Explore every episode of the podcast MTM Travel - The Fun Side of Points & Travel!
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Is Tightening Up, Points "Junkies" & Stacking Discover for Big Cashback! | 05 nov. 2026 | 00:28:00 | |
Amex retention offers and bonus points aren't coming as easily as they used to, at least in our accounts. We discuss the changes we're seeing, the Pay Over Time changes coming in February 2027 and why the banks keep making their credits harder to use. Plus, a Wall Street Journal story about points "junkies" has us asking why maximizing credit card rewards gets lumped in with dishonest behavior. We also look at Silo's investment rewards and whether earning extra points is a good enough reason to move your portfolio. Amazon's targeted Membership Rewards offers are reaching more accounts, Audible has another deal and Discover's first-year cash back could add up nicely with the right timing. We talk through the math, the catches and when chasing more points just isn't worth the trouble. Episode Guide:
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| Solo Travelers Pay More, ChatGPT Award Searches & United's Giant New Lounge | 02 nov. 2026 | 00:35:48 | |
American and United are still charging solo travelers more on some flights, and the differences can be ridiculous. We dig into Thrifty Traveler's follow-up on solo-passenger pricing, why comparing airfare keeps getting more complicated and where American miles still come in handy. Shawn also shares his first impressions of using Seats.aero inside ChatGPT, and we look at United's huge new Houston lounge. Will 800 seats help, or are we just going to end up with another crowded lounge? Before all that, Shawn explains why he postponed his Asia trip and gave up a hard-to-find STARLUX award. Mark has an emergency hotel stay and a San Diego birthday trip that's turning into a lot of back-and-forth. Plus, scam loan calls that won't stop, iPhone call screening, Epic Universe and the frustrations of planning points trips for friends who aren't into miles and points. Episode Guide:
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| Bilt's 2027 Changes: Keep Bilt Cash? Plus More Amex Frustration & Streaming Credit Strategies! | 29 oct. 2026 | 00:31:36 | |
Bilt is changing again for 2027, and figuring out what to do shouldn't be this complicated. This week we break down the decision to keep Bilt's current benefits, why we're leaning toward keeping Bilt Cash and how the options could affect your rent, mortgage and hotel rewards. We also discuss the coming Amex Platinum hotel-credit changes and why we're getting more frustrated with the work it takes to use these benefits. Mark is also switching his family to Mint Mobile, which means untangling all those streaming subscriptions that came with his old phone plan. We talk through his new setup, making better use of credits and why Black Friday might be worth waiting for. Plus, Airbnb checkout chores, how we would simplify Bilt and an update on Mark's missing $400 Speedway gift-card balance. A replacement has been approved, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions. Episode Guide:
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| Bonvoyed Twice in One Weekend, Hilton's Exciting New Feature & MTM Takes Over Detroit! | 27 oct. 2026 | 00:28:15 | |
United just changed how you earn Premier status for 2027, and flying more won't get you there the way it used to. Hilton is also rolling out a way to pay your hotel bill with points right in the app, but there's one big unanswered question that decides whether it's any good. Before the news, we recap our Detroit meetup, from getting Bonvoyed twice in one weekend to the points hotel that charged Choice $700 a night, plus a Packers and Lions game we're still arguing about. And is the 5 a.m. flight really the pro move? Are you still chasing airline status in 2027? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Chase Wouldn't Fix the Bonus, Speedway Gift Cards Are Getting Drained & Capital One's Big 300K Offer | 22 oct. 2026 | 00:25:28 | |
Mark loaded $400 onto a Speedway gift card, went to fill up, and found a $0 balance, and four months later he's still waiting on 7-Eleven. He's not alone, and we break down why you should check any Speedway cards in your drawer right now. Mark also did everything right on a Chase business checking bonus that never posted, and the answer he got from the branch is maddening. Plus Lululemon may be shutting down another Amex credit workaround, and Capital One drops a 300,000 mile Venture X Business offer that comes with a very big catch. Have you had a gift card drained? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Getting 125K Expired Points Back, New Southwest Companion Pass Truth & JetBlue Launches First Class! | 19 oct. 2026 | 00:25:38 | |
Shawn let 125,000 Accor points expire, and what happened when he asked for them back surprised both of us. We also break down the new Hyatt and Aeroplan partnership and why Canadians walked away with all the good stuff, plus Thrifty Traveler's new free tool that watches your airfare after you book. Then we dig into what really happened to the Southwest Companion Pass, the new path to earn it, and the 2026 deadline everyone is racing. Plus JetBlue finally rolls out a domestic first class cabin. Are you chasing the Companion Pass before the rules change? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Southwest Just Nuked the Companion Pass & Amex Platinum's Hotel Credit May Be Next | 15 oct. 2026 | 00:27:24 | |
Southwest just dropped its biggest Rapid Rewards overhaul yet, and the credit card shortcut to the Companion Pass is officially on its way out, along with the A-List names. We react to what it means for anyone still chasing the pass, plus a rumored Amex Platinum change that could make the hotel credit a lot harder to use. Hyatt finally lets you transfer points online, Lululemon appears to be blocking gift cards from triggering the Platinum credit, and Citi now tells you before you apply for a Strata card whether you will get the bonus. Plus early data points suggest new Discover cardholders may be getting their Capital One Offers doubled. Did Southwest just break your heart? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| American Airlines Mistake Fare & Cancelation Anger, Best Lounge Tool & KLM's Quirky Blue Houses! | 12 oct. 2026 | 00:30:51 | |
