Frequent Miler on the Air Greg Davis-Kean

Sonesta is a hotel chain with more than 1100 properties that we haven't paid much attention to until Tim wrote a recent post about the Sonesta Travel Pass, a program that sort of came out of nowhere. In this week's Coffee Break episode, we'll chat more about why you shouldn't siesta on Sonesta!
(01:24) - Sonesta Travel Pass Basics
(04:04) - Elite Status
(06:49) - Shortcuts to elite status
(11:22) - Points from paid stays
(13:08) - Sonesta Travel Pass credit card
Read more about the Sonesta card here.
(15:58) - Final thoughts... are we excited about this?
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Amex has long had rules against getting a new welcome bonus for a card you’ve had before.
Now, they’ve expanded those rules to include "families" of cards. In this episode we'll help you navigate this confusing and tedious concept.
(01:31) - With pointsyeah a reader found an interesting redemption for ANA first class... but found a great discount for “suffering” in economy to HND. (Mailbag)
Read more about Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing - First Class for less
(05:15) - Southwest Companion Pass with one business card (Card Talk)
Find out more about the Southwest Premier Business Card here
Find out more about the Southwest Performance Business card here
(18:14) - Bilt rent day promo (Award Talk)
(19:42) - Alaska Airlines transfer bonus, up to 100% (Award Talk)
Read more about the Alaska / Bilt transfer bonus here
(24:18) - Alaska Airlines status match (Award Talk)
(29:20) - Bilt Neighborhood dining (Award Talk)
(32:09) - Hilton adds more SLH properties (Award Talk)
(37:50) - Choice removes 35K cap on their points prices in the US (Award Talk)
(39:22) - We've updated some of our RRVs (Award Talk)
(44:46) - Use Virgin points to book AF/KLM (Award Talk)
(50:23) - Fiji airways to adopt AAdvantage miles (Award Talk)
(52:09) - Read more about Greg’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)
(54:55) - Read more about Nick’s predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)
(56:27) - Read more about Stephen’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)
(58:38) - Read more about Tim’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)
(1:01:27) - Read more about Carrie’s Predictions here (2024 Predictions Half-Way Check Point)
Main Event: Navigating Amex’s Welcome Bonus Family Rules (1:03:24) - About Amex's "Pop-Up Prison"
(1:06:58) - Family types
(1:09:08) - How to find the rules. Look for "Offer Terms"
(1:12:16) - Skirting the pop-up prison
(1:18:01) - What sites do you like the best, apart from your own? (Question of the Week)
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder

On a previous Coffee Break episode, we talked about the Frequent Miler origin story – Greg’s story. This week, we'll learn about Nick's origin story with the Frequent Miler team.
(00:47) -Super quick recap of next 5 years from the start of the blog
Greg posted a "Help Wanted" for full time employee, which you can read here
(02:21) - How Nick got into miles and points
(12:09) - Nick discovers Frequent Miler at an FTU
(13:58) - Greg and Nick meet in person at another FTU
(16:37) - Nick's wife convinces him to apply for the Frequent Miler position
(17:10) - More details about Greg's help wanted post and the hiring process
(20:42) - Greg was hoping to find someone who knew more about redemption than he did
Visit here to get updated on in-depth points and miles content like this, and don’t forget to like and follow us on social media.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

