Frequent Miler on the Air

Amex has been refreshing its credit cards lately, but the American Express® Gold Card changes are more like a slight touch up. (00:37) - What's changed?(04:02) - What's the same?(05:25) - What do we think?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:Frequent Miler's Best Offers Pagehttps://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-offers/Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of Voyascape, a podcast network that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network

CORRECTION NOTICE: On 5/5/26 this episode was corrected to remove incorrect information about Points Advance bookings. Originally we'd incorrectly stated Points Advance bookings don't lock in a booking's price, when in fact they do. Can I save points on a Hyatt award with a date change trick? Frequent Miler reader Matt wrote:I recently succeeded in changing a Hyatt award stay to avoid cancelling and forfeiting the Hyatt points. I'm wondering if that could be a strategy to leap past the upcoming changes to the World of Hyatt program. For example, I would create a reservation using points at a Hyatt property now and change the date later for a stay that is currently not bookable because it is more than 13 months away. Has anyone successfully used this strategy in previous years when category changes were announced, avoiding the need to make up point differences due to the associated program changes at that time? I understand that this is highly prospective and perhaps wishful thinking, but it could mean a sizeable savings in Hyatt points!We’ve been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Now, we’ve turned the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Monday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you’d like to submit, you can send it to [email protected] in this episode:Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of Voyascape, a podcast network that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network

In today's episode, we'll talk about how Chase Point Boost is going bust, how Avianca sucks some life out of LifeMiles, and rewards for spending BIG.Giant Mailbag(01:16) - Mike says "I have a subscription to Award Wallet Plus, and it has a “Merchant Category Lookup Tool,” where you can enter a merchant name and it will give the related merchant category name..."Find our Wells Fargo Journeys Forward episode 354 here(05:50) - Visit frequentmiler.com/awardwallet hereUpgrade to AwardWallet Plus for 6 months (one time upgrade only): Click the down arrow next to your name within AwardWallet, and click “Upgrade Using a Coupon”, then enter: FrequentMiler (this will only work for those who have never upgraded before)Card News(07:18) - Royal Caribbean launches two new credit cards: Royal One and Royal One PlusCrazy Thing(10:20) - Finnair 18 month expirationMattress Running the Numbers(17:37) - Buy Marriott Points for as low as 0.89 cents eachBonvoyed(21:33) - Chase Points Boost goes BustRead more about Chase Points Boost going bust hereRead more about Chase reducing redemption rates here(35:46) - Air Canada Aeroplan devaluationLearn more about Aeroplan devaluing their award chart here(38:58) - Avianca LifeMiles changesAwards, Points, and More(45:31) - Wells Fargo adds transfer partner: Cathay Pacific (Autograph, Autograph Journey)(47:16) - See our Instant Gift Card Deals post hereMain Event: Best Bonuses for Huge Spend(49:47) - Today we'll focus on cards that earn big rewards after really big spend ($50K or more)(52:24) - Bilt cards $50K: Platinum status(56:49) - Marriott Bonvoy® Brilliant® American Express® Card $60K(1:02:15) - Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite® Card $60K (100K Companion cert)(1:09:00) - Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card $75K(1:15:17) - Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ Card $120K:(1:17:13) - The Business Platinum Card® from American Express $250K(1:23:43) - Aeroplan® Credit Card $1M: Free award companion for the rest of the calendar year and all of next year with $1 Million spendSubscribe 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:Frequent Miler Beginner's Guidehttps://frequentmiler.com/start-here/Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of Voyascape, a podcast network that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network

Hyatt is changing their award charts on May 20th, 2026, and it's pretty devastating with a new 5-tier pricing system and huge increases in prices. Today, we'll see if there's some good news in all of this. (00:12) - New 5-level award charts: lowest, low, moderate, upper, top (prev: off-peak, standard, peak)(02:08) - Is there any good news?(06:59) - Some good news about premium suites(11:49) - Thoughts and analysisVisit 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 all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of Voyascape, a podcast network that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast NetworkFrequent Miler's Best Offers Pagehttps://frequentmiler.com/best-credit-card-offers/

Does product changing ruin trip protections? Frequent Miler reader Jay P wrote in saying:"I used my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to book a flight and hotel for a future trip. Now, I would like to product change my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card before that trip. Are there any negative impacts if I product change before travel?"We've been answering a reader or listener question at the end of each Frequent Miler on the Air podcast episode. Starting this week, we're turning the question of the week into its own weekly episode. Tune in every Monday at 5pm for our Question of the Week podcast. And if you have your own question you'd like to submit, you can send it to [email protected] in this episode:Check out all of our other travel podcasts from around the worldThis podcast is part of Voyascape, a podcast network that brings together the world's best travel podcasts. You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at Voyascape.com. If you are interested in advertising or sponsored content on any of our shows you can find out more at the link below.Voyascape Podcast Network