2025 Deal of the Year | Frequent Miler on the Air Ep338 | 12-26-25

In this podcast episode, we'll talk about last-minute uses for dining credits, AA bonvoying us, but too late to earn a Bonvoyed award, and we pick 2025's Deal of the Year. Giant Mailbag(01:24) - PSA for Dining credits(04:17) - Vote for your favorite soon: polls close 12/31You can vote here.(04:52) - Our Bonvoyed of the year picks(05:14) - The People have spokenBonvoyed(11:02) - AA: No more miles or Loyalty Points on Basic Economy fares with American AirlinesRead more about this here.Main Event: 2025 Deal of the Year(13:58) - Last year's "Deal of the Year" (2024)(17:58) - 2025 Candidates for "Deal of the Year"(18:15) - Airline & Hotel DealsRead more about Japan Airlines here.(19:23) - Learn more about Nick's JetBlue 25 for 25 journey here.(20:23) - Learn more about Wyndham's promo here.(21:11) - Credit card dealsLearn more about the Alaska Atmos Summit card here,(23:19) - Learn more about the American Express Platinum cards here.(27:50) - Learn more about the targeted American Express Business Platinum offer here.(28:48) - Learn more about the (now dead) Rakuten deal here.(30:55) - Learn more about the Citi Strata Elite recovery here.(33:43) - Learn more about Citi's addition of American Airlines as a transfer partner here.(35:36) - Other dealsLearn more about the Rakuten portal, earning Bilt points here.(37L17) - Our picks for "Deal of the Year."Question of the Week(45:12) - Anyone having trouble using Hyatt Suite Upgrade awards when using a third party like The Edit by Chase Travel℠ or Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts®?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 YoderMentioned in this episode:Check out this...

People often ask how a site like ours makes money. In this episode, we'll talk about how we do (and don't) make money talking and writing about miles and points. (00:35) - We have a team of 5, 4 of whom are full-time(01:06) - Greg's been doing this full time since 2012(01:55) - Display ads(05:42) - Miscellaneous affiliate links(06:51) - Credit card affiliate linksYou can see our Best Offers page here, where we display the best credit card offers, regardless of our affiliate income(12:40) - New: Podcast adsVisit 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 HeadsMentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

In this episode, we talk about how Rove matches your Mesa, we talk about whether or not you should buy IHG Diamond status, and we announce this year's picks for Bonvoyed of the Year.Giant Mailbag(01:09) - Changing names on reservations/workarounds for using the Fine Hotels and Resorts the Hotel Collection benefitMattress Running the Numbers(03:59) - IHG Lock in 2026 Diamond status by buying points (targeted)Read more about this here: https://frequentmiler.com/ihg-offering-opportunity-to-buy-back-or-increase-status-for-2026/Bonvoyed(12:52) - Chase re-edits The Edit by Chase Travel℠: 1.65x boostsAwards, Points, and More(16:12) - Rove: Match Your Mesa (up to 5,000 free miles)Main Event: The 2025 Bonvoyed Awards(18:36) - What are the Bonvoyed Awards?(20:03) - 2024 winner(21:11) - 2025 Honorable mentions(21:55) - 2025 Contestants(40:05) - Nick's Pick: Southwest(44:36) - Greg's Pick: Sapphire Reserve® RefreshQuestion of the Week(50:02) - Any last-minute ideas for using Hilton resort credits?Mentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

The Mesa Homeowners card abruptly closed all accounts last Friday, with no warning. This is particularly surprising because they had just added Omni as a partner. We'll talk about the aftermath in today's podcast episode. Aftermath of the major Mesa mess(00:17) - Read more about the abrupt closure of Mesa homeowners credit cards here(03:47) - What was the Mesa Homeowners card?You can learn about what the Mesa Homeowners card was here(05:05) - Lessons learned: Should we hesitate to jump into "too good to be true" deals?(09:00) - What about Rove Miles?(13:41) - What about Bilt?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 HeadsMentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

In today's podcast episode we hear about one reader's status magic, how Nick's family got stuck in HEL-sinki, and we make our end-of-year to-do list with your help.Giant Mailbag(01:41) - One reader's experience with unexpected status benefitsSee episode 334 "Super Stacking Stories" here.Card News(04:45) - Both Citi AAdvantage Business cardholders & authorized users earn Loyalty Points on purchases (Read more here)(07:31) - Reminder: last call to triple-dip credit cardsAwards, Points, and More(12:21) - Read about how Nick was stuck in HEL hereBonvoyed(21:10) - American Express transfer ratio to Cathay Pacific will reduce to 5:4 3/1/26Main Event: Our end-of-year miles & points checklists(27:42) - Read more about our end-of-year checklist for 2025 here(29:11) - Elite Status Airlines(37:59) - Elite Status Hotels(45:21) - Elite Choice Benefit selections(48:59) - Southwest Companion Pass(52:07) - See our Coffee Break episode 81 "The Southwest Debit Card is actually interesting" here(53:21) - Credit card coupons(1:13:36) - Summary of our major To-DosQuestion of the Week(1:15:16) - How do you manage continued spending on a card after meeting the spend requirement for a welcome bonus?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 YoderMentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

To our surprise, the Southwest Debit Card is more interesting than we expected! It's been uncommon for debit cards to make waves in points-earning efforts, but this one is proving intriguing. (00:17) - Southwest Debit card is more interesting than we thought! Read more about the Southwest Debit Card here.(00:51) - Some basic details about the Southwest Debit Card(07:09) - Why is this interestingVisit 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 HeadsMentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

