Frequent Miler on the Air Greg Davis-Kean

This episode is a little different because Greg and Nick are busy competing with eachother for the Flying by the Seat of our Points Challenge!
If unfamiliar, every year we put together a team travel challenge designed to force us to reach challenging and entertaining goals with our points and miles, and showcase what can be done with these tools. It's a fun way to stretch the limits of points and miles and show you all what that actually looks like.
For this year's annual challenge, Stephen and I have given Greg, Nick, and Tim surprise destination assignments for a travel challenge testing our team's last-minute travel booking skills. The first "domestic convergence" destination was revealed on Monday night during a live checkin on YouTube where the contestants learned of a domestic location they'd need to reach by Wednesday 6pm local time, when we had another live checkin to reveal another series of surprise destinations. By the time this challenge wraps up, we'll have had 4 live checkins.
For this podcast episode you'll watch and listen to a summary of the first two checkins, the Monday night reveal of our domestic launch point, and the Wednesday night reveal of each contestant's individual international assignments. You'll also hear our contestants review the booking decisions they made to meet their first assignment, and you'll hear stephen and i break down our scoring decisions. This recap will bring you up to speed so you can head over to our YouTube and catch the third live checkin which will have just wrapped up by the time this podcast goes live, and will tell our contestans of their final destination assignment. 
Check out this link for more! https://frequentmiler.com/2024-annual-challenge/
 

(00:00) - You know that sinking feeling when you know things are going wrong? With a brand new travel challenge just launched last night, we've got our past travel challenge snafus in mind.
Coffee Break: Our worst travel challenge moments (02:53) - 40K to Far Away
Learn more about the 2019 40K to Far Away Challenge here.
(03:09) - Greg: Train breaks. Bus breaks
Read Greg's story about his South African misadventures here.
(06:18) - Nick: Asleep on bus, can’t enter Bangkok, bike ride to nowhere
Read about Nick's misadventures during 40K to Far Away here.
(11:20) - 3 Cards, 3 Continents
Read more about the 2022 3 Cards, 3 Continents Challenge here.
(11:46) - Nick: Canyoneering
(12:48) - Greg: Air Canada married segment problem, then wouldn’t let me check in
Read more about Greg's married segment problem here.
(16:22) - Party of 5
Read more about the Party of 5 Challenge here.
(16:52) -Greg (and Nick): Santiago, arriving at the Ritz w/out a backpack
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. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Nick has loved LifeMiles for a long time but Greg has traditionally been less convinced. Recent changes make Greg curious to hear more about Nick's long-time love of LifeMiles. Can Nick convince Greg to become a fan?
(01:33) - On Ep 255: Strategizing Hilton cards, credits, and free nights,
Greg’s podcasted plan left people with questions about family language for Hilton cards (Mailbag)
Find episode 255 here.
(05:12) - Hilton cards with new welcome bonuses (Mattress Running the Numbers)
Learn more about the Hilton fee free card here.
And learn about the Hilton Surpass card here.
(12:27) - Southwest now on Google Flights (Award Talk)
(16:09) - Finnair Avios now combinable (Award Talk)
(18:20) - AA NOT eliminating mile & loyalty point earnings through OTAs (Award Talk)
(19:22) - Cardless Avianca LifeMiles Cards (Card Talk)
Read more about the Avianca LifeMiles American Express® Card Here.
Read more about the Avianca LifeMiles American Express® Elite Card here.
(28:33) - Easy miles to get
(31:51) - LifeMiles+ subscriptions
(49:30) - Using LifeMiles, standard pricing
(53:43) - Hidden sweet-spots
(59:30) - Mixed cabin pricing
Read Greg's post "Aviance Miles - First Class for Less" here.
(1:04:47) - How to search for complicated awards
(1:11:14) - How to search for awards (less complicated)
(1:22:10) - Downsides...
(1:25:32) - Pop Quiz for Greg about quadruple dip opportunities for a Hilton Curio Collection hotel
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

You know we're fans of Hyatt...but some of their recent behavior has been downright painful! That's what we'll discuss in today's Coffee Break episode.
(01:28) - Hyatt introduced Category 8, claiming it would only be for SLH
(03:05) - Introduced peak pricing
(04:26) - As feared, they moved Hyatt properties into that Category 8
(04:43) - Introduced a separate (way more expensive) award chart for all-inclusive properties
(05:35) - Created Homes & Hideaways at poor value...then later moved a number of "Destination Residences" properties to Homes & Hideaways
(07:53) - Ended MGM partnership
(08:34) - Ended SLH partnership
(09:54) - Introduced Mr & Mrs Smith dynamic pricing
Still plenty to love:
(13:03) - Best-in-class top tier status benefits (you know you’ll get breakfast / lounge, free parking on award stays, meaningful upgrades, etc).
(14:17) - Best milestone rewards (confirmable suite upgrades, Guest of Honor awards, valuable free night certificates)
(16:04) - Lots of sharing options: share free nights, upgrade certs, globalist status (via GOH awards), points, etc.
(17:09) - Ability to supplement elite earning with credit card spend
(18:08) - Generally very good value for points for properties that adhere to an award chart
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. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

