Hyatt: End of year elite planning | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep329 | 10-24-25

As it nears the end of the year, it's time to assess Hyatt elite progress. In today's Frequent Miler on the air podcast episode, we'll focus on how to bridge the gap to the next level of Hyatt status. But we'll also talk about United & JetBlue tying their knot tighter, and how Wyndham's crappy coupon book doesn't add up.Giant Mailbag(01:21) - "We just wanted to say how much we have enjoyed the 100K Vacay challenge..."Card News(04:42) - Hawaiian card's $100 annual companion discounts & 50% companion discounts now redeemable on Alaska flights. Learn more about this here.(07:53) - Citi launches new $350 American Airlines AAdvantage Globe credit card, which you can read more about here.(09:13) - United Debit Card Coming (to join SouthWest & Wyndham debit cards)(13:40) - American Express Business Gold® adds $150 Squarespace CreditBonvoyed(15:27) - Wyndham Rewards Insider (More about it here)Crazy Thing(17:22) - Wyndham's Bad MathAwards, Points, and More(21:21) - United & JetBlue: Now reciprocal earn & burn is live(34:18) - JetBlue Mosaic changes (Learn more about them here)(40:35) - Bilt Rewards updates(44:34) - Learn more about Bilt's doing away with Milestone Rewards, which you can read about here.(47:45) - Chase offering 25% transfer bonus to Southwest through Nov 6Main Event: Hyatt: End of year elite planning(50:23) - Why we care(53:32) - Elite levels and Milestones(1:09:00) - Shortcuts(1:13:50) - Learn more about World of Hyatt adding double elite nights to welcome offer here: https://frequentmiler.com/world-of-hyatt-credit-card-temporarily-adds-extra-elite-credit-to-offer/(1:16:33) - Stack with other promos. Ex: Earn 3x Hyatt points on 2+ night stays for 90 days after registration (targeted) (Learn more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/earn-3x-hyatt-points-on-2-night-stays-targeted/)(1:20:29) - Nick's plans(1:24:09) - Greg's plansQuestion of the Week(1:34:44) - How do you evaluate whether positioning is worth it?Subscribe and FollowVisit 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

Citi is out with a new mid-tier card called the AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® with a $350 annual fee. We expected a lot from this card, but found it ultimately disappointing.(00:50) - Citi® / AAdvantage® Globe™ Mastercard® basics(02:04) - Perks, coupons, and elite boost(04:44) - Is this the replacement for Barclays $195 Aviator Silver card?(06:31) - Hear our discussion about the Barclays Aviator Silver card here(14:15) - Which card is better? (Or which card is for which kind of motivation?) (18:06) - There are folks earning status through AA hotels - could the Globe card be exciting for those people?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 – Beach Walk by Unicorn Heads

On today's Frequent Miler on the Air Podcast we'll discuss how to fly with 1 free human companion and 1 pet companion for a full year, or how to fly with a free human companion for two years, or how to get 350,000 points and elite status for 25 years!Giant Mailbag(01:15) - "I wanted to share some insights on the Mesa card based on my experience..."Learn more about the Mesa Homeonwers card here.100K Vacay Challenge(07:36) - Stephen won both judges' vote and the popular vote!(09:05) - Tim posted his full itinerary here: 7 nights in London and Norway for 100,000 points: Mountains, fjords and ferries&nbsp;Card News(10:02) - 5K bonus points for Atmos Summit card waitlisters extended(11:59) - Citi Strata Elite 100K offer now public ($6K spend required)Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite offer here.Bonvoyed(13:02) - Alaska tanks the utility of its “Famous Companion Fare”(16:55) - No notice: Atmos changes award chart for Alaska &amp; Hawaiian flightsRead more about this no-notice change here.Awards, Points, and More(19:15) - Alaska Atmos to improve earn rates on premium cabin partner bookingsLearn more about this here.(25:04) - Rove launches Loyalty Eligible hotel stays; earn both Rove Miles &amp; hotel pointsLearn more about this here.And consider signing up for Rove to get 500 free miles here.(31:53) - United Mile Play offersLearn more about new targeted United Mile Play offers here.And read about Nick's recent experience here.(35:47) - Rakuten: Best Ever 5K Membership Rewards / $50 referral bonus for both sides [Extended to 12/31]Learn more about this here.(37:54) - Rumor: Rakuten:Bilt(39:36) - UseYourCredits: Track coupons, use their handy mapsLearn more about the handy maps here.(42:18) - Find Preferred Hotels bookable with points (New interactive map!)Find the interacitive map here.Main Event: 5 cool points &amp; miles opportunities expiring soon(45:31) - Buy United miles for 1.36 or 1.44 cents each (or keep your Wyndham points from expiring) [Act fast: Oct 21]Learn more about<a href="https://frequentmiler.com/stack-3-promos-to-buy-united-miles-for-1-44-cents-each-or-less/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