In this week's podcast, we'll talk about how Citi Travel hides thousands of hotels, we'll describe our favorite flights from 2025, and we'll find out who on the FM team is willing to book a 3.5 rated hotel...(Skip straight to the main topic here: 1:26:18)Giant Mailbag(01:51) - Hyatt Elite Status Hack See episode 334 "Super Stacking Stories " here.Bonvoyed:(07:07) - Citi Travel blocking hotel bookings in Egypt, UAE, Malaysia, and Indonesia (and maybe other places?)Bonvoyed runner-ups(10:15) - PSA: Wyndham book and cancel trick may appear to extend points, but then they may expire anyway(13:02) - Turkish Airlines devalues Miles & Smiles redemptions for US flights(17:52) - British Airways devaluation Dec 15(18:54) - Capital One transfer ratio to Emirates will reduce to 1,000:750 (Jan 13)Awards, Points, and More(20:35) - Citi loses Aeromexico as transfer partner 1/25/26(22:13) - Omni Hotels & Resorts added as Mesa transfer partner(26:36) - Delta Leaves SkyMiles Status Requirements Unchanged For 2026, and Delta Choice benefits changes for 2026(34:36) - United cardholders can earn 2x on rent with Bilt (3% fee applies)(36:58) - Accor → Flying Blue 30% xfer bonusAsk Us Anything, Live - Ep81(40:51) - What were our favorite flights that we took with points and miles in 2025?(50:17) - What are the FM team’s thoughts on the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card / Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card train derailing? It seems like the so valuable pool to earn our sweet Hyatt points is drying up.(51:35) - A lot of good Bonvoy'ed options this week. Capital One/Emirates, Turkish, and British Airways... rank them from least worst to worst.(55:52) - Do you have any insight on the United business partner awards between the US and Europe? I'm attempting to book via Aeroplan, but availability seems to have vanished.(57:40) - ​​How the heck do I know what's actually going to earn rewards with the new Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card? Does Chase give MCC codes?(59:16) - Are any of y'all nervous flyers?(1:03:02) - Have you guys ever thought about visiting every single country in the world using points/ miles as much as possible?(1:10:51) - Do you have insight into what Sapphire status gives with Alaska when someone is flying with Alaska or another oneworld partner?(1:17:28) - What would you value more….achieving Bilt Platinum status or ATMOS Gold status (I live in Charlotte, an AA hub)?(1:20:10) - ​​Aloha! In yesterday's coffee break, you spoke about the great deals you found. How do you find when a great sweet spot becomes available? Are you setting alerts for 20+ locations? Scouring every day?(1:23:56) - Now that the Turkish sweet spot to Hawaii has died, are there any other sweet spots worth seeking out in the Turkish program?Read Nick's best use of Turkish Miles and Smiles here.The lowest hotel ratings we're willing to book(1:26:18) - How long is too long to spend comparing hotels on websites like flyertalk or reading reviewsSubscribe 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 YoderMentioned in this...

The conventional wisdom in the miles and points community is that you should "earn and burn" your points. In other words, once you have them, don't be afraid to use them up because there's no guarantee the program won't devalue later, leaving you wishing you'd spent your points when the value was higher. But...is that always the right choice?Is it worth hoarding points?(00:41) - When does it make sense to hoard points?(01:11) - Great award availability pops up randomly in unexpected places(05:44) - Amazing point deals sometimes pop up randomly(08:53) - New partnerships sometimes create amazing short-term opportunities(10:00) - Points with free/cheap change/cancel rules are great for placeholder awards(11:32) - Point programs change: value can go up or down for different situations(14:00) - You can read Greg's old post from 2013 about opportunistic hoarding vs earning and burning here.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 HeadsMentioned in this episode:Check out this month's sponsor and support our showJoin the loyalty program for renters at joinbilt.com/mileshttps://joinbilt.com/miles

In today's podcast episode, we'll talk about the many things we got wrong last week (oops!), how Etihad is sinking to a new low, and we'll reminisce about our extreme stacking adventures. Giant Mailbag(01:06) - Things we got wrong last week in episode 333 "Elite Benefit Battle: Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG"(02:47) - Read about how to earn up to 250K Alaska miles per year hereCard News(07:47) - E*Trade account now qualifies for American Express Platinum Card® Exclusively for Morgan Stanley (Read more about this here)(11:36) - A trick for finding Chase pre-approved offersBonvoyed(14:53) - Etihad's disloyalty program makes their awful cancellation policy even worseAwards, Points, and More(19:49) - Nick's Aeroplan cancellation storyMain Event: Super Stacking Stories(23:10) - Revisit episode 231 "The Art of Extreme Stackery" here(24:29) - Shopping portalsLearn more about shopping portal signup bonuses here.(25:37) - Greg's story: The original Million Mile Madness(38:55) - Nick's storyQuestion of the Week(52:37) - Nick has Mosaic 1 status from completing the JetBlue 25 for 25 challenge. When he reached status, he was able to pick a Choice benefit. Should he take the points or shoot for the higher level of status?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

Tim wrote a post about which transferable points are most valuable for lodging, and his findings have us wondering: Is Citibank the new transferable points currency worth focusing on?  (Has Citibank now eclipsed Chase and Bilt?) See: Which transferable credit card points are most valuable for lodging?Transferring points to hotels. Has Citi eclipsed Chase and Bilt?(01:11) - Most hotel transfer opportunities are not very good...(02:14) - Fixed value opportunities(03:43) - RRVs (hotel programs with variable value and available as transfer partners)(04:43) - Better than 1:1 transfers...(06:58) - Summary of the average top 5 opportunities for transferring points to hotel programs(08:36) - 90th percentile, cherry-picking the top 5 opportunities for transferring points to hotel programsVisit 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