Milenomics² Episode 185: Follow Up, America's Worst Bank & Outdated Ideas We're Holding Onto

0:23 Japan Follow Up: Trip Status Reports

• With Robert’s trip just a few weeks what’s the latest?
• Lodging and other updates
• Sam: Trip is months away and starting to finally get serious about it. More updates to come.
• Booking.com
• Tour talk: how to get a feel for a place at a higher level.

13:41 Follow Up: Wyndham Business Card

• Card arrived with a 25k limit. Should help with cycling concerns.
• Was able to status match to Caesar's. (Card includes Wyndham diamond)
• Helpful for 5x utilities.
• What good will this bring? No idea.
• Started using it for legitimate gasoline purchases at the pump.

17:11 Amex Business Green Annual Fee No Longer Waived First Year

• $95 fee has historically been waived first year, no longer for head-on applications
• Referrals still have $0 AF first year, but I suspect that offer is just lagging
• This has been an nice option for capturing a spousal referral, and it seems to be acceptable to Amex to close a card you’ve gotten without a welcome bonus within 12 months
• So it would seem wise to go for these referrals while we can, but is it? Does a Business Green make the cut with NLL Morgan Stanley and Business Platinum/Gold cards an option?

23:59 Follow Up: Morgan Stanley Platinum Approved

• Initially declined
• Couldn’t log in to see why, but I suspected 10 card limit (was hoping the card might have magical powers and get me to 11 charge cards)
• Closed Business Green opened < 12 months ago that I didn’t get a welcome bonus for (but did get a referral for and did add 5 employees for 20k per)
• Called recon who resubmitted application
• Later that night I got confirmation that the card was shipped, but strangely no approval notice
• Checked application status online and it said approved
• This is my 2nd active Morgan Stanley Platinum
• Offer now down to 100k
• Went for one for my wife too, 91 days after prior was approved. Got instant approval. She had 8 charge cards before this.

26:30 BofA Alaska Personal Visa Improvements

• 2x on gas, transit, cable and streaming
• 10% bonus on earning w/BofA account
• Priority boarding when paying w/card
• Free checked bag for AUs
• Nice, but I think this mostly continues the ongoing “normalization” of the Alaska program (no longer a leader in outsized value) which leads into the next topic…

30:29 Bank of America: America’s Most Annoying Bank?

• Closed Alaska Business a couple months ago
• Still got a statement showing $75 AF due + finance charge for not making minimum payment?!
• Called, battled phone tree. Takes forever to get through to a rep, citing “Inclement Weather.”
• Finally made it through and rep confirmed the card was closed, but they had to battle to get the fees reversed.
• New: $1,000 business card welcome bonus out there, but application goes into the void?
• What a bank. They seem intentionally difficult to work with.

35:01 What Outdated Ideas Are We Wrongly Holding On To?

• It’s funny how something you read on a blog 5-10 years ago sticks with you and makes you think it’s the way things should be done. It can lead to wrong-headed thinking and cause unnecessary stress in some cases.
• Adding “free domestic one-ways” on international award tickets. It’s difficult enough to find international premium cabin partner awards, and higher frequency of cancellation makes it a big stress-pot.
• Booking foreign carriers (Avios for example) for more favorable award cancellation. Domestic carriers don’t even charge $5.60 any more!
• Seeking the absolute cheapest currency possible for an award ticket (without considering the complexity, possibility of stranded miles, difficult customer service, cost of change/cancellation). Nothing wrong with keeping it simple with programs you know.
• Freezing your SageStream and ARS credit reports before applying for US Bank credit cards. Or freezing any credit report for that matter. Is it worth the hassle? Was it ever worth the hassle?
• Broader discussion: the ever-changing state of this game makes it very difficult to put together an understanding now. Based on previously held beliefs. What is the current state of earning and burning? And how does it relate to what might have been going on 5 or 10 years ago?