(00:49) - Background of Frommer's Travel guides and Frommer's Travel Show(04:25) - What makes Frommer's Travel guides different from other guides and travel websites?(05:39) - How is AI changing the landscape of travel guides?(08:01) - Hidden gems with free activities may not get the presence on Google that places with paid activities will(09:47) - When did Pauline get interested in joining her father's business?(11:45) - Frommer's NYC 2026 Guide(13:42) - Dynamic pricing for the city's top attractions(15:49) - When does a sightseeing pass make sense?(16:53) - How to get better deals on vacation rentals(19:30) - Tips for hotel dealsVisit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe&nbsp;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

This podcast was recorded live on October 8th, at 9 pm ET during our 100K Vacay Annual Challenge final livestream. In that livestream we did our final scoring of Nick and Stephen's trips and crowned the 100K Vacay winner! You'll hear that livestream now, as part of this podcast episode.(You'll notice some audio quality issues with Nick's mic this week - our apologies!) Giant Mailbag(00:39) - "Hi Greg. I know your 100K Vacay trip was meant to set the benchmark, but I would love to read a post of a trip you would have done if you were competing for real to beat the other contestants. I’m sure you could have had an amazing trip that blew the other contestants away."Main Event(02:55) - Overview of challenge and rules(09:58) - Greg's benchmark trip, highs and lows(11:48) - Stephen's highest highs and lowest lows(18:15) - Nick's highest highs and lowest lows(33:03) - Here are some of the things you all flagged as dubious(38:13) - Flight deals revealed(47:09) - Other airport tricks revealed(55:11) - Hotel deals revealed(1:07:54) - Crowning the 100K Vacay winner!Questions of the Week(1:34:04) - If it weren't for this exact challenge, would you have wanted to do the trip you did? Would you recommend your exact itinerary to the rest of us?(1:37:30) - What is the hand that lost Nick the poker tournament?Subscribe and FollowVisit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/&nbsp;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&nbsp;Annie Yoder

Last week, Greg completed his benchmark trip using 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points for an incredible vacation in Malta. Shortly after he returned, Tim, Nick and Stephen set out to try and out-shine his trip using 100K of the transferable points they chose to compete with. Unfortunately Tim's trip came to an early end due to an unavoidable need back home, so Nick and Stephen were left to tackle the challenge themselves. With a return deadline by the October 8th 9pm final live check-in, our more than half way finished.This podcast episode features the full midstream live check-in where we heard trip recaps from both of our competitors and gave out grade scores for how they're doing in each main scoring category so far: Destination Wow, Applicability, Value, and Style.(00:24) - What is 100K Vacay?(01:31) - The Peppers summarize their travels so far, from JFK to London to Munich's Oktoberfest(06:42) - Nick summarizes his trip from Boston to Madrid to Malaga, where he had to rebook his flight from Madrid to Malaga, but then eventually made it to the Caminito del Rey cliffside hike(15:02) - Is Nick nervous about the budget?(16:56) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Destination Wow" category for the Peppers(22:16) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Destination Wow" category for Nick(25:57) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Applicability" category for the Peppers(30:00) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Applicability" category for Nick(32:02) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Value" category for the Peppers(34:37) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Value" category for Nick(36:55) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Style" category for the Peppers(38:55) - Greg and Carrie assign grades for the "Style" category for Nick(40:02) - That leaves the Peppers just ahead of Nick in every category except for "Style" so far(41:08) - Budget usage so far(43:06) - What was the highlight and lowlight for everyone?(49:34) - Greg, are you surprised everyone flew to Europe?(53:13) - What's been the biggest obstacle with your bookings so far?Visit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe&nbsp;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