A pricing glitch let a lot of people book American Airlines award tickets for a fraction of the usual miles, including us, and almost two weeks later American started canceling them, calling people instead of emailing them first. We get into why the way they handled it may break their own rules, and whether we should file DOT complaints over it. Then luxury goes all-inclusive, with Hilton converting the Waldorf Astoria and Conrad in Riviera Maya and Park Hyatt opening its first all-inclusive near Cancun. Plus a free lounge tool from a friend of the show that we cannot stop using, why we have mostly stopped chasing transfer bonuses, and the surprisingly sneaky history behind KLM's Delft Blue houses. Should we file DOT complaints, or did we know what we were getting into? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Chase's Eye Opening Card Strategy, IHG Refreshes Everything & The 2 Browser Trick?! | 08 oct. 2026 | 00:27:02 | |
IHG and Chase just overhauled the entire IHG card lineup, with a brand new $350 Premier Select card, higher annual fees, and status getting pulled from a card a lot of you carry. We dig into who the new card actually makes sense for, the catch hiding in its food and beverage credit, and why the old $49 IHG card is about to cost a lot more. Plus Rakuten just posted its best Bank of America offer yet, Chase may let other banks approve the co-brand applicants it turns down, and some Sapphire Preferred cardholders are getting 75,000 point upgrade offers. Then we get nostalgic about the two browser trick and the Wild West days. Which IHG card is looking better for you? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Bin Space Wars, BofA Transfers Coming & Why Giant Suitcases & Rewards Debit Cards Are Taking Over! | 05 oct. 2026 | 00:28:06 | |
Bank of America cards are getting a transfer partner in 2027, and it is a big one: Alaska Atmos. We get into what it could mean for Preferred Rewards members and why you might want to start stockpiling now. Mark also ran the real math on Alaska versus American status, and the answer is not what the headline numbers suggest. But first, a travel gripe session: European airports that will not tell you your gate until five minutes before boarding, Lisbon's surprisingly giant suitcases, and the day a flight attendant almost evicted Mark's backpack from the overhead bin. Plus Alaska is launching a debit card that earns status, and X Money is making debit interesting again. Are you team carry-on or team checked bag? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| More Bad Hyatt News, Easy Bank Bonuses Are Back & Mark vs. a Skunk | 01 oct. 2026 | 00:26:49 | |
Mark started his morning trapped in his own backyard by a skunk, and somehow that was not the worst news of the day. Bilt just announced it is cutting Hyatt transfers from 1:1 to 4:3 on January 1, the same change Chase made to the Sapphire Preferred, and it has us convinced we know who is really behind all of this. We get into why Hyatt might actually want it this way and what it says about where the program is headed. Plus Q4's 5% categories went all in on dining, Chase has new targeted spend offers worth checking, Audible is back at 99 cents a month with a bonus credit, and easy bank bonuses are back, including an E*Trade offer worth up to $800 with a 4.25% APY. Is Hyatt still worth chasing for you? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Hawaii Without the Price Tag, Rakuten's Craziest Card Offers & Flying Four Airlines in Five Days! | 28 sept. 2026 | 00:39:50 | |
Mark is back from the Azores after four airlines in five days, and he has thoughts. First, though, Rakuten's increased card offers are some of the best we've ever seen, including a no annual fee Bank of America card worth up to 40,000 Bilt points plus a $250 bonus, and there's one catch for Membership Rewards members you need to know. Then the trip: Royal Air Maroc business class on Alaska miles (the seat is fine, the service is another story), a night in Lisbon that started with Uber chaos and ended at a rooftop sunset, and a TAP flight with seatmates Mark will never forget. The Azores themselves might be the best value trip in the Atlantic, with Hawaii-level scenery at mainland Europe prices, smoked pineapples, thermal springs, and an Amex FHR stay in Ponta Delgada. Plus how Mark dodged the Boston storms for free, whether he should have taken $700 to wait, and why short whirlwind trips are worth it for busy parents. Have you been to the Azores? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Citi Adds Lifetime Language, Chase's New 3/24 Rule & Bilt's New Partner Is An Old Friend! | 24 sept. 2026 | 00:24:27 | |
Mark is headed to the Azores, so naturally we start with why Portugal has almost no air conditioning. Then it is a bank-by-bank rundown. Citi added lifetime language to the Strata cards, and nobody knows yet how hard they will enforce it. Chase may have quietly created a 3/24 rule for business cards, you have one week left to move Sapphire Preferred points to Hyatt at 1:1, and Chase's new investing redemption is the least exciting 1 cent per point you will ever see. On the good news side, Bilt reversed its terrible referral rule, now allows product changes with targeted upgrade offers, and added Amtrak as a transfer partner for the first time in years, though at a ratio that stings. Plus Citi adds Japan Airlines with a 30% launch bonus, and a 25% bonus to Avianca that we will politely beg you to think twice about. Is Citi's lifetime rule a dealbreaker for you? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| The Worst Hotel Walk Ever, Thailand's Relationship "Scams" & the App Selling $20 Food Bags for $5 | 21 sept. 2026 | 00:26:07 | |
