This week’s episode of Frequent Miler on the Air is currently available in podcast format only (a technical issue has delayed publication of the video for now), so download from your favorite service to hear us talk about hacking the Asia Miles distance-based award chart, why Greg thinks the no-notice devaluation on the Ritz card may be a good thing, the question of the week, and more. Look on the bright side: if Greg made any bad predictions this week, he won’t need to worry about us re-running the tape as we did last week.
FM on the Air Podcast
For those who would like to listen during the morning commute or while you’re working, the audio of our weekly broadcast is also available for download as a podcast on all of your favorite services, including:
You’ll also find us on Spotify and hopefully your other favorite platforms. If you’re not finding the podcast via your favorite source of good podcasts, send us a message and let us know what you’d like us to add.
In hacking the system:
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles mixed cabin award pricing. First class for less.
This post is a must-read for anyone sitting on a pile of Membership Rewards points, ThankYou points, or Capital One “Miles” and a desire to fly up front — whether first or business class – for less by traveling more. This was a great find and I was really encouraged by the fact that even a phone booking priced the same way. If you’re targeted and can stack transfer bonuses right now, all the better.
Food fight: DoorDash vs Grubhub vs Uber Eats
In last week’s Frequent Miler on the Air, I argued that in a real-world situation, I might consider buying a $60 DoorDash gift card for $60 if it came with a free year of DashPass. In this post, Greg proves that might not be a bad decision given the way prices stack up against GrubHub and UberEATS. See the head-to-head comparison in 3 cities and then run your own local experiment to see where things fall in your town.
In this week’s “enhancements”:
Chase kills Ritz Visa Infinite airfare discount without notice
The writing has been on the wall for this benefit since the day that CNB announced they would end it on the Crystal Visa Infinite. In FM on the Air this week, Greg argues why he thinks the fact that CNB gave two months notice and Chase have zero could be a good thing, but I’m less optimistic. Further, as someone who was waiting a couple of weeks to make flight arrangements that I would have booked if I knew this benefit were ending, I’m definitely bummed to find out this was dead after it was gone.
AA eliminates close-in award ticketing fee
I guess it says something about the state of domestic loyalty programs when an airline removes a made-up $75 fee that has existed for years and everyone who reports it does so with what feels like disappointment. It’s not that any of us are sad to see that silly fee go, we’re just all waiting to see how American makes up for this change — because it’s hard to believe that they gave up on collecting a fee without an “enhancement” that makes them more.
In new and newly-updated complete resource guides:
A quick guide to transferable points programs
When someone new to credit cards asks me which credit card to get, I always tell them that they can’t go wrong with a rewards card that earns a transferable currency. The ability to transfer to the partner offering the best value for your situation stretches your rewards farther. See this high-level overview of the options and share it with friends who are interested in learning more.
Chase Ultimate Rewards Complete Guide 2020
A perennial favorite when it comes to transferable currencies is Chase Ultimate Rewards. Between the ability to combine points from your own various cards and with one member of your household and the best travel protections on the market on their premium cards, Ultimate Rewards is a great place to get started. See this guide for everything you need to know about it.
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card Complete Guide
While we maintain individual credit card pages with all of the important high-level information on dozens and dozens of rewards credit cards, we are also working to develop resources to give you the complete guide to each of the cards we list. Here’s that compilation of data on the Venture card.
Complete Guide to Travel Companion Tickets for 2020 and Beyond
If you’re playing the game in 2-player mode, you’ll want to be aware of the many options out there for getting a companion ticket. It turns out there are more than I would immediately remember, which makes this reference guide worth a bookmark.
That’s it for this week at Frequent Miler. Check back soon for our week in review around the web and this week’s last chance deals.