Greg's benchmark trip is done, and that means it's time for the 100K Vacay team challenge to begin! In this episode, you'll get a chance to listen to the kick-off live stream that aired on October 1st at 9 pm Eastern Time and reviewed all the things that went well (and could have gone better) with Greg's 100K Vacay benchmark trip to Malta.(01:14) - Here's the timeline of the challenge (starting with the October 1st live kick off).(03:14) - What is 100K Vacay?(03:54) - What's the deal with Greg's benchmark trip? Why isn't he being judged?(06:26) - Greg's benchmark trip - what was it and how did he do?(28:20) - Greg's final totals for his trip and why he scored himself a B+You can read Greg's trip journal here.(35:43) - How do our competitors feel? What are they confident about, and what are they less confident about?(53:08) - How do Nick and Stephen feel about the fact that Tim's already hit the ground running?(1:00:35) - Redemption on VS in Europe is distance-based, not considering layovers (something you advocated). Is it worth the extra time to save some miles due to layovers in AMS or CDG?(1:03:01) - How did you end up in Business Class on Air Serbia? I never even heard of it before.(1:04:29) - How was the breakfast at the Hyatt Centric Malta? Did they have local food?(1:04:27) - Did any of your trips take advantage of mileage transfer bonuses?(1:05:32) - How was the breakfast at the Hyatt Centric Malta? Was there local food?(1:06:25) - Was there anything you would do differently?Subscribe and FollowVisit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/&nbsp;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&nbsp;Annie Yoder

In a recent episode, Greg and Nick talked about their favorite travel gear. In this episode, we're featuring all the cool travel gear we learned about from all of you in your responses to that episode!Favorite travel gear from the Giant MailbagListen to the episode "Our favorite travel gear | Ep323 | 9-12-25" here(01:28) - "For packable backpacks, Matador makes ultralight, water-resistant, packable packs. They’re pricey, but the build quality is excellent. They can usually be found on sale during Black Friday."(02:44) - Cincha Travel belt - this can securely attach any backpack to your suitcase. Also a tide stain remover pen.(04:11) - Cheap plastic flip flops. Hotel carpets are dark for a reason. They are a breeding ground for all kinds of yuck. Also a small washcloth. ...this is actually a Japanese small towel that is smaller than a traditional American washcloth (closer to a handkerchief).(05:03) - Replenish your toiletry bag when you get home from a trip NOT before the next trip. That way it is always ready to go. And if I have to remove something from the kit, I leave myself a note to remind myself when packing.(06:33) - A camping set of plastic bowl + cup + utensils (bought at an outdoor store)..... several tea bags of caffeinated &amp; decaf tea each.(08:02) - $3 drugstore rain ponchos. They last for a while and can even keep you warm.(08:56) - Osprey travel backpack. Lifetime warranty and YKK zippers. Super comfortable to wear.(09:37) - "For any men looking for great ways to use their Lululemon credits, Lululemon actually has fantastic lightweight travel clothing – ... all my athletic shorts, regular shorts, joggers, pants that I travel with are Lululemon. They’re pretty good quality, very easy to pack, and are lightweight, and they look good as well. (The ABC line is my personal favorite but you might find something else fits you personally better)"(10:21) - A cheap lock in my backpack for when I’m at the gym or water park and need to use the lockers. A bottle opener and SIM card tool on the same keychain for the lock key.(10:54) - The biggest side benefit of UK wall chargers: "On a recent trip to Mexico, my friends and I booked a slightly sketchy Airbnb. Since the patio door didn’t have a bar, we scattered the UK chargers we had left over from our Cyprus trip as ersatz caltrops and slept soundly, knowing any intruders would face crippling injury if they dared to break in."(11:48) - "I put AirTags or FindMy compatible luggage tags on all my bags. I also have a FindMy enabled passport wallet and glasses case from Satechi — hopefully I won’t ever end up in a situation like Greg when he got his backpack stolen in Chile, but even just being able to track things that are easily misplaced can be a total game changer."(12:14) - "One thing I realized nobody mentioned is a travel router. I have been carrying [a tiny router] for several years, and it has been a real lifesaver on occasion. When I get somewhere that has spotty WiFi reception, I try to find a spot where I can get at least a little reception, plug in the router there, and then I have reception in the whole room. (One time, I had it perched on top of an ice machine down the hall when WiFi was out on the whole floor.) It is also handy for sharing one login among everybody."(13:09) - "For luggage, I love the soft-sided Platinum Elite spinner line from Travelpro. .... The Platinum Elite line has lots of nice built-in organizers like compression straps, multiple zippers and velcro pockets, and a zip-in plastic bag for liquids... There’s an internal...

