The end of the points & miles game? | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep307 | 5-23-25
This week we’ll lean about the “ultimate life hack”, we’ll gripe about how we’re being Bonvoyed every which way, and we’ll debate: is the points and miles game dead?
(01:14) – Listeners respond to our “Points for the next generation” podcast Ep306 with some great life hacks…
You can find our “Points for the next generation” podcast Ep306 here.
(08:53) – Nick’s schedule change story
Read more about Nick’s schedule change story here.
(16:17) – The Blackjack Apprenticeship Podcast
Find our guest appearance on the Blackjack Apprenticeship podcast “AP Life Skills: Maximizing Your Edge with Credit Card Rewards” on Spotify here or on Apple Podcasts here…
(17:43) – Hilton 200K awards: See: Hashing out Hilton’s Devaluation | Coffee Break Ep56 | 5-20-25 here
(18:45) – Bonvoyed: Marriott elites shouldn’t expect suites
(22:02) – Marriott’s Dearborn Inn Autograph Collection: No free breakfast for Platinum Elites
(25:16) – Citi Strata Premier, Prestige cashout drops to 0.75 (but with easy work-around)
(27:46) – Bilt: Reducing all non-Bilt cards to 0.5 pts/dollar (like Amex) when paying rent starting 6/21
(31:21) – St Pancras Chambers Club permanently closed
(33:57) – Virgin Atlantic award sale: Only 4,800 points to fly to/from UK through September 2025
(38:50) – Air France / KLM Flying Blue cuts redemption rates for 2026 Delta flights
(41:29) – Easy Money w/ ShopBack portal
Learn more about our Shopback portal promo here: https://frequentmiler.com/shopback-portal-promo-for-frequent-miler-readers-20-signup-bonus-20-when-spending-20-in-may/
(45:43) – New Kimpton Secret Password: “Social Sent Me”
Main Event: The end of the points & miles game?
(47:50) – Doomsday Events
(50:15) – On the other hand, welcome bonuses higher than ever
(51:58) – Category bonuses higher than ever
(54:00) – More opportunities for transferable points than ever before
(57:02) – Transfer bonuses very common
(59:27) – New award sweet-spots keep popping up all the time
(1:03:10) – Great tools make it easier to find awards
(1:10:09) – Valuable promotions pop up randomly
(1:17:45) – Do devaluations like Hilton’s feel like a bigger deal to non-bloggers (who maybe have fewer points?)
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Music Credit – “Ocean Deep” by Annie Yoder