Miles to Go - Travel Tips, News & Reviews You Can't Afford to Miss!

How can you enjoy the scents, tastes and cultural experience of Paris while stuck at home in quarantine? Stephanie Rosenbloom, NY Times travel writer, tells us how on today's show.

And, there's a limited time status match offer that could be really lucrative for you in 2021, and it can extend to your entire family. Find out more details about the Frontier Status Match.

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us attract more listeners!

This week's episode of the Miles to Go is brought to you by the NEW Wyndham Rewards Earner Cards. Designed with road trippers and road warriors in mind, apply today and you could earn up to 45,000 bonus points, enough for up to 6 free nights at thousands of Hotels by Wyndham around the world.

Whether it’s the no-fee Wyndham Rewards Earner Card, the $75-annual fee Earner Plus Card or the $95-annual fee Earner Business Card, Wyndham Rewards has a card that’s right for you. Plus, with up to 8x points on eligible hotel stays and gas purchases, up to 5x points on marketing, advertising and utilities purchases with the Earner Business Card, and up to 4x points on restaurant and grocery purchases, your next getaway could be closer than you think.

Earn like you mean it every day and get to free nights faster with the Wyndham Rewards Earner Cards. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at wyndhamrewardscreditcard.com.

Hope you enjoy the show!

If you have a suggestion for a future show find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and let me know what you’d like to hear about!

Lots of travel news to cover this week, and we've also got some timely tips to make sure you're earning the most miles and points you can, whether you're sitting on the couch or on a beach far away. Jon Nickel-D-Andrea joins us co-host for news this week.

The biggest travel news of the week was the US announcing that all passengers arriving on an international flight will be required present a negative test result for COVID-19 taken within 72 hours of their flight to the US. That's definitely going to mess with some travel plans.

Marriott has announced some changes that will help folks qualify for elite status in 2021.

Alaska Airlines has announced they're adding another elite tier for loyal customers who accrue 100,000 miles per year with the airline.

American Express has new bonus categories for cardmembers to help offset those painful annual fees.

And, Mike LaRosa from Coworkaholic joins us to talk about some ways to earn miles and points you might be missing out on.

Don't forget to enter our awesome giveaway!

In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of the Wyndham partnership with Barclays, Wyndham Rewards has given me 10 awesome prize packs to give away to you guys!

10 lucky listeners will win a year of Wyndham Rewards Diamond status, their top-tier status! Along with a year of Diamond status, you'll also receive 15,000 Wyndham Rewards points, enough to redeem for a free night at thousands of hotels around the world.

You can enter here, and stay tuned for ways to earn extra entries in the contest over the coming weeks!

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience!

This week's episode of the Miles to Go is brought to you by the NEW Wyndham Rewards Earner Cards. Designed with road trippers and road warriors in mind, apply today and you could earn up to 45,000 bonus points, enough for up to 6 free nights at thousands of Hotels by Wyndham around the world.

Whether it’s the no-fee Wyndham Rewards Earner Card, the $75-annual fee Earner Plus Card or the $95-annual fee Earner Business Card, Wyndham Rewards has a card that’s right for you. Plus, with up to 8x points on eligible hotel stays and gas purchases, up to 5x points on marketing, advertising and utilities purchases with the Earner Business Card, and up to 4x points on restaurant and grocery purchases, your next getaway could be closer than you think.

Earn like you mean it every day and get to free nights faster with the Wyndham Rewards Earner Cards. Terms and conditions apply. Learn more at wyndhamrewardscreditcard.com.

Hope you enjoy the show!

If you have a suggestion for a future show find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and let me know what you’d like to hear about!

TEN EPISODES! WooHoo! So in honor of that milestone, taking the show off the rails!

First up: A deeper dive into the SPG/Marriott merger. Summer Hull from Mommy Points has some great tips on what changes are happening so you can optimize the new earning potential for the SPG Amex and changes to award tiers and point conversion rates. We’ve got heaps of Aussie listeners (Australia is #3 out of our top 10 countries for downloads!) so we’ve invited fellow Australian (and Qantas expert) David Feldman to walk us through the Platinum One program and share which One World partner he now flies on. Jen from Deals We Like is back - yay! - with this week’s It’s a BIG DEAL! This week we’re chatting about the new Southwest Airlines promotion. The Final Two Pennies: taking a moment to discuss the safety of air travel and our first legitimately funny outtake.

Thanks to our Sponsor!

Gogo In-Flight Internet

Timestamps

• 0:23 - Taking the show off the rails (again)...
• 1:00 - We’re still talking about the SPG/Marriott merger and this week focusing more on credit card strategy
• 2:50 - Immediate changes to the earning potential for the SPG Amex
• 5:00 - Why a $450 annual fee isn’t exactly a bad deal
• 8:25 - First impressions on the new award charts and how to shift your strategy to keep finding the best value for your points
• 11:08 - We’ve got a ton of Aussies listening! So here’s David Feldman from Down Under!
• 14:00 - What’s the benefits of Qantas Platinum One?
• 20:00 - International upgrade benefits
• 23:55 - What are “soft benefits”?
• 25:20 - A little about about David Feldman
• 26:00 - Jen from Deals We Like is back!
• 30:30: - TF2P

Shownotes

Summer's SPG Blog Post

Catchit Loyalty

Ed’s Blog Post About Southwest 1380

This week we welcome Spencer Howard from Straight to the Points and One Mile at a Time to offer listeners a great intro on credit card rewards earning and burning. After that, Summer Hull from Mommy Points is back to share all her experiences, tips and some clarification on rules for surviving TSA with kids (and you nursing mothers). Lastly, we wrap up our episode with fellow Disney fanboy (fandad?) Joe Cheung from As the Joe Flies & his new podcast, Disney Deciphered talking about how to use credit card points for Disney tickets and whether or not the Disney Dining Plan is worth it!

Thanks to our Sponsor

Gogo In-Flight Internet

Timestamps:

• 0:20 - Intro to this week’s episode
• 1:00 - Rumor of the Week: Pending Marriott/SPG announcement
• 5:20 - What others in the industry are doing to tweak their programs
• 9:22 - Earning rewards with credit cards 101
• 14:00 - How to determine the best card for you and your goals
• 18:00 - The two goals to keep in mind
• 21:57 - TSA Tips for Families
• 23:00 - Rules about TSA PreCheck for children
• 25:00 - Why it’s a good idea to print out TSA rules to keep on hand
• 28:35 - Disney Deciphered with Joe Cheung
• 31:40 - Yes! You can use Chase, Amex or Citi points for your Disney vacation
• 36:10 - Disney Dining Plan: Worth it or nah?
• 41:30 - How to get more disney tips from Joe’s new podcast
• 43:10 - The Final Two Pennies & what’s up next week!
• 46:10 - Time is almost running out for the Gogo In-Flight Internet Prize Pack!

Show Notes:

Straight to the Points

One Mile at a Time

Using Chase Ultimate Rewards on Disney Tickets

Saving Money with the Disney Dining Plan

If you enjoy the podcast, I hope you’ll take a moment to leave us a rating. That helps us grow our audience!

No, Richard didn't get Bonvoyed. But, Ed is wishing Richard farewell as he heads out for a European cruise.

Ed and Richard are doing a deep dive into the Hilton Honors program in response to a listener e-mail. They're discussing elite status, benefits, credit cards and the overall value proposition of the Hilton Honors program.

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We have witty, funny, sarcastic discussions about travel, for members only. My fellow travel experts are available to answer your questions and we host video chats multiple times per month.