Shawn's wife has a new obsession: the endless YouTube genre of Western men moving to Thailand and getting taken for everything, and it kicks off a surprisingly thoughtful conversation about love, money, family, and why 90 Day Fiance works. Then the Marriott story that broke our brains: a guest walked from his Brooklyn hotel over broken AC, moved to a more expensive sister property, and then billed the difference, with an apology that netted out to 5,000 points. We get into what the walk guarantee actually owes him, why public shaming barely works anymore, and the story of a Hyatt Place walk that got it exactly right. Plus Too Good To Go, the app selling $20 grab bags of end-of-day food for $5, the $60 loaf of sourdough New Yorkers are lining up around the block for, and a new no lifetime language Amex Platinum offer at 175,000 points, with the quarter-end credit timing trick that makes right now the perfect moment to grab it. Have you ever been walked? Let us know how it went in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Locked Out of Chase, the Fake Credit Card in Shawn's Wallet & When a Decline Feels Personal | 17 sept. 2026 | 00:22:07 | |
Shawn walked into a Chase branch to withdraw money and walked into every points person's nightmare: account locked, suspicious activity, and a phone tree with no humans in it. What follows is the full anatomy of a lockout, from the banker with the super secret number to the moment Shawn nearly handed him the fake World of Hyatt credit card that has been living in his wallet for years. That spirals into the security conversation we all need to have: password managers and passkeys, the scams hitting travelers abroad, why your debit card should never leave your wallet, and the shutdown anxiety that makes every declined charge feel personal. Then two deals worth your time: Audible at 99 cents a month for four months ahead of Prime Day, and the Target stack that gets inKind gift cards down near 68 percent off, beating even Costco. What is your worst locked-account story, and how do you keep yourself secure? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Why Flight Prices Look Rigged, Increased Venture Offer & the Best Premium Economy Seat Ever! | 14 sept. 2026 | 00:28:02 | |
Airlines are quietly punishing one-way bookings again, with Kyle Potter documenting examples across countless airports, and it comes with a mystery: Delta calendars showing the exact same "lowest" price every single day for months. We get into what booking a round trip cost Mark on his Singapore trip, whether shared pricing software deserves a closer look, and why Frontier is suddenly the only airline behaving. Then a genuinely useful how-to: adding your American number to an Alaska Atmos booking so your status perks follow you, including the one mistake that locks the wrong number in and the earning trade-off to consider first. Mark maps out his Summit card companion cert rotation, we break down the increased Capital One Venture offer and the FU points philosophy behind it, and Emirates unveils the first premium economy seat that looks designed on purpose: motorized recline, a motorized privacy divider, wireless charging, and one big retrofit catch. Would you book premium economy over saving the miles? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Hyatt's Big Breakup, Bilt Authorized User "Trick" & A Card Refresh Nobody Asked For | 10 sept. 2026 | 00:24:05 | |
Hyatt is dumping American for Delta, and while the details are months away, the possibilities (a status match, reciprocal earning) have our attention. Then it is deal season: three new inKind offers worth up to 50% off that you should activate today, the current state of the Lululemon vs Amex Platinum credit fight and the workarounds still standing, and a Costco gift card discount that ends Sunday. The Aeroplan card got its refresh and it is a mixed bag at best, with a bigger annual fee, weaker grocery earning, and a 115,000 point bonus doing the heavy lifting. And Gary Leff spelled out the Bilt authorized user play that quietly doubles the program's best perks for as little as $50, a strategy Mark is restructuring his whole household around. Are you keeping the Aeroplan card after this refresh? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| A Unicorn Starlux Award, Southwest Is Building Lounges & the Duct-Taped Passenger | 07 sept. 2026 | 00:27:22 | |
Shawn spent the weekend refreshing seats.aero and it paid off: a single Starlux business class saver to Taipei at 75,000 Alaska miles, even if it means leaving three days early. That kicks off a very Taiwan-heavy conversation about EVA, StarLux, the free Taipei stopover tour, and the JAL phantom space that keeps breaking our hearts. Then the story everyone saw this week: a first class passenger restrained with duct tape by fellow travelers, and the surprisingly complicated questions underneath it, from the legality of stepping in to why these midair meltdowns keep happening, plus the only would-you-rather that matters: duct taped in first or free in a middle seat? We also cover Benjy's underwhelming test of Flying Blue Platinum award space and the United cardholder trick that quietly beats it, Southwest and Chase teaming up on airport lounges with a premium card to match, and American expanding Flagship dining, which sparks our real philosophy: eat on the ground, sleep in the air. What is the best first class lounge you have ever visited? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Mark's 690,000 Point App-O-Rama, Gen Z's Credit Card Problem & Muggle vs Wizard Meta Glasses! | 03 sept. 2026 | 00:27:37 | |
Mark went on an application spree and the final tally is absurd: 690,000 points across Amex, American, Atmos and Bilt, plus $500 in dining money, against $1,719 in fees, and we break down why the math still works. Along the way, a bank that denied him for nearly a decade finally said yes, and nobody knows why. Then a new LendingTree study has us worried: most Gen Z cardholders pay just the minimum, nearly half of all cardholders do not know their own APR, and a quarter treat their credit card as their emergency fund, so we get into what actually moves your credit score and the class schools should be teaching everyone. Plus the Muggle vs Wizard Meta glasses showdown, how Mark stacked Ray-Ban, a shopping portal and an Amex offer into a much cheaper second pair, and the unclaimed property treasure chest, including the $600 that found its way back to Mark years later. What is your biggest unclaimed property score? Let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Huge 1 Million Mile Giveaway, Shawn's Hong Kong Dilemma & IHG's Best Kept Status Secret! | 02 sept. 2026 | 00:33:15 | |
