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

News:

0:33 Airline Debit Cards

• United 

• Southwest

• Earns 0.5 miles per dollar spent

• Issued by Sunrise Bank

• There’s got to be an angle here.

• Everything old is new. This is the golden age of Debit cards. 

05:15 Amtrak FNBO Mastercard 40k Back

• Direct Link

• $2,000 min spend (in first 3 cycles)

• $99 AF not waived

What We’ve been Up to:

06:28 JetBlue 20% Off (And it worked!) 

• Promo code: TAKE20

• Book by 11/6/25 (11:59PM EST)

• Travel 12/2-12/18/25 (Excludes Friday and Sunday travel). 

• Discount applies to base fare, valid on nonstop flights only

• Not valid on Mint, Transatlantic flights & previous bookings

• Not valid for EvenMore & cash + points bookings

• Redeemable only on jetblue.com

9:00 BofA Elite Season is Upon Us (in MA)

• Probably best to wait until mid December for those of us not in MA

• But in MA there’s always a partial refund possibility, and so…

• P2: Instant Approval

• P1: Pending

• We’ll need to get good at incidentals – 75k minimum spend, $450 x 3 incidentals. 

• What happens in January?

18:24 EVA Air: Fantastic TYP release valve or am I walking into a Trap?

• Looking for flights to Thailand, Japan, Taiwan

• Lots of TYP and this would be a good place for them

• Nonstop from LAX, multiple flights daily even!

• But….this seems like a great program for single people, an OK program for couples and….and unknown (at least for me) for families with kids. 

• Complex system for booking more than just yourself. 

• Required Reading: 

• OMAAT: https://onemileatatime.com/guides/redeem-miles-eva-air-business-class/

• FM: https://frequentmiler.com/how-to-book-eva-air-infinity-mileagelands-awards/

• Is this overblown? As Complex as it seems? 

• This ends with me driving to El Segundo…

24:35 [VENT] AA’s Theft of the Week:

• Complex, but two one ways booked for travel that did not happen.

• Outbound was delayed, we decided to just drive.

• Asked for a refund on X, was told to expect something. 

• Still nothing, was possibly going to be given a flight credit, but that hasn’t shown either.

• The return trip in vain was refunded without friction even thought it wasn’t delayed.  

• But….Where does a refund show up when cancelling an AA flight booked with BofA Elite points? Who knows. 

• This is a mess. 

28:45 Shop your way turns into…Citi ThankYou Card

• Still 5/3/2/1 x TYP earning in good categories, possibly up to $10k per category?

• Spend seems to have reset!

• Hearing new offers coming via email.

• Current offers will be honored. 

• There’s also a Shop your way card being launched by another bank. 

• Hopeful this card keeps working well for us.  

33:35 Chase Freedom -> Sapphire Reserve Upgrade: Not Possible?

• Wanted another CSR, and we’ve talked about the upgrade of a Freedom to one on the show many times. 

• Called and was told it is….not possible!

• Only path is to a no annual fee sapphire (not preferred or reserve). 

• Not ideal, now what?

36:33 Strata Elite 100k 4th Quarter Application: Instant Approval

• I had held off applying, assumed I was overextended when my wife was only given a $5000 CL

• But, in a moment of weakness I applied….and

• Instant approval, with a $18k CL. 

• I don’t think I will ever understand Citi. 

• Matching His/Hers. Great for the splurge credits and 6x dining –really better to have the big CL on my side anyway. 

38:24 What Winterization tasks did we complete this week?

• Correction: Elite Hotel credit not terrible at all because it works on ANY hotel. 

• FHR credits really depend on a want to go to a high end hotel. Just so much less choice. 

• So last week when I Was sure I wouldn’t use the strata and would use the FHR, now I’m reversing that stance. 

• Robert: Used the Chase dining $150 credit on the CSR, and… it just worked! 

• Keep at this, the year ends soon and these are use it or lose it!

• Real concerns about cards that are going to be closed soon vs. longer term ones. 

45:15 Upcoming Trip Planning?

• Sam: Uncertainty abounds around P2’s work schedule. Kauai in Dec/Jan, Maui in April, Need to book more San Diego, S.F. bookings. 

• Robert: Miraval Berkshires this weekend, Pinhurst (Elite Alliance). Looking for more trips as well.