In this episode, we'll talk about how Citi is showering us with transfer bonuses, then we'll talk about the incredible uses for Japan Airlines miles. Now that Capital One is making transfers available to Japan Airlines (in addition to Bilt, which has already been offering this), it's worth talking about what you can do with those miles!Giant Mailbag(01:42) - "I'm a YUGE fan of ya'll. I'm an Army National Guard member that puts in just enough active duty time to get Servicemembers Civil Relief Act benefits (waived annual fees). So I have so many luxury cards I get FAR more value from the cards than I do from my Guard paycheck.Ya'll have been a key factor in deciding to stay in the National Guard, so 'Thank You For Your Service'."100K Vacay Challenge Update(04:06) - By the time this airs, Greg will be heading to his destination for his Benchmark Trip. As a reminder, he's setting the bar for the rest of the challengers with a trip showcasing how far 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points can go. (Once he's back, Tim, Nick, and Stephen will attempt to match or outdo his trip with alternate transferable points currencies.) Read more about that here!Card News(09:34) - Spirit Travel More credit card holders now get 2 free checked bags (Read more about this update here)(11:11) - Amex will exclude gift cards from Hilton credits starting in 2026(12:28) - Southwest debit card (Read more about the Southwest debit card here)Read the View from the Wing article here.Awards, Points, and More(14:42) - Air France / KLM Promo: Earn 10,000 bonus Flying Blue miles when flying from the US to any destination served by Air France or KLM.(18:16) - Avianca LifeMiles Award Sale(20:19) - Transfer bonuses(24:50) - Rove Miles transfer bonus (Use our referral link here.)(27:25) - Capital One added transfer partners and also has some transfer bonusesMain Event: Sweet-spot awards courtesy of Japan Airlines(30:18) - How to get JAL milesLearn more about the Best Uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank Miles here(32:01) - The Bad News(33:05) - Japan Airlines Mileage Bank 36-month hard expiration policy(34:30) - Family restrictions on award redemption(35:58) - Carrier-imposed surcharges(36:19) - JAL Mileage Bank awards can not be changed (but they can be cancelled for a reasonable fee)(36:56) - Best uses of Japan Airlines Mileage Bank(42:54) - Japan Airlines partner awardsQuestion of the Week(1:10:20) - Buying points isn't usually a good value unless you have a specific redemption in mind, but what about Atmos for 1.66 cents per point? (Especially with Rove miles?)Subscribe and FollowVisit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe/&nbsp;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&nbsp;Annie Yoder

We find the coupon book trend fairly tedious and frustrating, but we've had to admit that American Express has sort of won this game by offering "coupons" and perks that are actually compelling. But since many of us don't really like the coupon book approach at all, does that make Capital One the winner since they haven't done much with the coupon book strategy at all?&nbsp;Capital One wins the coupon book wars by not playing(00:21) - Coupon Book Wars(04:08) - But many consumers don't want to play the coupon book game(04:28) - Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (which you can learn about here) and Capital One Venture X Business Card (which you can learn about here)Visit&nbsp;https://frequentmiler.com/subscribe&nbsp;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