Shawn has to get to Hong Kong and the choice is uglier than it should be: premium economy nonstop or Philippine Airlines through Manila on an angled seat, because the last minute Cathay Pacific first class trick that worked for years is gone. We also get into why renewing a Chinese visa is still a pain, the intra-Asia award secret everyone planning a trip should know, and the one Seoul airport you want to fly into. Then Benji has us rethinking IHG Diamond, the top tier almost nobody has and hotels actually honor. Plus T-Mobile is giving away ten prizes of one million Atmos miles each and you do not need to be a customer, which leads to the full story of the time Mark won Arby's in Hawaii, surprise tax bill and all. And McDonald's just closed a loophole that says a lot about how rewards programs really work. Premium economy or Manila? Vote in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| The Smartest People in Points Now Work for Them, Basic Business Spreads & a Huge 125K Offer! | 27 août 2026 | 00:22:48 | |
Tiffany Funk now runs Flying Blue, and the first big change on her watch makes the cheapest business class awards look a lot like basic economy. We get into what got stripped out, why the fix conveniently runs through their status program, and why that status ladder makes Mark want to lie down. It is not just airlines either, and Caesars and Carnival both proved it this same week. Plus PenFed kills the free version of a card people were milking, Citi's AAdvantage Executive is at 125,000 miles with a family lounge perk nobody else offers anymore, inKind has another $50 off $100 in the links below, and Rakuten's card offers are back. Let us know in the comments if decoupling lounge access from awards is fair or just another devaluation. Episode Guide:
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| Chase Tried to Kill a Credit Loophole, Capital One Discover Shutdowns & the $2 Trick Is Dead?! | 20 août 2026 | 00:35:50 | |
Chase quietly added language to the Sapphire Reserve hotel credit that would have killed a way people were using it, and then just as quietly took it back out. Somebody at JP Morgan even emailed us about the article. There are also targeted Sapphire offers floating around that are better than anything public, including 175,000 points, and if you were shut down by Capital One years ago you may want to go check whether your Discover account is still open. Plus Discover's $2 forgiveness is dead, weird new 48 month language nobody can explain, and a couple of no lifetime language links worth knowing about. Let us know in the comments if you have ever been targeted for one of these offers. Episode Guide:
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| The FHR City Nobody Talks About, LifeMiles Wastes Our Time Again & Resy's Big Expansion | 17 août 2026 | 00:29:32 | |
Mark figured out how to pull $400 in credits out of a single San Antonio trip, and it only works because of one thing most people never think to do. Amex also just added 350 properties to Fine Hotels and Resorts, including brands that never used to show up, and Resy quietly expanded into a whole new platform you have probably never heard of. Then there is LifeMiles, who sent Mark an email to resolve his refund and gave him 19 hours to respond before the case expired. Plus Bilt Cash finally works on Blade, and Shawn booked a five night cruise with free drinks for about $300 out the door. Let us know in the comments if you hate LifeMiles as much as Mark does. Episode Guide:
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| Hyatt Cancels Your Stay Then Charges You More, Plus Amex Kills the Offer Loader & US Bank Fumbles | 13 août 2026 | 00:25:38 | |
Hyatt canceled a Diamond member's Big Sur stay because of the fires. Then they told him what it would cost to rebook it, and the number is not what he originally paid. CardPointers just broke for almost everyone, US Bank finally launched transfer partners and then took two of them back within a day, and Hilton has a quiet trick that is making your free night certs useless. Also, people waited over eight hours in Vegas this week for $200. Episode Guide:
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| Your Free Upgrade Just Got Worse, Admiral's Club Prices Explode & Hotel Secrets That Actually Work! | 10 août 2026 | 00:35:50 | |
American Airlines is raising Admiral's Club membership from $700 to $850 up to $1,200 to $1,400 depending on status, which conveniently makes the Executive card look like a much better deal even after its annual fee went from $595 to $695. That card now includes a $500 travel credit, up to three authorized users for $175 total, and doubles the bonus loyalty points you can earn from 20,000 to 40,000, so it is a real shortcut if you are chasing status. Less good is AA changing elite upgrades on three cabin planes, so your complimentary upgrade now only gets you from economy to premium economy, and reaching business means buying premium economy first. Hyatt on the other hand launched one of the best promos we have seen, a free night certificate for every three qualifying nights at Latin America and Caribbean resorts, up to five certs, though the timing quirks are strange since you have to register by the end of September for stays in the first quarter of next year. We close with an epic thread from a hotel check in agent covering nine things that actually work, from the email to send 72 hours out to why checking in later gets you a better room, and the notes hotels are quietly keeping on you. Let us know in the comments if the Executive card is worth it now. Episode Guide:
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| Three Things Got Worse This Week: Sapphire Lounges, Singapore Awards & AA Refunds | 06 août 2026 | 00:41:53 | |
