Milenomics² Episode 176: Fluz Evolves, Precious Amex Slots & More (Patreon)

0:22 Fluz 2.0 (1.5?) Arrives

• If spend is unlimited and MCC categories can be chosen how does this change things?
• Best cards to use?
• Fear of shutdown
• Knock on effects?

14:30 Morgan Stanley Follow Up

• There’s no playbook here. Thought cards couldn’t be instant approved–but got an instant approval for P2
• Can’t even open an access account for P2 (Sam). Needed a scan of SSN card
• No Amex Platinums yet for P1 or P2 (Sam)
• Robert able to churn the card while holding.

21:04 Puzzler: Precious Amex Slots

• NLL Business Platinum/Gold Offers
• Churnable Morgan Stanley
• Referrals, for the referral + employee cards
• Some people seem to allowed > 10 charge, > 5 credit cards
• Discuss How to use these scarce resources?

26:52 Marriott Point Transfers to AA, Delta, Avianca Losing 5,000 Bonus (VFTW)

• Was 60,000:25,000, now 60,000:20,000 for these 3 airlines, AA especially hurts
• Effective 10/31/2022
• Other airlines retain the 5,000 bonus for transferring 60,000
• Discuss: How Marriott and AA are cutting against the trend of partnering with bank point program and seemingly trying to maintain their own currency ecosystems

32:27 BofA More Rewards Day 11/5/2022 (Direct Link)

• All cards get 2 additional points for spending on this one day
• Premium Rewards uplift only applies to the base spend, but should still earn an additional 2 points
• So Premium Rewards with max uplift becomes 2.625% + 2% = 4.625% is how I read it
• Good time to meet min spend on BofA cards like Alaska Personal/Business
• Also seems like a good opportunity to spike spending and get shutdown (ha ha)

35:17 Hilton Selling Day of Arrival Confirmed Upgrades to Gold/Diamond Guests? (FlyerTalk Thread)

• I guess the concern is that upgrades are supposed to be complimentary so they might sell the upgrade out beneath you and/or not upgrade you as generously if you don’t elect to pay?
• Have a look at the FlyerTalk thread, it really shows how everyone has a different opinion on upgrades based on their situation
• Discuss: The importance of confirmed upgrades, when they matter, far in advance of arrival

40:52 Will the Citi Expedia Card Ever Die?

• They seem to be sending out make-good offers to people who closed the Citi Expedia card before they converted it to a Citi Premier card
• Gives you 10,000 points ($100) in your Expedia account
• And Gold Status through the end of 2023 (unclear what value is left there)
• Check your email for an email from Expedia.com, subject line: “Updates to Your Expedia® Rewards Voyager Card from Citi”
• The link doesn’t seem customized
• Worked for me, didn’t for my wife, YMMV
• Are these even useful?

44:23 M&T Bank $450 Bonus (Direct Link)

• Open by 11/25/2022
• $10,000 min avg balance Dec 22, Jan 23
• Get $400
• $50 additional for $500 DD
• Probably service area restricted? Enter zip code to see what it says.
• Entered Boston area through acquisition of People’s United
• Don’t see a household exclusion so can do it for P2 as well it seems