Milenomics² Podcast Episode 254: Hope Springs Eternal…

0:29 United Changes (link)

• Credit card/lounge fees up, more coupons

  • Examples: $5-$12/ mo in rideshare credits depending on the level of UA Credit card

  • $50-$100 in Travel Bank for car rentals 

  • Dans Deals covering this in a pretty concise way at this link.

• Discuss: We’re no United experts, but what do we think about this direction? Does this imitation validate Amex’s strategy? If welcome bonuses are heightened is this actually better for churners (who manage to stay under 5/24)?

05:10 Churning the FNBO Amtrak Card

• Approved for $99 AF card 13 months ago

• Canceled and applied for a new one the next day

• Instantly approved

• Direct Link heightened to 40k through 4/30/2025

07:41 P2 $3,000 Amex Call

• Applied for a 125k Business Gold (NLL link) and a 175k Business Platinum (targeted RSVP mailer) about 4-6 weeks ago

• Got letters requesting bank letterhead, which has meant calling in to verify ID 

• Finally found time to call number on the rejection letters (which I think is new accounts) who then transfers to High Risk/Fraud team

• Photo of front and back of driver’s license + selfie

• Both cards approved on the stop (only 1 selfie required)

• Batch it up!

10:05 New Amex Strategy: Update card applications 

• Listening back to last week I'm clearly shaken up with amex

• So I don't do anything rash I decided to re-up a pending card application, a 15x resy

• I am about a week from being able to call on reconsideration but that means I'm also a week closer to my cancelled application expiring 

• So I reapplied and got a new decline. This buys me time to craft my spend strategy

• Could also do this for business platinum cards.

16:38 Warning: Sam has started using Pepper. 

• Start the clock until its demise. 

• As we discussed pepper this classic SNL sketch came up.

17:42 Stay Report: Courtyard Albany/Troy Waterfront

• Booked with Hotels.com GC

• Stay went off without a hitch

• Booked the nicest room in the place 2 Queen “suite” with view of the Hudson River

• Discuss: Courtyard monetization strategy. No free breakfast, Starbucks rather than free coffee, small bars in some locations. Makes for a strange limited service model.

• Recommended: Dinosaur BBQ with locations in Brooklyn, Buffalo, Harlem, Rochester, Syracuse, and Troy. Outstanding.

23:38 A/B Test: Hilton Booking Analysis Paralysis Continues

• Test A: Use points,just points. 

• Test B: Cash booking, CapOne Shopping 30%, pay with $50 Business Platinum swipes

• What could possibly go wrong?

34:24 Vacasa Wyndham:Not All 30 Day Cancellations 

• New to me: 60 days cancellation windows on vacasa bookings

• Even the phone rep incorrectly quoted me 30 days

• Jammed me up because I was within 60 days even when I booked it. Phone rep 

• Asked for an exception, which was escalated and only after a little back and forth approved. 

36:52 PSA: Check Your Global Entry/TSA PreCheck Expiration

• One of those things that lasts so long it’s easy to forget it expires

• Observability and the way an expiration presents itself to you is non-intuitive

• Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck: Is the hassle of Global Entry interview worth it?

• Managing this for your family (along with keeping passports up to date)

41:44 Tip of the Week: Library Cards

• I'm a big fan of these. I have 6 or 7 different library cards

• Digital library cards allow for ebooks to be delivered right to your kindle

• Audio books on the libby or hoopla app are a fantastic alternative to audible credits

• At my library: NYtimes, NYTimes Cooking, WSJ and the economist access on devices.

• Like having a $240 streaming credit for $0 a month. 

• Check it out, extra great for kids with tons of great kids books.