Chase is cutting Priority Pass access to Sapphire Lounges entirely, which is likely about overcrowding but stings if you were counting on it, though they did loosen the connection window from three hours to five. Singapore Airlines is also restricting award searches, with people unable to search without miles or recent activity and no public explanation, almost certainly an attempt to stop bots and scraping, and we get into why that is a frustrating way to treat customers whose miles mostly come from credit card transfers anyway. American Airlines is aligning its 24 hour cancellation policy with the federal minimum, dropping from a 48 hour window to the legal 168 hours, though award tickets are unaffected. On the tools side, point.me added map area pricing, points balance valuations, and side by side flight comparisons, and we talk through how point.me, Seats.aero, and PointsPath each fit differently into an award search routine. Shawn also recaps an impromptu Disneyland trip with two Hyatt Regency stays, including a category one through four cert on a $400 room and a night that cost 20,000 points against a $120 cash rate, plus why hotel parking fees have quietly doubled everywhere. We close with the surprisingly contentious question of what to write on the tip line as a Hyatt Globalist. Also, Mark has a Lululemon story. Let us know in the comments what your favorite award search tool is. Episode Guide:
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| Don't Get Shut Down: What Actually Triggers It, Plus a Wide Open Sweet Spot & Hilton Owner Giveaway | 30 juil. 2026 | 00:24:51 | |
Chase ran a wave of shutdowns this week aimed at people hammering the Amazon card, some reportedly cycling millions a month through buyers group spending, and we walk through Doctor of Credit's full list of what actually triggers a Chase shutdown. More importantly, we cover the three things that catch normal people who are not doing anything extreme, bust out risk on a brand new card, credit limit cycling, and sitting on a massive negative balance. Alaska Atmos also added Philippine Airlines as a partner, and business class availability is wide open at 75,000 miles from San Francisco and 85,000 from Los Angeles, though we get into why Manila is a rough connection point and not really a jumping off spot for the rest of Asia. Seats.aero shipped a Chrome extension that overlays award pricing directly onto Google Flights, and it works well right out of the box. We close with Hilton cutting the fees hotel owners pay, which sounds small at 0.3 percent but is a real chunk of what they collect, and explain why less money coming into the program almost always means devaluations for you. Let us know in the comments what your favorite award search tool is. Episode Guide:
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| Is Premium Economy Actually Fine? Plus Bilt Responds, Hilton Overcharges & Mark Influences Again! | 28 juil. 2026 | 00:36:49 | |
Bilt responded to the pricing problem we covered last week, and Richard Kerr reached out directly about the resort fee disclosure issue on their travel portal. There is a toggle that shows all in pricing, but it is buried where almost nobody will find it, and we make the case it belongs right on the initial search screen. Mark also found something stranger, the same hotel priced 10 to 15 dollars differently between his account and his wife's, which opens a real conversation about personalized pricing in the age of AI. On the hotel side, Hilton charged him roughly $280 a night for rooms he booked entirely on points, a good reminder to always check your folio before you leave. Then we get into whether premium economy is good enough for a 13 hour flight home from Seoul, why the footrest works great if you are short and terribly if you are tall, and how the snobbery in this hobby has quietly faded as award space has dried up. Plus Mark's 75,000 point Aeroplan booking to see Wrexham, the transfer bonuses ending this month, and the Virgin points to AMC popcorn trick that finally wore Shawn down. Let us know in the comments whether you would take the nonstop in premium economy or connect in business. Episode Guide:
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| Bilt Is Hiding Fees, Chase Cracks Down on Abusers & BofA's SEXY New Retention Avenue! | 23 juil. 2026 | 00:24:32 | |
Both Hyatt cards have increased welcome offers, and we explain why the personal card's 75,000 point headline is a little misleading since a chunk of it is just base earning you would get anyway. Frequent Miler is reporting that Chase quietly added new terms to Chase Offers warning that abuse may get you excluded from future offers, which leads into a real conversation about where the line sits between an error in your favor and outright fraud. Bank of America is now handing out retention offers through its Erica chatbot, so you can click through your cards quickly without ever talking to a person, though accepting one offer appears to lock you out on the rest. United also has new targeted MilePlay promotions, some of them worth 20,000 plus bonus miles just for getting the credit card and opting into notifications. We close with a real problem on Bilt travel, where a hotel showing $279 a night turned into an $800 plus bill at checkout because resort fees were not disclosed up front, something Expedia's own site does correctly. Let us know in the comments what the craziest abuse story you have heard is. Episode Guide:
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| Delta's Basic BS First Class, a Headrest That Saves Economy & New Partnerships Galore! | 21 juil. 2026 | 00:27:17 | |
A huge week of travel news, so we ran through the partnerships and new seat products that actually matter. Delta launched a basic first class following United, stripping out seat selection, upgrades, and same day changes while almost certainly charging you the same, and we explain why it is just a way to make you pay more for what you already got. The good news is United is putting a blocked empty middle seat with its own tray on its A321XLRs, a European style setup that saves them a flight attendant and that we would happily book over regular first, and Emirates is rolling out a folding UDream headrest that could finally make sleeping in economy possible. We also cover the partnership madlibs of the week, Hilton with Explora cruises, Japan Airlines with Marriott Bonvoy, and Air Canada Aeroplan with World of Hyatt, and what each is actually worth. We close with a genuinely useful one, Wyndham doubling its Caesars transfer limit to 60,000 points through September 11th, which is a great way to rescue points before Wyndham's brutal four year expiration hits. Let us know in the comments if a better headrest would get you to fly economy. Episode Guide:
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| The 25,000 Mile Clawback, Amex Closes a Loophole & Why We Can't Simplify Our Wallets | 16 juil. 2026 | 00:25:04 | |
The AA glitch is over. American clawed back the 25,000 miles from that AAdvantage Business promo code, reversing transfers and apologizing with 5,000 miles, and we make the case that they actually handled it well, which is more than we can say for hotels that walk you or open late with a shrug. Speaking of, we get into why Hyatt stopped offering real compensation on delayed hotel openings and what they should be doing instead. Amex is also tightening things up, changing the terms on the streaming credit so bundles like Peacock with Apple TV Plus no longer count, and linking multiple logins on the back end so you can no longer use separate accounts to see different Amex Offers. We reminisce about the golden era of Amex Offers, the Staples and Smart and Final days, and the offers that were worth flying across the country for. Plus Olive Garden's Unlimited Pasta Pass is back for the first time since 2020, still $100 but now good for 13 weeks, with only 10,000 available. We close with our buddy Travel with Grant's wallet simplification article and admit none of us are actually simplifying anything. Let us know in the comments if you got the pasta pass. Episode Guide:
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| Is This A Deal To Japan, Hyatt's "New" Benefit That Isn't New & Points Myths to Drop! | 14 juil. 2026 | 00:30:25 | |
Mark is taking his son to Japan on points, so we walk through exactly how he booked it, snagging American Airlines business class from Detroit through Dallas to Tokyo for 100,000 miles a person, why he locked it in even though it is not the rock bottom price, and his plan to fly Delta One home from Seoul nonstop for 140,000 SkyMiles. It turns into a bigger conversation about how the burn side of miles and points has gotten harder and less fun, and why getting the trip you want now can beat holding out for the perfect saver award. On the news side, there is an excellent Audible deal with three free months plus a $20 credit for Prime members, another two Hyatt hotels dropping suite upgrade awards, and Hyatt dressing up an old 13 month booking window as a shiny new elite benefit. Then we react to a great Benji article full of points assumptions worth rethinking, from not needing to be a credit card travel protection expert, to skipping mediocre free breakfast, to whether tracking every tiny bonus is actually worth your time, and the classic debate of booking flights first versus hotels first. Let us know in the comments whether you are team flights or team hotels, and drop any Japan tips for Mark. Episode Guide:
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| AA's 25,000 Mile Glitch, Amex Gets Stingy & The Rakuten Card Stack | 09 juil. 2026 | 00:25:43 | |
American Airlines appears to have a coding error letting existing AAdvantage Business account holders add a promo code in settings and instantly get 25,000 miles, and we get into whether AA claws it back. Mark walks through three retention offer results, including an insulting 6,000 Hilton point offer on the Surpass, a $99 credit that saved his Citi AAdvantage business card at exactly the right moment, and no save attempt at all on the Executive card. We also cover Amex randomly handing out $50 Saks credits after killing that benefit, the Rakuten credit card offers that can stack over 75,000 Bilt points, and Mark's Charles Schwab Platinum timing now that Delta and United dropped off the airline incidental credit. Plus, Benji wants an apology. Let us know in the comments if you got your 25,000 miles. Episode Guide:
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| United's First Class Cornflakes, Delta's Worst Seat & TSA Security Gets Better! | 07 juil. 2026 | 00:30:48 | |
A packed miles and points Tuesday after a big 250th weekend. We start with a wild Delta seat someone scored on a former Lion Air 737 that looks narrower than anything you have flown, which leads into a fun talk about backward facing seats, the death of SeatGuru, and how to avoid the worst seats on the plane. On the news side, Amex transfer bonuses are back, with 30 percent to Virgin Atlantic through the end of July and 20 percent to Hilton through July 14th. Then we get into Benjy's genuinely sad United first class meal, a banana and Kellogg's cornflakes on a flight over 1,500 miles, and why you should never book domestic first for the food, plus our favorite drink and flight attendant hacks. We break down TSA touchless ID now that it is on Google Wallet, why the line moves fast, the frustrating catch that minors cannot use it, and how mobile passport control makes coming back into the country painless. We close with how Mark pulled 350,000 Delta miles and a companion pass out of a single Delta Reserve card, and the tricky question of how to actually value a companion pass. Let us know in the comments about the worst seat and worst meal you have had lately. Episode Guide:
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| Hyatt's Category Chaos, Wyndham's NEW $395 Card & Chase Nickel and Dimes Again! | 02 juil. 2026 | 00:25:36 | |
Chase quietly cut Pay Yourself Back on the Sapphire Reserve again, dropping the bonus from 25 percent more to 20 percent, and we get into why they keep chipping away at it. Wyndham refreshed its entire card lineup, now four cards deep, headlined by a new $395 premium card with a 120,000 point welcome offer, a never expire points perk, and enough credits to offset the fee for the right person. We break down the new Q3 Chase bonus spending offers worth checking, Wyndham's award chart shakeup adding a new 45,000 point top tier on September 15th, and the real world fallout from Hyatt's category changes, including a category 3 hotel in New Orleans pricing higher than a category 4 one block away. It all adds up to why free night certificates might be more valuable than ever. Let us know in the comments what you are doing for the 4th and whether Chase is getting too nickel and dime. Episode Guide:
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| Chase Is Now Clawing Back Credits! Plus Prime Day & Bilt's Weak Rent Day | 25 juin 2026 | 00:20:59 | |
Want to work with us? Reach out! inquiries at milestomemories dot com Prime Day is in full swing, Chase is suddenly clawing back hotel credits when you cancel, Bilt's latest Rent Day is underwhelming, and Qatar Airways just locked down award bookings. We break down all of it and what it means for your points and miles. In this episode we cover Amazon Prime Day deals and the credit card promos worth stacking, why buyers' groups have cooled off, the death of the gift card glory days, Bilt Rent Day's lackluster Hilton transfer bonus, the new Chase Sapphire Preferred $100 hotel credit and the clawback you need to know about, and Qatar Airways adding friends and family restrictions to award bookings. Last call for our Detroit event October 23rd and 24th. A full weekend of seminars, a Saturday night meetup at Barcade, and a chance to meet us and our partners in person. Grab one of the last tickets here: https://mtm.zohobackstage.com/MTMTravelDetroit2026#/
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| Casablanca, Beating Jet Lag HACK and Why the World Is Obsessed with Ranch Dressing! | 23 juin 2026 | 00:28:31 | |
Shawn is back from Morocco with the full Casablanca recap, from the Hassan II Mosque and the wild stained glass inside Notre Dame to a faded five-star Hyatt, Africa's biggest mall, and a horse race inside a country club. Plus the jet lag hack that actually worked: skip the food, sleep the whole flight, and land feeling brand new. We also get into why the world is suddenly obsessed with ranch dressing and American quirks, the new Global Entry machines, and whether business class is even worth it if you sleep right through it. Episode Guide:
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| Why Hotel Owners Are Fighting To Cost You More and Is Points Even Fun Anymore? | 18 juin 2026 | 00:28:11 | |
It was a wild week in the points world. An email to Chase Ink Plus cardholders made it look like 5X on office supplies was getting axed, the internet panicked, and we called it as a likely mistake before Chase confirmed it was just human error. We also break down the Paze spend 10 dollars get 10 dollars promo that people abused so hard with New Egg gift cards that Chase started shutting down options in a single day, and the new Amex Resy credit changes coming August 1 that may or may not be a big deal. Then we get into the meatier stuff: a great One Mile at a Time piece on hotel owners pushing Marriott for a bigger cut, why that means points will likely cost all of us more, and Ben's editorial on whether miles and points is even fun anymore. Plus a Capital One Shopping shout out and why those targeted offers are worth a look. Episode Guide:
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| The Hyatt All-Inclusive Mistake That Cost $650 + 50% Off CardPointers & AA Trading Cards! | 16 juin 2026 | 00:37:34 | |
Mark is back from Colombia, and this one's a full Cartagena trip report. He breaks down two nights at the Hyatt Regency Cartagena (a Category 3 gem on points) and three nights at the Dreams Karibana all-inclusive — including the food wins, the brutal heat, the black-sand "beachfront," island day clubs, a killer rooftop bar with a live saxophonist, and the $650 check-in mistake that has one Globalist swearing off Hyatt for good. Plus Shawn answers the Grand Hyatt Athens critics, American Airlines finally drops aircraft trading cards, and Choice Privileges quietly guts its Japan award chart (Tokyo and Osaka properties jumping from 8K to 20K+ points). Is Cartagena worth it? Watch and let us know in the comments. Episode Guide:
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| Chase Sapphire Preferred Got Better… But the HYATT BOMBSHELL Hurts! | 11 juin 2026 | 00:26:01 | |
Chase just refreshed the Sapphire Preferred and buried a bombshell in the fine print. On this episode of MTM Travel Shawn and Mark break down everything Chase changed: the $95 fee stays, you get new 3X categories on gas, EV charging and vacation rentals, plus a doubled $100 hotel credit. The catch? The Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred lose 1:1 Hyatt transfers and drop to 4:3 on October 1. We cover whether the refresh is still worth it, why the $795 Reserve is now the only way to keep 1:1 Hyatt, why Bilt just won, and what you should actually do before the changes hit Monday. Mark's full breakdown is linked below. Let us know where Chase ranks in your points lineup now. Episode Guide:
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| Has Hyatt Lost It? A Shocking "Five-Star" Stay (Plus Big American & Alaska Changes) | 09 juin 2026 | 00:32:11 | |
American Airlines is quietly blocking last-minute partner award space, Alaska is raising its partner and phone booking fees on July 1, and Shawn just had a really bad "five-star" stay at the Grand Hyatt Athens. On this episode of MTM Travel, Shawn and Mark break down the AA award change and who it actually hurts, the Alaska fee increases and how the Summit card can offset them, and a brutal play-by-play of a Hyatt stay gone wrong — slow undersized elevators, road-noise "motel" rooms, burned eggs, no elite recognition, and a manager who hid in the back — all against a flawless stay at the Hyatt Regency Barcelona. Plus why lounges are cracking down on taking food and drinks, the role of private-equity cost-cutting, and how Hyatt only displays its good TripAdvisor reviews. Let us know your own Hyatt experiences down below, and we'll be back Thursday with more travel news. Episode Guide:
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| Spirit Credit Card Refunds, Choice Hotels Outsmarted Mark & Discover's Best Ever Offer?! | 28 mai 2026 | 00:23:45 | |