(00:00) Intro: There are a multitude of ways to fly to Hawaii using miles and points (and even many ways to get a deal on cash tickets). On this week's show, we discuss ways to fly to Hawaii from around the US from as few as 10K or 13.5K points each way.
(01:06) New FM intro
(03:22) Card Talk: Sonesta World Mastercard
https://frequentmiler.com/sonesta/
 -Card Details
-What are points worth?
(16:00) What crazy thing . . . did Marriott and Starbucks do this week? https://frequentmiler.com/link-marriott-starbucks-accounts-to-occasionally-earn-double-stars-minimal-bonus-points/
(19:51) Mattress running the numbers: Wyndham Rewards Hotel Pass https://frequentmiler.com/wyndham-rewards-selling-30-night-hotel-pass/
(27:48) Award Talk
(27:55) New Reasonable Redemption Value for Hotel Points https://frequentmiler.com/what-are-hyatt-points-worth/
(30:29) Aeroplan promotion with Miles4Migrants) https://frequentmiler.com/earn-7500-aeroplan-points-with-a-100-miles4migrants-donation/
(34:19) 15% transfer bonus from Citi to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles https://frequentmiler.com/citi-thankyou-offering-15-transfer-bonus-to-cathay-pacific-asia-miles/
(27:03) Enterprise Rent-A-Car Status Match https://frequentmiler.com/enterprise-status-match-giving-status-through-february-2026-match-from-hotel-airline-car-rental-programs/
(30:29) Amex referral bonuses now as high as 45,000 points for targeted cardholders https://frequentmiler.com/amex-referral-bonuses-now-as-high-as-45000-points-per-referral-up-to-100k-per-year-per-card/
(42:44) Main Event: Best Ways to fly to Hawaii https://frequentmiler.com/best-ways-to-fly-to-hawaii-from-the-us-mainland/
(43:04) Cash deals
(43:30) Delta companion certificates
(44:55) Alaska Companion Fare
(46:13) Southwest Companion Pass
(47:32) Vacation packages
(49:15) Award deals: Economy
(49:24) United flights via Turkish Miles & Smiles for 10K each way
(50:48) Finnair Avios for American Airlines (15K) or Alaska Airlines (13.5K)
(52:52) Alaska Mileage Plan for Alaska from 15K
(53:35) Singapore Krisflyer for central/Western US to Hawaii (13-14K)
(54:33) Using Alaska miles to fly AA for 17.5K from Dallas and west coast
(55:32) Use United to fly United from 11.1K from the west coast
(56:42) Aeroplan for 12.5K from the west coast to Hawaii on United
(58:00) Qatar Avios for 13K one way from the west coast
(59:00) Flying Blue for Delta from 18K
(59:16) Virgin Atlantic for Hawaiian Airlines for 20K each way from the west coast
(1:00:16) JetBlue for Hawaiian Airlines for 20K each way from the west coast (1:00:48) American Airlines miles for AA from 20K each way
(1:01:39) Southwest Airlines when cash fares are cheap
(1:02:00) "First class" flights to Hawaii with miles
(1:02:57) Turkish miles for United: 15K miles each way
(1:05:35) Finnair Avios for American Airlines" 38K miles each way
(1:07:00) Alaska Miles for Alaska from 40K miles each way
(1:07:21) Hawaiian miles to fly Hawaiian: 40K one way or upgrade from 25K. Possibly more availability with status or as a cardholder.
(1:09:25) Virgin Atlantic miles to fly Hawaiian: 40K one way from the west coast
(1:09:48) Alaska Mileage Plan for American Airlines: 35K one-way from as far east as Dallas
(1:10:10) Air Canada Aeroplan for United for 25K from the west coast
(1:10:50) Qatar Airways Avios for American or Alaska for 38,750 Avios from the west coast
(1:11:50) Example for how to find award availability
(1:19:33) Question of the Week: Is reselling a good low-energy way to generate points?
Music credit: Annie Yoder

(00:00) The Wall Street Journal reported friction in the relationship between Wells Fargo & Bilt. What was reported and what do we make of the details? Find out in this episode of Coffee Break.
(01:16) What the Wall Street Journal Article says
(02:01) Digging into article details a bit about the Bilt / Wells Fargo relationship (06:34) Fraud and Money Laundering Concerns
(09:44) The Wells Fargo and Bilt response
(10:34) WSJ article key points quick summary
(11:12) Our take about what this all means
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Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Greg and Nick have been consumed with last-minute travel the last week and a half so it's great timing for them to summarize 10 important tips for last-minute award travel.
(01:17) - Standing ovation for the annual challenge! (Mailbag)
(06:43) - Annual Challenge recap and overview
Watch the Stage 1 recap video here: https://youtu.be/bMt_NfuuINI?feature=shared
Watch the Stage 2 recap video here: https://youtu.be/gyJPtTZN1EE?feature=shared
Watch the Stage 3 recap video here: https://youtu.be/HTmEAicB3dw?feature=shared
(34:15) - Curve overview (Card Talk)
Find out more here: https://www.curve.com/en-us
(37:56) - Hilton SLH integrated testing phase (Award Talk)
(40:26) - Preferred Hotels / Choice devaluation (55K to 87K) (Award Talk)
(42:34) - Aero plan credit card & elite members status match to iPrefer Titanium (before June 28) (Award Talk)
(44:18) - Book Oman Air w/ Flying Blue miles (Award Talk)
(44:30) - Book El Al with Virgin points (Award Talk)
(44:51) - Points Path adds support for Air Canada & Alaska Airlines (Award Talk)
Main Event: Top 10 Tips for Last Minute Award Travel (47:00) - General advice
(52:38) - Great awards often open last minute (ex: Lufthansa first)
(57:16) - Diversify. Having different types of points and miles helps.
(58:28) - Become adept at award search tools. Huge time saver.
(1:00:26) - Don’t rely entirely on award search tools. They don’t catch everything (no Virgin Atlantic on a couple, no BA / QR Avios, didn’t see LifeMiles for my redemption, etc)
(1:03:41) - Consider keeping stashes in programs you use often. This only applies if you have a lot of points and miles, but it could help avoid a failed transfer.
(1:05:27) - Watch out for transfer times
(1:08:10) - Get a good VPN. I wonder if some of my problems could have been averted if I’d used one all along.
(1:11:22) - Know that Aeroplan’s contact center isn’t 24/7. This can be a big pain when you’re overseas.
(1:12:37) - Beware the phantom menace. Tons of Swiss space that isn’t real.
(1:17:02) - Have some tricks up your sleeve. This could alternatively be called "persistence pays off". Don’t give up right away. Examples include searching Avianca’s site multiple ways, forcing a stopover with Aeroplan to get a flight to show up, booking a refundable something as a backup, etc.
(1:20:10) - How do you go about finding activities while you travel? (Question of the Week)
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.
Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder