Milenomics² Podcast Episode 257: Mixed Bag, Listener Questions & More
Added 2025-05-14 12:31:24 +0000 UTC0:41 Rakuten 30,000 Bonus for Chase Sapphire/Ink [Dead/Targeted?]
Highly Variable and seems to be bouncing off this high and coming back down quickly
Still, the idea of this as a way to control your own referral is nice. Keep an eye on this page in the future.
Seeing this on Sapphire Preferred 100k, Ink Unlimited, and Freedom Unlimited
Unclear to me whether you can navigate to other cards there (say a 90k Ink card vs a $750 one)
Still, amazing that you can get any MRs + 100,000 URs on a Chase card
Makes this better than a Chase referral when = to or greater than 10k.
No Annual Fee Show all about Sapphire Preferred 100k offer and URs
05:35 JetBlue/United Collab
Worst kept secret in the industry at the moment
Discuss: Pros and cons of United acquiring JetBlue (if ultimately that’s what happens)
12:22 Transfer Bonuses
Chase: 25% to AirFrance (ends 5/31/2025) and Virgin Atlantic (ends 6/15/2025)
CapitalOne: 25% to Qantas (ends 5/31/2025)
Citi: 30% to Qatar (ends 5/31/2025, includes a bunch of other exotic partners)
18:51 Summer Italy Trip Gets Real (and Complicated)
This is quickly Approaching.
I don’t want to go to Rome anymore (too busy)
I found a less good option (LAX-DFW-LHR-FLR) and put it on hold
Family agreed–1 stop to Rome + a train up to florence or Tuscany is worse than this option
Ideal would be 1 stop to Florence. That’s only showing up for Premium Economy bookings right now.
Dilemma: Cancelled my original booking and the miles did NOT come back right away.
Half showed up about an hour after cancellation
Twitter Reps said, “wait 24 hours”
24 hours later–the missing miles still weren’t back
Twitter reps say “We checked on this, and it's still in the queue and being processed. Please check again in 24 hours for an update.”
Current Plan is 2 days in Florence, 5 in Tuscany (agriturismo), 4 in Lake Garda and 4 in Venice.
21:30 PSA: AA holds are now 24 hours, not 5 days. (link)
As I’m sitting and waiting for these miles to return I’m seeing that the AA award hold is now just 1 day.
This is a HUGE issue paired with the above situation – holds now can be shorter than the amount of time AA is quoting for miles to be ‘instantly refunded’
So what to do?
Pushed twitter reps to please extend the hold.
And they said….
This is theorized to be a byproduct of the ‘Catch, release and catch” Idea we outlined in Episode 22 back in 2019. Hold for 5 days, extend over and over and then sell the space
31:40 Amex Business Platinum 25k Referral + 200k + $500 off $2,500 in Flights
Last Business Platinum approval was “exactly” 3 months ago (ex: 2/1/2025, 5/1/2025)
Wanted to apply while the app would still be considered a duplicate for easier recon
Referred, applied, app went pending rather than getting a have/had pop-up which is a good sign
Closed an old Business Platinum that was due (can you believe online Hilton GC sales are still suspended?)
Called new accounts the next day and…
38:20 AA Hawking Flight Credits to Change Dates
Flying Boston to State College on a Wednesday
It’s finals week, so I think there’s a lot of pressure on the tiny SCE airport those dates
A few days before flight, AA offers $400 credit to switch days
Could I: Accept the offer, then cancel the flight for a credit, and capture the $400 without flying?
If so, can this be gamed? Would it work with AA miles? How long would it take them to shut down your AA account?
46:15 PHL Lounge Crawl
Feels to me like one of the “loungiest” airports around with all the major airlines plus Amex and Chase represented, with all terminals connected beyond security
Amex Centurion
Est 2017
Small, fairly limited buffet food options, not very good
Chase Sapphire Lounge
Est 2025
Huge footprint with lots of interesting spaces
Bigger and better than Chase Sapphire Boston
20+ staff
Bountiful buffet options, burgers and salads delivered to table via app, interesting drink options
Winner: Chase Sapphire Lounge by a mile
Listener Questions
50:38 Q: How do I get started in this?
There’s so MUCH information… where do I start out?
What would you say to someone just starting out in this game?
What channel/Channels on slack are ‘must follow’?
Patron lives in MSP, family of 6 (!), has been signing up for CCs but not doing much MS. What’s the best way to figure out the next level?
Introductions of new members would be a nice addition to slack
58:48 Q: Fluz: $250k in spend for “GC” access
This is a recurring question. Should this be done to gain access to GC loads.
What it is: Late sign ups only have MUVC and Cash loads. Cash loads are not as good as GC loads because GC loads can set the MCC.
Really a Catch-22: The spend is easiest with GC load, but you need to do the spend to get GC load access.
How would you do this? spend $250k with fluz without GC?
Sam: Me: Citi DC -> earn 2x and pay off with MUVC for -1.5%, net .5% and the spend. Would take me 8-12 months however.
Cycling issues with that, and SLOW/could cause shutdown and malfunctions.
Is Fluz “worth” it to a late adopter?
Additional Q: On the heels of Amex shutdowns and blocking, Is Fluz too risky?
Chad’s Mini-Series on this topic: (link, subscription required)
1:06:27 Q: Family of 5 wants to fly to Japan, which credit card should they get to earn the most points & miles from the purchase?
Is a high cost Amex card a responsible recommendation to a ‘normal’ person?
What about buying miles for coach tickets, when the cost in miles is very low this is a good savings.
01:12:14 Q: Upcoming 5 night Hilton stay. Which credit card should I get?
This really gets to the issue of changing award space inventory
“Just in time” vs “Just in Case”: Just in TIme is buying miles right when you’re ready to use them. Just in Case can veer into hoarding–having points on hand in case you need them.
Are Chase cards always the answer?