Bank of America is refunding annual fees for every Spirit credit cardholder and product-changing them into no-fee cards. Mark thought he found a hack in Choice Hotels' gas promo — until Choice's IT outsmarted him. Discover dropped the best welcome offer in its history: $200 after $500 spend, plus double cash back the first year. Then there's the Sapphire Reserve debate — when does pay-yourself-back make the annual fee worth it? What we cover:
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| Hyatt's Forgotten Benefit, Last Minute Business Class Score & Delta's New Bag Benefit | 26 mai 2026 | 00:23:23 | |
Episode Description Shawn blew up his Europe itinerary at the last minute, but this one worked. He canceled Condor premium economy through Frankfurt and rebooked American to Athens for fewer miles, less cash and a cleaner connection. The catch was making American economy survivable, which led him to Hyatt's American Airlines status for a day benefit. Shawn and Mark talk through how the 8,000-point Hyatt redemption worked, why the Main Cabin Extra seat process was clunky, and how his account eventually showed full American Platinum status before travel. They also cover a Royal Air Maroc business class win from Casablanca to LAX, Benjy's strategy for checking AA award bookings after you book, the weird world of backup reservations, and Delta's new second checked bag benefit for eligible Amex cardholders. Episode Guide
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| Hyatt Devaluation Fallout, New Chase 10X Benefit & Why Hoarding Points Can Cost You! | 21 mai 2026 | 00:22:46 | |
Episode Description Hyatt's 2026 award changes are live, and Shawn and Mark look at what happened after the switch. Some stays barely moved, some got cheaper, Japan got hit hard, and a few members appear to have been charged rates that do not match what Hyatt showed during booking. They also talk through the points hoarding debate after Benjy's "case for zero" article. A big transferable points balance can feel like an emergency fund, but it can also lose value while cash could earn interest or get invested. Then they close with Chase's new 10X Paze offer, the limited but useful merchant list, and how it can stack with Rove shopping bonuses. Episode Guide
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| Hyatt Gets Pricier, Hilton Certs Get Better Plus A 10-Mile NYC Bar Crawl | 19 mai 2026 | 00:34:33 | |
Get $200 after making your first $500 payment with Melio! (affiliate) https://www.milestomemories.com/go/melio Episode Description Hyatt's award chart changes are arriving, so Shawn and Mark talk through the last-minute bookings that made sense, the ones they skipped and why hotel credits have changed the way they use Hyatt points. They also break down a clean example of partner award pricing: the same American Airlines flight priced at 54K Avios, 36K American miles and 18K Alaska miles. Then they look at Hilton free night certificates at all-inclusive properties, including the growing SLH options and the downside of possible extra charges for kids. Finally, Mark recaps his completed New York City pub crawl from Central Park to FiDi, with stops at Bryant Park, Moxy, Pub Key, Nancy's Whiskey Pub, White Horse Tavern and The Dead Rabbit. Episode Guide
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| Best Transferable Points Ranked, Huge Capital One Lawsuit & How We Evaluate Retention Offers! | 14 mai 2026 | 00:32:45 | |
Capital One is facing a lawsuit over canceled rewards, and Shawn and Mark get into the bigger problem with banks treating points like real currency when it helps them and funny money when it helps them. They also talk retention offers, when a card is not worth keeping even for free, and rank the major transferable points programs from worst to best. What we cover:
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| Best Transferable Points Ranked, Huge Capital One Lawsuit & How We Evaluate Retention Offers! | 14 mai 2026 | 00:32:45 | |
Capital One is facing a lawsuit over canceled rewards, and Shawn and Mark get into the bigger problem with banks treating points like real currency when it helps them and funny money when it helps them. They also talk retention offers, when a card is not worth keeping even for free, and rank the major transferable points programs from worst to best. What we cover:
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| BofA Cards For Bilt Points, Chase Reserve 150K and Citi's ThankYou Problem | 07 mai 2026 | 00:26:45 | |
MTM Travel - May 7, 2026 Chase has a massive new Sapphire Reserve offer, but the rest of the episode shows why the points world feels less predictable than it used to. Shawn and Mark break down Rakuten's strange but useful Bank of America and Bilt stack, Citi ending ThankYou point sharing, the refreshed AT&T Points Plus card and Chase's quietly weaker Points Boost values. Episode Guide
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| A Robot Flew Southwest, Spirit Went Away, and JetBlue Has a Pricing Problem! | 05 mai 2026 | 00:26:39 | |
Get $200 after making your first $500 payment with Melio! (affiliate) https://www.milestomemories.com/go/melio Spirit Airlines is gone, and even travelers who avoided Spirit may feel it in their wallets. Shawn and Mark talk through the fallout for cheap flights, the JetBlue and Frontier merger mess, and why low-cost carriers have such a hard time making the model work in the U.S. They also get into JetBlue's pricing lawsuit, data tracking worries, a robot that bought its own Southwest seat, and the cheap travel items that actually earn space in the bag. Yes, that includes Benji's forever stamp. What we cover:
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| Hyatt's Double Devaluation Hurts: Why Globalist May Not Be Worth It Plus A Look At Alternatives | 30 avr. 2026 | 00:25:29 | |
Episode Description Hyatt used to be the easy button for a lot of points and miles travelers. Transfer Chase points, book Hyatt, chase Globalist and enjoy the perks. That strategy is getting harder to defend after Hyatt's five-tier award chart and another round of category changes. In this episode Shawn and Mark talk through the real cost of Hyatt's latest moves, why Globalist status may not pencil out the way it used to, and how hotel loyalty strategy changes when no single program deserves all of your stays. Episode Guide
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