The Milenomics Podcast Network

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 217: Spousal Entanglement in a World Where Nothing Works

Added 2024-01-28 06:32:53 +0000 UTC

0:30 Amex Welcome Bonuses and Hilton Free Night Certificates

Last show, said I was waiting on a bunch of welcome bonuses to post. They mostly posted.
Hilton FNC posted, but only got the cert number and exp date by chatting Amex (still doesn’t show in app, no email) - thank for the tip! Will talk more later about this topic.

4:20 Fluz: $20 Office Supply on Business Gold

Said I’d contact Fluz to increase chances of OFFICE SUPPLY on Amex Business cards
They delivered. Now much higher batting average.
Seems to also work for newly downgraded Business Platinums.

6:50 Downgrading Business Platinums: How is it going?

Takes about 15 minutes via chat
8:00am-5:00pm eastern
Cards continue to work and should function as Business Platinums in the meantime (no number change)
Reminder to register for $20 monthly credits
Annual fee going up to $375 Feb 1 (get these in now!)
Strange feeling to have cards with no sign up bonus

10:10 Did We Do Our Homework?

Sam: Capital One Venture X/Business
Robert: Refer and Apply for Discover Card
Sam: ETrade/Morgan Stanley Robo Account
Robert: Ask Hyatt loyalty program rep on the show

Main Topic

15:40 Topics to Discuss:

“Nothing Works” and It Gets Even More Complicated Overcoming that When You’re Dealing with P2’s Account and Booking for Others

How It’s Far Easier to Tell Someone Else to Do Something Than Actually Do It Yourself

So Important to Have Empathy for Others Here, Just As We Seek Empathy from Airlines, Hotels, and Customer Service Reps

Examples:

22:45 Hilton Free Night Certificates

We know these are a pain to book, but they can also be a pain to track
For a while you could see them on desktop (not any more)
Now you should be able to see them in app, but it doesn’t seem to be a fully reliable indicator
Sometimes you get an email when a new one arrives (really should change P2’s email to mine for better visibility)
When it comes time to book the combination of having to call and splitting up FNCs and points and potentially wanting connecting rooms and/or inquiring about a paid upgrade makes this all more than I want - especially if I really don’t want to stay at a Hilton

26:50 Booking British Airways Award on AA Metal

Did this a couple times for family in the past week
The process of creating a BA account and transferring MRs/URs for a short haul AA flight is just a bridge too far for some. I’d rather just use my Avios for someone else’s booking than try to explain it and walk them through it - or worse yet create the accounts for them and try to manage it myself.
Went to do this and their website failed in more unique and spectacular ways than I could imagine possible.
Discuss: When something doesn’t work and you haven’t done it in a while, the chances of me believing it’s a one-time rogue outage are very low.
Finally got connected to the website by using multiple computers and VPNs (did I mention I hate NordVPN?) and I accidentally book the flight for Tuesday instead of Monday because their calendar display starts with Monday.
So I cancel moments after booking, thinking I’m within 24 hours so it should be a quick and easy refund. Guess what? The points still aren’t back and it’s been 10 days. Evidently refunds range from “instant” to a 4 weeks?
Later had to actually change dates of departure and since their site doesn’t allow changes I had to once again cancel. These aren’t expensive tickets but I’m like, “Do I really want to inject more miles into this awful program?”
Ultimately cancelled again and booked First mostly because I wanted to get rid of Avios.
Then you have to figure out how to capture the AA record locator, be sure to say you’re booking for someone else even if you are (so that it doesn’t attach the British Airways number to the reservation), then flank back over to AA to attach your AA number and known traveler number. And hope that it all works out and the person you’re booking for gets TSA PreCheck.
The whole aim here is to save scarce AA miles for something better but man - the hassle…
Discuss: Is it worth it? Should I just use AA miles? Should I just pay cash?

34:40 Closing or Downgrading BofA Credit Cards

I’ve been on more calls with my wife and BofA lately…
To close or downgrade a card I need to get her on the phone to reduce CL (in case I actually want to close the card, and to ease future approvals), then again to actually close or downgrade the card, then again to hound them for AF refunds not applied at the time of downgrading
Then watch the card over the next 2-4 weeks to see if it actually does what they said it was going to do
Truly industry worst. They seem to be showing an intentional pattern of profitable negligence by requiring reps to trigger AF refunds rather than making it automatic.
Discuss: How do we make this one easier? Write USPS letters? I’ve got a new Dell printer I can use!

37:50 Booking Complicated Hyatt Stays from P2’s Globalist Account

I run into this one all the time because my wife has Globalist because she’s the one with the Chase Hyatt card
You can chat on P2’s account on desktop, but I’m telling you: Those reps make mistakes (for better or worse) and if you have to call they’re sticklers for having P2 on the phone.
You can establish yourself as an authorized travel planner of sorts with your assigned concierge but if your concierge is lackluster does it even help?
You can ping HyattConcierge on Twitter, but doing so from your own account is kind of clunky and awkward (“you see it’s my wife’s account, but would you look into this for us?” I don’t like it)
For stays where the Globalist isn’t actually going to be there you get into either adding yourself to the reservation or doing Guest of Honor. Each has their drawbacks.
You might want to contact the hotel to horse trade ahead of time via email to negotiate a guaranteed upgrade, connecting rooms, or some other situation. Usually this works out okay - they allow a spouse to handle it.
Example Discussion Pulling it All Together: Trying to book 2 rooms and combine them into one gonzo suite prior to arrival when the booking is from P2’s account. Not example simple.

43:40 Booking United Seat Upgrades Online

This one is an example of doing seemingly the most normal of things and experiencing failures to the point where you start to wonder, “Am I shut down by United?”
Thing is: We might be doing something they don’t want us to do (say book and cancel to liquidate incidentals). But purchasing Economy Plus seat upgrades for a flight (which I have to say, they charge a lot of money for) would seem to be a very normal act.
Yet, the site malfunctions in new and unusual ways half the time I try it.
“Reach out to them on Twitter” they say. Okay…sure their Twitter team is good. But why should I have to do this? And when you’re doing it for P2 how clunky can we get?

48:50 Interacting w/Amex Regarding P2’s Cards

Authorized Account Manager is an industry-leading thing but still…
You can’t officially call and seek reconsideration for an application for P2 even if you’re an authorized account manager on all their existing cards
“Just call and say you’re P2” - sure. Easy to say. No always easy to do.
You can’t call the high risk/fraud team and take a selfie as if you’re P2.
So in the end, this meaningfully informs what is done on P2 accounts vs yours.

51:20 Stunts like Same Day Changes and Last Minute Hotel Horse Trading When Booking For/With Family