Everybody loves a one-size-fits-all answer, but today we're discussing which cards are best for which kinds of purchases: grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco... Sure you can just keep one card in your wallet and earn on that card exclusively, but many of us switch it up depending on what we're purchasing. That's what we'll discuss in today's episode.
(01:45) - Datapoints about AA companion certificates (Mail Bag)
(05:32) - Hertz charging people to refill Tesla gas tanks (Crazy Thing)
(12:07) - Frontier and Spirit eliminate change fees (Award Talk)
(13:41) - Cool Alaska trick (Award Talk)
Read more here: https://thriftytraveler.com/news/airlines/book-business-class-less-alaska-miles/
(17:31) - Current Kimpton Hotel Secret Password May 24, 2024, to September 2, 2024. (Award Talk)
Main Event: Best cards for grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco, and more (18:54) - Best cards for grocery, dining, gas, travel, Costco, and more
(19:45) - Big box stores including Costco, Sams Club, Target, etc
Read more about the US Bank Altitude Reserve here: https://frequentmiler.com/USBAR/
(22:55) - Grocery Stores
Read more about the Citi Custom Cash here: https://frequentmiler.com/CustomCash/
(23:44) - Read more about Amex Gold here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGoldCard/
(24:49) - Read more about the Citi Strata Premier here: https://frequentmiler.com/TYpremier/
Read more about the Capital One Savor card here (https://frequentmiler.com/C1SV/) and the  SavorOne here (https://frequentmiler.com/C1SVO/)
(25:28) - Read more about the Aeroplan card here: https://frequentmiler.com/Aeroplan/
(26:18) - Dining / Food Delivery
(27:38) - Read more about the Amex Business Gold card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGoldBiz/
(29:13) - Read more about the Bank of America Customized Cash Rewards card here: https://frequentmiler.com/boaCR/
(31:06) - Gas
Read more about the Wyndham Rewards Earner Business Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WyndhamEarnerBiz/
(33:36) - Read more about the Wyndham Rewards Earner Plus Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WyndhamEarnerPlus/
(38:38) - Travel: Many cards offer enhanced rewards for travel booked through bank portal
(39:03) - General Travel
(39:50) - Read more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve here: https://frequentmiler.com/CSR/
Read more about the Chase Ink Business Preferred here: https://frequentmiler.com/CIBP/
(39:58) - Read more about the Amex Green Card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxGreen/
(40:00) - Read more about the Wells Fargo Autograph card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WellsFargoAutograph/
(41:37) - Airfare
Read more about the Amex Platinum card here: https://frequentmiler.com/AmxPlat/
(43:33) - Hotels
(43:44) - Read more about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card here: https://frequentmiler.com/WellsFargoAutographJourney/
(45:44) - Read what Greg keeps in his wallet here (https://frequentmiler.com/whats-in-gregs-wallet-2024-edition/) and what Nick keeps in his wallet here (https://frequentmiler.com/whats-in-nicks-wallet-2024-edition/)
(46:07) - See our Best Category Bonuses resource here: https://frequentmiler.com/best-category-bonuses/
(46:54) - Other notable category bonuses
(47:08) - Read more about the Ink Business Cash card here: https://frequentmiler.com/CIC/
(47:58) - Read more about the Chase Freedom Flex card here (https://frequentmiler.com/CFF/) and the Freedom Unlimited here (https://frequentmiler.com/CFU/)
(50:35) - One of our readers is interested in becoming a content creator and has questions about things to consider. If we were starting out today, what would we do differently? (Question of the Week)
(54:20) - Check out our Coffee Break episode on the origin story of Frequent Miler here: https://listen.frequentmiler.com/coffee09

Sometimes points and miles wag the points-collector dog... which is to say, sometimes the hobby changes your travel behavior. In episode 11 of Coffee Break, we'll talk about how.
(01:40) - Rent day date nights (Greg)
(03:32) - Going to baseball games / event tickets (Nick)
(06:54) - Helicopter into NY (Greg)
(09:15) - Vacationing where the award space is (Nick)
(13:37) - "Forced" to travel due to expiring free nights (Greg)
Read about the Kimpton Seafire here: https://frequentmiler.com/kimpton-seafire-grand-cayman-bottom-line-review/
Read about the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Tucson here: https://frequentmiler.com/ritz-carlton-dove-mountain-tucson-bottom-line-review/
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. You’ll find all other Frequent Miler on the Air episodes here.
Music Credit – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads