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The Milenomics Podcast Network

The Milenomics Podcast Network

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The Milenomics Podcast Network posts

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 271: News, Follow-up and More…

News:

0:33 Airline Debit Cards

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 270: Shutdowns and Winterization.

0:24 Wyndham Winding Down Vacasa Partnership (Loyalty Lobby)

  • Bad News, just bad

  • No longer a path to booking with Wyndham for Vacasa After Nov 30

  • Last bookable date is ...

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Checking in Episode 30: Vacation Rentals Discussion with Chris Hutchins

Kiawah Island Exclusive Resorts Stay: Recap

  • Quick Review

  • 4 nights in a 4 BR/4.5 BA home that Zillows for $5M

  • Super-high quality, daily housekeeping, dedicated concierge, fantastic stay View Post

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 269: Citi Fails Up, MSP Meetup Recap and a Kiawah Island Trip Report

0:23 Citi Fails Up (again) Strata Elite Update. 

  • Previously: issues with 4506T forms for multiple Strata Elite cards. 

  • One patron said citi told him 80k people were affected. 

  • WSJ article about the mess pretty well describes the issue. 

  • A few days after the article Citi emailed affected people with a...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 268: Transfer Bonuses and more…

0:20 Transfer Bonuses

  • CapitalOne (ends 10/22/2025)

  • NEW! JAL 30% (regularly 1:0.75, so 1:0.95 w/bonus)

  • New: Preferred Hotels 1:0.2 (no bonus)

  • Virgin Atlantic 30% 

  • Citi (ends 10/18/2025)

  • Turkish 50% 

  • Virgin Atlantic 3...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 267: Amex Platinum updates and more

0:22 Amex Platinum Updates

  • $895 AF (up from $695)

  • Personal

  • Increased: $600 Fine Hotels & Resorts ($300 per 6 months, was $200/yr)

  • Continues: $200/yr Air Incidental

  • New: $400 Resy ($100 per quarter)

  • New: $300 Lululemon ($75 per quarter)

  • Ne...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 266: Rabbit Holes, Hotel Instruments and Vacasa Woes

0:22 New: Redeem JetBlue for Condor (DansDeals)

  • Also Alaska Bookable.


  • Route map is interesting for getting to Europe:



  • Pricing is better on nonstop than 1 stop


  • 60k-70k on some routes in Business. 


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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 265: News, New Cards & Plenty of Updates

News

0:20 First off: Thank you for the response to MSP-3!

  • Saturday October 11th, 2025 at the MSP Airport Conference Center

  • Join the Waitlist if you’re interested in coming

  • <...

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MSP-3 Tickets -- Link in This Post

Good morning, it is just about time to go live on MSP tickets. The link will be:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/milenomics-msp-meetup-2025-registration-1487260188259?aff=oddtdtcreator

And, if all things go as planned, should allow you to grab ...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 264: Strata Elite, Mesa Card & An Italy Trip Report

0:34 Citi Strata

  • Indeed released on a Sunday while Sam was away

  • 80k/100k

  • Approvals were…mixed

  • 6x Dining from 6p-6a Eastern on Friday and Saturday really is a thing

  • AA lounge passes/account creation

  • I feel like a new man!

12:15 Mesa Homeowners

MSP Meetup 10/11/25: Information and Ticket Sale Date

Hello Patrons! In an effort to get as much information out as possible I'm posting here, on Slack and also will update with a podcast announce as well.

We're getting back together for an in person meet and greet!


Our favorite (and only) dedicated space, the MSP airport conference center has officially confirmed the new space they have built for us...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 263: Good News / Bad News, Living the Mesa Lifestyle & Award Trends to Europe

0:22 Good news: 

0:31 Citi Threatens to Finally Launch “Strata Elite” Card

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 262: Airline Miles vs. Bank Points & More

0:20 JetBlue 350,000 + 25 Years of Mosaic Promo

  • Press Release

  • Trading Time and Money for the right to a free bag for life?

  • For an airli...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 261: Sapphire Reserve Mania and More

0:23 Chase Sapphire Reserve Changes Summary

08:48 Welcome Bonus

  • Direct Link (non-referral)

  • 100,000 + $500 Chase Travel Portal credit

  • $5,000 min spend in 3 months

  • Available through referral (...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 260: Follow-Up, News, and What to do When it Seems Like Nothing Works?

0:21 Follow Up

0:30 BofA Alaska Cards

  • Cards arrived: Did they result in new frequent flyer numbers?

  • How to meet min spend?

  • Worth spending on in an ongoing manner?

