The Milenomics Podcast Network

Milenomics² Podcast Episode 203: Three Hurricanes, Zero Trips

Added 2023-09-04 14:37:29 +0000 UTC

0:40 BermudAir Takes Flight

Direct Link
OMAAT
BOS, HPN (White Plains, NY), and FLL - BDA
Service begins 8/31/2023 and bookable now
Fares look cheap: From $199-$299 pp one-way for cheapest fare bucket
Initially 2-2 configuration with every other seat blocked
Said to eye remodeling to a 1-1 configuration 11/1/2023, at which times fares will go up
No TSA PreCheck agreement in place yet, but the website looks surprisingly functional
Would you trust them to get you there? If the JetBlue flight leaves before the BermudAir flight does? And you’re just going for the weekend?

07:03 Scuttled: Labor Day Bermuda Trip

Hurricanes. Always the bullet you don’t see coming.
Not one but two hurricanes in play, Franklin and Idalia
Forecast looks truly horrendous for golf and beach
Discuss: Unwinding a trip like this. Airfare is pretty straight forward (we’ve discussed this before, aim is to wait for the airline to cancel so as to capture a true refund vs travel bank). But what about the complicated fractional booking through Elite Alliance?

22:51 Dead Deal (that seems to keep recurring): giftcards.com

Back in airline portals! (3x AA at the moment)
10% off $100 eVGCs w/various codes (lots of clicking)
How to liquidate? Very YMMV situation between Bravo, Plastiq, and Fluz. Each seem to work for some but not all.
Seems to have died before the projected end date
Discuss: The nature of deals like this. Why so appealing? Seems infinite, but then you run into limits of scale and at the end of it, how much did you earn?
Also: Is there still utility in 3x AA even without discounts?

30:46 Coming Soon: New Cards from Citi and Wells Fargo

34:02 Did you Know? Citi Dividend 5% Card

Card earns 5% cashback in rotating categories each quarter
5% back needs to be activated each quarter, and isn’t effective for approximately “2 business days” after activation (similar wording to Citi retention offers)
Cashback is capped at $300 per year, and all $6,000 the 5% spend can technically be done in a quarter
But what I didn’t know until now is that the card earns ZERO cashback once you’ve earned $300 in a given calendar year!
They don’t break out on the statement which transactions earned

35:37 Amex Charge Card Puzzler

Under 10 charge cards but can’t get past “based on history” pop-up
Haven’t run into this in the past, but wonder whether it’s because I was at 9 cards, but closed 10th recently and the Amex computer still thought I was at 10
Could it be that the 10 charge card limit was triggering before the history pop-up thus enabling bypass of history pop-up?
Test: Apply for Morgan Stanley Platinum to make the computer think I’m at 10 cards again, then apply for business card again hoping I get a decline I can then call and get reconsidered
Step 1: Applied for and approved for Morgan Stanley Platinum 80k
Step 2: Applied for business cards hoping to get a decline because the computer thinks I’m at 10 charge cards when I’m really at 9 (due to having closed one in < 30 days). Still getting declined for history popup.
So it appears I’m in a penalty box and the links I’m using aren’t bypassing the history popup.
Went for a Hilton Business 130k head-on. Instantly approved.
Overall, feeling quite boxed in with Amex at the moment and like I’ve truly run out of cards. Here’s hoping for more targeted/NLL links soon.

41:57 Mistakes were Made - Closing an Amex Gold card

I recently (accidentally) closed a brand new Business gold in the middle of the SUB spend
I caught the problem an hour or so after closing, and I reached out to reopen.
We’ve talked about reopening cards before as a strategy with retention offers
I assumed it was always automatic and guaranteed within 30 days
But this time…I was denied.
“The system is saying this card is not eligible for reopening”
Chat gave me an 877 number to try, on that call I was given a 24 hour window to reopen after closure.
I hope this was a 1 off but something to consider moving forward if it isn’t.

46:22 Why is the Business Platinum 35% rebate so confusing?

47:14 Report: Hawaiian Airlines Amex credits

I have wanted to test this as a potential to capture $200 incidentals.
Hawaiian has good flight times from LAX and LGB and runs good fare sales as well (Big cargo business)
Booked a $95 fare fully refundable
The fare didn’t trigger an Amex Credit, reports online are <$50 might work. With caps on how many bookings can be used $50 isn’t enough.
When I called a few weeks later to cancel I was told this was going to credit as a travel credit.
I pushed back and the rep quoted me 24 hour language.
Except I made sure I bought this as fully refundable.
- This is mirrors a trend I’ve seen with United and others–the default is SO often cancelable but non-refundable that they just get into an autopilot mode.
- I had to get forceful and only then did he notice the fare correctly and process a full refund.

51:10 US Bank $500/$750 Business checking account Promotion Troubles

This was my “white whale” and I spent months chasing after this account.
The Promo was for $500 or $750. Transfer in $5000 or $15,000
Back in Episode 194 I was successful in opening the account!
I transferred in $15,000 and…. Got $500 two months later.
So I called in. And the rep agreed I did what I should have done, but she could only file a ticket
With that–this promo has been held the amounts are lower, but you too can suffer with US Bank. (link
New offer: Earn $350 when you deposit $5,000, Earn $800 when you deposit $25,000.

55:15 Park Hyatt Parking Follies

Checked out, got final folio: 100% accuracy! Just charged for room upgrade.
Noticed on credit card the day after checkout a couple additional charges: One for $210, another for $105.
Checked hotel bill on hyatt.com and saw it was for valet parking.
Three things…
Parking is supposed to be complimentary for Globalists on award stays, which is a huge part of why I book with Hyatt in expensive parking markets like New York
I hate it when hotels covertly charge you for additional stuff, especially when they don’t send you an updated folio, and especially when it seems to be in error
It appears that we have already hit $100/nt parking
How would you handle this?
Thought about involving my concierge but the waiting for her to get back to me would be annoying
Emailed a Park Hyatt New York guest relations email I had from prior stays
No response, so a day later I email another general email. They respond saying the charges have been reversed. No apology. No clarification whether they’re doing me a favor or the charges were applied in error. What should I expect next time?
Glad I didn’t fill out the survey until after this