balance co...
2023-06-08 06:05:13 +0000 UTC
View Post
News:
0:21 Plastiq Bankruptcy/Restructuring (Press Release)
08:19 [Targeted] Amex Business Platinum NLL 200,000 Offer (2023-05-29 23:55:49 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:21 A Couple Bits of Airline News
0:33 Follow-Up: Ultimate Rewards and Pay Yourself Back
- This game moves quickly sometimes.
- Last week I was looking to clean up my UR situation
- After getting approved for a CSP I went ahead and applied the next day for a CSR and was also approved (After some verification of my date of birth)
- I’ll have even more UR to deal with, but with a clear path forward: Consolidate and pay myself back at 1.25 cents.
- Wild how prevalent the 1...
2023-05-11 06:10:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Episode 10: Show Notes.
It’s still relatively early in 2023, but we’ve decided to take a look at what Trevor and Thomas have been getting up to this year in terms of generating miles, planning trips, and the current state of travel trends overall. We examine the noticeable changes that are happening in travel, especially in miles and points redemption. Thomas then walks us through his points generation methods, how they’ve changed since COV...
2023-05-06 03:13:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
0:24 Chicago Pop Up Event Recap
- Great to see everyone there
- Discuss: Observations from in-person discussions. What stood out to you?
- Events going forward
- Discuss: Even with 2 people visiting the same place at the same time, totally different experiences unless you’re standing right next to the other person
- Chicago Athletic Association (breakfast for example)
- Getting to/from there by a...
2023-04-28 07:09:51 +0000 UTC
View Post