  • Consumer card earns 2x on Gas, and 10% more miles if you have an active checking or savings account, 2.2 miles per $1

  • Wo...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 259: News, Mesa Card Follow-Up and More…

0:20 Amex Membership Rewards 30% Transfer Bonus to Avios

  • British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia

  • Can transfer to other Avios partners from there

  • Ends 7/15/2025

02:59 PayPal Bill Pay: No Longer Useful?

  • Still exists, but all useful targets seem to be removed

  • Surprised it ran a...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 258: Heightened Welcome Bonuses and Booking Puzzlers

0:19  Heightened Credit Card Offers

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 257: Mixed Bag, Listener Questions & More

0:41 Rakuten 30,000 Bonus for Chase Sapphire/Ink [Dead/Targeted?]

Checking in Episode 29: Southwest Changes With Brian M

0:47 Background on Southwest Changes

  • Elliott Management

    • During past ~1-year increasing ownership stake

    • Demanded and, eventually, forced Southwest changes

  • Southwest resisted changes at first

  • Now, Southwest has announced nearly all changes suggested by Elliott

02:23 Which Ch...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 256: News, Updates, and Trip Reports…

0:20 New: Redeem JetBlue Points for Award Flights on JAL

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 255: Exciting Developments...

0:20 [Targeted] Heightened Chase Ultimate Reward Point Value for Sapphire Cardholders Booking through Portal

  • Higher than usual point value on Sapphire cards. Incredible uplift!

  • How to see whether you’re targeted: Do a search in the Chase portal for United/Delta/Qatar premium cabins -or- “nicer” hotels to see if any “Points offer” appears View Post

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 254: Hope Springs Eternal…

0:29 United Changes (link)

  • Credit card/lounge fees up, more coupons

    • Examples: $5-$12/ mo in rideshare credits depending on the level of UA Credit card

    • $50-$100 in Travel Bank for car ...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 253: The Path Forward, Southwest Changes & More

0:19 Amex Blocks Fluz Spending (Or: Fluz Blocks Amex?)

  • Along with this, another wave of shutdowns. Chilling Effect.

  • Fluz Blocking Amex (More Likely, specifically since the block isn’t 100% successful)

  • Cash loads blocked too

  • Are they protecting us from ourselves?

  • Discuss: Ways to meet minimum spend requ...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 252: News, Updates, and we play “Name that Terrible Place”

0:20 Amex Email: No More PayPal Bill Pay after 4/1/2025

  • Was this related to the Shutdowns?

  • Historically hard to keep online billpay alive (TIO, WMBP, PPBP)

  • Fluz: Without Amex, and if citi shutdown what good is this service?

12:55 Delta Abandons BOS - HNL Route (2025-03-07 06:41:36 +0000 UTC View Post

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 251: A Wave of Amex Shutdowns and a Hawaii Trip Report.

0:21 Amex Monday Massacre 

  • Horrible Day of Shutdowns

  • Seems to be relatively widespread

  • Hit close to home

  • Both of us not shutdown

  • What (if anything) makes this different than previous waves of shutdowns

  • How to move forward? Do we move forward? 

  • Example: Is anyone doi...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 250: Navigating the Amex System in 2025…

01:04 Heightened Amex Delta Offers

  • Personal

  • Gold/Platinum/Reserve 80/90/100k

  • Business

  • Gold/Platinum/Reserve 90/100/110k

  • Available through referral

01:41 Amex Bonvoy Business 125k

  • Min spend $8k in 6 months

    ...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 249: News, Puzzlers and More… (Updated Audio)

0:19 Quote of the Day

"We are creatures shaped by our experiences, we like what we know more often than we know what we like." -Wallace Stegner

04:34 JetBlue Premium Card Coming (OMAAT)

  • $499 annual fee

  • ...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 248: News, Follow Up and Best of Slack…

News: 

0:55 Boston Logan Airport Centurion Lounge Coming 2027 (Thrifty Traveler)

Updates: 

03:27 BofA Elite Incidentals: Still Waiting

  • Last...

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Milenomics² Podcast Episode 247: Getting Going on 2025, and a Kauai Trip Report

0:24 2025 Incidental Eradication Ramp Up

  • Hilton GC Site: Not taking orders for now

  • Dell: Not seeing buyers groups deals yet

  • Saks: In-store for GC purchases for now

  • BofA Elite: Tracker didn’t update last year for a couple weeks, credits posted Jan 17

10:27 Q1 2025 5x Categories

    <...

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Milenomics² Episode 246: What We Can Learn From What We've Been Up To

Update: An earlier version of this episode had an audio bug, be sure to re-download to get the newest file.

0:39 Hilton Gift Cards (for Amex Business Platinum $50 quarterly credits)