Milenomics² Episode 214: Year End Review, 2024 Resolutions with CF Frost (Patreon)

0:18 Overview

We’ll cover our “favorite” item in each category (Hotel, flights Credit cards) of the year and then a resolution for 2024?

Recap Hotels in 2023 – Favorite of 2023 and What we want to change for 2024:

01:09 Sam:

• Everyone agreed that the stay at the Hilton Hiroshima was their favorite stay this year. Just 2 nights– no time to find things or have things go wrong. Booked into a suite, so the space was what I wanted.  I think I should pepper these types of stays throughout the year more.

06:48 Resolution:

• I think I want to stay in more hotels for 2024.  I’m getting… tired? (Is that the right word?) of vacation rentals and LONG stretches of vacation.   
  
  This year I was in a vacation rental for something like 23 nights. That’s a LOT of work if I’m being honest with myself.
• More mainline hotel stays in rooms that are large enough for our family in 2024.  Even if that means branching out from Hilton.
  
  11:07 Robert:
• Four Seasons Tokyo Marunouchi. Felt so freeing to get what we paid for and have a hotel be what exactly what it represented itself as.

13:07 Resolution:

• I think I’ll focus on 2 things in 2024:

1. My most enjoyable and memorable vacations (in a good way) have been where the lodging is part of a more complete vacation product. I think I’ll aim for these in 2024.
2. Staying at the points hotel only if it’s one of the better options irrespective of points. Conrad Osaka and St Regis Maldives come to mind as examples of this.

18:38 CF Frost:

• Curio in istanbul - unbelievable location and feel; exactly what a boutique hotel should look and feel like.  Great upgrade; early checkin and staff (I believe i previously talked about this on the podcast
• 
  
• Recently had a great stay at the conrad abu dhabi - really great diamond treatment got a 2 room suite upgrade.  Exceedingly friendly staff.  An onsite restaurant that was as good a meal I’ve had anywhere

22:20 Resolution:

• I want to say less hilton (including more vacasa), but i don’t know how i can get away from it.  I’m already booked at LXR in Qatar; Hilton in jamaica, Conrad tokyo, and have may 6 or 7 FNCs to burn before year ends… I seem to have most of my travel booked about 9 months out; so my resolution i suppose will be for 2025 travel.

29:02  Favorite flight/ flights  in 2023, What we want to change in 2024

29:22 Robert:

• JAL Business Class BOS-Tokyo both ways. Just something magical about the direct flight that makes a place so far away seem to close.

30:38 Resolution:

• Double down on using flexibility to my advantage. Also might start investing in JAL miles.

34:37 CF’s Favorites:

• I had two phenomenal flights few months ago - etihad F to abu dhabi.  Service wasn’t over the top but had everything you’d want.  Probably the most comfortable cabin experience i had.  Return flight was on qatar, which just does a great job for a business class flight.  Flight was long, but still enjoyable

37:02 Resolution:

• More direct(ish) flights.  I dont live in a hub, so in past I’d become very connection insensitive.  Now with two kids and being older, i value having less transit time, especially for recovery.  How though can I make this happen - be more selective of where i go?  Be willing to drive further to hub?  Also, find a way to burn my korean air miles

40:14 Sam (Flights):

• It sounds silly but my favorite flight was from Ishigaki to Tokyo.  It was a combination of leaving a small island and arriving in a HUGE city…. The difference between where I ate lunch and where I ate dinner.  Unlike anything I could have ever thought of.

42:14 Resolution:

• Take more trips to places that are ‘not my usual.’  As I’m getting older I’m getting more stuck in my ways it seems.  Why? Comfort? Ease of booking?  I want to get going to some new places!  I love Kauai, but that seems to be the go to place and I wonder what places am I overlooking with sticking to it.
• CF and Robert inspired: Book “ok’ and improve my position. Connections, positioning…. Those aren’t set in stone. I would hate passing up on one of

46:01 Recap Credit Cards in 2023, What we want to change in 2024

46:09 CF:

• Loved a lot of the amex stuff early.  Some of the stuff late in the year has been a bit more annoying - not as much NLL stuff, longer posting times for just about everything, more applications doing weird stuff.  I think amex remains the best, and AU stuff remains strong, but i’d like them to trend back up

47:30 Resolution:

• More diversification in terms of spend.  Dont want to be too reliant on too few things.  Something new in the space would be very welcomed

51:15 Sam:

• Agree the year of Amex – Just when you think they’re done they pull you back in.  I did branch out some – a CSP/CSR, Churning the leverage card.  But I’m still heavily biased towards Amex, maybe to a fault.  A listener outlined a strong Chase Ink strategy…. I can’t shake that it might be worth doing something like that this coming year.

52:42 Resolution: 

• Spend more time on other issuers than Amex – get more creative and try more things.  Small dollar tests have struck gold in the past and I want to do at least one of those a month in 2024.

54:54 Robert:

• Credit cards you can pay w/point earning debit. Amex welcome/employee offers. Quarterly and Ink 5x w/Fluz.

56:27 Resolution: 

• Maybe people have come to this conclusion a long time ago, but it feels like it might be time to work the spread on existing cards more than primarily working Amex angles so much.

59:52 Dell Chat: What are we ordering?